Letters of Frederick James Cooper, 463827 Dvr./Sgm. NZEF 1944-45 To: Mrs FJ Cooper, 2 Hindmarsh St. Johnsonville. NZ.

Events: Departed Wellington: 31 Mar 1944?Arrived Canal Zone: 05 May 1944.Arrived Italy, Bari: 02 Aug 1944.Active service, NZ Armoured Brigade: 16 Sep 1944?Returned to Div Sigs, R Section: Dec??B Section: 03 Feb 1945.Visit to Ravenna, 04 Jan 1945?Visit to Rome, leave, Feb 1945 (Photo).Trip to Maserata, 29 Mar 1945 Trip to Austria, 1-8 Jun 1945Promoted L/Cpl, 28 Jun 1945?Trip to Italian Alps, 1-8 Jul 1945?Trip to Florence, Aug 1945Advised returning to NZ, 03 Sep?Trip to Adv Base, 04 Sep 1945? (escort duty???)Departed Suez SS Fort McLoughlin 19 Sep 1945Arrived Port Kembla 01 Nov 1945Arrived Sydney 02 Nov 1945Arrived Wellington: ? Nov 1945.

5 th Day at Sea. Letter 1. Dearest Ri, as I commence this letter we are within 4 hours of having five complete days at sea. Actually while it is two o’clock in good old NZ we are about to have lunch having lost time en route. You will smile when I tell you that I wrote four pages yesterday but somehow they have gone astray & I have to start again. You know how much that hurts. I put the half completed letter between the pages of a book I am reading and cannot understand how they could have gone astray as except for a short while reading in my hammock last night the book has been in my jacket all the time. So far the sea has treated us kindly altho’ poor sailor that I am it was too much for me for the first three days during which I was pretty crook. For the first time yesterday I could go about without feeling that I would vomit at any moment. Seasickness is certainly a miserable thing. Until dinner time yesterday I had not eaten anything since we put to sea & I was beginning to feel somewhat weak. Today I feel that I will thoroughly enjoy my dinner about to be served. LATER: Have just finished dinner & altho’ the meal was not very appetising I quite enjoyed it which shows how much better I am. Saw Tom on the wharf & he gave me the news that Ron was to go home on Friday. Was not feeling too happy at leaving good old NZ so the news was very welcome, especially as I felt his return home would help tide you over the first few days following my departure. Tell Tom that his parcel came to hand safely & I appreciate his gift & good wishes immensely. Will write to him at the first available opportunity. Only received the parcel yesterday when one of the few chaps I knew in A.S.C. told me it was lying around the mess & had been there for two or three days. Was too sick to worry about such things until yesterday. Was lucky to get the parcel really as in such crowded surroundings it could easily have been lost or picked up by somebody else without my knowing. Have received some great surprises since being aboard at meeting old friends. Was very surprised to see George Broad who by now you will know is with us. Had only just started yarning to him when who should turn up but Lindsay Haye. Got a great kick meeting him again. Wendy is working in Wgtn so will give you her address in later correspondence. And so it goes on. Conditions aboard can better be imagined than described & you would have to see us to believe what it is like. We sleep (in hammocks) & eat within the narrow confines of the hold & at nights we are like a lot of monkeys in trees climbing into our hammocks slung above tables & anywhere elsewhere space is sufficient. The morale of the men is good & we all take it as a great lot of fun. Let us hope we are the same towards the end of the voyage. So far we have not had any warm weather and only a hardy few have got down to shorts. We expect the warmer weather from next weekend onwards.Yesterday was an eventful day in that it gave us our first sight of foreign shores which were visible early in the morning. We were quite close in about midday but have since lost sight of land again altho’ a plane occasionally appears showing that we are not far off shore. I thought we might call in at the port where Jack Fowles posted his first mail but we did not & our first port of call is to be …… (Censor will not permit but your guess will be a good one). Will post this letter by Air Mail in the hope that it will reach you before next week.

Friday will bring Easter which I hope you will enjoy to the full. Sorry I can’t be with you!Later - near bedtime. And so our dear son is home from hospital at long last. Altho’ I was unable to be there to welcome him home in person I was there in thoughts - very much so! Well son all the best and I trust you are now on the high road to lasting good health. Look after him well Mum.To date our ship has proved herself to be a very sea worthy one in fact while not yet properly tested I think you can rest assured that she is an exceptionally stout vessel.We have no indication of our destination & even if we had I could not pass it on but in due course you will learn of our arrival & the length of the journey will afford you some idea of our whereabouts. There is quite a lot I could write about but conditions are not conducive of writing long letters so I will close & see about getting up on deck for a breath of fresh air before retiring for the night. Well my sweethearts both goodnight dears & God bless you & care for you until we are all reunited once again. Oh how I wish I could slip over to see you as has been my habit until lately. Never mind it will soon be over & it is a great thing to look forward to. Regards to all old friends & relatives, Your ever loving husband, Fred.

Bill Binning (ex Marshall Btn, H.G. and Mildred East’s husband) also aboard.

7th day at sea. Dvr. FJ Cooper ASC NZAPO 800 NZEF Overseas (posted Perth 10 Apr 1944) Letter 2.

Dearest Ri, having a few spare minutes and feeling a little lonesome I thought it a good idea to sit down to write you a short note. We are not allowed to date our letters but you can work out the day when I tell you that in 1hr 20mins it will be exactly a week since we put to sea. That does not include the time we spent cruising around the harbour to be equipped with life jackets, being allotted emergency boat stations etc. We have just finished our midday meal but you will be busy preparing tea which if you are following our old custom you will be having in an hour & a quarters time. On our westward voyage we are steadily losing time but so far I have left my watch on NZ time. However I think I will alter it soon as I find it too frequent a reminder of home - every time I refer to my watch I am reminded of you & frankly it hurts to realise that with the passing of time we are being separated more widely.Yesterday we ran into rather rougher weather and it has proved too much for me. Last night I was very sick just before going to bed & altho’ I enjoyed a good night’s rest I did not feel too good this morning but feel quite a lot better since dinner. I am afraid I am a poor sailor.Conditions for writing here are very poor & this is being written on a heaving floor while the mess orderlies wash down the mess tables. On the recreation deck there are only 2 small tables always well occupied so opportunities are no better there.Well my dears how are you faring & has my leaving upset you at all? I long to hear from you but anticipate it will be some time before mails catch up with us. This by the way is my second letter to you.Speaking to Lt. O’Hara yesterday he told me that my transfer to Div Sigs is almost assured as soon as we reach our destination. This raises the issue as to how you should address letters to me. I don’t know what to advise. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to write in bottom left-hand corner of envelope: “If not known ASC try Div Sigs” As soon as I know definitely whether I am to stay as ASC or go back to Sigs I will let you know.How is Ron? Well I hope and pleased to be home no doubt!It looks as though we will have no opportunity of making purchases at our first port of call on account of the shops being closed but if it can be managed I will send a small memento of the visit.One has to be careful in giving you news as it all too easy to say something which the censorship does not allow. I mention this in case I appear vague at times.So far we have had practically no sunshine & the weather is by no means warm. There have been strong cold winds which detract from the pleasure of being outside on deck. Battledress is still being worn by most of the chaps.Was speaking to Haye this morning. Like myself he seemed to be feeling a little homesick but we will soon get over that. In my own case I notice it more when feeling out of sorts.In spite of our discomforts we are a happy ship & thanks to a fairly busy programme of work thro’out the day the time passes fairly quickly, but there is no doubt that after the trip thro’ the tropics we will all be pleased to reach our destination for travel under these conditions is not the most pleasant of pastimes. The two main drawbacks are lack of washing facilities (clothes) & the crowded sleeping & messing facilities. Still conditions aboard could be much worse.Tobacco is very cheap aboard. 8½d for a 2oz pkt of Prize Crop of which there is plenty in the Canteen. Tell Father.

I will finish now & go up on deck for a breath of fresh air. The boys say it is looking a bit brighter. Will add more later. Cheerio sweetheart.Later, 5.50pm. Have just finished tea & can imagine you as having finished supper & possibly actually in the course of going to bed.For an obvious reason we have had a holiday today & this afternoon I have spent quietly reading, watching the scenery (outlook offers more interest than usual) & having a haircut, the latter necessitating a wait of an hour or more in a queue.This is the last sheet of this writing paper so will have to be the last.I am sitting on the Recreation Room deck & am surrounded by a seething mass of humanity all swaying to & fro with the ship’s motion. Two rival schools of “housie” are in play & the din is terrific. In the far corner I see the padre making arrangements for evensong. A soldier’s life presents some strange contrasts.I have spent some pleasant hours watching those wonderful birds the albatrosses a number of which have been following the ship for days.Feel just about OK again now. Swell has moderated & conditions now quite pleasant.No doubt you will give me full news about Ron in your letters. I am most anxious to know how he is, what he is doing & how he has settled down at home.Well dearest must close now so with all sorts of loving thoughts to you both I will say goodnight.Ever yours lovingly, Fred.

Dearest Ri, spending day in Perth but owing to it being Sunday will not be able to send an Easter gift. Weather perfect & am looking forward to an enjoyable day. Am well & happy but still a little bit homesick. Wish you be here to share our sightseeing. Landscape & scenery quite different from anything in NZ & all very strange to our eyes.Forgot to mention previously, have seen Herbie Neale.Main object today are (1) a good feed, (2) a bath. Hope latter can be arranged for I feel very dirty there being only the poorest facilities for washing self & clothing aboard. Time 11.10 here so you will be having afternoon tea.Lots & lots of love to you both. Fred.

Letter No.3 - 13 th day at sea

Dearest Ri, I am not permitted to give the date but you can work it out when I state that today is our 13 th day since we left NZ. I hope you have by now received the two previous letters sent by air mail.We were fortunate in obtaining a second leave ashore & altho’ I made a thorough search I could not see any suitable present to send you. However I have made arrangements for a friend newly made in the city to buy one of those typical wooden vases or something similar & he will send it on to you. We were very fortunate in meeting some very fine people here and the hospitality is truly remarkable. We spent most of the day with a Mr. James, Asst. Gen. Manager of a big oil firm & he has promised to write to you in the near future. It is his Sales Manager who is to send the parcel for me. We met these good folk by calling into the firm. Jack Ellisen works for the same firm back home.Had tea & afterwards spent evening at Harvey’s (Mr. James Christian name) & thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Mrs. James is an especially fine woman & their daughter Dorothy plays the piano very nicely.Please excuse poor writing but this is being written sitting on deck in an awkward position. Brilliant warm sunshine. The climate here is absolutely wonderful & since we arrived hardly a cloud is to be seen & the sun beats down with great intensity. Some complain of it being too hot but I love it. We are surprised that we are able to enjoy it for so long.The scene around me is full of interest but I am not allowed to describe it. Not beautiful but very interesting & Ron would be thrilled to see some of the things one can see. From a scenic view point the country is much prettier a few miles distant - quite different from any NZ scenery. Harvey took us for a drive into the country.Had a grand day last Sunday which was spent having a good look round the grand city of ….. [Perth]. Visited nearly all points of major interest.There goes the bugle for (Jack) for dinner so must adjourn to mess. Am really hungry so will enjoy the meal.Succeeded in having both good feed & wash on Sunday. Will try & add a few lines later.Here we are again. The loudspeaker has just intimated that mail will close soon so I will have to hurry. The writing position is no more comfortable & the sun is much hotter.

There is much news I could write about but the censorship requires that we shall not say anything which may disclose our whereabouts so one must eliminate all news of a local colour which of course covers mostly all that we could write about.To generalise. I like [Perth?] Immensely & myself believe it a better city than we have in NZ & the weather is just perfect but the people say that now is the best time of the year the really hot weather having passed. The people have given us a great time & one has to partake their hospitality to appreciate it. The people are more effected by the war than you are in NZ.How are these pencil written letters reaching you? The old pen is not functioning too well with the ink available & pencil is so much more convenient.I still miss you awfully but no doubt I will get over that as time goes on. Having seen so much of you right up to the time I left it is only natural that I should feel it more than others who have been away from home more.I hope Ron is well & happy to be home. Tell him I will write to him as soon as I can but believe me the facilities for writing aboard are not too good. Same applies to Clare. Sorry I could not her anything but suitable articles are just not to be had. Give her my love meantime.Well dearest I really must close now. Without my saying just how I feel you will know dear for my thoughts are so deep I am sure you must be conscious of them.And so my sweethearts, all my love, Fred.

Letter 4, 16 th day.

My Dearest Ri, today being Sunday we are exempt from the usual parades, training lectures, etc and so I am able to write & give you news of our recent activities.Again I am writing whilst sitting in a rather awkward position on the fore deck. There is a brisk breeze which relieves the hot sun beating down with unaccustomed strength. The sea is beautifully calm & it is delightful travelling under such conditions. Since leaving we have not enjoyed much bright sunshine at sea, in fact yesterday morning was the longest spell we have had. In the afternoon it turned cloudy & during the night we were in thick fog which lasted until about 8am this morning when the sun broke thro’.At last I have mastered the seasickness & since starting on the second lap of our journey I felt quite alright. The sea has been calm so I should not boast altho’ after so long ashore at …… (cannot say how long but triple Wendy’s age & you have the period in days) I was anticipating the loss of my sea legs.After I last wrote we had further shore leave for half a day & again I tried to find something to send you, Ron and Clare but without success. There were only the usual run of things in the shops just the same as back home & one could not see anything possessing a local colour. All clothing etc required coupons so while there were many things I would really have liked to send it was out of the question on a/c of having no coupons - apart from the expense.When I last wrote we anticipated leaving port within a few hours & in fact early the next morning the tugs drew alongside, the band was out on the wharf playing the usual farewell music & we all thought our stay had ended when to our surprise our departure was cancelled. During the morning arrangements were made for us to have leave from 2.30pm until midnight & needless to say we were all very happy at this turn of events. The extra proved rather expensive for I had the misfortune to lose a 10/- note. The afternoon I spent looking for presents and after tea at one of the Service Clubs Jack Ellison & myself went to the pictures. Personally I thoroughly enjoyed the show but seemingly it did not suit Jack.I wonder whether you have rightly guessed the place where we have been. I should imagine that you have because I have given pretty broad hints & it was along the line we assumed we would follow. The city of …… I found immensely interesting & being as impartial as I am able I feel justified in saying it is a finer city than any in NZ. I would love that we could visit it together! The hospitality and good fellowship of the people has left a very lasting impression. Dick will be able to tell you of their well organised and conducted Service Club where all a soldiers requirements are catered for without a penny’s cost. One club is especially good.My impression which is confirmed by others is that their girls are prettier than NZ girls & they certainly show more discerning taste in their dress. Apparently they mature younger - probably climatic effect - for one sees many very young mothers. Or is it a tribute to their good looks?Shops carry much the same lines as of stock as do NZ merchants but I fancy that prices in ….. are somewhat higher than in NZ. Some of the shops are very big - even bigger than the Farmers in Auckland. It would take too long to give you all my impressions of ….. so I will leave the subject until that great day when I can tell you all about it face to face.I spent this morning washing. Ones clothing quickly gets very grubby here on ship & the job of washing clothes is a problem of some magnitude as the facilities are extremely poor. However I managed to find a tap of hot salt

water which I used to good advantage. No the colour is not the best but the smell is much improved! No provision is made for ironing at all.Packed as we are here aboard sleeping conditions with the hot nights are pretty awful & one awakes with a thick head & an awful taste in the mouth in the morning. I stood it until 4am this morning when I came up on deck to be treated to the spectacle of the convoy navigating in thick fog. Quite interesting but not without its anxieties for the ships officers.With this fine weather all hands are on deck & as I look around the decks present an interesting sight - a mass of humanity in all sorts of uncomfortable positions - some asleep others writing reading etc & some just sitting probably thinking of “home sweet home”.Don’t see much of Haye, Herbie, or George. They are aft while I am forward & we keep pretty much to our respective zones. Have already had one Patriotic parcel. The whole ships company was given a pkt of barley sugar & 30 cigs about 10 days ago & word has gone round that a further gift will take place shortly. Very acceptable. And so my efforts on the Board’s behalf, small tho’ they were, have brought reward in a tangible form after all.Tell Tom that the cake is very nice. I have a piece for supper each night. About the last thing I do before starting the adventurous task of climbing into hammock (which is away up amongst the girders in the ceiling) is to cut a slice of cake which I eat as I undress. Will be starting on Auntie Vic’s cake about Tues or Wed.Have you taken over the job as Secretary to the Lodge? If so how is it going?We are all looking forward to mail but I expect we will have to wait a while yet. I am impatient to hear news of you & Ron. Hope you have rec’d the mail which has gone forward from our recent port of call. It is not an easy task to write an interesting letter when one has to bear in mind the censorship requirements. I try not to offend but I doubt whether my efforts are fully successful. So far I have not written to anyone except you. Other letters must wait until letter writing facilities are rather better. Please ring Eddy & tell him I am well & will write in the future.The meals aboard are fairly good & one cannot complain altho’ eating under such conditions in not the best. By the way I lost 5lbs on the first stage. No doubt the effect of illness - both sea and homesickness during the first week.We are all wondering what our next port of call will be. There is much speculation but nothing definite & your guess is as good as mine. I fear I am exhausting the news about which I can write. Of course there is much else but our friend the censor would most likely object so I will leave it. I will put this aside meantime & add to it later. Now for a smoke & a quiet (?) read. You will have just finished seeing Ron to bed & oh how I wish I could be there with you both. Silly aren’t I to talk like that when I have barely started.Next day. Another beautiful day. Nice & warm but not too sunny. Fresh breeze. Sea good altho’ there is a moderate swell which however the ship is riding nicely. Am sitting in the same posy as yesterday, having just finished midday dinner & am waiting for our afternoon programme to commence at 2pm. Our officers are doing good work in making the time pass & we have many interesting discussions usually of course on military subjects.We are required to have our lifejackets (Mae Wests) with us always & they are an inseparable part of our beings while we are at sea. They go with us everywhere in fact they are usually tied in some manner to our bodies so you can imagine us as a lot of crabs the Mae Wests forming our shells. At the moment my MW is serving as a nice soft cushion on which to sit. The weather in these parts is perfect & during our stay at ….. we hardly saw a cloud in the sky the whole time. During the middle of the day the heat was rather excessive but I found it much to my liking & could enjoy such weather throughout the year. Local inhabitants say that in mid summer the heat is really trying & we were fortunate in being there after the very hot weather was over. By the way they put away top coats in Sept & never use them again until about May so you can contrast that with Wgtn’s fickle climate.Patriotic gift took the form of 2oz pkt of tobacco. Very nice!Spent latter half of yesterday pm watching flying fish & sleeping. Watching the flying fish is a favourite pastime at present. I notice that the navigating officer is just taking noon sights. Wish I had my sextant & gear here to indulge the old pastime. I could thoroughly enjoy myself up there on the bridge.I will make this page my last as I see that it is the sixth sheet & we are supposed to keep down to three pages. And so dear I will say cheerio once again. Will write further in the course of the next few days. I miss you & Ron terribly & at times I feel inclined to wonder whether I have done the right thing in leaving you. Still others have done it before & many are doing it with me so why should I squeal.Until we meet again dearest, your ever loving, Fred.

Letter 5.

My Dearest Ri, having a few spare minutes I thought it a good idea to sit down & have a chat with you. There is really not much in the way of news for life aboard on these long ocean crossings is much the same each day in fact the monotony is rather trying, & we will all be pleased when we reach port & more so when the journey is over. Under these circs travelling is not the pleasure one might normally expect.The weather is good but very very hot & without the slightest exaggeration I must lose gallons of perspiration each day - it simply pores out & my clothes become soaking wet whenever I am working. I guess the weight is going down in consequence but I feel fine so don’t worry.Every fifth night we are entitled to sleep on deck & my turn came round last Wed. Except that the hardness of the deck was causing aches & pains in sundry odd spots everything went well until 1am when heavy rain caused us to shift. Being reluctant to come down to the stuffy atmosphere of our usual sleeping quarters I moved to an vacant space on the promenade deck which is protected from the weather. I there settled down but after a short while was again flooded out. The drain had become blocked & water backed up & with the roll of the ship it was washing right across the deck where I was. I just managed to save my bedding from a thorough sea soaking in dirty briny water. This was at about 3.30am so I got dressed & spent the rest of the night with many others wandering the decks.Last night there were some vacant places on deck so altho’ not our turn I took my blankets up & slept on deck. The hardness of the decks prevented a really good nights rest but it was infinitely better than being down below but fot another ducking - worst so far. I hope to do the same again tonightIt is three weeks exactly since we started on our way & unless the time passes more quickly in the future I don’t know how I will get on for it seems ages & ages since I saw you & Ron. I almost dread the thought of receiving mail which I fear will make me feel very very homesick. Still it will be good to hear from you.Today finished the last of a supply of grapes purchased at ……. at the price of 4d per lb. They were delicious. Wish I had laid in more but they probably would not have kept. Bought them at Woolworths which is a very big store in …..Well dear how are you & Ron keeping & what are you doing with yourselves. I am always thinking of you in fact my hobby these days seems to be wondering about you & anticipating our reunion. Silly aren’t I but still it is that prospect which cheers up the old spirit these dull days.As soon as facilities for writing improve sufficiently to enable me to write in ink I must write to Frank, Clare, Tom & to friends in …… who were so good to us & to others also so if a break occurs in my letters to you you will understand. I really must write soon to Ron himself but at the moment I am confining my letters to you.We have only a very vague idea of our whereabouts at sea & I wish I had been able to bring some of my gear with which to fix our position with approx accuracy. We do not know where we are bound but if general rumour counts for anything it is to be a rather dull port of call offering little of interest to us.I am on duty every day from 8am until 11am & thereafter as required. Between times I attend training lectures which however are arranged more for their interest than from an instructional viewpoint. We are not allowed to smoke below decks at any time & smoking on deck is prohibited soon after sunset until after sunrise. This means that we all assemble in either the Canteen (dry no liquor being allowed aboard) or the Recreation deck or the Promenade deck in the evening. Space is limited & you can best imagine the state of the atmosphere these hot nights as blackout restrictions require that all doors & windows be kept shut. In consequence early to bed is the rule and I am usually in bed by 8 o’clock.Saw Haye a few minutes ago. He was basking in the sun developing his Norfolk Is suntan. Looked awfully hot!Well my dears will leave it at that for the time being but will write again soon. All sorts of loving thoughts are in my mind but they will have to go unexpressed for I lack the ability to put them into writing. I think you will know them without my saying them. And so I say, all my love dearest, Fred.

Letter 5a - to Ron - 28 th day away.

Dearest Ron, ever since I left NZ I have been wanting to write to you but it is so difficult to write here on the ship that I had decided to wait until we reached our destination. However I am not busy this afternoon and knowing that you will b e pleased to get a letter all for yourself I decided to write even although it is only in pencil.I am sitting on a crane in one of the few shady spots on the deck. There is a nice cool breeze blowing & sitting as I am without shirt or sox it is lovely here in this position. You will have to excuse bad writing because I am holding the paper on my knee and it is not easy to write a good letter in such an uncomfortable position. Still I do not doubt that you will regard a poor letter as better than none at all.Altho’ the trip has been rather monotonous on account of each day being in the main a repetition of previous days, there has been much of interest to occupy our attention but unfortunately the censorship regulations

prohibit me from giving you details of much that we have seen. [section censored?] Since we left our first port of call we have enjoyed almost perfect weather with remarkably calm seas. The sea is every bit as calm as Wellington harbour on a beautifully fine day & it has been like that nearly all the time since we left ….. although on one or two days there has been a slight swell causing the ship to roll just ever so little. It is very hot but the forward motion of the boat creates a breeze which keeps us cool provided we keep out of the sun. Down below where the ventilation is restricted it is very hot indeed & when we go down for meals we perspire very freely.During the last two or three days and nights we have not had any of the tropical rain showers which were prevalent until we ran into this finer weather. The showers at night were very unpopular as they usually caught us sleeping out on deck & we got well wet & our blankets too before we could make for shelter. But in the daytime the showers were welcomed as an opportunity for a fresh water wash. We would quickly strip off our shorts (our only clothing this weather) & one could usually have quite a good wash while the shower lasted. There are hot & cold salt water showers aboard but one cannot seem to get properly clean under such showers.We spend much of our leisure time watching flying fish. Further back there were a lot of them to be seen but they are scarcer now. They jump out of the water a foot or so and fly for as much as 50 or 60 yards. They do not flap their wings as do birds but their forward motion which is really in the nature of a fast glide is obtained from a very rapid movement of the tail. They fly so low over the water that sometimes the tail touches a wave whereupon they again shoot along much further & at a much accelerated speed.It will not be long now before we reach our destination although before then we will be making a short call at a port where however we are unlikely to be given any leave.To avoid having to sleep in the heat and stuffiness down below I have lately been sleeping on deck where it is much fresher. For the first few nights I was unfortunately caught in the rain but for the last three nights there has been no rain. The deck is very and my aches terribly & it seems I will never harden up to it but still it is much better than sleeping below. We can sleep quite comfortably in our pyjamas without over covering as it is so warm (the wind itself feels as though it is coming out of a warm oven). I suppose you are now having quite cold nights.We crossed the equator on Tuesday & we have been given a certificate showing that we have crossed the line. And so for the first time in my life I am in the northern hemisphere. One cannot observe any difference between the two hemispheres except that from these lats one can see many stars not visible from NZ.There are no pictures on board and at nights we amuse ourselves by reading, singing, playing cards, etc. I find the decks on which these activities take place so stuffy that as a rule I stand out on deck in the fresh air until bedtime. I usually retire at about 9pm by which time it is properly dark. Well my lad I will have to make this my final page as there is no more writing paper left in the box. A new supply is to be issued later today.Looking back at what I have written I am disappointed at the quality of the writing & I think you will have to ask Mum to read it for you. I fear it will tax even her skill. I hate paper without lines.Day & night I am thinking of you & dear Mum & I miss you terribly - just how much I don’t suppose you will know unless later in life you should be separated from your loved ones. Give Mum a big big kiss & a hug from me and look after her well while I am away. Remember you are the man of the house while I am away.It was lovely that you were able to go home from the hospital the day we left. The news helped to cheer me up! I hope you are feeling well & getting stronger as the days go by. I yearn for news & am hoping that mail may be waiting for me at our destination.I know you will be a good lad while I am away & I am confident that you will look after & care for Mum until I return. It will be a great day when are all reunited once again & can look back on these days as a thing of the past. And so Son dear I send you all my love to share with Mum. And the very best wishes that you are well and happy back home. I remain, your ever loving, Dad.For Mum: I will write to you in the course of the next few days. In the meantime I send you, dearest, all my love. I really do miss you both & sometimes I wonder how I will stand this separation. Still it must be faced & our great hope is that it won’t be for long. Always remember my dears you mean everything to me & it will always be so. Lovingly, Fred.

