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A soldier, then in Malaya, to his
sister, Mrs. D. J. Reynolds,
Morisset, N.S.W.:
"I HAD a few weeks firing the
train the A.I.F. took over.
"We had a good time while it
lasted.
"But there were times when it was
very hot. When these Jap bombers
came across our train they shot the
end off one carriage, but it was only
a goods truck, and there was no one
about. Of course, I was well away
as soon as they started, but they had
two or three goes at us.
"Our train was the last out of
Kuala Lumpur, and they had a go
at it, too, but we got it out all
right."
Corp. W. J. Rossiter with the
13th A.G H., then in Malaya,
to his mother, Mrs. Ida Rossiter,
Bland St., Yarram, Vic:
"I SAW some funny and some
poignant scenes during recent
raids.
"A sister who had been on night
duty was rudely awakened by the
hellish noise, and somehow, either
by accident or design, had her mattress
on her back and was on all
fours crawling along the verandah.
"Then there was a Chinese woman
with a small baby sheltering near
me.
"Probably to keep the baby quiet,
she was suckling him. The contented
gurgles of the child contrasted
with the mother's fear-full face.
"One cannot help but admire our
sisters' courage and endurance under
fire.
"I saw one unpacking her trunk
in the open during a blitz, and when
asked why she had not taken cover
during the raid she replied, "What
raid'?"
Staff Nurse M. V. Spencer in the
Middle East to Mrs. D. Moran,
Witchcliffe, W.A.:
"ON my way here I boarded a
train one night and found it
was a troop train and that I was
the only woman on it.
"I was in a carriage with two
young officers who were very nice.
"There were 13 coaches on the
train and it stopped half-way up
the first hill and had to go back
about a mile and a half to start
again. The conductor kept getting
out and walking. I suppose he
thought it was quicker.
"Just at this stage the lights
fused, and we had to strike matches
to have some coffee, tomato sandwiches,
and bread and jam, which
was all mixed up in a box. Abdul,
our batman, had packed it.
"Abdul was a blackfellow who
wore a white nightshirt and red hat
like those that are sold on Christmas
Eve with 'I'm no Angel' written on
them.
"At 2.30 a.m. someone announced
a hot meal. The others got out,
but I didn't want anything. Presently
one of them came back with
some sweet tea in a cut-off beer
bottle, a bread roll which resembled
a stone, with no butter, and a cold
hard-boiled egg with no salt. I ate
it with much difficulty, and was
glad to drink the tea to wash it
down.
"We arrived at 10 a.m. There was
no one to meet me. and as the
train had stopped in the middle of
a goods yard my friends in need
came to my assistance and got my
things off the train. I had to wait
three hours for the truck to bring
me out here."
A private in New Guinea to his
mother in Croydon, Vic:
"WE had noticed that the natives
wear armbands of plaited grass,
so the other day we bought a couple
and put them on.
"As soon as the 'Marys' (native
women) saw our armbands there
was a great commotion.
"They gave us flowers to decorate
ourselves with, and proceeded to do
the same themselves. They looked
rather nice with them in their hair.
"But as we didn't get what they
were hanging around for, we asked
the headman.
"It appears that the bands we
wore symbolise dancing, and mean
'We want to dance.'
"Of course, they put on a bit of
a turn, and singing. They feasted
us on bananas and watermelons, and
by the time we left we were sweet
with all."
Sapper D. Lee with a Forestry
Co. in England to his daughter,
Miss W. Lee, Smithton, Tas.:
"I MADE a tour of Berwick-upon-
Tweed with some of my mates.
It is rather a quaint old place and
one of the few remaining walled
towns in the British Isles.
"While having a rest by the old
stone walls a man came along and
asked us if we would like to come
across to his place and have a cup
of tea.
"In a little flat we sat down at
a table and were served high tea.
He put on a marvellous feed, including
real meat, real milk and
sugar, and a piece of real Scotch
shortbread.
"He then produced a bottle of
rhubarb wine—7 years old—and was
it wine?
"He showed us a genuine piece of
tapestry, a large Paisley shawl (£35
pre-war times) and plates cracked
with age (340 years old) of genuine
willow pattern to hold and wish
upon.
"You can guess what my wish was
—a quick return to the only country
in the world.''
A corporal resting at a Convalescent
Depot in Palestine to Miss
Norma O'Shannessy, Lang Rd.,
Centennial Park, N.S.W.:
"I HAVE been kept very busy putting
on concerts for the boys.
"Last week I put on a small
musical burlesque, and it was a
great success.
"Gee, Norm, you should have seen
the boys dressed as girls. Some of
them looked a scream.
"The funniest thing of the lot
was the fairy ballet.
"First, I had two soloists called
the 'Burka Sisters,' in a butterfly
fantasia.
"After their number ending in a
tremendous pivot and nearly knocking
themselves out, the 'Chorus
Girls' danced in.
"There were six of them, dressed
in little fairy skirts with spangled
frills around their necks and wrists.
"Well, talk about funny! Some
old men with bald heads and big
corporations, six-footers, four
footers, fat and thin, and all with
their heavy military boots on.
"It just about brought down the
house."
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