Michael Billings Collection - Wallet 12 - Part 10 of 16

8/

others race but the adoption of your
plan, while ensuring you a bit
more sleep perhaps would hardly
prove very beneficial to either of us.
I heartily agree with you that it
would be the acme of foolishness
for you to be sitting up until the
small hours writing to me. Give
me credit for fully appreciating the
exacting demands made on your time,
for that reason, you are perfectly
justified in writing to you me scrappy
letters and if it means that it will
keep you bright & healthy and the
laddie too, I applaud your wisdom
in placing your well-being first and
can distinctly recall chiding you
about trying to serve two masters. I
above all things don want to come
down to find either of you crocks.

9/

One will be plenty. Never get the
idea, however, that either you or
your letters lack importance to
me . If you saw me get one you
would change your mind smartly.
Deprivation of many things during
the last few years have somewhat
inured me to expect little and
when the cause is the welfare of
the two people I love so much, well
a chap would be a heel to whine
about missing out on a letter now
and then.
I would have dismissed most of
what you said, albeit ruefully but
one sentence stuck in my gullet
'Dope that I am'. If that was
meant to hurt, you have the satisfaction
of knowing it did. I agree with you
but not in the sense you intended
 

10/
I am pleased that you have not pulled
your punches and if I could feel
you were just toward me I would
act the gentlemen and try to make
amends. It's not the fact of getting
a strafing from you that hurts but
your own written confession of a
lack of faith in me. I had gathered
that you thought better of me 'cos
really, Kay I'm not such a bad
bloke.
After getting this far you will
see I have taken a leaf from your
book and called a spade a spade.
If it annoys you I shall be glad,
if it wounds you, at least be
assured that you weren't the only
one. Perhaps I should now
head it up and square off but
my temperament and temper (at

11/ 

present) is not the sort that turns
the other cheek and when I'm
cracked I hit back if I have
a leg to stand on.
I'm sending this in a
Green Envelope and will send
off one by ordinary post
tomorrow.
I'll say I'm glad this
is over but far better that we
clear the air pronto than be
nursing a grudge.
Naughty girl that you are
I still reckon youre the best
lover, wife & mother there is and
I love you and the little darlint
like hell and that isnt eyewash
either. Go to  bed early and in
peace,  sweetheart.
Micky 

1-2 44
ACTIVE SERVICE
FOR USE ONLY BY MEMBERS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MILITARY FORCES

AUSTRALIAN
MILITARY FORCES
PASSED BY CENSOR
943 

[ Up to three letters may be forwarded in this
envelope, but these must be all from the same writer.
The Cover should be addressed in such case to
"Base Censor" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Capital City).
The Covers of enclosed letters must be left oven
by sender.]

Address :- Mrs. M.  Billings
548 Barkers Road
East Hawthorn
Victoria 

PR00610
Australian
War Memorial

VX38483 Sgt. M. Billings
District Accounts Office
New Guinea
2. 2. 42

Darling Kay,
In a more amiable frame
of mind to that in which I
sent you a Green Envelope
letter last night , I start this
one so that I may catch up
on the variety of topics contained
in your recent letters.
I hope this finds the
babe & yourself feeling perky for
with the nips long delayed teeth
and one thing and another, you
were taking a pale view of
things in general . Now that the
mail service has caught up a
bit , I hope tomorrow will bring

2/

better reports of your welfare . I
shall be pleased and you too I bet,
when you can put paid to the
insistent demands of nursing Young
Richard . I mind well how the
hot weather failed to find favor in
your eyes so with the added drain
on your store of vitality, Summer
can get to hell out of it for yours.
I can well believe you were
incensed at the impertinence of
some dope who deigned to tell you
your brother joined up for adventure.
There are some decent lice in the
world, just evil in pouring salt into 
an open winde wound. Of course  we
any bloke worthy of his salt feels
the call for adventure when he
is young but greater considerations
are sufficient to keep everyone from 

3/

dashing off to the ends of the earth
just because a common bugs gives a
bit of a bite. That a call that was
strong enough to tear them from
all those they held dear indirectly
furnished them with an outlet for
that adventurous urge is purely
incidental . Anyway a short dose
of modern war soon tears to tatters
that glamorous adventure twaddle.
It's terrible that we have to endure
such goats but I find that most
people are just not big enough them
selves to understand things like pride
& sacrifice , let alone appreciate them.
Dont let that bilge even get you wild,
in the final reckoning those fine
lads who had a go will come out
on top . I see you have a bit of
gossip about your old mate Norm 

4/

Harris. You don't seem to like him
much but Madam please remember
you are referring to my superior
officer and as such will treat him
with the respect due to his rank.
Hoomph!  By Jove, you certainly
dished it out in that letter w  from
the shortcomings of the Pay Corps
to the musical  diarrhoeia from
next door.  However I shall leave
my defense of our illustrious body
until I come down but go easy 
on that Choco stuff. You're too
near the mark for one thing and
I still harbor the vestige of self 
respect. Still units don't carry Pay
Sgts around as ornaments I can tell
you and right up forward you can
send Mum a tenner if you've
got that much in your book.