Letter 6. 31 st Day.

My Darling Ri, here we are on the third & final stage of our sea journey which is drawing to a close, only a few days being left before we reach our destination. I hope to see Archie & Laurie Short very shortly.Our stay in the second port of call was very brief. We reached there about 7.30am & left again at 5pm just staying long enough to refuel & take on fresh water. We were not allowed ashore & lying off-shore as we were it was very difficult to form any reliable idea of the place. However it presented a view entirely different from anything in NZ and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of seeing the place - fleeting glimpse tho’ it was. To say too much about the view would disclose the whereabouts of the port of call which would contravene regulations

so I will leave that to a later occasion. After we arrive at our destination we will be able to give you details of our stopping places & describe our impressions but to do so now would in the unlikely event of the enemy intercepting our mail inform him of our route.On the first half of stage 1 the sea was moderate & for the second half of that stage there was a steady fairly heavy swell! From ….. onwards the sea has been remarkably calm & I think that on the whole we must have had about the best voyage of any draft. The weather too has been good especially since we left our first port of call. For the first few days out from there we were running into tropical rainstorms but they were only of short duration & lately the weather has been perfect. Except for about a day when passing through the doldrums we have been fortunate in having a good breeze which has taken the scorch out of the hot sun. Everyone aboard is lovely & brown altho’ one notices that the chaps keep mostly in the shade. I am developing quite a good suntan myself. In accordance with the general rule I roam around all day in shorts & shoes without sox.We have had some rather fine sunsets & sunrises but nothing yet up to those I have seen in the Islands. Tell auntie Vic that her cake is delicious. It is very tasty & not in the least dry altho’ only wrapped in paper for so long. I will finish it tonight so it together with the one Tom sent will have lasted just nicely.Concerts arranged by various groups aboard are a feature of the trip. Some of the talent is quite good & these concerts certainly do help to make the time pass more quickly altho’ the stuffiness & heat in which they are held rather distracts from the enjoyment. A boxing tournament is also being run by a body calling themselves “The Neptune Boxing Club”. Some of the bouts have been really good. The boys who take on this game in this climate earn my admiration. Classing myself as too old I have not entered the competition.I seem to be holding my condition pretty well in spite of the heat and much sweating. I doubt whether I have lost further weight & altho’ the sweat pours out of me especially at nights & when working below in hot stuffy atmosphere I seem to be maintaining condition fairly well. The loss of weight over stage one is probably attributable to my being seasick & having nothing to eat for the first few days out.Altho’ I think of you & Ron incessantly you do not enter my dreams much & I still dream as much as ever. I have dreamt of you twice & of Ron once. My dreams of you were such silly incidents in which we quarrelled violently so that they were hardly true to life. I look forward to a really pleasant dream of you both one which for a short time will bring back all the happiness of our lives together.I suffered the first blemish to my army conduct record last Thursday night. Finding sleeping on deck very uncomfortable (the hard deck gives me awful pains in the back) I decided to swing my hammock. I knew it was against the rules but decided to take a chance & so carefully choosing an obscure site I set it up. Everything would have gone well only that to my consternation in the morning I found that my position was directly above the Sgt.Major. The blighter had no right to be there as he was occupying space allocated to troops but still he charged me & I could do nothing but plead guilty. This offence is usually regarded as a rather serious one because access to the lifeboats may be obstructed & I expected to be fined two days pay at least however the O/C took a lenient view and I was “admonished”. A lucky break!Have seen Haye several times during the past few days. He seems to have changed a lot & is much more serious than of old. I am inclined to wonder whether his marriage has been entirely a happy one or perhaps it is that he is brooding over the temporary breaking of home ties. He is rather uncommunicative & does not seem happy at all.Have found those star charts I brought with me very useful and wish now that I had brought charts of the oceans we have travelled as they would certainly have added interest to the voyage.Have had a spot of bother with toothache & have had occasion to visit the ship’s dentist. Apparently the trouble is decay under old fillings & nothing much can be done until we reach ….. when I am noted for dental attention. The trouble is only slight & can easily wait.Each day we get a brief summary of world news which is given over the ship’s loudspeaker system at 12.15pm during our dinner period. It looks as though the second front may open shortly & if things go off as I think they will we may see Jerry beaten by the autumn. Let’s hope so for then we may be on our way back by the end of the year. What could be better? On Anzac Day we had a short memorial service on board. Did you attend any of the local services? The thought entered my mind that possibly that day on this occasion might have a fuller meaning for us than in any previous year.I must again ask you to excuse my writing in pencil but I am sure you will understand just how difficult it is to write a proper letter under these circumstances. I will welcome the opportunity of writing under decent conditions. By the way it is likely that there will be a gap in my letters for a short while so if you do not receive any letter after this do not worry. I will resume writing as soon as I can & perhaps future letters will be more like what they should be. Wrote to Tom the other day to thank him for his parcel. The finished article did not please me but I decided to send it & while I would have preferred to wait & write under decent circs, it was good to be rid of the obligation to write. Wrote to Harvey James (referred to in previous letter) at the same time.We crossed the line last Tuesday at about 3pm and we have been issued with certificates showing that we

changed hemispheres. I will send you mine as soon as I can obtain an envelope to contain it. Will try to send a spare copy for Ron. As a point of interest about two or three days previously I had estimated our time of crossing as being 2pm so I was pretty right. While I had estimated roughly from the stars our known course & speed it was just coincidence that it worked out so well.The ship’s gunners had a practice shoot a few days ago using live shell. It was interesting to see the shooting which was quite good. We have had ho genuine alarms on the voyage & at no stage has anyone felt any qualms about our safety. Everything has been so well arranged that one could not but feel absolutely confident of our safety altho’ of course all the usual precautions have been taken to prepare us for the unexpected happening.Being Sunday we are enjoying another easy day & as I write (still sitting on my mae west leaning against the ship’s side) I am surrounded by the usual seething mass of humanity, some writing, others reading, others sleeping, some playing cards, talking, etc. I am not in need of anything so do not worry about sending parcels. Remember what I told you before I left!Well my sweetheart I seem to have finished all the news & in this form of letter it does not seem appropriate to say all those “sweet nothings” which I really feel and so I will close, hoping to be able to write again soon. Don’t forget to let Clare know how I am & to give all at Daniell St. & Tawai St. my love. To Ron of course goes a very fond love I do so hope he is well & happy & not fretting at my absence.And so dearest lots & lots of love, oh how I do miss you. It seems ages since we have been together but our happy times together are a very fragrant memory and I do so miss those tickles!Your ever loving husband, Fred.

Letter 7. 05 May 1944

My Sweetheart, here we are at our destination safe and very well after a trip marked by no untoward incident. As you will note from above address I am back in Signals much to my pleasure. Everything was arranged without difficulty thanks to the good offices of the O in C of the Sigs draft. You will no doubt be able to guess where we are altho’ I am still not permitted to give the name of the camp. It is where Dick and Archie were immediately prior to their return to NZ. Have met very many old pals but have not yet run into Arch or Jack Hellawell. Too soon to make necessary inquiries. Was delighted to meet Jack Fowles within a few hours of arriving. Ran into each other rather in an unusual way. A real piece of good luck because was feeling a bit blue. Spent the evening together last night & had a really good yarn. Together again tonight he being reading after finishing a letter to Zan. Let her know he is well (except for a cold in head result of very changeable weather here recently) and cheerful. Is slightly thinner & like us all is yearning to be back home. Hope you received cable sent yesterday and that letters written on voyage (6 to you & 1 to Ron) have arrived safely. Still without word from you & Jack says unlikely to hear for 6 to 8 weeks yet. Awful! Am hoping for earlier news perhaps by airgraph. Scenery here very novel but rather monotonous. Camp reputed to be good so when used to it hope to like it. Will write properly and give news in detail as soon as opportunity offers. Everything said to be very dear here & apparently not easy to live within means. Will do my best to send parcel soon. Hope dear Ron well & happy. Both ever in my thoughts. Will try & airgraph to Clare tomorrow. Love & regards to all. All my love my darling, Fred.

Letter No 7. 07 May 1944 463827 Sgm FJ Cooper NZ Signals School Base 2NZEF MEF Camp

My Darling Ri, have just had the biggest thrill since leaving NZ and that is saying a good deal bearing in mind the excitement in seeing new lands for the first time, seeing places of great historical interest, beautiful scenery, etc. Still nothing can compare with the thrill of receiving your airgraph of 18 Apr which was handed to me about an hour ago. As I feared this first news has made me a little homesick & as I write a lump deep down in the old throat makes itself felt. No doubt it will soon pass off. It is grand to have such good news of Ron’s health. Keep it up son.This is the first of the “Green Envelope” & so for a change I can write expressing my feelings more freely as these letters are not as a general rule censored in the same way as are our ordinary mails. As you will see from notes on the envelope only purely personal matters may be discussed so I will have to leave the news of our activities until later. There is a lot to tell you & I am afraid that I cannot in the limited time give full account of all our activities not even in a newsy letter. Well dear I have to admit that I miss you terribly & if we are apart too long it is going to be a terrible ordeal. A woman’s love & affection is a jewel beyond all price. I suppose that in seeing so much of each other for so long we had come to take each other rather too much for granted. This separation has brought it home to me just how much you & Ron do really mean to me. I thought I knew it before but I find that full realisation has come only

recently. And so dearest I ask that you take good care of yourself & Ron that I may return having no regrets for present sacrifices.No doubt many men have felt as I feel now. Unhappy at being separated from those we dearly love but convinced that it is their duty to make the sacrifices. We are buoyed up with the hope that it will soon be over or that time will quickly pass & we may then return to our loved ones. We try to retain our self respect (& the temptations to stray are many) in order that we may be proud to resume our old place in home & society generally. To make the initial sacrifices, to continually resist temptations to stray from decency & then to find that it was all for nothing would be a terrible disappointment & only now do I fully appreciate what a blow Archie must have suffered. I was always prepared to excuse anything he might do against Molly but I do so more than ever now.Confident that you feel as I do I promise to be absolutely faithful. I do not intend to cut myself from pleasures & I ask you not to do the same but I will do nothing that will make me ashamed to resume our normal relations when we are reunited. For reasons which you will understand I liked you to think for a long while that I had been rather a gay young lad. I certainly had many a good time at parties, dances etc but as God is my witness that confession (if it was such) which I made in Jan when I thought it was our last night together was the absolute truth. You are and, the Gods willing, always will be the only woman whose love I have enjoyed.I know that I will return safely. I have no worry on that score but I would like to say now that while we have had our disagreements & quarrels I have found real happiness in my marriage and you have been a wife of whom any man could be really proud & from the bottom of my heart dear I thank you for what you have done for me during our lives together. I suppose these remarks should be reserved for the letter one usually writes just before a dangerous operation of war. I may or may not be faced with such a situation but having said them now there will be no need to say them again.I have wondered many times in recent weeks whether I should not have chosen the easier way & done my war effort from an office desk at home but in the final analysis I always reach the conclusion that in spite of the high cost I am doing the right thing. As I see it this war is just the beginning of a great fight to purge the world of evil influences. Perhaps a more difficult fight lies ahead after the war is won, if all play their parts the world can be made the wonderful place it really is. My present feelings are that even with the knowledge I have gained in recent weeks & knowing the cost payable I would still do as I chose when I took action to get away.Your airgraph remarks re slimming are noted. Don’t worry too much about the garden. It certainly will be nice to return to a beautiful slim wife. You already have a beautiful nature & perhaps my absence will assist in restoring your beauty of figure. But do not injure your health for as you are you are lovely to me.Give Ron a big big kiss and loving embraces from me. How I wish I could be there myself for the purpose. He must not fret over my absence. Will write to him again as soon as I can but it is not easy to write as often as one would like to. Good to see his message on airgraph.Well darling before closing let’s have a little cuddle up together . Goodnight sweetheart, your ever loving, Fred.

09 May 1944. Mother’s Day Airgraph.

Received your airgraph of 18.4.44 last Saturday soon after sending off my airgraph which no doubt you have received. It was truly wonderful to hear from you. Surface mails take a long time to reach here so airgraphs very welcome. Am well and happy but of course would love to be able to deliver these greetings in person. Am about to commence a newsy letter to you. Have written 9 or 10 so far but probably they will be delayed awhile for security reasons. Am delighted with good news of Ron. Give him my fondest love. Miss you both terribly. Jack Hallowell looked me up yesterday. Had tea & spent evening together. Laurie Short is handy but have not seen him yet. Cannot trace Jack Melvin.All my love sweetheart, Fred.

Letter No. 8. 09 May 1944.

My Darling Ri, Have just this minute finished sending off an airgraph greeting for Mothers’ Day & as it is almost exactly a week (I fancy my last news letter, distinct from airgraphs & a sentimental piece sent off last Sunday, was written a week ago yesterday but you can check up on that when you receive the mail) since I wrote I had better get busy & give account of myself.Have not had any leave yet so I cannot give news of the sights hereabouts. But on Sat. night last Jack F. & myself walked down to Maadi Tent which is a service recreational centre on the outer boundary of the camp area. Dick will be able to describe it to you so I will not waste space describing it here. This by the way is a

device I shall fall back on a good deal henceforth. I will just name places I have been to & for further details you can ask R.J.C. It will save space and time. The residential area of Maadi is truly wonderful being laid out in very pretty surroundings & with the trees & gardens all in bloom it presents a fine sight just now. As Remuera is to Auckland so is Maadi to Cairo. The homes down here are remarkably fine - much more elaborate & expensive than anything in NZ. It has to be seen to be believed. There is quite a town of these places - street upon street of them. Some eight or so millionaires live down that way. The swimming baths & also the Maadi Sporting Club both of which you will have read are down that way.I was due for some leave today but thro’ our being 5 mins late on parade this morning (not all our fault incidentally) the C.O. cancelled all leave & so here I am writing letters instead of seeing the sights. Very unfortunate as Jack F. had postponed his leave from yesterday to enable us to go together to Helwan where he intends to buy shoes for his kiddies. He thinks things are slightly cheaper there than in Cairo where prices are very inflated. Am now hoping for leave on Fri but will have to go without Jack as we get only one day per week.Our food is excellent & in good supply so do not worry about parcels at any rate not while we are here. If you must send parcels send Patriotic tobacco, soap (toilet & washing), toothpaste, blacking, etc. things are very dear here & the sending of these articles helps make our pay go further. We get 100 piastres (Ackers in slang) per week but it is amazing how quickly it is spent. I will send a typical example of a week’s expenses sometime just to let you see. After six months here (if we are here that long which is of course very uncertain) we become entitled to 2 weeks furlong. Provided one has £1 credit for each day or that amount approx one can get leave to Palestine or Syria. I am anxious to start building up a credit so as to take advantage of the opportunity should it arise. What little I have so far I will use to send parcel to you & Clare but everything is very dear so I am not hopeful of being able to send much. Still I will do my best.The 100 PT (piastres) = £1-0-7 sterling in which we are paid. The NZ £ exchanges for about 70 PT. I still have a couple of pounds of NZ currency which I will change as opportunity offers.There was a concert on at El Djem (refer to RJC for further description) last night. It was given by a South African concert party and in company with Jack F, Jack H, & a chap called Laurie Halliday I went to it. Quite good altho’ the difference between their rendering of popular music & that to which we are accustomed was rather strange to our ears.My airgraph will have acquainted you of my reposting to Sigs. It is good to be back with the old crowd and I appreciate my good fortune in getting back so quickly. I will work hard to justify the confidence shown by those who were responsible.At the present time we are accommodated in tents erected on the sand. We have palliasses & most of us have acquired boards (by jove timber is hard to come by here) to place between our palliasses & the sand which is very fine & gets into everything. Later we hope to move onto huts which however are in some respects not as good as tents. Again Dick will be able to give you a description of our mode of living.About a fortnight ago they had something of a heatwave the temps being about 109ºF in the shade. Lately however the weather has been cooler, too cold for us in fact and up to 9am & after 7pm jerseys are being worn. The days are warming up again and all too soon we will be complaining of the heat. The hot weather season is just starting. We have had almost continuous strong winds for the past week & they are none too pleasant as the old tent flaps about very noisily, the sand is blown about getting into everything, clothing, bedding, eyes, ears, nose throat. The eyes become rather sore & with the strong glare of the sun most of us find ourselves troubled slightly by eye soreness & headaches. Still we have been spared a real sand storm so are very thankful.Reveille is at 5.30am, sometimes earlier as it was this morning, so you can see we are real early birds. Dinner is at 12.45 & after this meal we are off until 4.30 for siesta period. This break in the heat of the day is very welcome. As you can see I am using part of the time for letter writing, but one can do anything one likes altho’ the time is intended mainly for resting. At 4.30 & until 5.30 we have P & RT with our big meal of the day at ¼ to 6. Night training is not uncommon but we have no regular night class as at Trentham.On arrival here one finds that one is subject to inoculations against typhus & these take the form of 3 doses at weekly intervals with a “booster” dose every 6 months. All the TAB injections given in NZ are washed out and we have to go thro’ the lot again. Sore arms are the order of the day. My last injections made me feel off colour for a couple of days but I am ok again except that I have a bit of a cold which rather disturbs my nights rest. If it does not improve soon I will have to go to the RAP for inhalations & medicine.The recreational facilities here are good & there is always something on - pictures, lectures etc. to which one can go - duties permitting. For P & RT today I intend to go to Maadi Baths for swimming. They take us down & bring us back in trucks which is fine.The flies are not bad yet. They are far less troublesome in Camp than in Cairo but they are bad enough even here. They are a persistently vicious species & it is not easy to escape their attentions. Badly need a haircut which must be attended to before 4.30 so will close now as it is 3.30 & I may have to wait.All my love to you darling and the same to my dear son Ron. Will write again soon. Your ever affectionate

husband, Fred.PS: We are still prohibited from describing voyage over & must be careful what we say in other ways.

Letter No.9 13 May 1944

My Darling Ri, after a big day yesterday, of which more anon, I was looking forward to using the siesta period today to make up some lost rest, but not having written during the week my conscience is troubling me too much to rest & so I have come down to the NAAFI Hut to write.We finished dinner about an hour ago & after a short spell in the tent I went & had a cold shower to freshen me up for ‘tis a fairly hot day the temp being about 100º in the shade. During the week we have been quite busy & we have also been having night lectures so letter writing has been out of the question. Some of the boys have received airgraphs today & some of them were posted in Wgtn as late as 26 April. Was very disappointed when there was none for me!Actually there is really not much in the way of news on a/c of our time being fairly busily occupied with training & thus each day since I last wrote early in the week, has been mainly a repetition of the previous day. We rise at 5.30am & have to be on parade at 6.40 so you can imagine that the hour in which one has to dress, shave, wash, tidy up tent, fold blankets, clean web gear, boots & rifle & have breakfast is pretty hectic. We are on weapons training at present & the course covers both our own weapons as well as those of the enemy (in case we should ever require to fall back upon their equipment) so the syllabus is quite a comprehensive one. Training proceeds until 9.45 when we enjoy a half hours spell for morning tea. We then resume & go on until 12.30 when we break off for lunch which is at 12.45. After lunch we are free until 4.30 when we have P&RT until 5.30 with tea (dinner) at 6pm. P&RT may take the form of swimming at Maadi baths but so far I have not been one of the fortunate. After tea one is usually free for the rest of the day but we chaps have been required to attend night lectures on King’s Regs, camp discipline, Routine Orders etc. etc. Next week we expect to spend some time on night route marches. I have no idea when we will be starting on signal training but it will not be long. This morning we spent on the range with the Bren gun but I am sorry to say my shooting was awful. It was the first shoot on the range with the Bren & perhaps that is the explanation.Have not seen Jack Hallwell since our evening together last Monday to which I made reference in my last letter. I duly delivered the cake (Judith’s ). This evening I intend to spend with Jack Fowles who most likely will be in this hut soon to do some letter writing - we propose going either to the Lowry Hut or to Maadi.A spitfire has just passed overhead travelling at great speed. All types of aircraft are to be seen hereabouts. Spits appear much the same as Kitty’s which you see.Now for the major point of news, ie, my visit to Cairo yesterday. In the space & time available I can give only a brief resume but Dick will fill in details by describing the places I shall mention. My own impressions would take too long to express. Leaving here at 2pm by truck we found the trip thro’ Maadi & under the avenue of trees along the Nile very pretty up to where one enters the native quarter of the city where evil smells & squalor become evident. We were put down at the NZ Club which we found to be a fine place. Thence a cursory look around the city & on to Shepheards Hotel the appearance of which rather belies its reputation. We could see it only from the outside as it is out of bounds to us OR’s & so we went into an Indian shop directly opposite Shepheards, & a wonderful place it is too. Marvellous jewels, filigree work, ornaments, silks & perfumes. They scented us (until the shower the scents were still quite strong) & spent much time showing us their wares but unfortunately the financial problems were insurmountable & much as we would have liked to do otherwise we had to go on our way without buying anything. We then proceeded thro’ the city to the Muski & there we saw native life more or less in its natural state. Some of the wares were very tempting but having only few PT’s on me I successfully withstood all appeals. However I did see a very lovely damask table cloth which I will try to get when finances improve. The wog wants 500PT (£5 sterling) for it but I hope to be able to get him down. Some of the filigree work (which we also saw being made) is very fine but is rather expensive. One could easily spend pounds had one the money to spend. Humpty’s silks, dress materials, leather work of all kinds etc. in plenty but very dear in comparison with what it used to be. And so back to the Club for tea (an excellent meal) which we finished in nice time to enable us to go to the matinee session of the pictures which here is from 6.30 to 9pm. We went to the Diana but the programme was rather poor I thought altho’ the other five chaps with whom I spent the day rather enjoyed it. Dick will know the theatre so I won’t describe it beyond saying that it was quite impressive & different entirely from anything in NZ. Smoking permitted during the show & a bar (soft drinks & liquors) in the vestibule. After the show we returned to the Club for supper after which we returned to camp where we arrived at midnight. A long day indeed but not unusually so for it is inevitably late when one gets back from leave. We saw a very big fire on the way back & at one stage our truck was right in the middle of things. Quite exciting! I found Cairo most interesting & certainly it is a cosmopolitan city with fascinating features in spite of its many vices. One sees a very different aspect of life there to anything to be

seen in NZ. Again space & time do not permit me to write down my many vivid impressions. It was a wonderful experience!On my next leave I intend to go to the pyramids, altho’ there is still a very great deal I want to see of Cairo. Jack F who is now here & Bob with whom I came down are insisting on cool refreshment so I will close. Either later today or tomorrow I will be sending an airgraph which will reach you in about 3 weeks time. By the way please add to the list of suggestions for parcels (which I sent forward in my last letter) tobacco under the Patriotic Scheme. It is very welcome according to old hands & would save money for NZ tobaccos cost 10PT (2/-) in the Canteens & it is not always available. You might should opportunity arise (but be very tactful) pass this information on to the L&S parcels committee. Really tho’ I still prefer that you do not send any parcels at any rate not until such time as I am able to send you something.After afternoon tea. The time is 4.35pm & I am on my way back to our lines to prepare for tea at 5.30pm (Saturday tea is earlier). Having some minutes to spare thought I would add to this letter.I don’t know whether it is the heat or TAB inoculation which we had at 12 noon today but I somehow feel a bit off colour this afternoon. Nothing to worry about & I am inclined to think it is effect of inoculation as last weeks also affected me in the same way. Arm is rather sore. On the way down to YMCA for afternoon tea I met Roy Stone (L&S staff, Eddy knows him) who come over in draft before me & as he was until recently in EME he was able to give me news of Archie, who is back here after seeing service in Italy. Knowing where to find him I will take an early opportunity of looking up Archie whom I am keen to meet again. One is continually meeting old friends & they turn up in all sorts of odd spots.Weather is as good as usual. The cold snap of last week is over & the heat is making itself felt in no uncertain manner. The mornings are dull until about 8 or 9 o’clock when the sun disperses the river mist & it comes out very warm reaching a max in the afternoons. Just before we got here it was 109º in the shade & the real hot weather is yet to come.My cold is much better & my restless at nights is solely the outcome of the hardness of my bed which is nearly as bad as the ships deck about which I have already told you. I yearn for our lovely soft mattress & when I get home I intend spending a solid week thereon without getting up even for meals. How are you sweetheart & what are doing with yourself now that the weather makes gardening impossible. I long too for news of Ron. Please do send more airgraphs for they reach us sooner. I have not overlooked writing to Ron & I hope also to buy something for him as soon as I can. Can you suggest anything suitable? One can buy almost anything here altho’ the prices are rather high at times. For instant watches of reasonably good quality are 700 to 1200PT (£7-£12 sterling) & undies are from 300 to 400 per set for something good. The old wog is a very shrew customer & he is content to wait for a yank who will give the price he wants.To date I have not visited any of the sinks of immorality which abound in these parts. Some of the boys however have been about & their descriptions do not encourage me to see such things altho’ perhaps one should not adopt too narrow a view because ideas over here are in complete contrast with our code of ethics in NZ. Yes Cairo is a truly amazing place! The East has its glamorous aspects but it also has a very sordid aspect which one has to see to fully realise.Jack, Bob, & myself are to spend this evening at the Lowry Hut to which I have not been yet. According to all accounts it is rather pleasant there. You may remember we listened to the opening ceremony together over the wireless. I had better draw to a finish now as it is 5.15. In any case I seem to have exhausted the news. And so dear the days go by with my missing you & Ron as much as ever. The one consoling thought in that each day is one less before we meet again. Let us join in hoping that time slips by very very quickly. All my love sweetheart, Fred.

