Correspondence relating to William Dunstan, August - December 1945 - Part 9

2.
While I was in the Middle East before coming 

here all the Americans were suddenly whisked out of 

Palestine so they wouldn't be involved when the Jews

started their fun and games.

I am afraid the white man has lost a lot of

prestige through this war, particularly with the Indians 

and the Indonesian races. They have seen the white man 

defeated by the Japs and because the latter were never really 

annihilated in the field like the Germans were, they think

it might be possible again. The majority of them are so

ill-informed and uneducated that they will swallow any

propaganda which is thrust down their throats.

Here in India there are 15,000 Indian National 

Army awaiting trial for waging war against the King Emperor.

Most of them were P.O.W's taken at Singapore.

Several of the Indian newspapers are very anti-

British, but it is very difficult to tell whether the

population is or not. Reading one of the Sunday papers

I would gather that its policy is to stir up as much trouble

as possible between England, U.S.A. and Russia, which is not

a very difficult thing to do these days.

If everyone wasn't so afraid of the frightful

consequences of the atom bomb I would say that there was 

likely to be another world war in a year or two.

I am afraid that the anti-typhoid injection 

which I had today hasn't made this letter very cheerful but

I will try to do better next time.

There is no more news about demobilisation but

I think there is a fair chance of my getting out by June 1946.

What I will do then I just don't know. Not knowing anything

about anything makes it rather a problem. Some of the 

more desperate ones in my position are staying in the Army,

but having done nothing since last June I couldn't face up to 

doing nothing for the rest of my life. I feel that I 

could make a success of something if only I knew what that
something was. Perhaps I ought to see a psychiatrist or one

of those chaps who feels the knobbly parts of one's skull. 

I must go off now and have my daily lime juice 

and water!!

Lots of love - 

BILL

[*FORCES
MAIL*]

Miss K. I. Robertson

"The Herald and Weekly Times"

44-74 Flinders Street

Melbourne

Victoria

AUSTRALIA

W. Dunston

Capt. 

 

309493

Capt. W. Dunstan

Officers Wing

RA Base Depot

Deolali

India

16 NOV.

309493

Capt. W. Dunstan

Officers Wing

RA Base Depot

Deolali

India

9 Nov. 45

Dear Miss Robertson

It is ages since 

I last wrote to you but I hope

you will forgive me.

At present I am out of a job 

so I have plenty of time to get 

stuck into my huge 

pile of unanswered letters.

I am sorry to have to confess 

that some of them date back

to 1944.

I suppose Dad has kept 

you informed of my doings so 

I wont give you a long account 

of what you probably already 

know. I have seen a lot of 

countries in the past two

years but the greatest thrill

of all was spending 6 weeks

in England before coming 

to India. I travelled about 

the country quite a lot and 

although I was seeing the

country at its worst, often

6 years of war, I thoroughly

enjoyed it. Everyone was

very kind and I was given

a very good time. I met 

a lot of Australian newspaper

people there including Mr & 

Mrs Curtis Wilson, Doug

Wilkie, Osman White, Ray

Simmonds, Bill Christie, Bert

Wolfe, Jack Mouchemore, Charlie

Baumgartner, Hugh Syme,

Frank Packer and countless 

others. One would have 

thought that all the Australian

newspapers had decided to

transfer to London. Knowing

so many people it was seldom

that I was at a loose end in

London. I also met Eleanor 

McFarlane who used to do

"Corinella" in "Ginger Meggs". 

She married King Watson of the

Daily Telegraph. 

As I have been in India 

only for a week I can't tell 

you very much about it. Deolali

is about 100 miles north east 

of Bombay and 2000 feet up

so the weather is very pleasant

at this time of the year. I am

spending most of my time in 

the local swimming pools while

awaiting posting.

Don't let Dad work too 

hard although I suppose it is 

impossible to stop him. Best

wishes for a very happy first post

war Christmas.

Yours sincerely

Bill.

November 12, 1945

(dictated 10/11/45)

Dear Bill, 

Colonel Gordon Jenkins has been in this week

and I asked him what was the best way to get you separated

from the Army. He said he would make enquiries.

