Letters of Jack Lusby Burns, 1941-1945 - Part 5

4.
sat down to breakfast a covey of quail
flew into the grass about 100 yds from our
quarters. I think we will be having quail
for a meal very soon now. Also, later on
a I saw a species of snipe (smaller than
our birds).
I hope by now that you
have received all parcels and money
I am eagerly looking forward to the
parcel which you have posted mother.
The latest craze is canoeing
For about £1 you can buy a really
good native canoe equipped with sails
However as the canoes are very light an
thereby requiring a skilled operation more
often than not the boys are the
one who go “sailing” (into the water.) The
advent of a 15 ft crocodile being
caught the other day has somewhat
dampened their ardour moreso too when
a 10 ft shark was seen swimming
close to the shore.
The sea shore here is of
rare formation seen from a distance
you would swear it was a sandy beach,
however, on closer inspection it turns out
[*to be coral. This coral goes out for about 20-30 yds when it suddenly goes down to a depth of 6-10 fathoms
The water is so clear that you can see the bottom. Heard
that Essendon beat Carlton so Uncle Bert will be disheartened. Cheerio
my darlings - Hugs & Kisses Tons of love Your Loving Son Jack*]
 

4
a transport officers desk at the moment, &
from where I am you can get occasional
glimpses of the sea ridden by “white horses”,
through swirling patches & eddies of dust.
Met one of the local whites, who
comes from Forster Avenue East Malvern
I used to play cricket against him.
Cheerio my darlings will write
again on Sunday next.
Tons of hugs & kisses
Your Loving Son
Jack.
How’s the football dad - thanks for sending
the bulletins I haven't received one yet.
Lets hope receive the hamper oK.
Saw Bob Sherrington today. Got quite
a surprise when I saw him.
He is coming to dinner with me
tomorrow night. Contact Miss Sherrington
she will be able to tell you more.
 

No. 2.
VX 39159
Lieut. J.L. Burns
No.1. Indep. Coy.
A.I.F. abroad.
Friday
My Dears.
Twas grand to hear your
voice over the phone the other day
dad although it was a pity
that mother was not present. The
call cost me 25/3 although it was
worth every penny of it.
For the rest of the day on
leave I wandered round and
enjoyed the scenic sights of the
place. I contact Mrs Arnold after
you told me to Dad. When I
arrived there (very late at 6.30) and
left again at 7.35) I was quite
surprised to see that Mr Arnold
is now a Lt.-Col.
Unfortunately they had
finished their dinner but Mrs
Arnold had put mine aside
 

2
boxing tournament. It was a
great success. Afterwards
one of the locals connected
a qramophone of his to a
pick up on the radio and we
had a dance. The white
people for miles around came
to see the racing etc. In
fact the whole white population
for at least 200 miles came to
see the events.
‘Flash’ of the week.
Tuesday night last saw
Bob Sherrington he came
here on a round cruise.
He looks exceptionally well
& was with two other chaps
whom I knew.
There have been
in outbreak of German measles
here. I’ve had them experiencing
the same symptoms as when I
 

3
last had measles. All the
lads who had them were
placed in quarantine and
did they lament when they
could not get to the Races.
Received your letter
dated 8 Oct. Dad. Very
Sorry to hear of Mr Vizes demise.
Glad to see that you are
winning a few spoons. You’ll
have to be prepared for a few
late meals now that the old
boy has started his bowls Mum.
In case I neglected
to mention previous. I have
forwarded in a camphor wood
box quite a number of parcels
Some are for you mother
others for Xmas presents
to the aunts. & Joan.
For a comparison
of prices here. Beans are 6’ a lb.
Started to grow a moustache
 

4.
again I wonder how far I
will get with it.
Just managed to
buy a £1’s worth of cigarettes
If you want to supply me
with anything dad magazines
would not go for astray.
Must away now
Cheerio my dears
Your Loving Son
Jack.
JL Burns

10 0 - 0
6 - 9 -10

4  10  -
VX 39159.
Lieut. J.L. Burns.
No. 1. INDEP Coy.
A.I.F. Abroad
24/10/41.
My dear Darlings
Received last
night a letter from you dad
Its great getting letters from home
It was dated 8 Oct.
Life here at the
moment is extremely busy.
Tomorrow will witness the first
“house-race”, ever run on this
island. White people are
coming from hundreds of miles
around. All Chinatown is
expected to be there (These chaps
are born gamblers betting I
believe as much as £50 on a
race.) The coons (niggers) are
extremely interested. They as
yet haven’t become used to the
 

2.
white man’s magic or mad
ways. At night there is to be
at combined wrestling and
boxing tournament together with
a concert. It should be a
certainly a grand show.
3/11/41.
I really should be
ashamed of myself for not having
finished the above letter but
I did not seem to have time
to get down, to it. As we
know haven’t received letters
for a fortnight so am looking
forward to a big mail when
it next comes in.
Dad you asked if you
could get anything for me:
I’d be very much obliged if you
could secure some ‘PREP’
before shaving cream. It is
put out in jars. Also some
 

3.
of those ELASTOPLAST first
aid dressings. They are put out
in tins.
Well by now the great
day of — is now past.
The day of 25/10/41 witnessed
the First Race Day ever
held here. I, as above, was in
charge of the ‘Tote. We took out
10% for the local War effort
and managed to make £30
so you can see that over
£300 passed through the
Tote - all on 2/- tickets.
We number up to 12,000 tickets.
They were six horses in each
race and six races. As we
only had 24 horses some of them
had to race twice. The chap
who broke them in, within
the period of a month, was
and still is, the present rough
 

4
riding champion of Australia.
As I was on the Tote I didn’t
have a bet.
Night witnessed the
boxing and wrestling tournament.
Unfortunately, quite a number
of the chaps had been giving
it a bash and the fights
were more of a comic opera
than the real things. Tattoo
was put back until midnight
The items rendered by the various
artists were quite good. About
11 p.m. we ^(forty of us) grabbed the too eligible
young females and had a dance.
One of the locals supplied a gramophone
and a pickup.
Dad guess what.
I am now the ½ owner
a car a 1928 NASH. It
cost me £35 plus £4.4.0. registration
and 10/- for a licence. The