Dear Ron, Daddy is always thinking of you & wishing you well. I know you will be a good lad & look after Mum well for me. Will write to you as soon as time permits. Good luck & lots & lots of love, Dad.

15 May 1944

Dearest Ri, on Sunday I despatched to you a fairly long letter giving all the latest news but this airgraph will reach you much sooner. I am well and trust you and Ron are the same. To date have received only the one airgraph from you that being dated 18.4.44, but as some of the boys have had airgraphs despatched as late as 28.4.44 I am living in hopes of receiving further word any day. One has to come here to fully realise just what it really means to get word from home. Spent Sunday very quietly and most of the day I spent resting and reading in the tent doing some sewing and mending between times. In the evening Jack F and me walked down to Maadi which I find very pleasant. The fine homes, flowering gardens, green lawns, and avenues of flowering trees present a very restful atmosphere in complete contrast of the local barrenness hereabouts. After walking around Maadi we went to Maadi Tent where we heard an especially fine pianoforte recital by a NZ-er named Norman

Dawe. He is a talented pianist who should make a name for himself in music circles after the war. After the recital we had supper and then returned to Camp obtaining a hitchhike part of the way. In all a very enjoyable evening. Today we are back onto our training programme, but a mild khamsin (sand storm) has made things rather unpleasant. Eyes, ears, nose, throat in fact whole body feel full of sand in spite of my having a shower during siesta period. Our programme keeps us outside all day at present. Weather is becoming very hot and I am finding it somewhat trying. Not so good in the heat as I thought I would be. Temp today about 105º in shade! Provided khamsin moderates propose having a days leave tomorrow. Jack F is taking me to pyramids and in evening we will do rounds of local cabarets reputed to be pretty gay. All my love dearest, Fred.

15 May 1944

My dearest Ron, I have just finished writing an airgraph to Mum and before closing I must drop a line to my dear son who is often in my thoughts in spite of your being many miles away. Altho’ it is still Monday here it is Tues by NZ time and as I write you will just be waking up on Tues morning for it is 6.30am at home (9.30pm here) It was lovely to receive your contribution to the airgraph which I received from Mum about a week ago. By the way did you get the letter I sent just before our ship sailed and also the one written on the voyage over? I wish you and Mum could be here to see with me the wonderful sights hereabouts. I would not like to live here but some of the places to be seen are wonderfully interesting. Cairo is a big city much bigger than any NZ city and quite novel & different. It is a strange mixture of big & little shops none of which have the verandas so typical of NZ towns. There are lots of camels and plenty of donkeys and horses. The latter are harnessed to the “gharries” while the donkeys pull funny little carts. Camels are the load carriers & often they are loaded so heavily it is almost impossible to see the animal. Yes! it is all very strange & interesting. How are you son dear? I trust you are now fully recovered from your long illness and that you are happy to be home. Every best wish to you & Mum. Your ever loving Dad.

17 May 1944. Letter no 11.

My Darling Ri, having been paid yesterday I am in possession of another green envelope (issued on pay parade each Tues) so here I am again for what I hope to make our weekly chat as distinct from news letters & airgraphs.Had a wonderful surprise on returning from leave to Cairo at 11pm last night. I refer of course to the receipt of your cable sent from J’ville on 13th inst. I rather fancy you would send the cable immediately upon receipt of my message sent from here on 4th May. That being so it seems that my cable took some nine days to reach you. Possibly it was purposely held back to conceal the news of our arrival. Well sweetheart it was really grand to hear from you for I was pining for news of you not having received mail except airgraph of 18.4.44. To be perfectly frank it touched upon my tender spot reading those words & I had to suppress my emotions to stop my feelings from taking charge. I could picture you just 3 days before looking through the card in the PO trying to decide which messages best suited your feelings. I had the same experience when I sent my message a few days earlier. And so to bed feeling much happier after a tiring day, but nevertheless a very enjoyable one, around the flesh pots of Cairo. Had you received word of our arrival from official sources prior to receipt of my message? Hope I was first.On the trip over when writing to you I referred to the subject of dreams. My wishes have been gratified several times since then. You will know what I mean. You looked very lovely each time. For some strange reason Ron does not seem to enter my dreams but I am hoping that the dear lad will appear soon.I have told Jack F of our rent concession. He had received no reduction which I thought very unfair so I suggested Mrs F should see Scotty & ascertain whether something could be done. He has asked Mrs F to be very circumspect in what she says. I explained that the considerable reduction allowed in our case was on a/c of my reduced income upon entering the army, overtime being added greatly to my salary. Thought it advisable to mention this in case Mrs F should mention the subject to you.Had a look around town yesterday but everything is expensive I almost despair of ever being able to send any gifts from this part of the world. Prices are even higher, after allowing for exchange rates, than goods of the same kind can be bought for in NZ. I do so hope you will not be disappointed at not receiving a parcel but conditions have changed drastically since Arch sent so much to Molly.How are you receiving my mail? It seems that quite a lot of mail from here has been lost lately & I wonder whether this has affected my mail. This is my eleventh letter to you. So far I have not written to Tawai St. nor to Frank so if you are writing to Jean you might pass on word of my welfare. On Sat last I sent off airgraphs to you & Ron.It is silly to keep asking how you are getting on without me but having no detailed news of your daily activities & of your emotional reactions compels me to wonder to what extent life has changed with my leaving. I

suppose you find caring for Ron gives you plenty to do.All of us here are feeling our absence from homes & loved ones & much of our time is spent discussing what we will do when we are able to return home. The single men seem to make pretty good guesses at what will be the first thing the married men will do. There is no doubt about it the separation from one loved ones stirs emotions in most men’s souls in ways that must be experienced to be understood even slightly. Perhaps you women in having to carry on in the same old way have the more difficult task but while making full allowance for all you have to endure I do in all humbleness think that I would rather change places with you. The interest & excitement of travelling & in seeing new places etc. notwithstanding. Yes indeed this sorry & serious business of war has a very profound effect on a man’s soul. Please do not think I regret coming away. I do not. Even with full knowledge of the cost one is called upon to pay I would do the same as I have done on this occasion.Am hoping for an opportunity to see Archie in the course of next few days. Had news of his whereabouts last Sat but have been too busy to look him up. Understand he is in camp hospital for a few days for minor leg injury but am not sure of this which I learned only today. Injury suffered here in camp & apparently is very minor.And so sweetheart we come to the close of another chat and until later in the week when I will try to write again I must say cheerio. But before we part, our usual loving embrace. Please do not forget those lovely tickles across the shoulders & down the back with cool fingers. How I wish they could be real! Goodnight darling. Give Ron a big big love from me. Your ever loving, Fred.

23 May 1944

Dearest Ri, I posted letters last Wed & Sat giving the news up until Sat evening. Until dinner time 12.30 on Sun was kept busy on military duties, church parade, IE, etc. After dinner rested till 4.30 when I met Jack & we went down to Maadi Tent where we had tea after which we strolled along the pretty tree lined streets. The trees are nicely green & in flower & with the fine lawns and gardens make a fine sight. Nice & cool too. On impulse we went into St. John’s the Baptist Church (C of E service in English) for evensong which commenced at 6pm. Quite enjoyed the service - also the tea which was served in the grounds afterwards. Returned just after 8pm to Maadi Tent to hear concert by Polish trio (piano, violin, soprano). Very talented musicians & we both thoroughly enjoyed their classical renderings. After supper at 9.30pm we walked back here and so to bed. Yesterday was spent on routine training including night lecture. The same today except that part of siesta spell is being spent in writing, instead of resting in tent. Temp well up being over 100ºF both yesterday & today. Feels as though wind is coming from a hot oven. Have fully recovered from TAB inoculations and “gypo tummy” is also much better today - refer to Sat.’s letter. Another airgraph mail in today but nothing for me so far. Haven’t given up hope yet! You should have my first airgraphs by now as it is about 3 weeks since they were sent. Am well & happy altho’ still missing you terribly. Fondest love to Ron and to you sweetheart, all my love, Fred.

26 May 1944

My Darling Ri, your airgraph of 9th May received half hour ago. Grand to hear form you again & news of Ron’s & your welfare very welcome. News of Dick’s trouble has upset me greatly & my heart goes out to your Mother & Dad & to you too for I know how you will feel. Wish I could be with you to comfort you. Oh! This damnable war. Be brave all of you. As you know I was most uneasy about matters in that quarter but it gives me no satisfaction to see events taking the course I predicted. All too often it happens so. I wish folks would more often take my advice as well intentioned guidance instead of as carping criticism. Will endeavour to write to your Mum & Dad today. Archie I find is in the Helwan hospital, suffering from acute arthritis in leg. Learnt of him being there on Wed so went to see him yesterday. He is suffering severe pain but is bearing it cheerfully. I think it possible he may be invalided home but this is not by any means certain. Naturally did not discuss Molly. Was surprised to find Bob Kilgour there too in A’s ward. A goodly number of our lot have suffered minor illness since we arrived (I met several yesterday) but I have fared well & am in the pink. Quite over tummy trouble referred to in recent airgraph. How are these airgraphs arriving & does the printing help? Hope so as it takes longer. To Ron, all my love laddie dear. See your message on foot of Mum’s airgraph. And the same to you darling. Don’t worry. Ever yours, Fred.

26 May 1944, Friday.

My Darling Ri, I have just finished airgraphs to you & also to the good folk at Trentham. I am afraid that in the latter I have expressed myself very badly but I trust it will afford your mother & father some consolation for I do really feel terribly sorry for them. Such a blow after all their sorrow of recent years must be a heart break taxing their full strengths to bear.

I know too just how upset & worried you must have been & I am desolated to think I could not be with you to help you over such a crisis. There are many aspects I cannot fully understand & I will have to wait for your letter before coming to conclusions. At the moment I am assailed by doubts & suspicions one of which I earnestly hope may prove ill founded, that Dick attempted to take his own life. You better than anyone will know of my concern at the trend of events with Dick but I hardly imagined things would become so involved. Yes, I think it would have been much better had your Dad done as I suggested & faced up to the unpleasant task of having a heart to heart talk with Dick. It may have done much good & it would in the light of subsequent developments have been a source of consolation to him for he would have the satisfaction of knowing he had done something to arrest the drift. Even altho the trouble at home may have nothing whatever to do with recent happenings, some good advice & straight talking from his father may have helped Dick to pull himself together & would perhaps have enabled him to see the situation his way of life was leading to. I did my humble best but of course it was useless. I suppose Dick thought his longer experience in the army & his wider knowledge (geographically) of the world had made him more world wise, & accordingly took my advice lightly. Of course it may be that Dick is not at fault, I await full details, but even should that prove to be the case it seems fairly evident he has landed into an unpleasant situation. Shootings do not occur without cause & if Dick’s own words to me can be believed his marriage can be explained only on one ground. Please do not think I am condemning him. My views now are the same as I have expressed them to you personally. But it does seem that events are confirming my fears. I can only hope that those most concerned are taking the lessons to heart & are not just sitting back & shirking the issues because of the difficulties & unpleasantness. It is never too late to try & recover lost ground & even tho the effort be in vain surely in the ultimate such an effort must be judged worthwhile.As you know dear I am rather an idealist but really I do sometimes wonder whether the price it demands & the poor results one sees make it worthwhile. Each day I become more discouraged & more disillusioned! It would have been so much easier & much more pleasant to have forsaken principles but as yet I have not reached the stage of regretting the humble efforts I have made to do what my conscience dictates is right. The price has been heavy at times, & never more than when it separated us, but I still feel it to be well worthwhile.Your latest airgraph was especially welcome for it was d3 weeks since your previous one altho the cable received on 16th May had come to hand in between. Still it was not the same as something written in your own handwriting. Over a week ago others had received airgraphs dated 4 th May & I had begun to wonder if you had found a Yank. Some of the boys who came over with us had rec’d as many as 20 airgraphs so I was feeling very lonesome. These airgraphs are an excellent scheme for they get to us so much quicker.If you see Eddy tell him that I saw a notice in the NZEF Times of Max Mulholland’s death in the RNZAF. Notice appeared in this week’s issue which I saw only yesterday. You may remember Max whom you met on several occasions at cricket. Bad luck! Another good lad gone.Learning of Archie’s whereabouts on Wed afternoon I got busy yesterday & went down to Helwan to see him. I had earlier news of him but had failed to find him at the location then given me. I hitch hiked between here & Helwan (obtained lift on RAF truck & enjoyed meeting some of the Tommy airmen) where we arrived at 2.15. As visiting is not allowed before 3.15 I spent the spare hour at the Kiwi Club partaking of lemonade which was badly needed because of the extreme heat. Got back to the hospital at 3.30 & spent an hour with Arch. He is all strapped up (just like we see them in the ward at the foot of the stairs WPH) with a pulley & sand bag onto his right leg. He says that with more practice he hopes to coax the “contraption” to fly. He has been there 2½ weeks & is now improving but is likely to be there some time yet. In my opinion he is done as far as service in the field is concerned & when fit enough I think he may return home. I rather fancy he is not too keen on being sent home. He did not say so directly but implied it several times. I asked him if he preferred me to say nothing about his illness in my letters but he said it would be ok so apparently he does not mind if Molly knows. We, neither of us, referred to Molly altho he enquired after all the rest. Met a number of other acquaintances down there incl Bob Kilgour (badly strained back) & Cliff Kerr (ulcerated stomach) whom you know. Found the trip to Helwan interesting & quite enjoyed the outing. Came back by train leaving Helwan at 4.30pm. A good day & not too expensive. Except for the above (which incidentally was AW) have not been out of camp since I last wrote.On Wed went over to Ch. Army Hut & listened to a very fine lecture entitled “The Legacy of Egypt” which dealt with Egypt’s contribution thro the ages to world culture & civilisation. An excellent address both instructive & interesting by a very fine speaker. Went with JF.So far have managed to escape the minor ailments with which many of our lot have been afflicted & I am very well altho I think a little thinner as the result of heat. Gypo tummy which troubled me a little last week is now better. Pains & runs were somewhat severe for two or three days but I was able avoid reporting sick. This illness is quite common during the acclimatisation process & I have been amongst the few lucky ones to get off lightly.

Jack & me are planning to spend a days leave (from 2pm) tomorrow together. We plan to visit the zoo, but have not yet decided upon how we will spend the evening. So far have not been to the pyramids. Am intending to wait for an “arranged” trip. Much cheaper this way & one obtains the additional benefit of specially good guides. A Church Army group si arranging a visit to Coptic Churches & Mosques for next week. Hope to be included in the party.This part of the letter is being written after tea. Had to stop at foot of preceeding page to go up to lines for P& RT. Had nice shower just before tea. We are experiencing some really hot weather here now. The temp last Tuesday was 114F in the shade. I wrote an airgraph to you that afternoon & altho stripped down to shorts the sweat was pouring off me. Did you observe signs of sweat marks in the airgraph reproduction?Am needing nothing (yourself excepted) at present so don’t worry about sending parcels. I am trying hard to save enough to send Clare a small memento & I have not forgotten your birthday. Archie agrees that prices have are up out of all recognition since he sent things home. When he returned from Italy he was commissioned to make purchases for some of the lads over there. It is so bad that he is returning them their money.The news of Ron is great. How is it that he is under Dr Mac? Ear still troublesome? I thought Dr Macky would have wanted to keep an eye on him for a time. How is Ron progressing with school work? Don’t forget to take some snaps. Not many cameras here so unlikely to be in position to send photos from here but I will try. Studio photos here cost a min of 60PT (100PT = £1Egyptian. £1NZ = approx 70PT) We get 100PT a week as our pay.Will finish off now as there are a a number of odd jobs which I want to do before turning in. Please give my regards to all old friends. Sent an airgraph to Frank last Tues but otherwise have neglected writing except to you. You will be able to acquaint those interested with my welfare & activities. And so dear we come to the end of another letter, my twelfth or 13th I think apart from airgraphs. Delighted to know you are well. Take good care of yourself because if anything should happen to you it would break my heart. I just live for the day , when the job over & done with for good, I can return & claim you as my own. Oh, the time is passing ever so slowly! Goodnight sweetheart. Give Ron a big love from me (I will write to him again soon) & tell him he is rarely out of my thoughts. Lovingly yours, Fred.

29 May 1944My Darling Ri, I intended to spend the whole evening tonight but our training lecture did not conclude until 8.30pm so that it is now 9pm almost & as Jack who has finished his mail is waiting for me to have a cup of tea with him I shall have to limit myself to base details.On Sunday Jack F took me to see the zoo which I found very interesting indeed. It is a big place, well laid out and with a good selection of animals many of which such as snakes, lizards, etc are quite unknown in NZ. Some of the cages are too small & the zoo could be much improved by enlarging some of the enclosures nevertheless it is easily the best zoo I have ever seen & I only wish you & Ron could have been there to share my enjoyment in seeing it. The grounds are spacious & with the trees & flowers blooming as they are at present it presents a fine sight. Of course we were pestered by our friends the wogs wanting to tell our fortunes, sell us things, etc but we are becoming adept at handling these most persistent fellows.We had tea at the NZ Club & afterwards took the train/tram to Heliopolis. One picks up this peculiar conveyance in the streets of Cairo where it runs as a tram, running to Cairo Stn where it runs onto rails & becomes a train. The run to H, about 5-6 miles, is made non-stop at a very fast speed up to about 50mph. At H you again run into the street, the train in effect becoming a tram travelling the streets of H. I found the trip very interesting indeed. The town of H is much superior to C the streets being much cleaner & the buildings much better, in fact the buildings are of a very good class & one sees some of the finest buildings in the world down that way - extremely modern & of pleasing appearance. I went quite close to the aerodromes & was rather thrilled at seeing spots I knew so well by name.Returning to the Club at about 8.30pm we had supper, the usual yarn with friends one always meets in the Club, & then back here & so to bed at 10pm feeling happy but rather tired after an interesting & enjoyable day. Jack by the way is one of our unit cooks. He is doing very well & the tea tonight which he mainly cooked, the plum duff especially, was thoroughly enjoyed by us all. Tell Mrs F she will be able to hand over her cooking duties to Jack when we get back & she can be assured that that dept of the house will be in competent hands.Yesterday I went out to see Archie again going by hitchhike as before. He was just the same but was very sorry to learn of Dick’s trouble. By the way in discussing matters I referred to the fact of Dick’s being adopted only to find that A knew nothing about it. I naturally supposed Molly had told him. He has undertaken to respect our confidence but in the circs. I am extremely sorry that I mentioned it.While at Helwan I took the opportunity of visiting the famed Japanese gardens there. At present the trees & flowers do not show much colour but when in bloom it must be a very pretty spot. The grounds are laid out in what I imagine is a copy of public gardens in Japan with lakes, pagodas etc all about. Buda’s are to be seen

everywhere & it is all very novel & interesting.After a snack at the Kiwi Club I caught the train back to Maadi and walked thence to Maadi Tent where I had tea & spent the evening. Incidentally the vehicle which took me to Helwan was driven by an airman who I think must have been a spitfire pilot grounded for dangerous flying. We were doing over 70mph at times & generally it was a rather adventurous trip. Thank goodness I am not nervous in cars. Strange to relate I was NOT accompanied by J on this trip.Have jacked up a trip to the pyramids for next Sunday. It would be absurd to say “weather permitting” because it is invariably fine here & one comes to automatically rely on perfect weather for anything pre-arranged. A crowd of us from the unit are going together in fact the trip is being done through our unit. Should be very interesting.Helwan is not especially interesting altho as you will know it is famed as a health resort. There are many hotels there & some fine buildings but generally the city is just about on a par with Cairo itself.Well sweetheart I will have to close now as I have already kept Jack waiting overlong. So goodnight sweetheart, look after yourself well. And to Ron, all my best wishes sonnie dear. I hope you are well and happy & looking after Mum for me. Lots & lots of love to you both. Your ever loving, Fred.

31 May 1944My Darling Ri, Delighted to receive your airgraph of 15/5 received at noon today. From the fact that Ron was able to go to Paekak it is clear he is doing wonderfully well & regaining his strength and vitality. Grand! Very puzzled that you should still not know how Dick met with his unfortunate accident. Pleased to learn that he is doing well. Give him my best wishes for rapid and complete restoration to good health and happiness. Will write to him when possible. Please also give my new sister-in-law my very best regards for and wishes for her future happiness. Posted further letter last Monday giving news of recent activities. Am very well indeed & with somewhat cooler weather again am enjoying life to the full altho of course am still missing you and other good friends & relations back home. This climate seems to suit me and everyone remarks on how well I am looking. Is the printing proving too small in these airgraphs? As soon as you think Ron well enough please have your photographs taken together & separately at a good studio (S.P.A.) and send me copies. I suggest you use “my fund” for this purpose. I leave you to decide whether to have full length or just head & shoulders. Think latter preferable. Yes dear it seems ages since we were together & time is passing awfully slowly. Still every day brings our reunion nearer. What a wonderful time it will be. All my love to you & Ron sweetheart. Look after yourselves well. Ever yours, Fred.

03 Jun 1944My Dear Ron, I have not written to you very often because I have known that you will obtain the news form my letters to Mum. It is nice to receive letters of one’s own so while waiting for tea at 6pm here I am sitting on my bed, comprising a straw filled palliasse on the sand, in my tent with this sheet resting on my wireless notebook. There is quite a breeze blowing & the tent is flapping in good style. From the doorway I can see Cairo in the distance with tall spires and domed mosques standing out against the skyline. In a slightly different direction & across the Nile are the Great Pyramids of Giza with the Sphinx nearby. Further to the south of these are several other pyramids including the Stepped Pyramid of Sakkara which is remarkable because of its unusual shape. Its sides are huge steps instead of the usual sloping shape. Altogether we can see about ten separate pyramids from here. To the south again and standing out prominently on high cliffs is an old fort, somewhat broken up, which was built and used when Napolean conquered this country. To the east one sees nothing but high barren bare hills with absolutely no vegetation whatever on them. Very bare & unsightly to our eyes accustomed as we are to seeing only green hills. From due south through east to north, where we see Cairo, there is nothing but these barren hills intersected by old watercourses. Typical desert. The desert hereabouts is not the rolling seas of sand as so often pictured. How did you enjoy your trip to Paekakariki with Barry? I hope you had a thoroughly good time. To be able to run around and play happily with your mates makes those weeks spent in hospital getting well, well worthwhile doesn’t it? Tell Mum I hope to spend this evening in writing to her. I am very well and could only be happier being with you & Mum. I hope you are as well. Tis very warm & altho sitting in singlet only sweat is pouring from me. How is it in NZ? Lots& lots of love, Dad.

20 May 1944My Darling Ri, my last news letter was written last Monday & so I will take up the story from then. The green

envelope letter which I wrote on Wed will have acquainted you with my pleasure at receiving your cable. At 2pm on Tues Jack F and myself set off on leave into Cairo. We had originally planned to visit the pyramids but on a/c of the weather being rather too warm & there being too short a time available we agreed upon a last minute change of plans, & instead we spent the afternoon investigating the mysteries of Cairo city until 6pm when we adjourned to the NZ Club for tea and a rest. The Club is a haven of refuge to troops on leave. It is well run, the set up & furnishings are excellent & after having seen the other service clubs around Cairo I feel safe in saying that the NZ Club is easily the best. One can obtain good meals there altho the prices are rather high, a good meal costing about 13PT (2/6). After a good rest at the Club, during which I met a number of old friends who have been here some time, we spent the evening going around some of the cabarets patronised by the troops & in the course of the evening we visited the Pam Pam; Sweet Melodic; Bospheric; Majestic; etc all of which no doubt Dick will know well altho I fancy the Bospheric opened only recently. What we saw was not very inspiring but nevertheless I found the evening full of interest and it afforded one an insight into a phase of life quite unknown in NZ & at the same time one obtained an idea of the morals or rather the lack of them accepted as common place in this part of the world. One does not take a partner to these cabarets as we would do in NZ. You go in & sit down at a table whereupon the wogs endeavour to prevail upon one to consume as much intoxicant as possible. The more the better for their profits. Dance bands playing really hot rhythm are in attendance and of course there are the dancing girls who however are there to serve other purposes than dancing partners. These girls are for the most part poor specimens and one would have to reach a very high degree of intoxication before paying them any attentions. It is amazing the lengths they will go to stir one’s interest in their charms. Kiwis do not pay them much attention but they do seem to do quite well with the “pongos” (pommies). Yes, an interesting & perhaps educative evening! Wednesday night I spent here writing . I sent airgraphs to you & Ron. Did you receive them safely?On Thursday night, after a lecture lasting until 8pm, I went with four tent mates to the pictures. The programme was rather poor & I did not enjoy it much. Last night I went with Jack Fowles & Jack Ellison to listen to a lecture at the YMCA by a Mr Scott Watson who is very well known as a prominent war & newspaper correspondent with a wide experience of world affairs. His subject was “Russia our Ally in Peace & in War”. A most interesting talk which I thoroughly enjoyed. He is convinced that the end of the war with Germany is well in sight & obviously he is in a position to form a fairly reliable opinion. I derived considerable satisfaction from the fact that his views confirm many of my own ideas. After being regarded as something of a heretic by some folks back home it is encouraging to find such a man thinking the same way.As you can see, tonight I am spending letter writing again. By the way Jack rec’d airgraphs yesterday which were posted on 2nd May. Again I was disappointed in not hearing further from you. When I received your airgraph a fortnight ago I hoped they would become a regular feature until such time as surface mails started to come to hand.I have fully recovered from the upset following the TAB inoculation a week ago. Unfortunately however I have fallen a victim to a malady known as “gypo tummy” (commonly called “wog guts”) which is very prevalent here at present. Dick will be able to tell you all about it. Some of the chaps have been very ill with it but altho the pains I have are extremely unpleasant so far I have managed to avoid visiting the RAP. Today is my second day of it so I am hoping for an early improvement.I am not permitted to say much about our training activities but range work with Bren gun, Tommy gun & rifle this morning was very poor partly attributable to a poor rifle but more so to the way I was feeling at the time.The weather is becoming really hot now & I find it necessary to spend the siesta period quietly in my tent. I try to sleep but the flies are pretty successful in preventing me from doing so. We therefore spend a lot of time reading, yarning & generally arguing over all sorts of subjects. On account of the unsettled state of my tummy I am making no definite plans for tomorrow but provided I am ok will probably do as we did last Sun, spend evening at Maadi tent where I understand there is to be another musical recital.For the PT period on Thurs & yesterday I was fortunate in being able to go down to the Maadi baths. Very nice & refreshing nothing like so strenuous as usual PT routine. The baths are very popular these hot days & it is a real scramble to secure a place on the truck which takes us down. During the week I hope for leave again & having seen enough of the city itself I will in future concentrate on the famous places to be visited - pyramids, mosques, churches, barrage, etc. There is no lack of places to go to but one keeps leave to a minimum owing to the expense of going out for money seems to vanish in an amazing way when one is on leave.A bottle of cholera drops would be handy so would you please include some in any parcel you may send. Saw Jack Hallwell ( amazing number of Jacks here isn’t it) in NZ Club on Tuesday but otherwise have not seen him since he looked me up soon after we arrived. You can tell Mrs H that he is well (I fancy he is somewhat thinner & perhaps rather more pale than when he was in NZ) and happy altho like us all very anxious to be back home.Without any mail to answer I must restrict myself to local news and having exhausted all of that I must draw to a close. And so dearest sending to you & Ron my love & best wishes I will say goodnight. I trust you are both

well and happy. I would dearly love to be able to pop in & see you but of course it is impossible altho I assure you I am often with you in thoughts. God bless you both, your ever loving, Fred.

