Correspondence relating to William Dunstan, August - December 1945 - Part 6

309493

Capt. W. Dunstan

The Melbourne Herald

85 Fleet St.

London

Oct 6

 

Page 2

 

the wolf from the door for

the rest of my life, a problem

which worries me considerably

at the moment.  By the

time I get out I will be

in my seventh year of

soldiering, the more of which

I think about, the more I

think that it has been

seven years almost completely 

wasted.  People have rather

short memories and I think

that soldier being demobbed

in about a years time will

not receive as much sympathy 

as those getting out now.

 

Now that the war is over

there seems to be greater

chaos than before - far

more reasons for starting

a war now than in 1939.

There is disagreement between

the great powers over many

important issues, trade

difficulties, with USA, a

mess in France, Russia

unco- operative with anyone,

the Jewish problem in Palestine

worse than ever, riots in

India.  This England

has come out of the war

desperately poor and only

a second rate power I

shouldn't think many of

 

 

these problems will settled

to her satisfaction.

Perhaps Perhaps I am

unduly pessimistic - I hope

so.

It will be marvellous to

get home again - especially

with the family complete

once more.  It will be strange

for you to have a grown up

family at home - I hope

you don't try to get us

married off or anything

like that.

I will write again in a 

few days & tell you if

Almaza still looks as bad

as ever.

 

Your very loving son

 

 

COPY                                 309493 Captain W. DUNSTAN

                                            The Melbourne Herald,

                                             85 Fleet Street,

                                             London. E.C. 4

                                             ---------------------------------------

6th October 1945.

My dear Mum,

 

I am afraid that the last letter I wrote was not

too cheerful as it was written in the throes of a bout of

toothache.  My mouth feels a lot better now, so I am

leaving the hospital tomorrow to make my was to the Base

Depot at Almaza.

 

I want to get to India as soon as possible in

order to catch up with my baggage and mail.   With luck I

should manage to get there by the end of the month.

 

I can now give you some more definite  information 

as to when His Majesty will be dispensing with my services.

According to a gentleman by the name of George Isaacs, whom,

I believe, is one of Mr Attlee's cabinet, group 31 - in

which I am - is due for release about next May or June.

This is a lot better than I had anticipated.  By that time

I will have been away from home so long that I will probably

ask to have myself demobilised in India in order to get home

as soon as possible.

 

I believe an Army Council Instruction was issued

recently, stating that Dominion and Colonial troops serving

in the British Army will, if they desire, be repatriated to

their own countries.  Unless I have a good win at the

Bombay races I don't think I could afford to go back to

England and return to Australia via U.S.A. as I originally 

intended.  It would probably be better if I came home as

soon as possible and decided how I was going to keep the

wolf from the door for the rest of my life, - a problem which

worries me considerably at the moment.

 

By the time I get out I will be in my seventh

year of soldiering, - the more of which I think about, the

more I think that it has been seven years almost completely

wasted.   People have rather short memories and I think

that soldiers being demobilised in about a year's time will

not receive as much sympathy as those getting out now.

 

Now that the war is over there seems to be greater

chaos than before - far more reasons for starting a war now

than in 1939.   There is disagreement between the great

powers over many important issues, - trade difficulties with

U.S.A., a mess in France, Russia unco-operative with anyone,

the Jewish problem in Palestine worse than ever, riots in 

India.

 

 

2.

As England has come out of the war desperately

poor and only a second-rate power, I shouldn't think many

of these problems will be settled to her satisfaction.

 

Perhaps I am unduly pessimistic - I hope so.

 

It will be marvellous to get home again,

especially with the family complete once more.  It will

be strange for you have have grown-up family at home -

I hope you don't try to get us married off or anything

like that.

 

I will write again in a few days and tell you 

if Almaza still looks as bad as ever.

 

Your very loving SON

 

                                                  309493  Captain W. Dunstan,

                                                  Officer's Mess,

                                                  General Base Depot,

                                                   MIDDLE EAST FORCES.

                                                   ======================

October 7, 1945.

 

My dear Mum,

 

Well, here I am at the old Base Depot, where I

started my career in the British Army nearly two years ago.

It hasn't changed much except that it is now the Base Depot

for infantry as well as R.A.

 

The mess is a lot more comfortable than it used

to be, the food a lot better too.  The only trouble is that

the grog is rather expensive so I will have to stay almost

teetotal.  King Faruk recently ordered a 100% duty on all

liquor coming into Egypt for the British Army --- rotten sod

that he is.  Gone are the days when one could get a bottle

 of of whisky for 8/-.  It costs nearly as much as it does in

England now.   The local beer costs nearly 2/- a bottle.

 

It appears that I will have a rather tough job

trying to get to India from here.   The M.E.F. is very short

of officers at present and will try to keep me here if

permission can be got fro S.E.A.C.    I can't think of any-

thing worse at the moment so I will do my best to persuade them

to send me to India.

 

Most of my kit has gone there - nothing very

valuable, fortunately.  I kept a large box with me containing 

all my essential and valuable belongings.

 

Until further notice send all mail to the

address I have put at the top of this letter, otherwise I

wont't get anything from you for months.   I haven't had a

letter now for five weeks as everything has gone to India.

 

Your very loving SON

====================

 

 

October 11, 1945.

 

I.A. 658,

Brigadier Bowtell Harris,

No. 1 bungalow,

Aurangabad,

DECCA             INDIA

=======

 

My dear Bow,

 

Don't get a shock.  It's Bill Dunstan

calling and of course I want something.

