Letters from Frank John Mulcahy to his family, 1941-1945 - Part 10

PR00649

AUSTRALIAN

WAR MEMORIAL

SX3022
Sgt. F. J. Mulcahy
Aust. DR. Section
A I F
5 July 45
Dear Mum,
I daresay you have guessed
by now that I have moved on and am no
longer in Australia. We had quite a good
trip up on the boat, and the meals were
excellent – by far the best I have struck on
any boat and I have been or eight of them
now. There were a lot of South Australians on
board and I met quite a number of lads from
Col. Light Gardens, including Lorry Hyams.
From what I have seen of this country it
appears to be a bit better than New Guinea,
but at the same time, it is no "tropical
paradise" 

2

The weather was fine on the day we landed,
but the following day it rained heavily and
it wasn't long before there was mud everywhere.
It is a good thing we are using Jeeps, we
wouldn't be in the race to get through
the mud on motor bikes. The ground has
dried up again now and everybody in happier
for it.
Colin Wagener is up here and is as pleased
as punch - it is his first show.
I have been fortunate enough to receive a
considerable pile of mail during the past couple
of days, including a letter from Shirley. You
can tell her I will answer it as soon as l am
able.
Well Mum, this will have to be a short letter
and I will now close, hoping to be able to
tell you more in my next letter
Loved to All
Frank

[[?]]

5/7/45

The Islands

PR00649

AUSTRALIAN

WAR MEMORIAL

AIR MAIL

The Islands
Base Wallaby

M^iss. S. Mulcahy
32 Corunna Ave
Colonel Light Gardens
South Australia
 

AIR MAIL
 

The Islands
Base Wallaby
 

M^iss. S. Mulcahy
32 Corunna Ave
Colonel Light Garden
South Australia
 

PR00649

AUSTRALIAN

WAR MEMORIAL
 

SX3022
Sgt. F. J. Mulcahy
2 Aust. DR Section
A.I.F.
14 July 45

Dear Shirley,
My sincere apologies for taking
so long to answer your letter, but you know
how it is with we "fighting men"??? 
I see you have been swinging the lead again
by staying home from work on the pretext
of having a cold. I am thoroughly convinced
that you are utterly devoid of all conscience
-you must be, otherwise you wouldn't be
able to hold your hand out on pay-day.
You seem to fancy your ability as a
cook quite a bit now of which prowness
I entertain a certain amount of doubt.
But just the same, to be quite candid with

2

you, fair wench, at the moment I would even
consider risking a try at some of your apple
pies and lemon cheese tarts, made out of
your "lovely, light, fluffy pastry". Yes since,
no matter how bad they were, they would
still probably be an improvement on bully
beef. As for your cooking tempting the heart
of any man, don't you worry about going off
yet. I want you for my private secretary
when I set up in business after the war.
Having my sister for a secretary will allow
me to keep my mind on my work.
At this juncture, I would like to ask
you a question. How long since has "Rio
Rita" been spelt "Rio Reta". I may be
mistaken, but I think you have erred
there, and for a student of English that
is positively unforgivable. I quite agree with
you that Gladys Moncrieff is past her prime

3

it is high time she retired to a life of darning
socks.
With regard to that remark a certain
admirer of yours made in respect of being
critical, pass on my congratulations to him
-it is a perfect piece of summing up.
However, don't let it get you down – we all
have our little faults, and with a little
concentration, you should eliminate the
habit.
So you are still indulging in a little
punting. I shall have to have a few
words with the old man on that score,
as it is apparent that he is leading
you astray. I have a distinct dislike to
gambling of all kinds, unless the odds are
very much in my favour. Not very sporting,
I suppose, but that's how it is.
Well, I am still not permitted to tell