03 Jun 1944My Darling Ri, nothing much of any great interest has taken place since I wrote to you last Monday but I think there is enough news to fill up a page or two so here goes. Having some time to spare this afternoon I wrote an airgraph to Ron & on account of the shorter period airgraphs take to reach you no doubt the airgraph will have arrived long before you receive this. I am afraid the effort was a poor one. Unless I can secure a comfortable position my efforts at letter writing are far from good. Also the printing of airgraphs requires a steadier platform than holding pad on knee. How are the airgraphs reaching you? On an average & without making the printing too small I get about 25 lines per airgraph. If however they are easily read & can stand further reduction I can reduce the size of printing to get about 30 lines per sheet.Jack F & I spent yesterday together in Cairo. We had planned to visit the Museum of Hygiene but at the last minute we changed our plans & spent the first part of the afternoon looking over the NZAPO (Army PO) in Cairo. It was interesting to see how our mails are handled & I consider the time well spent. The NZAPO has the reputation of being the most efficient in the M.E., a result of which they may well be proud because they are working under most crude & difficult conditions & the chaps down there certainly do work!After leaving the APO we made our way to the Club where we spent half an hour resting & enjoying a dish of fruit salad and ice cream (3½PT) which is delicious & a favourite dish for troops on leave. From the Club we went to the ICI building , the tallest in Cairo. A tactful approach to “George” (all the wogs are so called) and we were on our way to the roof by means of the goods lift. There are 17 stories and allowing for the two beyond the lift limit we were up 19 stories high when standing on the roof proper so you can see the building is something of a sky-scraper by NZ standards. From this advantage point one secures a truly wonderful view of Cairo & its surroundings. The heart of the city was spread beneath us & it was very interesting to look down upon the teeming life below. Altho the pyramids were some 5 to 6 miles distant they seemed quite close so clear was the view even in spite of the heat haze. The Nile could be traced from well to the north to well south. Heliopolis could be clearly seen as could also all the other outlying suburbs. The view one obtains of the Citadel and Mahomed Ali Mosque from this point is really wonderful. It was a wonderful experience. The lift had broken down while we were on the roof so we had to walk down a spiral stairway. I was properly giddy & felt quite sick when we eventually reached the bottom. “George” demanded his baksheesh & after the usual bargaining we settled at 1PT per capita. And so back to the Club where we had tea, afterwards resting until about 7pm when we walked the city streets exploring parts we had not visited previously. The city does not wake up after the siesta until late in the afternoon & by evening it is teeming it is teeming with people who throng the streets. It is certainly a vast metropolis & I am sure you would, in the cool of the evening, enjoy just joining the flowing tide of humanity & being carried along with it for a while. In spite of smells, heat, flies, pestering street hawkers etc etc I find Cairo a really interesting spot. At about 8.30pm we returned to the Club for a cup of tea after which we walked down to Kasr el Nil Barracks where one catches the leave truck back to Camp. Walking the streets of Cairo is a tiring business & one is pleased to hit the blankets upon arriving back here.I have managed to save 100PT & I was on the quest of something to send back to you. Again I was disappointed & I despair of ever obtaining something for you. The city is full of rubbish which I would be ashamed to send you & even that is a ridiculous price. With 23 rd June and 10th July so close it is unfortunate that these searches are so fruitless but I would rather wait until I can get something worthwhile than send you just rubbish. A nice set of undies 3 piece in good silk costs from 500 to 1300PT (£5 to £13); dress lengths equally expensive; silk stockings 200-300PT; shoes 200-250PT; so you can see how dear things are. Trinkets & jewellery are just as unreasonable. It is a heartbreaking business but I have not given up yet. By the way would you please let me know the sizes of shoes, stockings, clothing you usually buy in case the opportunity arises to buy those articles reasonably.Except as above referred to I have not been out of Camp and Tues Wed & Thurs were spent on the usual camp routine. Training until 12.30pm; then lunch; siesta to 4.30pm; P& RT to 5.30pm; then dinner; & so to evening.On Tuesday J & I went to one of the Camp pictures but the show was terribly poor & neither of us enjoyed it at all. The wogs who run the shows (privately owned) have a bad habit of cutting the film to shorten the programme. The cutting is so badly done that the whole sequence of the film is lost. The sound effects are also poor making the dialogue difficult to follow. On Wed I spent the siesta period with Jack Hallwell. Had not seen him for some time so thought I had better look him up. We had an enjoyable time together in his hut chatting & yarning. The siesta period is one of rest but I have found that sleeping during this time of day makes me very heavy & so I usually spend the time writing (as you may have observed), looking up acquaintances or in some other way.I had intended to wait until 23rd June before opening the cake but was so hungry after our weekly two hour route

march last Thursday night that I simply had to have something to eat & being too weary to trudge down to the NAAFI (about ¼ mile) I forsook my good intentions & opened the tin. In spite of being kept so long the cake is excellent. It is very moist (a little too much so perhaps) but this I attribute to the fruit pieces working through the cake. I trust you will forgive me for not adhering to my intention to wait until 23 rd but oh, I was so hungry! The cook house had a cup of tea for us but nothing to eat & so I took my mug of tea over to our tent. I have resealed the tin & hope now to wait the three weeks until the 23rd.This letter is being written from our unit club room which opened last night. Until recently the social & recreational activities of the unit have not been particularly well organised but last week we held a meeting & elected a social committee which has instituted plans to remedy the situation & the opening of a unit club room where we can write, play cards, read, etc is our first venture. We have a sports sub-committee & also a trips & tours sub-committee to organise games, sports, trips to points of interest, lectures, etc so we are not without ambition. With my usual flare for landing into trouble I am on the main committee & also on the trips & tours sub-committee. I can ill spare the time this work entails but it is little enough to do if it helps the social side of our unit activities.Tomorrow we are going to the pyramids at Sakkara; the site of the city of Memphis; and other historic sights to be seen out that way. The party comprises 50 odd from the unit mostly chaps who came over with me altho a few older hands (incl. Jack F) are also coming along. I have arranged the trip thro the unit so am hoping all goes well. The Sakkara district is one of the most historic spots in these parts.By the way I have lost track of the number of letters I have sent to you so cannot give a number to this letter. I fancy it is No. 14 but would not be sure. However you be able to sort it out from the date order of previous letters.The wireless which we have installed here (& which has been blaring hot rhythm all evening much to my disconcertion) has just announced the time as 9.40 & as the room closes at 9.45 I must put this aside for the time being. Will conclude tomorrow.In tent 10.15pm. Have just made my bed & in the flickering light of our hurricane lamp I am adding these few lines. Beating tent sides add nothing to the steadiness of the light. It is a lovely moonlight night - makes me feel really homesick. To think that only a few hours ago yon moon & stars were shining down on you, subject of course to the weather not being too cloudy. Cloudless nights are almost an invariable rule here. Goodnight sweetheart. God bless you & Ron, & keep you both safe & well.Sunday 4th June. A ¼ hr to go before church parade & as I have done everything requiring to be done I will spend the time adding to this letter.Another beautiful day. The morning broke clear & still and at the moment it is perfect altho I fear that later it will turn out very hot. It seems we are in for a hot time at Sakkara this afternoon. I notice from your airgraph that you mention having received three letters. This will comprise all mail written up till the time we left …… (our first port of call). I am looking forward to the time when our surface mail starts coming to hand. It should not be long now. I am wonderfully fit as you would soon realise if you could only see me. All I need to make me really happy is to have you & Ron with me. I still get rather homesick & look forward to the day when we will be back home but I realise that that cannot be for yet awhile & so I pull myself together & resolve to patiently await the glorious moment when we be reunited. How are you feeling & have you settled down to the new way of life?I fear I am neglecting writing to others, including Clare & to whom I have sent only one airgraph, but you will be able to let others interested know how I am getting on etc. All opportunities for letter writing are fully taken up with writing to you. Should I make my letters shorter & less frequent?Am in tent with a good crowd of chaps but during this week four of our number have been on guard duty which has necessitated their sleeping in the guard tent & so Ted Cousins & myself have had the whole tent to ourselves. We have rather spoilt ourselves by spreading our gear all over the tent a habit which will have to cease as from later today when the other 4 return.Sunday 7pm. Had about half finished the preceding paragraph when had to break off for church parade & I did not get another chance to take up pen before dinner & immediately after dinner we set off on our trip to Sakkara.In the very early days the capital of northern Egypt was Memphis a city of over a million inhabitants but which except for a few monuments has been completely obliterated by the ages. Sakkara is the burial ground of Memphis & its outstanding feature is the famous Stepped Pyramid, the oldest surviving structure erected by the hand of man. It is much older than the Great Pyramids. I cannot hope to give a full account of all that we saw & that will have to wait until we meet again. Briefly we started off by visiting the Tombs of the Bulls, thence to the Tomb of Tai, thence to the base of the Stepped Pyramid. Altho we were not permitted to enter the tombs within the pyramid we walked over the extensive ruins of temples etc at its base. Thence to the site of Memphis where we were shown a vast recumbent statue of Rameses II. It weighs about 80 tons & is 50 ft or so in length - a wonderful piece of carving in stone. We saw also many other fine relics of the grandeur that was once Memphis

but which is now obliterated completely the site being nothing now but squalid wogs villages filthy dirty. The Stepped Pyramid itself is the tomb of an ancient king whose name I can’t recall at the moment. Altogether it was a wonderful experience & needless to say I found it immensely interesting and instructive. I only wish that I could spare the time to tell you all about it or better still that you had been there with me. However I will enjoy telling you about it when we meet again. After visiting the site of Memphis we returned to Camp arriving at 5.25pm just in time for tea at 5.30pm.Since tea I have had a hot shower & prepared for tomorrow’s routine. The shower was most welcome & refreshing after the afternoon in the hot dusty desert. At Sakkara I had my first ride on that famous animal the camel. Tell Dick that he was right. When he got up onto his feet & during the reverse process I was very nearly pitched alternatively over his head, tail, head. A most amusing experience. When he did eventually get belly on to ground I was nearly bursting my sides with laughing, but my amusement was nothing as compared with that of those watching. Yes, thoroughly enjoyable was the interlude. I only wish someone had had a camera handy so that I could send you a snap.This trip was easily my most enjoyable experience here to date. There is so much to see that we could not do justice to the places on interest in the limited time at our disposal. One could spend several days out there. We were really sightseeing the American way but never the less it was thoroughly enjoyable & perhaps at some later date I may be able to do the trip with more time available. It is a wonderfully interesting spot thousands of years old. I will try & transcribe some notes from the tourist books in the library & send them on to you. They will serve as a jog to my memory when I come to tell you about itWell dearest I am feeling rather weary after a tiring day so I will close now & see about making my way to bed. In a few minutes a cup of tea should be available & feeling very parched it will be welcome. Jack who was with us on the trip & who is sitting opposite agrees.All my love dear, ever yours, Fred.To Ron: Hullo son, how are you? Well & happy I hope. Wish you & Mum could be here with me to see the wonderful sights hereabouts. I am always thinking of you & looking forward to the day when we will be together again. Lots of love, Dad.

06 Jun 1944Dearest Ri, at 10 o’clock this morning (7pm your time) we received our first news that the Allied invasion of Europe had begun. We can only pray now that everything proceeds according to plan & that the Allied operations now under way will quickly spell disaster to Nazi Germany, and bring victory to the United Nations. I still firmly believe that we will see the European war over by Xmas. What will happen thereafter I cannot guess but of course we are all hoping for a speedy return home to those we love. It is my turn today to be committee man in charge of the recreation hut but in the afternoon there is little to do except open up at 1.30pm & close the room again at 4.15pm. So I am spending the time as you can see. After tea we reopen at 6.30 until 9.45pm but having to serve tea etc & with a bigger number of chaps here there is no time then for writing. Also today is rather quieter than usual as the heat is causing most of the chaps to take their siesta lying down. We are into another spell of really hot weather the temp as I write being well over 100°F (in the shade) mark. When it gets this hot I find it somewhat trying. Tomorrow we are to have a ceremonial parade at Maadi Sporting Club in honour of Rt. Hon Mr Fraser who is in Cairo at present. On Thursday we are to march thro the streets of Cairo during celebrations being held in honour of the King’s Birthday. The thought of the route marching those ceremonies will entail is not pleasant particularly in view of the hot weather. However I find the break from the usual routine of training quite pleasing. Only yesterday I posted a long letter of fourteen pages so of course have exhausted all topics of news. I hope you will be able to read this alright. As an experiment I have reduced the size of printing & space between the lines & as a result should get about 35 lines per page instead of the usual 25. My Scotch instinct is greatly pleased. I think that with this printing it will reproduce alright. Am very well myself and wonderfully fit. Hope you & Ron are the same. I miss you as much as ever but of course realise that being separated is all part of the price we have to pay for fighting to maintain our ideals & self respect. When we meet again we will make up for these lost months. And my dear I come to the end of another letter wishing you all good fortune. Love to Ron & your dear self. Ever yours, Fred.

12 Jun 1944My dear Ron, I spent all afternoon yesterday in writing to Mum but it will be some time before the letter reaches her owing to it travelling by surface mail which is much slower than these airgraphs. Having given Mum all the news in my 11 page letter I am left without much to write about herein but I will manage to fill in this one page I expect. I had a lovely surprise on Friday when I received your first letter which Mother enclosed with her second letter. It was grand to hear that you are back home from hospital & doing so well in the direction of recovering your vitality and strength. I expect to find you a young Samson when I see you again. Keep it up

son dear. I will try to bring you back some mementos of the Hun but it is beginning to look as though he will be well beaten before I get near him. How did you manage with painting the launch? You seem to be becoming quite a picture fan & I am glad you enjoy the pictures. I do not like going to the pictures here as the theatres are too hot & the Arabic, Greek & French notes translating the English dialogue do much to spoil the picture. In consequence I do not worry about going to the pictures very often here. We are having very hot weather now & it is over 100°F in the shade quite often. No doubt you are having quite the opposite kind of weather with winter in full swing. I am on guard duty for this week & this means broken nights as we have to patrol the lines at night. Last night I was on patrol from 11.30pm to 1.30am. My shift tonight is 2hrs later. Am extremely well. Give Mum a b ig love & lots of kisses from me please. How is she? Lots & lots of love, Dad.

11 Jun 1944My Darling Ri, great was my joy yesterday at receiving your first two letters written on 2 nd Apr & 10th to 12th

April & sent by airmail. It was a great thrill & I cannot describe how pleased I was to these letters. The word “mail” assumes a much deeper meaning now than ever before & until recently I had not realised how much it means to one to receive mail from home. You cannot write too often but don’t worry to send all letters airmail. The expense is hardly justified as they travel by air only as far as Australia. The quicker travel is welcome but your airgraphs which reach us usually within 12 to 17 days from date of despatch serve to keep me posted of important news.Since despatch of my airgraph last Tuesday quite a lot has happened & I will give you an account of items before commenting on the remarks contained in your letter.On Wednesday we had a ceremonial parade at Maadi Sporting Club in honour of Rt. Hon Mr. Fraser. We marched down & arrived there at about 0830 hours, the parade itself lasting approximately an hour. A march past concluded the ceremony & then we marched back to camp for a spell & a rest. A period of IT from 11 to 12 ended training for the day except for PT from 4.30 to 5.30 when I went for a swim.On Thursday we took part in a ceremonial parade through Cairo in honour of the King’s Birthday. This was a fairly important occasion & the parade was quite impressive, detachments from almost every allied unit in the ME taking part. On a/c of being in the ranks we did not see much except swarms of spectators who lined the streets thro which we marched. Cairo is a big city, the population being in excess of a million & a half & so you can imagine what it was like when you think what such a parade is like in Wgtn with its much smaller population. We arrived back in camp at about 11am tired & hot (reveille was at 4.45am) & we much appreciated our CO’s action in giving us the rest of the day off. I spent the siesta period resting in my tent. An attractive brochure has been issued giving the names of officials & units participating & we are allowed to mail this so I will post my copy to you at an early date. Copies were given to those who took part.Friday we were back into our training syllabus. In the morning the CAMB (Cairo Area Military Band) put on a concert at El Djem which is where all free concerts are held. It is an open air amphitheatre set into one of the escarpments so characteristic of the ground formation hereabouts. Dick will be able to give you a full description. It was a grand show thoroughly enjoyed by all. The artists were of more than average ability & the orchestra & dance band, especially the orchestra, gave renderings of their items. The party comprised 40 instrumentalists & they were bandsmen who had put aside their band pieces to play as an orchestra playing both good music & swing thereby catering for all tastes. Yes, a really good show!I forgot to mention that Thurs evening I spent at a lecture entitled “The Greek Question” given by Prof Christiany. The subject is especially interesting at the present time & the speaker himself a Greek, is very well qualified to talk on the subject as he is closely in touch with recent important developments. He is a highly educated man who took his doctors degree (not medical) at Oxford before returning to Greece where he has held important academic & political posns. A fine speaker who was well worth listening to. I gained much in hearing his views & fully enjoyed his lecture.We did not follow the usual routine of range practice on Sat morning but instead we made up some of the time which ceremonial parades had caused us to lose earlier in the week. In the afternoon I went on leave with Jack. Upon arriving in town we set off for the Museum of Hygiene which we had planned to visit a fortnight ago (see previous mail). We found the place quite easily & spent an hour or so there. It is an interesting spot & highly educative but is really more suited to medical students & those interested in medicine. Some of the exhibits are very gruesome but they teach useful lessons & while not pleasant to look on the exhibits all have a highly educative value. The time spent there was well worthwhile.On the way back to the NZ club we passed King Farouk’s palace (which is near to the museum). The palace is a palatial place (I see from the dictionary that palatial means befitting a palace so it is hardly the word to use) & interesting from my view point in that it is the only king’s palace I have seen. Back at the Club we had a reviver - a plate of ice cream each - & then set off for Heliopolis travelling by our old friend the tram/train/tram. We did

not go to the terminus but only as far as the swimming baths. Here we found what I regard as the choicest spot I have found in Cairo so far. The baths are really fine & I will not attempt to fully describe them but if you will recall some picturesque scenes of swimming baths you have seen in the movies you will have a good impression of the Heliopolis Baths. A pretty spot with a restful atmosphere about it. We reached there at 5pm 7 stayed until 7.30pm & we enjoyed every moment of it. We will be there again for we both found it most enjoyable. The restful atmosphere & the complete change of scenery & absence of military procedure are restful & one can completely relax there. From the baths we walked a short distance to the Heliop. Service Club where we had tea afterwards sitting on the veranda in a nice breeze until it was time to return to Cairo. The Club is on the Heliopolis race course & is actually the members club house (I think this is so but am not too sure). Anyway it is well appointed in fact with walls tapestried etc it gives the impression of being almost palatial. From the balcony or veranda one looks straight down onto the r/c which rather reminded me of Trentham. It is really much different. The buildings are typically oriental or eastern in their style of design & they are in keeping with the fine class of building which characterises Heliopolis. One remarkable thing impressed me. The track proper is a beautiful green turf as good as any to be seen in NZ & its contrast with the centre of the course & the grounds around the enclosures truly remarkable. One wonders how much water is used to maintain so much turf in such good order. On the outside of the course only roads & buildings, dry stucco structures matching well with the arid desert. The centre of the course is characteristically desert in appearance (dry sandy waste of extremely barren appearance) & the way in which the green track stands out against such surroundings is most striking. Heliopolis is a comparatively modern part of Cairo & wide streets, often tree lined, & modern buildings of pleasing appearance are to be seen everywhere. The place is quite big (about the size of Wgtn) & has the air of prosperity about it. In the more recent buildings one sees the modern style of architecture not so typically oriental as is to be seen in the older buildings. It is an interesting place & I have thoroughly enjoyed my two visits out that way. I will endeavour to secure some photos to depict the r/c & city as no amount of description on my part could convey a true impression. Leaving H at 8.40 we journeyed to Cairo & the NZ Club where we had another reviver (ice cream) before walking up to Kasr el Nil Barracks where we catch the trucks back to Camp. On the way to Kasr el Nil we looked in at Groppi’s. This is a famous restaurant & cabaret. I am told it is often mentioned in fiction as the place where heroes meet their heroines, villains conspire, romances develop, etc etc so with your extensive reading of fiction you have probably read of it. It is an interesting spot & one which I will describe at a later opportunity for time is getting short & in any case our visit was very brief. We intend to spend an evening there on a future occasion. We arrived “home” about 11pm tired but happy & refreshed after an enjoyable day.You can see how I am spending today. We had church parade this morning & after that the usual CO’s inspection of huts & tents. Just before dinner I moved my gear from my tent to where I am writing now, ie the guard tent, with pad on knee. For the next week I am on guard duty so I expect broken nights for the next seven days. We have to do our normal training during the training period but are exempted from PT so the afternoons are used to catch up on lost sleep. We go on at 7.30pm & are on duty until reveille at 5.30am. There are 10 of us & we do 2 hr shifts in pairs but of course we have to be in the guard tent all the time in case of emergency.We are into really hot weather now and every afternoon sees the shade temperature over the 100°F mark. It is usually around about 110° in the shade at 12.30pm & this heat lasts until about 4.30 when it slowly drops. Such heat saps ones energy so please excuse me if I fail to keep up my correspondence. You can picture me now sitting on my bed, paper on a cardboard defining the duties of the Prowler Guard, my only clothing being my shorts undone right down the fly, and sweating so much that I have to keep my towel beside me all the time & believe me I have to use it to wipe myself off pretty often. The wind coming in thro the door is like air coming out of an oven door.Well dear as you can see I am getting much enjoyment out of life in spite of all the handicaps of this life. Really I am having a wonderful time but I do so miss you & while I view much which pleases me I am all the time conscious that without you with me to share the pleasure my enjoyment is very incomplete. Yes Dear, if I could only have you & Ron here my happiness would be complete.And before closing I must add a few comments on your letters. Oh, how wonderful it is to have such good reports of Ron’s progress. Only you can appreciate just how much it means to me to know that he is making such good progress. Yes, dear, you were wonderfully brave on the station. If you had broken up so would have I. It was hard, I know how you were feeling & I admire you tremendously for your behaviour. It was an inspiration to me & the only thing which enabled me to maintain face myself. If I have failed to compliment you in previous letters (I cannot remember) it can only be that it was so much the result that I expected from you that I just took it all for granted. You were all that I expected & hoped you would be, my dear. Did I mention in any previous letter how upset I felt as the boat left the wharf? I will never forget the feelings which possessed me as we cast off. I am glad you were not there for I am sure I could not have retained control of my emotions.Speaking of dreams. I often dream of you & only last night (effect of your letters perhaps) I dreamt of you &

Ron together. It is lovely having these dream pictures of you. You can guess the nature of some of these dreams. How disappointing it is to awake & find it is only a dream.I have not used my green envelopes the last two weeks. Apart from the fact that I seem to have given you all the news in these letters & airgraphs I have not had the time to write additional green envelope letters. Also I want to see your reaction to my silly sentimentality before writing too much of it. I wonder whether you find the emotions expressed in some of the letters I have sent just too silly & emotional. Let me know, please dear.Tell Ron that I was thrilled to get his letter which as you say was a good effort. I will write to him again as soon as I can. Will try to get an airgraph away within the next few days.And so sweetheart mine we come to the end of yet another letter. I wonder how many more there will be before that wonderful time when we will be together once again. What a wonderful prospect that is!Give Ron a big love on my behalf. All my love dear. Ever yours, Fred.