 

But, first I want to say "Hullo"! and to

ask how you are doing.   At the Club today I was

talking to Sandy Lowe (which I do quite a lot since

they have elected me President) and he was telling me

about you.  It took me back to the old days and I

was naturally glad to hear all is reasonably well with

you.  Glad too you have reached such eminence - my

congratulations.

 

I don't know whether you know it, but all

of my kids have been rather substantially in this war.

 

The eldest, Bill, served with 2nd/4th Field

Regiment, 7th Division till the Devision returned to

Australia in 1943.   Then he transferred to the

British Army and saw service again in North Africa,

Syria, Iran etc. and then on to Caserta and Anzio in

Italy.  After Rome his Regiment was transferred to 

Europe and took part in the push across Germany.

After a couple of months in Army of Occupation, he is

now transferred to India.   He is not in the permanent

Army and although by Christmas he will have had six

year's service, being a single bloke and only 25, he

has not yet amassed sufficient points to get out.

Coming from U.K. to India on the ship he had trouble with

a wisdom tooth and was operated upon by an R.N.V.R.

Surgeon Lieutenant (dentist) female, and an R.A.M.C.

Captain, also female.   As they were good-lookers, he

 

Brigadier Bowtell Harris                    October 11, 1945.

 

let them go ahead and is now regretting it.  They fixed

him to such an extent, that not only did they not get the

wisdom tooth out, but cracked his jaw and broke the next-

door tooth.  He was transferred from the ship at Port

Said to No. 1. General Hospital, Kantara.

 

He writes that he is now on the mend, but sees

no prospect of connecting with a ship for a month.

Having a horror of being idle he applied for a job, but he

says there are so many supernumeries that even a place in

a long queue doesn't help.   What he wants to do is get

into his job in India, where he must report to R.A.J.N.G.,

India Command, -  whatever that means.

  

I was asking Air Commodore Eyre, R.A.F., who

has something to do with the Lancaster Services, if he

could hitch Bill to India.  He thinks not, as controls

are very rigid.  At this point of the conversation Sandy

suggested you might be able to help.  Hence this appeal.

 

Bill is - 309493, Captain William Dunstan,

91st Royal Artillery, posted R.A.J.N.G., India Command,

now stranded 1 General Hospital, Kantara.

 

Do you think you can help him along please?

If you can both I and Bill will be grateful.

 

Our other youngster Keith is a Flying Officer

in the R.A.A.F. and is in Borneo.  Daughter Helen has

just been discharged for W.R.A.N.S. after three years

service.

 

We are all fairly well, but there's an awful 

lot of work to be done and an awful lot of frustration 

in trying to get it done.

 

I'll hope to hear from you soon even if you

can't assist.

 

Saw Stan DeRaven today.  He looks well and is

his usual cheery self.

 

All the best Bow.

Yours ever,

 

 

October 11,  1945

 

DLT   309493  CAPTAIN W. DUNSTAN

           No. 1.  GENERAL HOSPITAL

           KANTARA.  EGYPT

 

Letters received have cabled airmailed Brigadier Harris

India about early passage destination suggest also

contact Jim Chapman.   All well love

DUNSTAN

 

 

October 11, 1945

 

DLT   BRIGADIER BOWTELL HARRIS

           AURANGABAD

           DECCA.     INDIA.

 

309493  Captain Bill Dunstan junior posted India Command

offloaded one General Hospital Kantara slight operation

now apparently stranded for leastly month awaiting another 

ship and hating idleness.  Sandy Lowe suggests you

possibly able assist  Stop     Airmailing.     Regards

 

BILL DUNSTAN

 

 

COPY                  309493

                             Captain W. Dunstan,

                             RAJNG

                             INDIA COMMAND

                             ==================

14th October, 1945.

 

My dear Mum,

Since my last letter the Army has decided that I

should do a little work for a change.  During the past

couple of days I have earned some small part of my pay.

 

I was detailed to take 550 Italian P.O.W's from

a camp near Cairo to a ship at Port Said.  They were a very

docile lot and caused no trouble at all.  Most of them

were civilians who had been kicked off the island of Rhodes

by the Greeks.  It was a typical Army troop train which

took 12 hours to complete a journey of 120 miles.  I was

appointed O.C. train and, apart from the P.O.W's I had a

motley collection of troops on board consisting of Jugoslavs,

Greeks, Indians, Russians, Italians, and Palestinians.

It was a hell of a job sorting them out at the other end.

 

There was a rather amusing incident getting the

P.O.W's on board the ship.  I knew there would be some

difficulty arriving at the correct figures after counting

them as they passed up the gang plank, so I didn't tell the

E.S.O. haw many I should have had.   Actually there

turned out to be five too many, so I told the E.S.O. that

his count agreed with my figures, thrust the huge packet of

documents into his hand and departed in haste.

 

I was lucky enough to catch the passenger train

back to Cairo - it does the journey in five hours and has a

dining car with a bar on board.

 

The next day, having been here a week without

getting any information I applied for an interview with the

Departments at G.H.Q. which deals with such things.  I went

in and saw the chap there and persuaded him to send me off to

India as soon as possible, so I am hoping to be away from this

dump very shortly.

 

While I was at G.H.Q.  I dropped in at the Australian

Liaison Office and had a yarn with Colonel Chapman.  He

seemed pleased to see me again and asked me to have lunch with

tomorrow.  He is hoping to get home soon as there is very

little he can do over here now.  As a regular soldier I

suppose he wants to get back and find a good job in the post-

war regular Army.

 

Last night I did Cairo for the first and last time

of my present stay here.  I went with a chap who is here

filling in time until he is released in a few weeks.