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