16 Jun 1944My Darling Ri, received your airgraph of 30th May only few minutes ago as I was on my way here to write this. Delighted to know you & Ron so well but very upset & worried over Dick. …..my heart goes out to him & your Mother & Dad. I can only trust that the lack of cable news during the fortnight since your airgraph was written means he rallied & that having passed the crisis all will be well. I pray tis so. Following receipt of your news of his marriage & subsequent misfortune I sent him a cable but inadvertently used a numeral which did not exist. I was instructed to call at the PO some days later & this I did last Friday when the mistake was corrected. The cable should now have reached NZ.I can only hope that if it did not arrive too late it may help to cheer & encourage the lad. I trust dear that you are bearing the ordeal bravely. I am sure you will be & that Mother is finding you a tower of strength. Be brave & all will be well.I see you used my old address (ASC) showing that when you wrote you had not rec’d my airgraph written about 4/5/44. Strange! Airgraphs coming this way reach us usually in 14 to 17 days. We hear rumours of the airmail to NZ being reinstated shortly. Mr. Fraser hinted of this when he addressed us recently. Sorry that I have not written to you since last Sunday when I wrote quite a long letter of about a dozen pages. Sent airgraph to Ron on Mon. Am on guard duty this week 7 opportunity to write letters occurs only on the night (tonight for me) when we strike the 3 shift (ie, from 11.30pm to 1.30am) when we are permitted to leave the guard tent during evening. Am finding broken nights a bit hard but in other ways am enjoying the experience. Only wish we could enjoy these wonderful nights with glorious moonlight together. The nights here are really made for romance! Am very well indeed & only need you here & Ron to be really happy. Heat during the day from 11am until about 10pm very trying - temperature rarely under 100 & often much above that so you can imagine what it is like. Am writing this stripped to the waist. Guess you would welcome some of this heat just at present. Weather otherwise is perfect its consistency is amazing day after day just the same. Have seen rain only once & than just a few drops. Haven’t seen Arch lately. Hope to get about again after Sunday. When next in Cairo will try to get something suitable to send you for 23 June & 10 July. Training now very interesting, field ex quite frequent. Our station today was within a short distance of Great Pyramids but was too busy for sightseeing. Give my regards to all, ….. ….. etc. To yourself & Ron my two dears fondest love. Ever yours, Fred. Try putting more into your airgraphs. They are easily read. Write smaller.

18 Jun 1944My Dearest Ri, I came into Cairo today on my own hoping to find something suitable to send you as an anniversary & birthday gift. Altho I have spent the whole afternoon on the search I am sorry to say it has been fruitless & here I am back at the Club for a rest & refreshment without being any further ahead. I will continue the search after tea but this afternoon’s result does not inspire confidence of a better result. Of course I saw many things which I liked but they were much too expensive & everything within my means was so trashy I would have been ashamed to have sent it. I am determined to get something which I can feel satisfied that you will like, but for £2 one can buy only cheap jewellery & nothing good in the way of clothing such as undies, blouses, kimonos, etc. I will keep trying. Most of the shops here are open on Sundays which are much the same as ordinary week days as far as the life of the city is concerned. It was very hot & wearying in the city today & my feet are burning thro my boots. I came in in shorts in the hope it would be cooler so dressed.Our week on prowler guard duty finished at reveille this morning & I am looking forward to some unbroken nights to make up for sleep lost during the week. There is not much by way of news to write about but I will give what there is in a letter I hope to write early in the week - perhaps tomorrow. This is only intended as a stopgap. Having a rest in the writing & reading room to cool down before I go for a light tea I spotted these two unused sheets of writing paper at a vacant writing table so I availed myself the opportunity to write few lines.It is 5pm Sunday here which means that it is 2am Monday with you. I visualise you sound asleep in our lovely soft bed, snug in between glorious clean sheets. No doubt too you are not bathed in perspiration as we are of a

night here. What a pity we cannot let you have some of our surplus heat in exchange for some of your excessive cold.Still no word of anything untoward having occurred in Dick’s illness so I am filled with hope. I say goodnight dear & kiss that lovely cheek so snug upon the pillow. A trip into Ron’s room for the same purpose. All my love dears, Fred.

19 Jun 1944My Darling Ri, as promised in the letter which I wrote from the NZ Club in Cairo yesterday here I am for the news of the week since I last wrote. Having lost count of the number of letters written since we left NZ no official number can be ascribed hereto but you will be able to sort them out from the dates given in the headings. I only know I have written fairly frequently both by letter & airgraph for having come to know how delightful it is to get mail I am determined to give you as many as possible while the opportunity offers.We have just finished our usual Monday night parade & I am sitting in our unit recreation hut waiting for a cup of tea which is due any minute now. Through being on guard duty all last week I was tied to Camp & in consequence there is not much in the way of news. Still there is plenty to write about so here goes.I think I mentioned in a previous letter that I have been elected to the executive of the Recreation Committee recently set up in the unit. The job entails quite a lot of extra work I can ill spare the time but it is better to have too much to do than too little as time passes more rapidly that way. Once a week each committee member has to take charge of the recreation room & it is my turn tomorrow. This means opening the room from 1.30 to 4.30 & again from 6.30 to 9.45 & cleaning up etc which takes until about 10.30. The duties include serving drinks, writing paper, selling stamps, answering enquiries, & generally keeping things running smoothly.I have also been elected to the trips & tours sub-committee (there are only two of us on this) & this job also entails much work organising sightseeing trips to points of interest hereabouts. I landed this job as a result of my organising the trip to Sakkara & Memphis which I did prior to the setting up of the full Rec. Committee. I am pleased to say that all (over 50) who went on this tour are generous enough to consider it a great success. And so you see that FJC with his usual facility for landing in amongst the work is running true to form.Tea has just gone on. Really too hot for tea but it costs only ½PT with biscuits & is a great thirst quencher. It is remarkable how it brings the sweat out & it simply pours off as soon as you begin to drink it.Since we arrived here we have had to hand in our KD khaki shirts (the type we wore in NZ) & we now wear what is called bush shirts. They are khaki of course but are cut differently & are worn not tucked into trousers. They button down the front & have pockets below the breast pockets. They are quite comfortable but are not so neat looking as the old style & we look like wogs in these garments they are so long, coming well down the body. In appearance they are something like a tunic but the cut is not neat & they look more like a shirt which we have forgotten to tuck in. Another sartorial change in in our head-dress. We lost our felt hats within a week of our arrival but continued to wear our caps FS. These we lost yesterday & had issued in replacement a form of beret. They are well made but do not fit well & do not look at all neat. I expect we will get used to them but at the moment we are not too pleased about the change. Our appearance is certainly not enhanced with these berets, but still what does it matter? When I get used to them I am hoping to like the change. It will certainly overcome the tendency of my hair to blow about even when wearing a cap for as you know my peculiar style of hairdo always was a problem. I will try to send you a photo of me in this strange rig but cameras are scarce here & it is not easy to get photos. You will probably have a good laugh when you see how we look in this garb.On Thursday night I was chosen to address a meeting on the subject of Lease Lend. Owing to the hot weather route marches have been suspended for the time being & so instead of route marches on Thursday nights we now have lectures on general subjects as well as on technical subjects relating to signals work. I spent the siesta period Wed & Thurs preparing the address which according to the chaps who had the misfortune to be made to attend was quite successful. It was most difficult to obtain data but I managed to fill in the hour & the interest of the audience was maintained throughout. I seem to be regarded as something of a public speaker & fount of knowledge. Can you imagine it?We had another organised trip on Sat this time going to the Citadel & Mohamed Ali Mosque. We left here at 1.30 & returned at 6pm in time for tea & in sufficient time to enable me to go on duty at 7.30. I could write volumes on this trip & what we saw but lack of space & time forbids. Suffice it to say it was immensely interesting & I really do think it was the most impressive trip I have made since arriving here. Others were not so enthusiastic but all are unanimous that it was a success & all that went agree that the trip was thoroughly enjoyable. The Citadel is a very historic spot. Within its boundaries are several points of interest amongst which we visited Sidi Seria Mosque (built 600 years ago), Joseph’s Well, the walls of the fort, & Mohamed Ali Mosque. Sidi Seria is small but nevertheless very impressive. The well is a remarkable spot. It is hewn out of solid rock & is 300ft down to water. We went down it by means of the pathway which winds around the well

sides. It is square with sides of 12ft or thereabouts. Mohamed Ali Mosque is the most impressive spot I have ever seen & I stood deeply awed at the impressive interior. Upon leaving the Citadel we went to Sultan Hassan Mosque near by. It is not so striking as the others but is very much older & is referred to in the Tales of the Arabian Nights. It is totally different from the others we saw & from a historic view point is regarded with more favour by students of Egyptian history but personally I was much more impressed by Mohamed Ali. I admit the latter is more “showy” but the striking beauty of its interior, the immensity of the building & its fine architecture etc created an indelible impression on my mind. I will enjoy telling you all about when we meet again. Lacking the power of descriptive writing I could never do justice to the subject in a letter. Yes indeed a wonderful experience!Tuesday 1.30pm. I had proceeded this far last night when I had to finish because of the room closing at 9.45pm. While waiting for a special committee meeting called for 2pm I will add a few more lines. We have just been paid and being “C” I was amongst the first to go thro. I will have to find someone to look after the room while I am away at the meeting.Had a wonderful thrill when we were dismissed at 12.25 today. On going to my tent I found two letters from you. They were written 20th April & 26th April respectively. Oh, how good it is to get these letters! I will comment on them later if time permits.I was in town on Sunday & the manner in which I spent the day you will know from my letter from the Club. I am sorry to say that altho I continued my quest in the evening I met with no success. It is a heartbreaking business but I will keep at it. I really think that women’s clothing such as undies, materials, lingerie, kimonos, etc, is about twice or three times as expensive in Cairo as the same class of goods could be bought for in NZ. Only here there is no shortage. Jewellery, brooches, bangles, necklets etc are very dear for anything good. Some things are fairly reasonable but they are of a class hardly suitable to send you. By going into town without company I felt I could get around better so for the first time since arriving here I roamed Cairo on my own. I did not get lost altho at times I must admit I was puzzled as to my exact whereabouts especially during the evening when it was dark. Cairo is partially blacked out & the streets are dark & gloomy soon after sunset. People begin to wake up at 6pm & city life really only begins from that time. The streets are a seething mass of people of all classes & nationalities & traffic congestion often occurs.Feeling awfully hot! Just had a drink out of the “zeer“. This is a native water vessel of remarkable nature. They are made of porous clay in all sizes to keep the water cool. The principle is that the porosity of the vessel allows water to seep to the outer surface of the vessel. ( Just back from the committee meeting 3pm). The rapid evaporation set up by the heat & dryness of the atmosphere has a very marked cooling effect & the temperature of the water is greatly reduced. A primitive idea but it works exceptionally well. I know now why excessive perspiration cools the body.Have not seen Jack Hallwell during the last ten days. Am intending to look him up in the course of the next few days & hope to arrange a trip into Cairo together. Jack Fowles is well & we are planning to take leave together early next week but have not yet decided what we will do.Tomorrow I am taking three of the chaps from our tent to the baths at Heliopolis. I have been so enthusiastic about my day there some ten days ago that they are keen to ascertain what they are like. We will spend the pm there & probably have tea at the Club on the r/c & spend the evening having a look around Heliopolis. It is really pleasant down that way in the coolness of the evening.Another very warm day again today & a strong N wind is blowing much sand about. As you will have gathered from my mail I am having a good time & really I feel mean enjoying myself so much while life goes on in its humdrum way for you & Ron. Still I would give anything to have the job over & be back with you. These pleasures are very shallow without you to share them. I am making the best of present opportunities to improve my knowledge of the world & its people and by going around to points of interest etc one is away from more sordid things & not subject to the temptations which this city offers. I think too it helps one to resist the demoralising effect which the climate & environment hereabouts has on one. You see I am determined to return to you no less a man than we parted.I continue to keep very well & there is no doubt the life here agrees with me. It may sound like skite but I think I can fairly claim to be doing rather better than some of the younger men. I hope I can keep it up.Now for some brief comments on the news in your letters & then I must close. It is good to have such good reports on Ron’s progress. Keep it up son. I hope you have fully recovered from the measles. Sorry to learn of your mother having a recurrence of her leg trouble. Hope the treatment ordered by Dr. G has the desired effect. Have not rec’d your letter about Dick’s accident yet. I guess your poor Mother is finding that terrible worry a severe set back. She has certainly had more than her share of worry & anxiety the past few years. Give her my best wishes. Use the 8/- to send tobacco under the Patriotic Scheme. Greys. When is the balance of the money due likely to come to hand? Guess we will have to write it off as a bad debt.

Thank Ron for his letter to which I will reply in due course. Many thanks for sending on Uncle C’s letter. I will write to him if I can. Give my regards to the Lowden family & all other J’ville friends. I guess Judith is growing up quite quickly. Barry will be quite the young man by the time I get back. Hearing of the local folk makes one feel that you are not so terribly far away. Most unfortunate that Dick should have met trouble so soon after starting on a job. How is he? Lack of cable news is reassuring. I am looking forward to receiving details of the mishap. Does any significance attach to the total omission of any reference to Dick’s Doreen in these two latest letters? In your previous letters you mentioned that she was staying with you. Cancel this enquiry I have just remembered that was airgraph news. Most confusing getting news all jumbled up in order of date sequence.Give Eddy another ring & let him know I think of him often. Would like to write more frequently to him & Johnny & all the others but my time is fully occupied these letters to you. Have you had Mrs de Schryvas up yet? Please also let Clare know how I am. Must try & find time to write to her again. Give her my very sincere best wishes meantime & also to John & Nev. Well dearest I really must make this page my last as time is getting on. It will soon be 4.30 when I will have to close the room until after tea.Getting your letters makes me feel very homesick & I yearn to see you & hear your sweet voice. Oh how I miss those lovely tickles! When I get back I am going to lie down & make you tickle me for weeks & weeks without stopping. I will order ice blocks to cool off your hands. We will do other things as well but I can mention only tickles. It is no use concealing it. I miss you more than I ever thought possible even altho I always knew it would be difficult. Please dear keep yourself well until I can return to look after you once again. I want to be proud to claim you as completely mine when the day of our reunion arrives. What a marvellous day that will be! For Ron I send my fondest love & best wishes for his health & happiness. Please give him a big hug & lots of kisses from me.And so dearest I end yet another letter. I know you will excuse my silly sentimentality as expressed on the previous page. You & you alone can understand how I feel & my feelings are only the result of my missing you so much. Let’s join in hoping it will soon all be over & we can join in continuing our happy union once again better & wiser form the knowledge gained & the experiences passed thro since our separation.In RO’s yesterday we were notified of the inauguration of an air mail service from here to NZ. We are limited to one such letter a week. We were issued with the forms on pay parade earlier this pm. I will send mine away later in the week. All my love to you my darling girl, I remain, your ever loving, Fred.

22 Jun 1944Dear Ron, I have just finished an airmail letter to Mum but we are allowed only one such letter per week so I must needs send an airgraph to you. It will be interesting to see which gets home first, and the length of time between them. We will regard it as a race. Don’t forget to let me know who wins. I pick that the letter to Mum will win easily. These air mail letters are just a new scheme and this week is the first we have been able to send them. You are a funny lad to have measles again and it was strange that the spots should show up so suddenly. I hope you are quite alright by the time this reaches you. You should be more patriotic than to have German measles. I bought some photos yesterday when at Heliopolis & will enclose them in my next letter. They are of places I have been to or of scenes that I have seen since arriving here. One shows some feluccas on the Nile. These are the boats which the natives use for transporting goods, foodstuffs, etc, and hundreds, indeed thousands , can be seen on the Nile at all times. They have high bluff bows and very unusual form of sails unlike anything to be seen in NZ. It is surprising the loads they carry stacked high on their decks.I wish you could be here with me so we could see together some of the wonderful things & strange sights to be seen hereabouts. I know you would find it very interesting.Mother tells me you are doing well with your lessons. Good lad, keep it up, I am very pleased. The letter which Mum enclosed with hers of 26th April was well written & compiled and you may well be proud of yourself for having written such a letter. When properly well you will do even better.No doubt the weather back home is very wintry & cold but here it is quite the opposite. Tonight it is more pleasant than we usually have it. A cold breeze blowing gently through the room is very refreshing. Usually the breeze is searing hot, & today out in the desert the sweat just ran off me in buckets full. Give my best wishes to Barry, Judith & all the others. I will be back to play with you all again soon. Lots and lots of love from your ever loving, Daddy.

23 Jun 1944My Darling Ri, a sad day! Your airgraphs of 6 th & 8th June giving news of Dick’s death reached me at noon today and have made me very sad indeed. In view of your airgraph of a week ago I have been prepared for the worst but lack of cable news had raised high hopes that your expectations had not materialised. It is a sad story as anyone could imagine & to think it should befall you and your family! Oh dear how I wish I could be back

with you all to share the sorrow and perhaps do a little to make things easier. My heart goes out to your Mother & Dad. I know full well what they are suffering and I pray they will be given the strength to bear their sorrow. Fate has been most unkind in leaving you alone to suffer all this sorrow & anxiety on your own. Again I am reminded of my theory that the more one tries to do the right & honest thing the more fate intervenes to set one back. Yes I am sure Dick was game to the end and that he would show those good qualities which make the man. He was only a kid & thus subject to precipitate and perhaps at times thoughtless action but deep down he had many good qualities and in the end he proved himself a man in every way. His courage will ever be a source of great comfort to Mother & Dad. Yes it is the utter futility of it all that makes it so sad. I knew his lack of affection for the girl he married and knowing that he was coming to realise where his way of living was leading I imagined that while in a mood of deep depression he had attempted to take his own life. I know I should not have thought that but I know more of Dick’s life than anyone living, we had some very deep talks, and knowing of his lack of enemies, for his good fellowship was one of his outstanding qualities, I could not imagine what has proved to be the case. I eagerly await further details. I wonder if it was Mrs W. She was opposed to Dick’s association with Doreen & under the influence of strong liquor was not entirely rational. You will know without my putting my thoughts out fully ( which space forbids) just how I feel so suffice it to say that I am terribly sorry. The news has affected me deeply more than I thought possible. Perhaps because of being so far away & thus so helpless. Will cable to Trentham tomorrow. I guess my directions in early letters to obtain further details about places visited from Dick will cause you sorrow. Please forgive me. I never imagined this happening while I was away. Archie now up & about saw him this pm. Hoping your anniversary day has proved happier. All my love sweetheart mine. Ever yours, Fred.

02 Jul 1944Dearest Ron, I was delighted to receive your airgraph dated 15 th June which reached me at midday today being handed to me while we were unloading our equipment off our wireless trucks after returning from manoeuvres in the Suez Canal Zone. We had had a tiring journey & it was very hot and dusty and receiving your mail helped to revive my spirits. We have just finished a very busy week & altho’ the exercise was most strenuous & tiring we all enjoyed ourselves. At times we were right beside the canal and at other times we were right out in the desert with sand extending for many miles around us. It was all new ground and altho’ the view was nothing to remark on the strangeness & novelty made it all very interesting. We saw many strange things & unusual sights but they are too numerous to describe here so you will have to remind me to tell you all about it when I get back. I had several swims & it was most enjoyable being able to swim in clean salt water for the first time since we were in Aust. I had a swim in the Great Bitter Lake, in the canal, and also in the Red Sea. I swam right across the canal & on the other side walked some distance into the desert far enough in fact to take me some little distance into the country called Sinai. I would have gone further but the sand was much too hot for my bare feet. Tell Mum that her airgraphs of 15th & 18th June also arrived today. I am very well indeed& I trust you are the same. What a silly boy you were to fall off the shed roof & break your nose. You must be more careful! Still ‘tis good to know that you are well enough & strong enough to be so venturesome. Will be writing to Mum later today or tomorrow. Many many thanks for your well written & well composed airgraph. God bless you Son. Lots & lots of love from your loving Dad.

Saturday, 2nd July ‘44 463827 Signm. F.J.Cooper NZ Sigs.Sch. Base 2NZEF M.E.F.My Darling Ri, I am sorry to have neglected you so badly during the past week but it was quite impossible to write while we were on exercises in the Canal Zone. Conditions were all against letter writing & as for time well we did not even have time to perform essential daily tasks such as washing, boot cleaning, eating, etc, so you can see we had a pretty busy time except for two days when we rested.I was delighted to get 3 airgraphs when we arrived back at noon today, two from you (15/6 & 18/6) & Ron’s good effort. Yes! I received both cables alright. Many thanks. I thought I had acknowledged them both. I can now understand your reasons for not cabling the news of Dick’s death. You can usually rely on airgraphs reaching us within about a fortnight of their being posted in NZ.No doubt your Mother & Dad will find the Magistrate & Supreme Court proceedings a terrific trial but it is an inevitable part of the sad business & just part of the burden to be borne. I feel very sorry for them & trust they come thro’ the ordeal well. I wish I could be with you all to help. I was interested to learn that May Walker is accused of the crime. I can say now that when I knew it was not a case of suicide I straight away picked Mrs.W as being responsible. Knowing something of her previous behaviour I could guess pretty well what had happened. Probably the defence will be that she was under the influence of liquor for I know she was a very heavy drinker & when drunk or under the influence of drink she was subject to violent temper. Dick had told me of some of the unpleasant happenings that had occurred on previous occasions. I fear that the Court proceedings will bring out some rather unpleasant evidence. How is Sid Walker & his father taking the posn. It must be a

very sad position in which they are situated.In an airgraph just written to Ron I have given brief details of our Canal trip. We left here early Sunday a.m. & arrived at our destination near Ismalia at 1 p.m. We were due to start the exercise at 2.30 p.m. so after lunch we went for a swim in the Great Bitter Lake. We were just returning to our camp to prepare to move off when we were told that it had been postponed until early Mon. 2 a.m. so we spent the rest of the p.m. swimming. In company with Bob Crafs [?] I swam across to two islands which we walked across, thence to a sandbar which we also crossed to reach the Canal. After a spell of ½ hr. we swam the canal & from the other side we walked some distance into the desert, far enough to take us into the Sinai Desert. The hot sand eventually drove us back & we returned to base tired & thirsty in time for tea. The canal is only about 200 yds across so it was not a remarkable feat. After tea another swim after which we walked over to a prominent sand dune where we spent the rest of the evening until 10 p.m. chatting in typical desert environment. The dune was just as you see them in paintings & there were camels nearby. We adjourned to our bivouac at 10 p.m. On Monday we were up early & were away until Thursday night on exercises which took us over much country - on the Canal & out in the wild desert. We were some distance SE of Suez & were camped on the shores of the Red Sea. We passed thro’ Suez - a very dirty town without much to commend it. We were on the go the whole time & I found the going a little too strenuous to be enjoyable. Conditions were rather trying - terrific heat, dust & sand getting into everything, including food & person, awful roads & the maintaining of communications under such conditions was not the easiest of tasks. However we got through alright & I think our officers were pleased with the result. On Thursday I went into Ismalia for the evening but was too tired to properly enjoy myself. Spent most of the evening in the YMCA making up for lost meals. Friday was an organised Sports Day in which Sigs did very well by winning the aggregate. To bed early for the return journey today & a very hot, dusty & bumpy trip it has been. You would have been amused to see me lying in our small two man bivvy on Friday smoking my pipe & drinking beer out of the bottle. At peace with the world but very hot & thirsty! I was sharing the bivvy with Bob Crafs & our conversation was mostly of home & of our plans for after the war. He is engaged. I could write volumes of news about the trip but I will have to tell you about it when I get back.Tonight I am trying to catch up on corresp for I am a week behind. Jack Fowles is writing on the opposite side of the table, & in a few minutes we will have a cup of tea together.Tomorrow we have a full programme for the morning. Church parade, inspections, parade for issue of Patriotic parcels (Good!) etc, etc, but in the p.m. I hope to find time to write a green ….. letter to you . In the evening Jack & I plan to go down to Maadi tent. It should be pleasant down there - cool shade & nice moonlight. I think there is a good musical programme arranged for the night so perhaps we shall hear some good music.Please excuse the poor writing of this letter but it is being written in a hurry in addition I am feeling rather tired, too tired to go to the pains I should to ensure a good letter.So far I have not been able to get anything for your birthday or to celebrate our anniversary but I have saved £3(Egyptian) so as soon as I see something worthwhile I will make some purchases & send a parcel but please do not expect too much as things are terribly dear over here.Receiving your letters gives me a great thrill but makes me feel rather homesick for I still miss you as much as I ever & I just yearn for the day when we will be together again. The prospect of our reunion is my sustaining thought through all our discomforts & hardships. Oh! dear if only you knew how I look forward to the time when with our task completed we can return and resume of former happy life together. It is nice to know that you miss me but please do not worry or become downhearted for I hate to think of you being unhappy. All my love darling, Fred.