Later he reported that he had enquired from

Lieutenant Colonel G.E.N. Everett, at British Army Headquarters 
in Melbourne, who said that if you could get a 

letter from your prospective employer saying that you had 

a job to come to; that it was urgent for you to get to it

in order not to lose your opportunity; - and that letter

could be presented to Colonel Everett, he would get busy

immediately and it should not be long before you could get

your discharge. 

This is just an urgent note to you dictated 

before I go off to Sydney, so that I won't waste another

week, because I may not get time to write to you next week,

but - as soon as you get it - please signify your desires 

either by cable or by air letter. 

In the meantime, I am getting a letter from 

George Caro saying that he has a job waiting for you and

he wants you to come back to it as quickly as possible.

I shall hold his letter until I hear from you and if you 

say "go ahead" I shall then go and see Colonel Everett

and present George's letter to him.

You should have a big batch of mail when you
get to India so you won't want a great lot more, but please 

treat this as URGENT AND IMPORTANT. 

Fondest love from us all.

November 12, 1945.

(dictated 10/11/45)

G.A. Caro Esq.

Managing Director,

Gollin & Company

561 Bourke Street,

MELBOURNE. C.1.

Dear George,

I am attaching draft of the 

letter I suggest you should address to 

Colonel Everett for Bill regarding the

job. If you will put it on your 

paper and sign it and send it back to me,

then, as soon as I get word from Bill

signifying his consent I shall present it

to Colonel Everett at British Army Headquarters 
here.

This is just a hasty note

written prior to departure for Sydney.

Best thanks and regards.

Yours truly,

Mr W Dunstan

The Herald and Weekly Times

44-74 Flinders Street

Melbourne

Victoria

AUSTRALIA

 

FOR USE OF H. M. FORCES ONLY 

Written in English (Language)

                 {No 309493

Sender's {Rank Capt.

                 {Name W. DUNSTAN

Signature W Dunstan

309493 Capt. W. Dunstan, Officers Wing,

RA Base Depot, Deolali, India

12 Nov.

1

My Dear Dad

Today I received quite a 

pile of letters, the first I have had

from Australia since leaving England.

They included yours of Sept 1, Sept 25 

and Oct 14, three from Mum, one 

from Helen and also one from Sir 

Ewen Mackay. There must still be

a few to come yet. I will try to

answer all your questions first.

I very much doubt whether I will

be given a useful job in India 

because of my relatively low

release group makes me rather a 

short term policy for any unit.

I will probably get an RTO job in

the middle of some desert! However,

I think it will be impossible for

you to wangle my release because

the scheme is seen carried out so

strictly that everybody must wait

his turn. Unfortunately the British 

release scheme only takes into account

age and service. Overseas service

does not count any more than home 

service which means that a chap

who sat in the war office in London

for 5½ years and who is now 25 years

of age gets out at the same time 

as I do. The younger one is, the longer 

he has to stay in, so the fact that 

I joined up when I was 19 more or 

less cancels out my long service.

This is the unfair aspect of the

scheme in my opinion, because

the boy who joined up at 19 at 

the beginning of the war, didn't 

have time to start a career, and

now by the time he gets out, he

will be too old in many cases.

It was very good of you to go to all

the trouble of arranging the American

tour - it certainly looks very good 

on paper. It would be a wonderful 

experience and I still think I ought

to do it before I come home. I 

believe that I can be demobilised 

either in England or Australia.

If you want me to come straight 

home I will I do so but it might 

be years before I get the opportunity 

of going to USA and I have heard so

much about the "bigger, brighter 

and better land" from the Yanks

that I want to judge it for myself.

The only catch is that I wouldn't

allow you to finance the trip.

During the last 25 years I have 

been a very expensive luxury 

to you so I think it is about 

time I paid my own way for a 

change. By the time I get out of 

the army I should have at least

£500 sterling plus about £100 of

negotiable booty which I have 

acquired from time to time. If

I worked my passage across the 

Atlantic and then across the 

Pacific it would save e a lot 

of money in travel fares which are

red hot these days. Doing a bit 

Mr W Dunstan

The Herald and Weekly Times

44-74 Flinders Street

Melbourne

Victoria

AUSTRALIA

FOR USE OF H. M. FORCES ONLY 

written in English (Language)

                 {No 309493

Sender's {Rank Captain RA

                 {Name W. DUNSTAN

Signature W Dunstan