Michael Billings Collection - Wallet 9 - Part 7 of 12
VX 38483 Lnt M Billings
C. Section 2/5 Aust .Hy. A.A. Battery
A.I.F. 22.7.43
Darling Kay,
At last your silence has been broken
by a letter, that of the 7th July overtaking me today
and now I a start has been made a few of those
before and after this one should breeze in.
The letter certainly got a run for its money as it
has been to 4 places seeking me and has at last
found its man. The Army Post Office is pretty good
and don’t miss finding their man eventually if you
co-operate and notify changes of address. In addition
letters from Mum and John came along - so I feel
full of satisfaction today as both batches of news
were free of nasty things and after the worrying
days recently, its bonzer to know Richard and you
are at savouring the good things associated with
motherhood. Mum’s letter was written a week
later than yours and though I prefer to hear details of
you and the little chap's progress right from the
horses’ mouth, as it were, I was none the less pleased
to have a later bulletin telling me you were going along
by leaps and bounds. I suppose when you this reaches
you, hospital is long over with and the job of minding
Snookums has devolved solely into your capable
hands. I’m sure your earlier doubts of being able to
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cope with the delicate job have now disappeared that
you’ve got your hand in and you now perform the
ablutions etc. with a practised hand. I was
all agog when reading your description of the lad and
now have a fair idea what he looks like. He doesn’t
sound a bad sort of guy to his old man and it
doesn’t matter that he's not a glamor boy so long
as he's made right, in fact he sounds just like the
sort of child we would have and now you’ve had
him and have proved you can provide for him
in every way, he’ll turn out rather nicely under your
stern tutoring.
Now how about you? As Mum’s
letter was later than yours, I was ever so pleased
to read that you were full of beans and the hospital
people had looked after you so well. I can imagine
how you felt when the luxury of your first shower
came around. I, too, have suffered the indignity of
nurses washing me when crook and I never felt
clean lying in bed. I am such a whale on showers
that I’d just a soon have one as a feed. That
dependence on others is alright when you’re really crook
but when you feel like getting up and the Doc. says not no, hospital life gets on your quince. So with that
sage observation, the hospital chapter would seem to
be at an end except for the paltry business of .
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forking out for it all. However I won't talk about that
now until I know exactly what Billings & Co are in
the cart for and seeing Dame Fortune is smiling
upon us after many frowns, I hope I can surmount
that problem alright. I must say I agree with you
that further additions to the family are out for
the duration for the self same reasons you have
described not that I regret, one whit the advent of
Richard as the solitary life you were leading would
have gradually become unbearable and now you have
an absorbing interest to claim your whole attention,
time will pass more quickly and responsibility for
something very dear to you is yours and yours only.
Your life did change very quickly, for long weary
months doing nothing of consequence and finding
time such a burden. Then in a few hours, you went
through a whole gamut of experience, from pain,
exhaustion, despair, worry, hope, joy and fulfilment.
Funny business life: full of light and shade and one
thing that to seems to oppress you too much is
the memory of the physical pain. I always knew
that you would suffer in begetting your first child but
please don't let that cloud your thoughts too much,
it lies in the past and cannot hurt you now,
and our future is largely bound up in you and
your activities in the next twelve months and life
will be hard enough for you anyway. I'm sorry if
4
if I appear a heartless but in the past few years I've
had enough contact with bloodshed, pain and disease
to force me to view it with some detachment - or else.
War hardly tends to soften one when youve got an equal
show of being hurt like as the next bloke.
And now I've a confession to make,
my sweet. I have wondered if my flitting about of late
has excited your curiosity sufficiently for your intuition to
divine the reason. To cut it short, I've been a bit
crook myself. (Lucky family arent we?) Felt pretty
lousy about the end of May so went to see what
what it was this time. Temp. was 102 so off I
was bunged to the Field Ambulance feeling hot
and shivery and with the daddy of all headaches
so hanged if I wasn't admitted. They took some
blood for testing and danged if it wasn't malaria.
So off to hospital by plane and how were the
cool white sheets. Anyhow I feel as good as gold
after three days and after bludging under suppressive
treatment for another week, I went to the Con.
camp up in the hills where they toughened me
up for another two weeks. So I've left there
and am now at the Reception Camp waiting to
go back and am I fed up. Anyhow sweetheart, I'm
better than ever now so close hoping you feel as
good too. All my love to Richard and
Mummy from your old man Micky
PR00610
Australian
War Memorial
AMERICAN RED CROSS
22 . 7 43
AUSTRALIAN
MILITARY FORCES
Passed By CENSOR
3652
Air Mail
Mrs. M. Billings
548 Barkers Road
East Hawthorn
Victoria
VX 38483 Lt. M. Billings
2/5 Aust. Hy. A.A. Battery.
A.I.F. 24.7.43
Darling Kay,
Still more good news from
you per' your letters of 2nd, 4th & 11th July
received yesterday and now the gate has
been opened the bunch still coasting about
should not be long in turning up. Yours
of the 11th was particularly interesting as I
see by the address that you've shaken the dust
of the hospital from your heels and taken your
self and one only infant back to Barkers Road
I suppose you were none the less pleased as I
know how tedious those places are once you’re
on your feet. The progress you report is very
heartening to me and its beaut. that you
are now so well and it’s easily seen by
your letters that you have left the sick
feeling behind and a little more time should
see you the girl you were when last I saw
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you. Glad too my letters continue to get to
you O.K, I still get a thrill when you tell
me that they help you along and now my
travels are nearly over at least for a while
I don't anticipate any difficulty in getting them
away to you according to schedule. The
latest dope about the young master was
avidly read and it appears that my opinion
that his the greatest ever is fully justified
even if he is a bit of a cad and a stinker
for a start. Of course it has given me a
swollen head not only because 'its a boy'
(I was sure of that) but a handsome hefty
fellow to boot. It would have been lousy
if he had been a sickly codger but as we
have never knocked ourselves about in riotous
living, I suppose we are entitled to a robust
child. Gee, I would give anything to see
him but I shall take a leaf from your book
and stop wishing for the moon. After all,
nearly three months are up and it doesn't
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seem to have been nearly that long so the
period of waiting may come around not prove
so burdensome as I expect.
I hope the news of my illness
did not upset you much; only four for our
no secrets compact, I wouldn't have mentioned
it but there you are I'm a man of my word.
It was only a mild attack and the analysis
from blood tests showed it to be the least
virulent type of malaria. I personally think
it was a relapse from attacks of fever I
suffered in the Middle East. Anyhow I'm
long over it now and feel one hundred
percent and for a reason I shall tell you
about shortly I should steer clear of further
bouts. The worst feature of it was the
idleness during and after the fever subsided
chained to the confines of hospital, con.
camp and now the reception camp with not
much to do but read, mooch about and
spine bash. That combination makes one
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terribly lazy and after a while any effort is
just too much trouble. So I want to snap
out of that kind of thing and get on to a job
to keep mind and body active and I think
release from my present abode is in sight
at last. I told you a few letters back that
when visiting the town I came upon what
looked like an opportunity to do a bit of
good for myself in the line of business from
which I earned a crust in civvy life. So
I went and saw the head serang of the
unit concerned and he told me he could
use me if I could get a transfer from the
Ack Ack. So after much pondering I wrote
the chief for same and yesterday I received
a reply saying he would raise no objection
to a transfer being aeffected. Armed with
that I again saw the new people and
arrangements are now in hand to put it
through. So it looks as though I've severed
my connection with my old mob and I can
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