Sunday 02 Jul 1944My Darling Ri, since returning from Ismalia yesterday I seem to have done nothing except write letters or airgraphs. Yesterday I wrote airgraphs to Ron and Scottie (to thank him for arranging rent concession for Miss Fowles) and an air-letter to the loveliest girl in the world. I will tell you who the latter is when I get back.This morning we had Church Parade at 9 o’clock, inspection at 10 o’clock, parcel distribution at 11 o’clock and dinner at 12.30 o’clock. My parcel which came from the Waipawa Women’s Patriotic Committee contained a small cake, tin of Andrew’s Fruit Salts, tin of condensed milk, ditto coffee & milk, ditto barley sugar, ditto asparagus, and a handkerchief. Very nice and all very acceptable. I have about ½lb tea left over from our rations last week when we were in the field & my problem now is to find means of heating water. I would like to buy a primus but do not feel disposed to spend the little cash I have managed to save. I want that to but something for your birthday. Incidentally the cost of a small primus here is about 30/- & I observed an advt. in the Auck. Weekly comprising part of the packing of my parcel in which the cost in NZ of the same thing was 17/6. This will give you some idea of how expensive things are here. It confirms my opinion that prices locally are approx. twice as dear as in NZ. The only thing is that stocks are available here whereas in NZ you may have difficulty in obtaining certain articles. If the folk at Trentham are not likely to use the primus which we had for

so long it would be very acceptable here especially in the winter when nights are cold. If you do send it it will require careful packing as parcels receive rough treatment in transit. Do not go to any trouble or send it if it is likely to ever be needed at Trentham because I really believe we will soon have the job done in Europe & will then be on our way home.Tomorrow will be your birthday I will send off a cable later today in the hope that it will reach you on or about 10th July. It would be lovely if we could spend the occasion together but of course that cannot be so I will have to content myself in thinking of you & sending lots of good wishes by means of telepathy. Rest assured dearest my thoughts & good wishes will be very much with you. I hope you have a very happy day and may this be the last occasion that we shall have to celebrate apart. Sweet thirty-six! You know dear I sometimes fear that we will be so old when we meet again that our love will be very unemotional. I wonder! Not if I am as fit as I am at present. But, remember my old complaint? You will have to play your part & I want you to be just as attractive as of old so please do look after yourself & let not the passing years take toll.The house must look quite nice in its new coating of paint. The colour scheme sounds attractive. Has anything been done about the leaking on the south side?Have you seen Clare lately? You seem to mention her & the folk at Daniell St only very occasionally & apparently you do not go up there very often since I left. When you see Clare please offer my apologies for not writing more often but honestly dear I have very little time to myself & just about all my leisure time is taken up in maintaining correspondence to you. I will give you some idea of what I have to do & you will then appreciate my difficulties.When we first arrived here we were given classification tests in which I managed to do quite well with the result that I was put in the top class of operators from our draft. This meant I was in with the best of our operators including those who were ex Army School Instructors at Trentham. To hold my own in that company has required a lot of extra work and I am pleased to report that I seem to be making the grade satisfactorily. Then in addition to the foregoing the work on the Recreation Committee & more especially on the Trips & Tours Sub-Committee takes up a great deal of time. Tours etc take a lot of arranging & there is much detail to attend to. For some strange reason I have earned something of a reputation as an organiser and just before we left for Ismalia the CO asked me if I would act, with the unit Education Officer, as the men’s representative, on the AEWS (Army Education & Welfare Service). With some reluctance I agreed but as yet I am not fully aware what work I will be called upon to do but it is evident that it is going to add to my burden. These do not sound much but believe me they do make considerable call on one’s spare time & it is very rarely that I have my after parade time to myself. I make a point of having at least one day’s leave - that is from 2 p.m. until midnight - a week & whenever possible I get away for some form of mental recreation for in that way only can one escape the enervating effect of the climate & life in these parts. Time goes so much more quickly with plenty to do and I am hoping that the taking on of these extra tasks will keep my brain in good trim & at the same time make the months pass like days. Still I must confess it does make it difficult to maintain correspondence with all one’s friends back home & it even prevents one keeping up with friendships here. For instance I see very little of Jack Hallwell & I have not had time to look up Laurie Short. Similarly with Haye, Geo Broad, Herbie Neal & many others. I am afraid it is my old flare for landing into the spots where work requires to be done. Still it has kept me young looking so perhaps it is a good thing.Saw Jack again just before coming over here to write & we have tentatively arranged to spend the afternoon tomorrow in Cairo. I hope to make some purchases.Enclosed are 3 photos - one of feluccas on the Nile (thought it would interest Ron); one of Mohamed Ali Mosque which I visited recently - vide my last letter; & the other a scene showing Cairo Main Station. I intend to obtain quite a few more photos but with the extra expense on cables & the need to save enough for a parcel to you I have not been able to buy many so far.Quite enjoyed the week’s exercise just concluded in the Canal Zone but am really not sorry it is over as it was rather too strenuous & conditions were rather unpleasant at times with heat, dust and flies too much in evidence. Still I gained much in experience saw much country that was new and interesting. To give full details would take much space & time so I will leave it to tell you in person on a later occasion.The weather here is still very hot and again I am writing dressed only in shorts. At the slightest exertion one perspires very freely & of course one’s clothes soon get into a terrible state. Those I put into the wash today are simply awful after our weeks exercises. I hope the “dombie” (unit laundry run by wogs) can recover them satisfactorily. Yes! I guess it is still pretty cold, windy & wet back in good old NZ & a mixing of climates would be very welcome to us too. This climate undoubtedly suits me for I am better in health now than for many years. I only wish I could prove to you how fit I really am. Even severe cuts heal quickly & the toe I injured at Heliopolis ten days ago is quite better except that it is minus the toe nail and cuts & bruises suffered on manoeuvres last week are healing rapidly. With other chaps cuts etc nearly always give trouble. I must have been born for hot places so Hades should suit me!

Please send newspaper cuttings of Court proceedings re Dick’s case. I do not want to seem of morbid mind but I have many impressions which I would like to have confirmed or dispelled depending on their truth or otherwise. Dick confided in me a great deal in our talks before I left and to complete the sad story I wish to know everything pleasant and otherwise. It is a sad ending to a tragedy which I feel should never have happened. As I said in my air latter dated yesterday I expect the accused will plead intoxication & possibly she may also bring in provocation & in the latter event possibly some of the evidence will be unpleasant form our point of view because the state of affairs at Daniell St was far from good & for that reason I had asked Dick not to go there any more than he could. I feel terribly sorry for you all because I know well what a strain it is upon you. Your Mother & Dad have a terrible burden of sorrow to bear as well as the strain of worry over the Court proceedings & all this on top of the anxiety of the month that poor Dick lingered must be almost too much for them. I pray that they will be given the strength to see it thro’ & quickly overcome their sorrow. I know too that you, Molly & Doreen & possibly Pat will have been grievously hurt at the loss of your brother under such sad circumstances. I can only offer my most profound sympathy & express the hope that time will heal your sorrow. You dearest know how I fell for you. Oh how I wish I could be with you to comfort & console you. Be of brave heart my sweetheart. Your good people will need all your cheerfulness & stoutness of heart to help them over a very critical period. I sent a cable immediately upon receipt of the sad news & when I feell more able I will write. In the meantime please assure them of my very sincere sympathy.Oh dear girl of mine I miss you more & more each day & I often wonder if I will be able to see the task through to a successful conclusion missing you & Ron so. Still I can but do my best & with your encouragement I can do it & come back to you more a man than ever knowing that I have succeeded in doing something really worthwhile. So far as it is within my power I will prove worthy of you and in the sweet bye and bye I will come back to claim you as my own once again. It is a great source of comfort to know that you will be waiting for that happy occasion too and that you will keep yourself respectable & beautiful for me.And so dear I conclude yet another letter. Reading it thro’ I fear I have expressed myself rather poorly & I can only ask you to forgive the silly sentimentality. I leave it only because it does express something of what is in my heart. Do not think I am in any way downhearted because such is far from being the case. I am enjoying life to the full in fact I feel mean that I should have so much fun while you at home have to continue the same hum drum existence for day in day out. But naturally I do feel our separation all the more so when I see so much that we would enjoy so well seeing together. With you & Ron with me my happiness would be complete. I must apply to HQ & see if they will enlist you as my batman. Ron may be a first-class operator by now so he could take his turn on the set.All my love to you sweetheart. Please give Ron a big big love for me. Ever yours, Fred.

04 Jul 1944My Darling Ri, there is only 20 minutes to go before the Rec.Room closes at 9.45 p.m. but I will use the time to the best advantage & will finish the letter later in the week. Your airgraph of 21.6.44 to hand today. Many thanks. I do so much look forward to these letters & airgraphs from you. Keep it up! Sorry to learn that Frank is again not well. Will write to him again as soon as possible. How are my airgraphs reaching you? Are they readable, especially later ones written in small print, & how long do they take to reach you?Is the air letter card system being introduced in NZ? One can say so much more on these cards & it rather nicer to receive the actual letter as written in the first instance. Small writing causes no worry over reproduction as in the airgraphs.With Jack & Bob Grafts[?] I went down to Maadi on Sunday. We had tea here & walked down afterwards. Had a most enjoyable evening listening to an accomplished pianist named Phil Finch. He played both popular as well as classical numbers & believe me he is a real artist. Well known in England having in pre-war days been engaged by the BBC.Applied for leave on Monday to go into town with Jack but leave was refused on a/c of Monday night being a parade night & so Jack had to go alone. Bad show.Spent the whole afternoon this p.m. on work for the Rec.Room. Tonight I have written an airgraph to Eddy & am finishing off as you see before you.I fear that circumstances will prevent my writing next week again as I hear that another manoeuvre is planned but I do not know what form the exercise will take or where we will be going. However it almost certainly will, as happened last week, effectively preclude my writing to you in pursuance of my usual custom. I will write while away if I can but if it is not possible I will write again as soon as I get back. In view of the likelihood of more of these exercises in the future do not worry if there should be gaps in my corres. even if it should happen that you get no word for quite a while.Am hoping for leave into Cairo tomorrow & will do the shopping I have been wishing to do for so long. Am going in with Bob Grafts. Jack F cannot get leave again.

Sent you a cable today. I hope it reaches you on or about the 10th. Will be thinking of you on that day no matter where I happen to be.

Friday 07 Jul 1944Here I am to finish this after 3 days break. Space is running short so I will write smaller & abbreviate words. Parcel containing cake reached me yesterday. Many thanks for sending it. Will let you know what cake is like in due course. Still have some of your big one left. It is delicious. All chaps in tent agree.On Tuesday p.m. I had to stop writing on account of Rec.Room closing. Went into town on Wed afternoon with Bob Graft & we spent practically whole time searching for something to send you but again had a disappointing day not seeing anything within my means which seemed suitable. However I bought a filigree silver brooch which I thought you might like & later this p.m. I will make up a small parcel & send it away. Hope it gets to you safely & that you like it. I will keep looking for something else & also for something for Ron & Clare but really it is very difficult & anything worthwhile I very very expensive. All the chaps who came over with me express the same opinion that things over here are too dear to enable them to send much home. The shops have many nice things but unless one is possessed of means far beyond those of the average soldier it is almost impossible to buy worthwhile presents. I still have about £2 Egyptian (200PT) & as opportunity arises will send you something else. I have seen little or nothing suitable for Ron but am on the lookout all the time. Apart from walking the city with refreshers at the NZ Club the day in town was without event of importance.Yesterday p.m. I spent on work for the Rec.Room & AEWS or NZERS as it is known here. In the evening went with Jack to a show at El Diem. It took the form of a dramatic play & it was quite enjoyable - all the more so because entertainments of this nature are uncommon. They usually take the form of vaudeville & concert entertainments and last night’s show was the first play put on for many months. Jack & I both enjoyed it and we found it very pleasant sitting in brilliant moonlight on a perfect evening nice & warm and hardly a breeze. Again I must remark on the perfect nights we have here. I only wish you could be here for the nights are perfectly lovely & simply made for romance.This afternoon you can see what I am doing. As soon as I have finished this I must get busy and tidy up my gear and generally clean up around the tent. Bed bugs have been troublesome lately & a delousing session seems called for. These bugs do not arise from personal uncleanliness but they are like small wood lice & they breed in the sand & live in & around ones bedding. Their bites are very troublesome - much worse than fleas - but fortunately I am immune from their bites.In a few days time we will be out on exercises again this time for rather longer than before so you can expect a fairly lengthy break in my letters. We are going distance afield but where I cannot say. I will write while we are away if at all possible but judging on our previous experience I am afraid that letter writing will be quite out of the question. Quite frankly I am not in the least keen on the prospect of the trip but still it is all part of the life.Weather here still absolutely perfect. The monotony of one perfect day after another is very real when it lasts for so long. Temps still up over the 100° mark every day & I can only leave you to guess how we perspire in the course of the days work. I thank my good fortune in being born with a natural aptitude to withstand heat altho’ I must admit the heat here does sap ones energy & vitality. However I am really well.I fancy that in your recent airgraphs I detect signs of your becoming a little downhearted. You must not let that happen dearest for your cheerfulness thro’ adversity is one of my brightest thoughts. I know it is terribly difficult but we have just got to make the best of it like so many others must also and we will eventually win thro’. I know what a difficult time you have had since I left but stick to it. It will not be long before it is all over & I will be back to make amends for not being there when required. Ever yours, Fred.

Saturday 08 Jul 1944My Darling Ri, I have no intention of finishing this letter card at this sitting but by getting well on with it at this juncture it will be an easy matter to add a few closing lines next week when we are away on manoeuvres. I am keen to maintain regular weekly letters especially just at present when you are having such an anxious time. I know just how much your letters mean to me & if mine mean as much to you I know you will enjoy receiving these frequent letters even altho’ they may be somewhat brief & perhaps too they may help to tide you over a difficult period.It is so soon since I concluded my last air letter card to you that I am a little stuck for news. However I guess I can fill in space with sundry comments.Today brought me a pleasant surprise in the form of your first air letter card. It was dated 26 th June so took 12 days to reach here - a good deal faster than airgraphs which usually take 17 days. It is good to know that this service is available to you also. I thought it would be. Many many thanks for so quickly availing yourself of the facilities the new service offers.I sent only one cable so apparently the PO slipped up. Better two than none though. Expect my cable sent upon

receipt of news of Dick’s passing , sent on about 24/6/44 was received after your letter card was written. I am struck by your omission to comment on your feelings on our anniversary date 23/6. Guess I will have to reduce sentimentality which I sometimes express in my letters!Was glad to have news re Wyldes, Aunty Gwen, Claude Bennett, Mr.Lowrie, etc. It is good to keep in touch with local news. Have you heard of Eric returning? Ask Doreen to congratulate Colin on his promotion to WO2. The song “You get no promotion this side of the ocean” originated here so always Sigm. FJC I guess!Jack F is now cooking in Sgts Mess & he shares a cubicle with the mess waiter. Much better than living in tents as we have to. Last night at about 8 p.m. I went over to his quarters & over a couple of bottles of beer (our weekly issue thro’ the QM Store) we yarned & smoked for a couple of hours. I took over the last portion of your cake which we had for supper & believe me we enjoyed it greatly. The cake was a great success & has given enjoyment to a number of others as well as myself. Everyone who has had a piece (& that includes quite a few) has remarked on its nice flavour.Jack has been slightly off colour lately but today seems quite a lot better. He has said nothing in his letters to Jen so please do not say anything to her if you should see her or mutual friends. Nothing serious or to worry about - just effect of the trying heat here lately.I intend to take Mothers cake which came to hand earlier this week with me on the manoeuvres to start in the course of the next few days. Experience last week showed that extras of this kind so very well on such exercises when good food & regularity of meals necessarily suffer in consequence of our moving over wide areas & in bad conditions.Last night I sent off the parcel referred to in my last L/c. The brooch comprises only a small box but I have wrapped it in my singlets & cotton underpants which I brought over with me. I find them of no use to me here so am returning them for safe keeping until I return. They were only taking up valuable space in my kit. I trust you will not be disappointed with the present. It looks a big parcel but its appearance is misleading for you will find it contains only a small article for you. Bye the way. If the silver is tarnished when you get it & should you wish to clean & brighten it the wog from whom I bought the brooch recommended brushing it with bicarb of soda using a fine brush with fairly soft bristles. If it does not work a jeweller will be able to advise you on what to do.Will leave the rest of space for later. Yes, dear the memory of those last few months we had together is very pleasant. I often think about our happy times in each others company & live them over again. Yes dearest we will have many many more such times & unless I am mistaken we will not have long to wait. The prospect is cheering and not a little thrilling.Would love to see you in your new rig. Sounds quite nice & should suit you. You were certainly needing a new coat.Cheerio darling will conclude later.Saturday 14 Jul 1944. I was unable to find this last night so wrote 3 pages on the back of message forms. These should reach you in due course by surface mail. Give you news of our recent activities so will not duplicate here - too little space. Am very well & having an interesting time. Was thinking of you all day Monday & sent all best wishes. That day brought to hand your AG of 26/6 also one from Frank. Tis good to have your comments on your feelings on 23/6. Seemingly my remarks on p.1 (at foot of page) were a little premature. Today we have spent resting & sleeping & swimming have been our pleasant form of recreation after four days pretty heavy going vide last nights letter. Will be on duty at 4 a.m. in the morning & if possible will add a few lines to letter written between 1 & 4 a.m. this morning.Hope all are well & that the strain is over for the good folk at Trentham. Give them my regards.Fondest love to you & Ron my two dears. Look after yourselves well. Am longing for our reunion. Ever yours, Fred.

14 Jul 1944My Darling Ri, on Sunday last I wrote rather more than half of an air letter card hoping that an opportunity might occur to add a few additional lines during the week while we were on manoeuvres. Well the opportunity has occurred alright but unfortunately I am unable to readily locate the half written letter card. It is amongst my things but my kit is in a terrible mess & circumstances preclude my searching for it.I think that while still keeping within the requirements of the censorship I can give you some brief details of this weeks activity.We left Base early on Monday afternoon and we were quickly out into the desert where we have been all the time since. The manoeuvre has been planned as an exercise taking the form of an Armoured Brigade on the attack and we have been operating in the field just as though we were on real operations. I doubt whether I should give full details of all that we have done so it must suffice to say that we have conducted operations and manoeuvres based on experience & lessons from the desert campaigns in N.Africa. We have had live shooting

with all arms and except that we have never been in doubt as to outcome of our “battles” and have always known that the “enemy” could do us no harm it has been just the same as if we were on active service in the field. The whole thing has been well organised & I must say that the officers controlling the exercise have done a good job. They have gone to some pains to make the exercise interesting and enjoyable. We have gained much in experience & knowledge.The time is 0142 hrs (nearly ¼ to 2) and I am on watch in the Signal Office. I was wakened at one o’clock & for the next three hours I have to sit here on my own & attend to anything requiring attention. Things are very quiet & except for an occasional call on the exchange there is nothing much doing. At the moment we are considered to have forced the “enemy” to evacuate & to all intents & purposes the battle is over although on the way back we will continue various exercises. We are near the sea coast at a point quite close to where we reached on manoeuvres about a fortnight ago. Tomorrow is to be spent resting & on maintenance and as we are within a mile of the sea we all look forward to enjoying some sea bathing, & believe me it will be very welcome for I am in desperate need of a good wash, something I have not had since we started. We have been limited to one gallon of water per man per day & after the cooking & tea ration are kept back one does not get much for ones own use. The heat of the desert creates terrific thirst & so one naturally keeps & uses all or nearly all ones allotment for drinking purposes. You would laugh to see the pains we take to conserve our supply. I can clean my teeth , shave & wash in about ½ a cup full of water. The sand of the desert is really fine dust pulverised thro’ ages into such a texture that it will penetrate thro’ the finest crevices. Believe me it gets into everything. The desert is quite unlike what you probably imagine it to be. The contour is something like the area around Auckland with extensive undulating plains with occasional hills sometimes quite high. Except for the vegetation around oasis there is absolutely no vegetation and the landscape presents a vast vista of barren rocky land endless mile upon mile of it. It is just as though someone have put a bulldozer over it & scraped away all the top soil & vegetation & left only exposed rocky surfaces. That actually is what has happened except that the elements have been the bulldozer.I have just been outside. As always it is a perfect starlight night without a cloud in the sky. A crescent moon is rising in the east.During the day it often becomes quite windy but usually at night it dies away. Tonight there is rather more breeze than usual but still there is not very much & what there is is very welcome & it is most refreshing.I had a welcome surprise on Monday. We were pulling into “league” (night formation) fairly late after a hot tiring day & I was preparing to bivvy for the night when I heard my name being called. It was mail! I was in luck receiving your AG of 26th June & also one of the same date from Frank. It was grand & it cheered me up a lot for I had been thinking about you all day. It was your birthday.I noted with interest your comment on your feelings on the 23 rd. My remarks in last weeks air L/c were somewhat premature it seems. Yes dear this separation is a rotten business but we must just bear with it & trust that it will not be for much longer. Oh! What a wonderful day it will be when it is all over & we can settle down in our own happy way once again.I was pleased to hear that Ron is well & it was nice of him to write a PS on the AG. I will write to him again as soon as I can. In the meantime give him my best love. How much I wish I could see you both!For reasons which will be clear I have been unable to revisit Archie lately but I am hoping that we may strike a somewhat quieter period soon & I will then make a point of enquiring how he is. For the same reason I have lost touch with other friends. I do not even know whether Jack Hallwell is still at …… He may have gone on.We are hoping to be back at Base early next week & I will then take up my correspondence properly again.I am fit & very well & not in need of anything so do not worry about me. By the way do not bother to send too many papers. I do not get the time to read them. The Digests I brought away are still unread & only the other day I put them into the Rec.Room for general reading.If you happen to be writing to Auckland please advise F of my receipt of his letter. Sorry to learn that he is not well (he confirmed your news) & that the kiddies had such a bad time with whooping cough. I hope that with warmer weather you should be getting by the time this reaches you , the outlook has improved. Will write as soon as possible. Am afraid life over here does little to help me better my reputation as a correspondent.There are one or two things requiring attention so I will close, fill my pipe, have a gentle swill of my water bottle & get busy.It is just 3 a.m. (I know because I had to give the time on the line a moment ago) which means that it is noon back in NZ. I can picture you preparing lunch. Gee! A cup of tea would go well here.Kind regards & remembrances to all friends. To your dear self & Ron all my love. Ever yours, Fred.PS: Please excuse bad composition & spelling mistakes, if any. I was operating from 1 p.m. until about 8 p.m. & as we were moving over bad roads & bumping & bouncing terribly it was pretty trying so the old brain is not too bright. You have got no idea what it is like trying to operate in a vehicle that is doing everything except backward flips.

Saturday 15 Jul 1944Dearest Ri, here I am again to add a few brief lines. The time is 0450 & in ten minutes time I have to go around & wake up certain personnel such as cooks, orderly officer etc. My duty this time fell from 4 until 7 a.m.It is another perfect night. Sky cloudless, no wind and beautifully moonlight. The only noise to break the stillness of the night is the song of the crickets. I wonder how the weather is at home. I guess it is a great deal colder. I am sitting in shorts & grey flannel shirt with sleeves rolled up. It is delightfully cool without being too cold.Yesterday we had a very easy day and it was rather pleasant after the bustle of the previous four days. There were no parades & our time was given up to resting. Most of us spent the day down on the beach swimming and very enjoyable it was too. (Must break off now).Here I am again. When I broke off twenty minutes or so ago it was quite dark altho’ one could see that dawn was approaching. It is now quite daylight so you can see how short the twilight is here at this time of the year.I found the partly written AL card and last night before I turned in I finished it off & posted it. It should have reached you some time before you receive this.

Tuesday 18 Jul 1944At this juncture duty called & I have not since had an opportunity of taking this up again. I am about to write an Air Letter to you so will bring this to a close. Lots of love, Fred.

18 Jul 1944My Own Darling Ri, here we are back at Base after a rather strenuous week on manoeuvres. It was quite interesting but rather too hectic to be really enjoyable & I think I am right in saying that those who took part, & there were some hundreds, are pleased to be back here.No doubt the Air Letter (will refer to them as AL’s in future) to which I added a few lines last Friday evening has reached you by now. The opportunity later arose to write a full letter giving news in greater detail & altho’ thro’ a sudden busy period arising & preventing me finishing it off until a few minutes ago. I have now posted it as an ordinary letter. It was written on the back of some message forms & this is contrary to Standing Orders. I have therefore enclosed a note to the Censor explaining the circs & pointing out that there was no other paper available. Accdly I have asked to be excused using the official paper & that the letter shall be allowed to go thro’.On return to Base yesterday I was delighted to find your Air Mail Letter (not AL) of 21/5/44 which enclosed also Ron’s letter. In addition I received two packages of newspapers etc. Very many thanks, it was grand to get these but do not worry about sending newspapers etc at any rate not while I am here as I simply do not get the time to read them properly. Please advise Frank who mentioned in his AG of 26/6 that he was sending the Auck Weekly.Your AG of 26/6 reached me with Frank’s on 10/7/44 while we were away. I refer to this in my letter just posted. It was grand to hear from you on that day for you were constantly in my thoughts even altho’ we were having a pretty busy time maintaining communications under rather difficult conditions.On Sunday 9/7 (the day before we started exercise) we were intending to go down to Maadi Tent for the evening but in the course of the p.m. I learned that one of the Camp picture theatres was showing the film “Blossoms in the Desert” which incidentally appeared in Wgtn some time before we left. Greer Garson took the leading role. So I saw Jack & we agreed to go to see this picture instead of to Maadi. It was a very fine show & we thoroughly enjoyed it. If you have not seen the film & if it should come around again you will enjoy it & it is well worth seeing being finely acted & a good theme. Not suitable for Ron who in any case would find it too serious to enjoy.On our return we find that we have been transferred out of tents to huts & our “home” is now Hut 346. The huts are naturally rather a different type form those you know at Trentham. They are quite comfortable but we all agree that we preferred life in the tents. Unfortunately our old gang has been split up & Bob Grafts & myself in Hut 346 are the only two left together from the six good chaps who were together in our old tent. But we are still without beds and we sleep on the concrete floor with only a palliasse filled (partially only!) with straw under us. We are thus easy prey for the bed bugs who live in the cracks in the brick walls & some of the chaps had a pretty bad time last night. As I have remarked I am immune to the bites of these creatures so I escaped untouched. I hope to retain my immunity.Last night there was an ENSA show on at the El Djem to which I went with Jack F. it was quite fair & I enjoyed the entertainment after a week away form shows of any kind. It was a gaiety show but without a female cast men performing these parts themselves. While waiting for the show to commence the thoughts struck me that not since I was in town on leave a fortnight ago tomorrow have I seen a woman of any sort. Since than I have not seen a WAAC or bint or sitt (Bint = girl; Sitt = woman in Wog) or a female of any sort & it is unlikely that I

will until I am again in town on Friday when I plan to go in on leave with Jack F. Not since we passed thro’ P. have I had the resemblance of a conversation with woman so you can see how faithful I am being! You will have to forgive my uncouthness of manners when I return for I am unused to being so much in only mens company. Fancy! A fortnight without even seeing a woman. Hell! Isn’t it a terrible war. Never mind I will make up for it when I get back home.Was interested to get further details about the circs leading up to Dick’s unfortunate death. What I learn confirms what I had thought to have happened. I knew Mrs. W. was liable to become dangerously violent when under the influence but of course I never imagined that she would ever do a thing like she did.Thank Ma for her cake it was delicious & a very welcome addition to pur rations last week. Tell her the packing is coming in really useful. Will write as soon as possible.Weather has been rather cooler the last 2 or 3 days & as I write a pleasantly cool breeze is blowing in thro the window in front of which I am sitting. Hope the weather back home is improving & becoming warmer.The news from the war zone is reassuring. Yes! I am sure it will all be over in a month or two - say about Nov. How long after that before we return home is in the lap of the Gods.I am very fit & according to some am putting on weight so don’t worry about me. I am absolutely in the pink of condition & all I need for complete happiness is you and Ron. I miss you terribly still but I fear that will always be so until we meet again.All my love sweetheart. Ever yours, Fred.

19 July 1944Dearest Ri, I was delighted to receive at midday today the cable which you sent on 15 th for my birthday. Reaching me less than 24 hrs before the actual date you timed the cable very well. Quite frankly I am not looking forward to tomorrow for I know only too well what my feelings will be. Today also brought to hand a letter from Harvey James who wrote acknowledging the letter I wrote thanking him for his hospitality when we were at his home. Have you heard from him? In one of your recent … you mentioned that you had not heard from him but you referred to him as Mr. Harvey.[next 3 paragraphs unreadable]

I had intended writing you a full length letter later in the week but am afraid this may not be possible so don’t worry if there is a break in my correspondence. You can rest assured that I will write at every opportunity for I well realise how much our letters to each other mean these days. Haven’t heard from Eddy but perhaps ….. all the latest office scandal[?]Don’t worry about me for I’m wonderfully fit. Love to Ron. All my love dearest. Ever yours, Fred.

27 July 1944My Darling Ri, it is a week tonight since I took up my pen to write to you & then I wrote rather hurriedly I am afraid, an airgraph which I expect you have already received. From that AG you may have gathered that circumstances would compel an interruption of my regular airgraphs and air letter cards and such is the case but not for long I hope. There is plenty to write about but we are not permitted to mention it as yet so it will have to wait for the time being. And as all the news of the past week is HS&C (Highly Secret & Confidential) I am rather at a loss to know what to say. Your airgraph of 26th June which is the last word I had from you has already been answered so I cannot fall back on that to find subject matter for comment.The lecture to which Jack & myself went last Thursday was very interesting and we derived much food for thought from the lecturers remarks & from the discussion which ensured afterwards. These talks which are a regular feature of Army life are a good thing in every way & it occurs to me that it would be an excellent idea if something could be done to arrange such talks for the enlightenment of the civilian population. In this way one obtains an insight into the problems facing the world today& of the manner in which they are being tackled by various administrations. All sorts of subjects are discussed & the speakers are men who have special qualifications for talking upon the particular subject.I think I must have recently caught a chill in my left shoulder which is rather stiff & sore especially when I move it in certain directions. However it is nothing serious in fact except for slight discomfort it is not worth worrying about and in a day or two I will be 100% once again. Apart from the shoulder I am perfectly fit and well.Have not seen Jack Fowles for a couple of days but when I last saw him he was very well. Our paths have separated temporarily.How are you Ron? By the time you receive this letter you should be enjoying finer weather and for a change it will be my turn to envy you. I don’t look forward to the prospect for as you know I am partial to hot weather which undoubtedly agrees with me.When you write do not forget to give me news of friends & relations - Clare & the kiddies, the folk at Trentham,

news of J’ville people whom I know. I find such news more interesting than details about the weather& it keeps me informed on how the folk back home are faring.Will close now as I have exhausted the supply of news about which I allowed to write & in any case since I started I have found that I am definitely not in the mood for writing. Too many distractions around me I suppose. If you could only see the environment in which I am trying to write you would marvel that I even attempted to start.All my love dearest, ever yours, Fred.

29 July 1944Darling Ri, no doubt you will have been wondering why you have not heard from me for so long but as you will have learned the reasons from airgraphs & airmail letter cards which I will write later but which never-the-less will reach you before you receive this letter I have no need to explain here.To take up the story from where I left off when I last wrote. We returned to Base from our exercises in the desert on the Monday before my birthday & the whole of that day was spent in returning & accounting for equipment & in cleaning up our gear. These jobs we finished in sufficient time to enable me to accompany Jack Fowles to a concert at El Djem that evening.On Tues we resumed normal training and generally things proceeded as usual. But on Wed soon after we started on the days work we became rather unsettled by startling rumours which began to circulate. Rumours are in inevitable part of life on the army & one soon adopts the attitude of not paying much attention to the things one hears. In the present case however the rumours seemed more than usually well founded & we were much unsettled by what we heard. By Wed evening I had been able to ascertain that something was afoot & so I wrote an airgraph to you just in case I was unable to write again for some time. On Thurs morning we were paraded & told officially what was happening but we were required to regard the news as highly secret. The reasons for this are quite apparent. We were told that those involved in the movement could have leave into Cairo that afternoon or on Friday p.m. & as Jack & I had arranged earlier in the week, before we had any idea of being moved, to go into Cairo on Fri we decided to let arrangements stand & so we applied for Fri. Thurs was spent in packing, drawing equipments, & generally preparing for the move & believe me it is no easy task. What with the equipment one must carry little room is left for those items which one would so much like to bring & so one has to go thro’ the painful process of throwing away treasures to which one has clung for so long. By Thurs evening I had managed to settle upon a fairly satisfactory compromise. Having completed packing all I had to do on Fri was to attend the check parades which were held at frequent intervals & to prepare for our final trip to Cairo. Incidentally I had managed to save over £4 Egyptian & so had drawn all my credit that was in my pay book to buy things in Cairo. We had never imagined we would be moved at such short notice & usually one knows sometime beforehand that one is being posted forward. However the situation developed quite differently on this occasion. About noon it was rumoured that all leave had been cancelled & this unfortunately proved to be correct. We were told officially on the 1.15 p.m. check parade just 15 mins before we were due to go on leave. You can imagine just how disappointed we all were. Many more than the leave quota had applied for leave that afternoon & it had been necessary to ballot to decide upon those to go. Jack & I had regarded ourselves as especially fortunate to draw places but all to no avail. From my last few letters you will see that during the past six weeks or so I managed to get into town only about once or twice. I was very disappointed in not being able to get into Cairo as I had wanted very much to buy some things. After much searching I had found what I wanted & altho’ the prices were somewhat high I would have willingly paid rather than to come away without getting them. Yes indeed! It was very bad luck. By the way before I left Base I gave a chap called MacDonald the sum of 150PT (30/-) with which he kindly consented to buy something & send it to you. Please let me know when you receive the parcel & how you like its contents.We started on our way early Sat a.m. The first stage was by trucks down to the station where we entrained for our embarkation port at which we arrived at 5.30 p.m. after a tiring & dirty trip. We could see the troop-ships in port & when the train was shunted down to the wharf we made sure we were to embark at once but such was not the case. We were detrained & put on barges which took us to a transit camp where we stayed until Wed morning when we started to embark. Jack is in a different party from me but we met up again at the transit camp & saw a good deal of each other. We are separated again now he being on one of the other boats. Conditions at the Camp were not the best & we were pleased to get aboard. We are very crowded but are much better off than we were on the voyage from NZ. The troops quarters are much better arranged here than was the case on the ….. . We have bunks which are built onto the holds & altho’ rather crowded & very hot & stuffy they are superior in every way to our quarters on the trip over. Another vast improvement is that the mess is entirely sep from our sleeping quarters. The mess room is clean & tidy & well arranged & the meals are excellent. In all we are much better off on the ship than we were in the Transit Camp.We left port early yesterday morning (Friday) & we are now well out in the Med Sea. The sea so far is calm

with just a gentle roll but not enough to upset many. I feel fine altho’ at first I was afraid I might disgrace myself. If it keeps as it is now I think I will be ok. We are in convoy but of course I cannot say how many ships there are or name them. Our ship is about 3000 tons larger than the one in which we came from NZ & while some are about the same size as she was others are much bigger. It is a most inspiring sight to look out on either side & see those ships sailing majestically along protected by units of the Royal Navy. I wish Ron could see this perfect example of the way in which the Allies have control of the seas.That completes the story to date but I will leave the letter unfinished & add to it as opportunity permits.Please excuse poor writing etc but again I am sitting on the decks with pad on knee amongst a swarming mass of humanity. Certainly not a position conducive of good letter writing.The weather is beautifully fine. Not a cloud in the sky & just a gentle wind which however will probably freshen as the day progresses. The sea is a beautiful blue & there is just a gentle swell to which the ship is rolling slightly. Around the decks are men of several different nationalities alldoing their best to pass the time away according to their whim of the moment - some reading, many playing cards, a few writing, others sleeping, but mostly they are sitting or standing around yarning. Yes, we are certainly a cosmopolitan lot.On account of moving we have received no mail for a while & my last word form you was your AG of 26/6 which I received 13 days ago. I miss getting your letters & look forward to receiving regular mails again in the near future. Rest assured I will write to you as regularly as I can but from now onwards you should not expect letters as frequently as in the past.Well sweetheart I will put this aside for the time being & add a few lines later when perhaps there will be further news to write about. Cheerio dear. How are you Ron? You are constantly in my thoughts. Fondest love to you both.Sunday, 30 July 1944 Another uneventful day. Beautifully fine & sea perfect hardly a movement in the ship. All hands in fine form their spirits being high probably accounted for by the perfect weather conditions we have enjoyed so far.Clocks go back an hour at midnight tonight so in future NZ time will be 10 hrs ahead of our time.Very close & stuffy below decks tonight & I am not looking forward to our sleeping quarters. Last night I woke up to find my clothing absolutely saturated from perspiration & the blanket on which I was lying was also wet thro’. we have to sleep fully dressed & wearing the clothes in which one has sweated is not so good. Clothes get very dirty here aboard ship & I feel awfully grubby. Expect I smell terribly but we are all the same so what does it matter. I am keeping my clean change to wear when we arrive at our destination.There was much excitement at dusk last night when the alarm bells sounded for enemy aircraft alarm. All hands except gun crews were ordered below so we were unable to see what went on but the all clear sounded without anything untoward happening. All we could see when we got up on deck again was our escort laying a smoke screen on the weather side of the convoy & this went on until it was dark. The moon was on our other side & they were probably trying to prevent us being silhouetted against the moonlight. There was gun fire on the distant horizon but the reason for the same we are unaware of. The men’s inherent confidence in the navy & the arrangements for our trip speaks volumes for soldiers reliance on the efficiency of the other services.It is just 10 mins to 10 p.m.& the mess room closes at 10 p.m. so I will conclude & watch the card playing while having my last smoke before retiring to bed.Goodnight my dears.31 July 1944 Tonight’s lines are being written sitting on my bunk. I find the posn very cramped & so will not write for long. Also it is very hot down here & the sweat is pouring off me.Today has been a most eventful day & I would very much like to describe the days events but I fear the censor would object, so I will have to leave it until I get back home. Don’t forget to remind me to tell you all these things & perhaps you had better keep these letters to remind me. The following will be meaningless to you but I put them down so that they will serve as reminders in the future: Division; 15/6; additions; passing of orders; the refilling of balloons; 6/10; scene at sunset; Mt.Egmont.Being barred from giving you the news there is little to write about so I will close for the time being. Goodnight dear. Will add the concluding lines in the course of the next few days.02 Aug 1944 We have arrived! An ALC written today gives news to date. Fondest love to you both. Fred.

02 Aug 1944. C Depot, Advanced Base, 2 NZEF, CMF.My Darling Ri, we arrived here yesterday after a journey which took eleven days. I wrote two letters en route & these will reach you by surface mail in due course. It was not possible to send AG or ALC as these were not available while we were travelling. The trip here was quite enjoyable but as I have given as much detail as is permissible in my letters just posted I will not go into details here.Our move was arranged very quickly and was quite unexpected altho’ on the day before we were told officially & two days before we were actually on our way the usual rumours began to go the rounds. This by the way

accounts for the AG which I posted on the evening before my birthday. Did you twig the position from my remarks?Owing to recent events we have not enjoyed the receipt of regular mail lately & the mail which we received this a.m. was the first news I have had for a fortnight. Mail included your AG 14/7/44 ALC 3/7/44 & 8/7/44, letter of 24/5/44 from Eddie Price. It was lovely to get word after not hearing from you for so long. The photo in the AG was a lovely surprise. It came thro’ excellently. The photo is good of you both especially you & I have cut it out for my wallet pending receipt of the postcard. Ron looks wonderfully well & the manner in which he has put on weight is apparent in the photo. Your new dress looks quite nice & really smart. I had arranged to have my photo taken in Cairo on the day after 20/7/44 but as you will see when you receive my letter explaining our move & the steps immed preceeding same I had to forgo the sitting on a/c of leave being stopped. I had arranged to go to the studio where Jack F recently had his photo taken.Many many thanks for your good wishes for my birthday. It was an eventful day but not especially enjoyable for reasons which will be clear when you receive my letter of 29/7 (surface).In the rush of packing etc I find that the tin of sundries which I left in my base kit contained all the snaps I brought over with me & all the addresses of relations in GB & office personnel serving out here. The addresses of the relations will be essential should we ever go to England so would you please send another by early mail. Several of the things left behind in that tin I could do with now & I have made a bad slip in not going thro’ it first. There was so much to do in a very short time & it was all rather a rush.I withhold judgement on our new camp until we have a better chance to form opinions. The difference in the weather is very noticeable & it is of course much more pleasant here altho’ personally I found the Egyptian climate very enjoyable & it certainly agreed with me. I can only hope that Italian climate suits me as well. Already we have had cause to realise & regret that local climate cannot be relied upon in the same way as in Egypt where one can absolutely disregard the possibility of bad weather. The camp is situated under olive trees the shade of which is very pleasant. The ground is nothing but rocks & still more rocks. I am writing half lying on my bed (no definitely not a good position for such work) which comprises a ground sheet & 3 blankets on the bare rocks. Yes it is amazing that one can sleep on such ground. Collect a pile of jagged rocks varying in size from 1” diameter to say 9” & spread these into an oblong 6ft by 2ft, sprinkle on a little dirt say a bucket full & then lay on this a ground sheet (no palliasse) & a double blanket (other two are on top) & there you have a true sample (not exaggerated at all) of my bed. Would you like to share it? As I write ants are crawling all over me & they will do so all thro’ the night as they did last night. Lizards abound & I have seen several playing around my kit & web gear which is strewn about me. One redeeming feature is that there are not many flies which are a very real pest in Egypt.The daily routine as far as training hours are concerned are the same as at ….. . Today has been occupied with the process of settling in but tomorrow we will be down to normal routine. It seems we will not be here long & our training form now onwards will be directed towards getting us really fit & PT & route marches will be our lot while we are here. Hope to get at least one or two leaves to Bari before I move on. Jack Fowles is here too. We were separated on the trip over.Arrived at ….. In fine weather but while we were waiting for transport to bring us out to camp it rained quite hard & we all got pretty wet. It cleared just before trucks picked us up but the fresh wind on our wet clothing made us very cold on the trip out. Altho’ the hour was late a good hot meal awaited us but on account of having a touch of diahorrea I did not enjoy it. Trouble much better today. We had come ashore in shorts & khaki drill shirts most of us were leaving off our singlets for it was stifling loaded up as we were waiting for our turn to disembark. We soon realised the difference between Italian & Egyptian climates.Earlier this p.m. I spent washing clothes dirtied on the trip over. They were filthy & it is grand to have them washed up. Also had a badly needed bath myself (hot shower) & after having put on a change of clothing the first since we set out, I feel a new man.Except for slight tummy trouble already referred to I am very fit.I suggest you keep this & read it again after my surface letter of 27/7 reaches you. You will obtain a better idea of the sequences of events by so doing.I hope to be able to send you a cable later today. I understand the Camp PO is open in the evenings so I will call in there when looking around tonight. Jack & I are going on a recce after tea. Also I will write by AG as soon as possible.Oh dear! I do miss you so & as you say it seems ages since we were together. I don’t know what I shall do unless time goes more quickly in the future.All my love sweetheart. Ever yours, Fred.

03 Aug 1944My Darling Ri, only yesterday I wrote and posted an ALC which I suspect you have received by now. Knowing

how much you enjoy receiving mail I will do my best to write often for I am afraid that as time goes on it may happen that I will not be able to write so often for as we go forward facilities & opportunities for letter writing will become fewer. Already this is the case. Last night Jack & I went down to write letters at the local Rec Huts. We found there to be only two the YMCA & Lowry & in both the writing accom is very limited & of course all available space was taken & there were many waiting so we had to leave it & we decided to go to a concert by the Kiwi Concert Party. Most of those who attended the concert thought it very good but personally I did not think much of it. I expect it was that I was not in the mood for such entertainment. Today I posted a guide book on Cairo. I had intended buying a better class of book in Cairo before I left there but as things turned out I did not get the opportunity to do so and like other plans it had to go by the board because of eh suddenness of our move. The book I posted I bought off a chap Howard who had it to spare. We met on the journey over. He was a South African & a fine fellow. You may find the brief descriptions of places I visited of some interest for I am afraid I have not been able to describe much in letters. Tell Eddie I will answer his letter as soon as I can even if only by AG. It was lovely the way Mr. & Mrs. L treated you for 10/7/44. I appreciate their gesture immensely. Am again writing sitting on my bed (?) in our tent. Not too good for writing in this style - very slow & rather difficult to do in good printing. Those chaps who have returned from 3 rd Div are lucky to be home & to have opportunity to get into essential industries & so avoid having to continue in the Army. Army life has its better moments but give me civvie life any time and it will be a glad day when it is all over & we can get back to our old sweet way of life. I trust Ron will forgive me for not writing to him very often. I think of him as much as ever even altho’ I am conscious that I do not mention him so much in my more recent letters. I really do miss him lots & often think how lovely t’would be to ramble these strange lands together. Space is exhausted. Lots and lots of love dear, ever yours, Fred. Cheerio Ron good luck!

04 Aug 1944My Darling Ri, just before I left - I arranged for a friend to buy for me some photos of Cairo to send to you. After a lot of searching I had decided upon such photos as illustrated the places I had been to; points of special interest; etc & altho’ I gave him a list describing briefly the photos I had in mind I regret to note he has not been able to obtain in all cases the photo I had in mind. However the selection is not bad & the 19 photos enclosed may prove of interest to you. Keep them amongst my collection until I return when I can put them in my album to serve as reminders of these eventful days.Will try & get my photo taken as opportunity offers but the prospects are not too good.Weather continues to be good altho’ we notice very much the coldness at nights. They are much colder than at ….. even altho’ the nights there were none too hot.Love & best wishes, Fred.

05 Aug 1944My Darling Ri, today is Saturday and that means we have our dinner at midday instead of in the evening as is the case on weekdays. I have just come back to the tent after having finished dinner & as the next item on the programme is a hot shower at 3.30 p.m. I have just over an hour & a half in which to send off a few lines to you & if possible I will also write to Eddie.We have today been issued with a green envelope & having given you pretty well all the news in recent letters I think it is a good opportunity to have a personal chat.Quite a number of the chaps received AG’s today but I was unlucky. However I am looking forward to receiving mail early next week. In future do not worry too much about writing letters by ordinary surface mail. The AG’s & ALC’s which come so much more quickly are what really matter. Of course ordinary letters are also welcome as they give details which space prohibits in AG’s & ALC’s but still I know how difficult it is to find the time to write long letters & at the same time maintain the other more rapid forms of mail, so as long as I get AG’s & ALC’s regularly I will be happy. As far as I am concerned I will write whenever possible & by whatever means is available at the time. I know how much you look forward to receiving mail (I often visualise you watching for the postman as you go about your household duties & I know the thrill you experience when he comes on past Lowden’s to No 2. I guess you are down to the gate in no time!). Also these letters are the nearest we can get to each other & so while I do not like writing letters as a general rule I do rather enjoy sending these words away to you.The powers that be are taking us along gently & so far we have not done much to justify our existence. Still I do not doubt busier days lie ahead & the spell is welcome as it is enabling us to build up a reserve of physical & mental energy for when it is needed & then again my last few weeks at …. were pretty full & the present change is more to my liking.The first leave to Bari for the chaps who came over with our lot is being granted tomorrow but I am not one of the fortunate ones. Jack was lucky to draw a place so it will happen that we will not be able to go together. I

hope to go in during the week. According to all a/cs there is nothing in the shops to buy goods of all kinds being in extremely short supply. Prices too are said to be very high. In fact except for the change & the chance to see new places leave to Bari & Taranto have not much attraction except to those seeking vino and/or wimo. I could do with plenty of both but they say the vino is rather poor all the good vino having been taken by jerry before he left these parts. And after his stay hereabouts jerry has left no good women for us & being still a faithful husband I must keep clear of the wimo (there is no such word - it is only my compilation to rhyme with vino). As a matter of fact I have not spoken to a woman for weeks the last time being when in the NZ Club on the occasion of my last leave in Cairo. I can’t remember when that was but you can tell form my letters. I guess I had better fo something about it or else I will be forgetting how to behave in their company. This military life certainly does bring about big changes in a man’s life!It is only 4 months since we left but it seems ages & ages. Yes indeed! The time is passing all too slowly. So much has happened since we parted that it seems like a lifetime since we last saw each other on T. Stn. [Trentham Station]. I miss you terribly - I have used that expression pretty often lately & at times I find it difficult not to become despondent & depressed. I am afraid that on occasions I get to the stage of regretting that I ever took the steps which resulted in my leaving NZ. I still feel that I followed the course of duty but I sometimes wonder whether it would not have been better not to have ignored the call of duty & to have solved my conscience with the material that was in plentiful supply. I often wonder how you are getting on & how the separation is affecting you. I pray that you are not too lonely & not worrying about me for there is no need to worry, I am in perfect health & will come thro’ the trials ahead alright. Worry & unhappiness will only make you prematurely old & I don’t want that to happen. You will need all your youthful vitality when I get back! I look forward to seeing you as beautiful as ever.At 2 o’clock it was lovely & fine but at present a severe thunderstorm is raging & rain is pouring down in torrents (A terrific clap of thunder just then - right overhead!). The tent is leaking like a sieve & we have just finished rearranging our gear & covering it with ground sheets. It is blowing hard & has turned quite cold. The climate of Egypt certainly had much to commend it. This camp is no pleasant spot in weather like this.Last night we had in addition to nocturnal visits from ants & lizards etc a visit from mice which were running all over us. Nice friends we keep! Centipedes also abound & many of the chaps have found quite big fellows in their beds & clothing. The mice are about the worst of our insect enemies as they chew up anything candles, clothing, letters, etc etc.Yesterday I sent off a cable to let you know I was safe & well & also a letter containing 19 snaps of scenes around Cairo. Let me know when you get them. I had, the day before, sent a guide book on Cairo.Have just realised that some washing I did this a.m. & which must have been quite dry is out in the rain. It will have to stay there as it will well wet by now. We have to wash in cold water & so you can imagine what it is like. Ironing facilities are non-existent. At ….. we had a unit laundry & altho’ the wogs sis not make the best of jobs it was very convenient having ones w & i done by somebody else.Last night & also the night before I spent with Jack at concerts at the local open air amphitheatre. Neither show was anything remarkable but it was pleasant sitting there drinking tea obtained from the nearby YMCA in the cool of the evening & in bright moonlight from the full moon.Tea time fast approaches & so I will close & see about getting ready. The storm has abated somewhat but it looks very wet & muddy outside.Give my love to Ron who I hope continues to make good progress both physically & at school. It is good to hear that his teacher is so pleased with his work. Keep it up my son. All the very best to you.How are all the folks at home? Give them all my best wishes & kindest regards. I am sorry I cannot hope to write to them all individually but I often think of you all.For you sweetheart I send all my love. You must know just what is in my heart when I say that for my feelings are so deep you must feel the waves reaching to you. Please do write & tell me frankly how you are & whether you are being upset by our separation. Your letters seem rather impersonal & altho’ I would not like them filled with sloppy sentimentality I would like to know what your inner feelings are. For instance what do you do when you feel the need of me (if you do!) & yet I am not there to ….. . You know what happens in my case for my letters are pretty candid & it is only fair that you should let me know how you react.All the very best dear. Look after yourself & don’t worry. Ever yours & yours alone, Fred.

08 Aug 1944My Darling Ri, while waiting for lunch I wrote an AG to your Mum. I have been intending to write for quite awhile to convey my sympathy and upon receipt of her letter I got busy right away. It was most difficult to know what to say especially in the limited scope of an AG 7 I can only hope that what I did say offers some little comfort for I know the sorrow she & your Dad must be enduring. Life here goes on much the same. We are still enjoying a rather easy time but already some of our crowd have moved on so perhaps it will not be long before I

am on my way again. The weather has not been good lately & today is the first fine p.m. for 4 days. On Sat Sun & Mon severe thunderstorms starting soon after lunch made conditions unpleasant. On Sat I was in the process of writing a green envelope letter to you but I had to stop because of the tent leaking & blowing about too much. I have sent off quite a lot of mail AG’s ALC’s & surface mail lately (including some photos - Cairo scenes). Let me know as you get it. After I stopped writing in Sat I watched my tent mates play cards until T time & also afterwards until I retired fairly early in the evening. It was too wet to venture far. Sun was an entirely free day & I spent the morning writing & generally tidying up. In the p.m. I went for a swim a truck taking us from the camp to the beach which is near Taranto & the scenery en route was novel & very interesting. We had a most enjoyable swim but on the way back ran into a very severe thunderstorm & being on an open truck we got soaked to the skin. I only managed to save the papers in my note case by putting same under armpit & holding my arm hard against my body. And it was cold! I regret to say it has given me a cold which is making me feel a bit miserable at present. I hope I am not in for a sequence of them. I was completely free from them in the ME. Went to bed soon after tea. Yesterday a.m. spent on training syllabus but in p.m. Bob Grafts & I took what is termed local leave (2 p.m. to 8 p.m.) my first leave since arriving here, & hitch-hiked to the nearest aerodrome where we had the extremely interesting experience of being shown completely over a Liberator & a F.Fortress. Our hosts were extremely kind & went to no end of trouble to show us & explain the details of their aircraft of which they are very proud & not without cause believe me. I wish Ron could have been with me for the experience would have thrilled him thro & thro. Training syllabus again this a.m. & this p.m. I am sitting on slight rise overlooking the camp and as you can see I am writing. I am in the shade of an olive tree against which I am leaning with pad on knee. From noon today until noon tomorrow I am on “stand by” duty & so am not allowed to go out of the lines & must be on call at all times. Jack obtained day leave (8.30 a.m. - 9 p.m.) on Sun & went to Bari. I applied but missed so we were unable to go together. When my day leave comes up I intend also going to Bari but it seems Jack will not be with me. That covers the news so will close while space permits.Fondest love dearest. Ever faithfully yours, Fred.

08 Aug 1944I have just returned to my tent from the hill where I had only a few minutes ago finished an AG giving news of recent activities. I was thrilled to find mail (your letter 16/6, letter from Frank 21/5, & your ALC 14/7). It astounds me to learn that Mrs W has been released. On a technicality the SM was possibly right but certainly not by any other standard. It is scandalous & I sincerely hope the endeavours being made to put matters right are successful altho’ I am not optimistic. It will at least spare you all the agony of a prolonged Court proceedings so from that aspect it may be good. While appreciating your desire (all the family) to see the culprit adequately punished it is no use your letting bitterness influence your judgement. Whatever happens nothing can restore the life that was lost. Remember that “to ere is human, to forgive divine”. As you know I am a great believer in retribution & in spite of the insistence or otherwise of any man made law the culprit will receive her punishment in God’s good time. Good will be balanced against evil & punishment or reward administered accordingly. Take it easy. I know how you all must feel but nobody knowing the true facts could think that Dick took his own life. Admittedly my first thought was that this was the case but only because I did not know the facts. Wishing harm to others was not God’s way & surely he had reasons enough and yet he forgave.Now for a few comments on your letter while space permits. Yes! I am sure Dick put up a magnificent fight & displayed admirable courage. Lucky fellow Mr.Lourie! Sorry to hear of Harry P’s passing. The older folks must feel the passing of these old hands. Your new coat sounds to be really nice from your description. I fear folks will remark that Mrs C had to wait for her husband to go away before setting out to look nicely dressed. Still neat clothing helps catch the Yanks. Nasty! Grand to get such good reports on Ron. Reading matter & tucker is welcome here so amend previous advices accordingly please. This is not intended as a hint & wishes prev expressed still stand. Cheerio dearest, love & kisses to you both. God bless you & keep you safe & well. Ever yours, Fred.

12 Aug 1944Here it is Sat & as my last AG to you was written on Wed it is about time I got busy & gave you a/c of my activities since then. Have been hoping for an AG or ALC as the last I had was the ALC written early in July, but so far this week I have not had any mail at all.Went into town (Bari) on Thurs & could write pages on my impression of that city if only space & time permitted. It is quite a large place but is really not a bit impressive. I purposely kept on my own & so was able to have a good look around & by hurried walking I was able to cover the whole city & visit briefly the main places of interest in the one day. I saw quite a lot of the living conditions of the people who are poorly housed, ill clothed & ill nourished. They are as badly off as the fellahin of Egypt almost & generally one could say they

are no where as happy in disposition. There are many fine bldgs but they all show signs of neglect & it would seem that if ever civic or national pride did exist it has died almost completely. There are two very old churches which from the outside are unimpressive but which inside are well worth visiting. They are historic buildings, also there is a very old medieval castle well preserved & I found this the most interesting of Bari’s attractions. It is the sort of castle you see pictured in illustrations in old fairy books. The people are not particularly friendly & I fancy one could detect a somewhat hostile feeling with them. The NZ Club is rather poor & is much below Cairo standard. One saw many Italian soldiers (possibly demobilised altho’ still in uniform) around the town & they are the most untidy & poor looking specimens you could imagine. They look just as you have seen them pictured in the mobs of POW captured in NA. Ill clad, dirty, unshaven, poor physique & generally looking pretty miserable. Italian officers are easily recognised from their contrast with the men. They are smartly dressed, rather over dressed in fact, swanking in their style & usually with about 4 rows of ribbons. In the city there is little to buy & what there is is very expensive & rubbishy. There is plenty of the sort of things which the public do not want, ie mirrors, cheap jewellery, fountain pens, postage stamps, etc but it is all of poor quality. Clothing is a little better in quality but it is frightfully dear. Arrived back at 8 p.m. after a tiring but quite interesting day. That night an Italian concert party was performing at the camp open air theatre. I went along for a while. It was it was really impressive listening to the gems from well known operas, sung & played with excellent talent. The “theatre” is a stage set up in the open in a slight hollow surrounded by piles of stones upon which we sit. Thunder & lightening from a nearby thunderstorm added to the impressiveness.Yesterday with Jack & Bob I went to Mottola which is one of the oldest villages in these parts & in fact one of the oldest in Italy. It is a fortress town perched right on the top of a hill & it is strange to see a town in such a situation. It is interesting to look upon but contains nothing of interest. The inhabitants are poor peasant people living in crowded squalid conditions. We did not stay long as a thunderstorm was fast approaching & threatened heavy rain. Have had enough soakings lately. While up there we witnessed an extremely interesting & awe inspiring spectacle in the form of a huge whirl wind moving across the plains in front of the storm. It was like a huge funnel reaching down from the clouds. At the base the havoc being caused was hidden by a huge cloud of dust. The base quickly tapered into a tube, perfectly formed & up this funnel one could see the dust, grass, hay, etc being sucked right up into the clouds. Yes indeed it was a wonderful sight. On the way back the road passed thro’ the track of the cyclone & one could see at close quarters its immense power. Quite big trees were uprooted & blown down, telephone posts snapped off, fences down, & hay stacks had just disappeared. Fortunately the country thro which the cyclone passed is bare & sparsely settled with stony ground prevailing so the damage except near the road was slight.Last night Jack & I went to hear a misc programme at the open air theatre. It comprised a talk, musical items by a camp orchestra, quizzy session, & brains trust. It was excellent & I thoroughly enjoyed it. The talk by the Bishop of Lichfield was especially good. A fine address by a Christian gentleman possessed of a wonderful personality & high ideals. He was to have represented the CoE at the opening of Wgtn’s new cathedral the construction of which is held up by the war.Went for a walk up the hill at the back of the camp the other day to view the surrounding country & while out came upon a tortoise (which I gave to Bob Craft who intends to polish the shell) & we also scared up two snakes one being about 4 ft long (they say they are poisonous) so you can add those to our list of live-stock hereabouts.The boys are making a cup of cocoa which will be ready soon so I will close soon. As you may guess I am again writing while sitting in my tent.Am well except for my cold which is not too good at the moment. It was on my chest for a couple of days & has now gone to the head. It is breaking but today I have a severe pain up the right hand side of my face - inflammation in anthrum passage I think.Weather still unsettled & washing done yesterday is still not dry.How are you & Ron my two dears. To repeat my old saying I miss you as much as ever & you are constantly in my thoughts. It will be a great day when we are together again but I will find it difficult to settle down to the old humdrum way of life again. I do feel sorry for you having to put up with the old routine day after day. I am fortunate in having so much to do & so much to interest me. Will write to Ron soon. All my love sweetheart. Ever yours, Fred.

14 Aug 1944Still no AG from you but perhaps tomorrow will bring something. I have just finished tea & am sitting in my tent without shirt or singlet as the evening is perfect & lovely & warm. The sun is going down behind the trees (7 p.m.) but we enjoy quite long twilight here as compared with Cairo & I hope to be able to finish this before it gets too dark. After tea had shave & wash & am all ready for reveille at 5.30 a.m. tomorrow. This week I am on a Mines & Booby-Traps Course which precludes me from leave so it promises to be rather a quiet week. Today was the beginning of the course which gives promise of being instructive & interesting. We are instructed on all

known types of mines & traps, Allied, German, Italian, French, & I only wish Earle were here for the subject would interest him greatly. Cold is much better. Felt really miserable with it on Sat. Weather now much improved & we are having really glorious days again. Met Wilfred Watson who has been here all the time. Jack went down to the Archives Sec. on Sat to see a friend Doug Evans & he was introduced to W. In the course of conversation my name was mentioned & W immediately asked if it were FJC of the L&S Dept. He was amazed to learn that I was over here. I went down to see him Sun morning & we spent a most enjoyable couple of hours yarning. He is looking very well. He is practically engaged to a French girl whom he met when the Div was in Syria. He showed me some photos & she is a beautiful looking creature without any doubt. She is teaching at Beirut University & speaks English fluently. He sends his regards. Let Eddie know. Was able to give me news of a few of the L&S Dept chaps over here. That is just about all the news since I last wrote by ALC on Fri last, or was it Sat? How are things at home? Is Ron’s ear still discharging & how is his hearing? Does his speaking show improvement? Have you considered his resuming elocution lessons? And how are you sweetheart? Well and happy I trust. The war news is excellent & I adhere more strongly than ever to my belief that the show will over here in Europe before Xmas. I always said that Germany would collapse within a few months after the Allies successfully on the Continent. Events will show if my estimate was too optimistic. Yesterday I received the cable which Clare sent on 7/8/44 acknowledging receipt of my AG. Please thank her very much for her kindness in cabling. I will write again as soon as poss. Regards to all at J’ville. Fondest love to yourself & Ron who are ever in my thoughts. Ever & ever yours. Goodnight sweetheart. 8 p.m. Fred.

15 Aug 1944Your AG 26/7/44 reached me safely today but so far this week there has been no ALC. Today’s AG was the first for a fortnight (the one with your photo was the last before today’s) and I was rather disappointed when only one came with today’s mail. Am afraid I look forward to these AG’s, ALC’s etc over much and suffer disappointment when mails go by & I don’t receive one. Having written fairly often in the form of AG’s etc I have not sent much forward by surface mail except miscellaneous matter such as photos postcards etc. A few minutes ago I sent off some postcards - scenes of Taranto. I sent one to Ron. Today’s mail, also from UK, brought to hand an AG from Uncle Charlie who used address you had given him in your AG. The date is almost obliterated but is either 26 June or 26 July and from the number of places it has been to the PO found some difficulty in getting it to me. I must find time to answer Uncle Charlie’s AG soon as he has no idea I am in this part of the world & seems to have assumed I was bound for the Pacific as he expresses the hope that I might be near Eric.Referring to your remarks about sending Ron some stamps, this had not escaped my thoughts. In fact the large number of stamps shops in the towns here has served as a constant reminder of my promise to send him some stamps but I have not bought any as they are poor specimens for which the wops want the most fancy prices. It is quite a joke the number of shops which sell stamps & is something I cannot quite understand for what the people need is food & clothing & not such things as stamps. The difficulty is of course that they sell what they can get & having little else to spend their money on they pay high prices for even such things as stamps the collecting of which seems must be a popular hobby here. They do not sell envelopes of assorted stamps but sell either sets or single stamps. In view of your remarks I will send some stamps as soon as I can but I don’t hold out much hope that they will be anything special or that Ron will not already have them.Am resuming again after breaking off for lunch. Upon finishing lunch I had a bit of a spell then a shower and now am sitting up on the hill. As you will gather we follow much the same daily training schedule here as at Maadi.What was Barry’s trouble? If you gave details in previous mail it is not to hand yet.With cash in hand & pay-book credit I have saved about £15 and as there seems to be nothing to buy here I may remit some of it to you later to buy something for yourself. Was saving hard in case we were in ME long enough for an opportunity to present itself for me to get up to Palestine & Syria. But there is no hope of that now & according to a/c’s leave is not of much use here owing to the difficulty over food & accommodation. The prospects for securing suitable Xmas gifts over here are poor indeed. [I thought there was a war on , Fred!!] [JDSC].We are still on the Mines Course & are on practical work mainly now - quite good fun! The course will end on Sat & soon thereafter I hope for a further “day leave” as there is still much I wish to see while we are in this locality. We are barred from day leave while on the course but “local leave” can be taken & yesterday Bob Craft & I went into Taranto to which place we hitch-hiked. I describe the visit on the mail posted this morning so will not repeat it again here. T’was a hurried trip.On Monday p.m. went with three tent mates for a roam over the country to the N of the camp. We located some orchards & were able to find some ripe pears & also some tasty grapes - the latter in plenty & we had just as many as we could eat bringing well over 20 lbs back with us for others. Grapes of course abound here. Doesn’t

that make your mouth water? Grapes have just come into season here & sometimes we have them for lunch or desert at evening dinner. Had them for lunch today & they are delicious.On Tuesday night I went over to hear a Polish concert. The music was good but too much time was given to dialogues & speeches & of course we couldn’t understand a word of what was said. Cannot say I enjoyed myself but it was an educating evening to see how the Poles entertain themselves & to hear a little of their type of music. It is typically Russian in character.There was supposed to be a concert here in camp last night from 8 till 9 & pictures from 9 till 10. The concert party did not turn up & the projector broke down so the evening was spent mainly with impromptu items given by our own lads. Not bad but hardly good entertainment. One of the concert party turned up, a Negro crooner, & he was quite good but on his own he could not fill in the whole evening & all things considered it was rather a flop. Returned to tent about 9.15 p.m. Made a cup of cocoa (we boil the billy on a fireplace outside the tent, cocoa bought at canteen) & then to bed. Six of the eight in the tent are keen gamblers & they often sit up to midnight. On Tuesday it was till 3 a.m., playing & as they pretty hilarious at times you can guess how difficult a good night’s rest is to get. They did not play last night thank goodness & I was able to get a good rest. Have effected some improvements to my bed place by digging out the stones & things are rather better now but I still wake pretty often during the night & find myself stiff & sore. Oh! How I yearn for that lovely soft mattress of ours - especially with you beside me. “Beside” I said!The war news is grand. The night of the invasion of S. France we had heavy bombers passing overhead for hours. You folk I suppose get a great thrill out of these events but they stir little interest here. I still am amazed at the manner in which the fellows in camp regard the events which really mean so much to us. I believe the fall of Rome caused much excitement back home. We hardly heard it mentioned - just the subject of casual remark.Archie is back on the job - RSM of EME unit at M…. I hear he is ok again but apparently is not likely to come over here again. We left in such a hurry that I was unable to look him up or enquire of him before leaving.That seems to exhaust the news. These small written AG’s (are they readable?) & ALC’s take a long time to write but one can say plenty. How about making your writing smaller & saying more. Hope you will not think that mean, but it is lovely to hear from you.And so sweetheart, once again I will say cheerio. Fondest love to you & Ron who I trust are very well. Ever faithfully yours, Fred.

15 Aug 1944 Two Postcards of Taranto.This is a view along what seemed to me to be the main street of Taranto. Notice single track tramway. The trams are very antiquated - small wobbly affairs which travel only very slowly. While it looks good here it is really rather untidy & dirty altho’ not so bad as some of the outer streets most of which are very dirty. The people do not show any friendliness, and speaking generally they are most untidy & take little pride in their appearance.We had an enjoyable time looking around the place which in spite of its drabness we found quite interesting. It was a hot day possibly the hottest since we have been here& we returned to camp hot & weary.When we were in Bari I tried to get some postcards showing that city but such as were available were too poor to buy. Love, Fred. 15.8.44

This photo is some years out of date but except that the traffic crossing the bridge and the destroyer passing thro’ the canal are a little out-moded the scene remains the same today. The bridge swings (split in the middle & either end swings in towards Inner Harbour to which destroyer is proceeding) to allow full size battleships & the largest size merchant ships thro’. the canal is about 300 yds long & about 150 ft wide, & it provides the passage from Outer Harbour to the Inner Harbour which in normal times is the Naval Base of Taranto. Bridge carries a huge volume of traffic. Note the point marked with cross. I will refer to it in later mail. We hitch-hiked (Bob Craft & myself) to this city today obtaining lifts in Uncle Sam’s transport both ways. Ride back was a real thriller. Hardly ever less than 60 mph. The roads are excellent with straights often stretching much further than the eye can see. This applies to arterial roads only. Subsidiary roads are poor relatively. All the highways are lined with fine looking trees. Arrived back here to find your AG 27/7 awaiting me also one (date unreadable) from Uncle Charlie. The latter has (it would appear from number of addresses on envelope) been chasing me around many places ere it reached me here. Will have to try & write as he assumes I may be in the Pacific, with Eric. Italian towns & cities are very unimpressive & the squalor & poverty of the people is very marked. But even under best conditions they are a dirty & untidy people taking little pride in their appearance. All my love darling, Fred 15.8.44

19 Aug 1944It was on Thursday that I last wrote to you but I guess you will enjoy receiving another letter & as I have some

time to spare I thought I would spend it in this way. I have been hoping for further mail from you but without luck except for your AG which came to hand on Wed. however I am hoping that there will be a pile in transit and that I will receive a pleasant surprise very shortly. Today’s mail is not yet in.We had a short parade at 9 a.m. but after about ½ an hour on the parade ground we were dismissed to clean up our lines. This did not take long & we were soon onto making ourselves a morning cup of tea (cocoa was our beverage) which we finished a short time ago & I am now enjoying a smoke while writing this awaiting further instructions. Most of the chaps are doing their washing & I doubt whether we will be given anything more to do before dinner at 1 p.m. Yes! There is no doubt we are enjoying an easy time here but it is unlikely to last much longer - frankly I hope I am lucky enough to be included in the next lot to go forward for I am anxious to get into it & do the job we came here for. Then too they say that life with the Div is in many ways rather more pleasant than the idle worthless time spent here. Don’t worry I will be alright. I know that.On Thursday night I went down to the Lowry Hut to listen to a talk on the Education System in NZ which I found quite interesting. After the address the meeting was open for discussion & some of the remarks & suggestions were very good. The Padre invited some of us to his tent for supper afterwards & we spent the rest of the evening until about 10.45 p.m. discussing various topics but world problems of the day were our main subject. There is no doubt that the world faces a very critical & difficult period following the war.Today’s mail just in. Still nothing for me. Think I had better come home & see if you have taken unto yourself a boyfriend in the usual J’ville fashion!As I write there is a terrific roar overhead but we are so accustomed to it that I do not even go out to watch. Really I should for I am always thrilled to watch these huge formations of big aircraft pass over.Yesterday morning we spent on practical work with explosives in the field. Very interesting & instructive. I have found my HG work of much value to me on this course & have derived much benefit from Earl’s teaching.In the afternoon Bob Craft & I (Jack was on cookhouse fatigue) went down to see our US Army Air Corp friends & as before we spent another very interesting afternoon. I do so wish Ron were with me for I am sure he would be immensely thrilled. We were back in time for tea & in the evening we (Bob, Jack, two others whom you do not know & myself) went to the “El Djem” (I call it that after the open air theatre at Maadi to which it bears some resemblance) to hear a concert by the Kiwi Concert Party. It was a grand show thoroughly enjoyed everyone. Yes there is no doubt they are good and more than once I wished I had you with me to enjoy the programme. You were of course just getting up for breakfast as the concert was concluding. I could easily visualise what you were doing. During the evening there was a brilliant display of “lights” in the northern sky. It lasted several hours & was most spectacular but I do not know what it was. I was inclined to think it might be a display of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) but it was not quite in the right direction nor are they usually visible from these latitudes. Some of the old hands say it was a thunderstorm but if so it was of a kind I have neither seen nor read of. There was no thunder & the flashes were very vivid, almost continuous & of varying colour. It was all rather weird & to me quite an inspiring phenomena. I am anxious to know what it really was.Yesterday I changed my tent, taking a “bed” vacated by a chap being posted to another unit. The bed consists of 3 boards with stones to raise them off the ground. A vast improvement over my former position, and the chaps are much quieter & do not sit up late playing cards. In all a big improvement on the state of affairs before, when I was lying on all the stones & the chaps often went on playing cards until about 3 a.m.The Mines Course is now finished & I think I passed the qualifying tests satisfactorily. Am hoping for another day in Bari, with Jack if possible, next week. Will see about stamps then. Weather beautiful but very hot last few days.We are paid in Italian currency that is in lire (pronounced leer-a) which go 400 to the pound. We draw 400 lire each week. The actual exchange rate is nearer 412 to the £ so with the small credit arising by our drawing only 400 as a £ & with the odd 1/- we are building up a credit each week. Most pays I draw only 200 lire.I observe that space is running out so I will close wishing you all the best of good luck & sending my fondest love to you both. Look after yourselves dears. Your ever loving, Fred. XXXXX.

Monday 20 Aug 1944Please excuse the formality (Dear Mrs.Cooper) but as I am receiving so little mail I am constrained to refrain from the more mode of address for fear I may be encroaching upon another’s preserves. Another big batch of AG’s in today but still nothing for me. Don’t take me seriously dear it is just my way of being facetious. No doubt my turn will come later in the week but if there is then no word I know there will be good reason for your not writing. I only hope that nothing untoward has occurred & that you are not ill. If this should ever happen please have someone let me know. I had hardly finished writing ALC to you on Sat when a severe thunderstorm blew up & it was preceded by quite a strong whirlwind (not so well developed as the one we saw from Mottola - vide prev mail) which fortunately just missed the camp altho a few tents were blown down. The rain was

torrential & this tent leaks even worse than the one I was in before. We had a hectic time running around holding the tent down & trying to keep things dry. We put everything on our bed boards & covered them with ground sheets but even so they got wet. It cleared as suddenly as it started & by teatime was lovely & fine again. In the evening we went to a concert by the Kiwi Concert Party. It was a grand show, talent remarkably good & we enjoyed it immensely. Sat night answered my curiosity re the lights in the sky the night before. It is a peculiar form of electrical storm. On Sat night we had one quite close to the camp. The lightening is very vivid & practically continuous (just like in a darkened room with somebody switching the E L switch off & on) & walking back form the concert the roadway was lit up almost like daytime with the lightening flashes. Yesterday a.m. we had a camp parade for a talk by our new CO & in the afternoon I went for a swim at Chiatona Beach but this time did not get soaked altho one could see thunderstorms moving across the countryside. Got back in time for tea & retired early. Spent this a.m. on the rifle range. Tonight I am on guard. Must get away to lunch now so will close. Am very well and am hoping for a move forward any time now, but may have to wait awhile as there quite a number of our unit waiting. Lots & lots of love to you dearest & to Ron. Regards to all friends. Ever yours, cheerio, Fred.

Wednesday 23 Aug 1944I felt certain that today would bring to hand some mail for me but no, when mail was sorted at noon there was none for FJC. Needless to say I was very disappointed but am hoping for better luck tomorrow. It is over a week since your last AG came to hand & there has been no ALC for about a fortnight. Seems much longer & I suppose I am too impatient. I last wrote on Monday & nothing of importance has happened since then. However I will continue as long as possible to let you have frequent mail for there is no telling how much longer it will be possible. Later I may find it possible to write only very occasionally. I assume of course that my mail is still welcome. Nasty! Was intending to have a day in Bari with Jack & Bob today but day leave has been stopped for us meantime & in any case Jack is away on a special guard duty. Have again changed tents & am now with Bob & quite close to Jack (when he is here). Accommodation here is rather better - tent in better state etc - & they are a good crowd of fellows so future prospects are good. I have “jacked up” (favourite NZ Div expression meaning fixed, arranged, etc) for myself a sacking bed which is a big improvement on the ground & bed boards. You would laugh if you could see the contraption propped up in the 4 corners stones but it is really quite comfortable. Had a big day washing yesterday & spent the whole p.m. on the job, that & shifting. It is not easy to get things clean (they get very dirty very quickly here) washing with cold water but I managed to get them nice & clean & as it was a sunny day with a fresh wind they dried quickly. As for myself I am fit & well except for my cold which for some unaccountable has freshened up & become quite heavy again. Am still missing you as much as ever & just live for the day when we will meet again. Fondest love to Ron. How are you son? All my love sweetheart, Fred.No mail again today 24.8.44. What’s the matter? Love, F.

25 Aug 1944Dear Ron, I don’t think I have written one of these Air Letters to you so this week I will send it to you instead of Mum as I usually do. It will be possible to say a lot more than one is able to in an airgraph but actually there is very little in the way of news to give you as I have written to Mum fairly often lately and in those letters have given account of all our activities and of the things we have seen since our arrival here. However I will do my best to fill in the space available.At the present time I am sitting on the slope of a small hill which rises near the camp. It is not a high hill, only about as high as the one on which our house is but on account of the surrounding country being so flat we are able from the summit one gets quite a nice view for several miles. I am not high enough at present to get the full benefit of the view but below me & thro the trees I see the camp nestling under the olive trees. This hill is covered with such trees & as a matter of fact I am writing this letter with my back against a tree trunk, sitting sheltered from the hot bright sun. It is quite interesting to roam the country behind the camp. Apart from the fact that there are several orchards & vineyards into which we can intrude, the insect life hereabouts is very interesting. We see snakes, asps, lizards & a number of other things not seen in NZ such as tortoises, beetles, etc. The snakes are mostly small ones of about 3ft to 4ft in length but one species, the brown fellow, is poisonous as are the asps. Fortunately they don’t often come down into the camp for already we have more than enough pests there to trouble our slumbers - bugs, ants, fleas (in abundance), lizards etc. there are also many moles which burrow under the ground leaving little mounds of earth here & there to sow their presence. We caught one the other day but they are hard to find. Also caught two tortoises on Mon & these I killed & cleaned out putting the shells in amongst ant heaps as the ants clean them out as clean as a whistle. If I have the time I will polish up the shells & send them to you. The snakes are too hard to catch to send you any of their skins. The moles have beautiful glossy furs but they are very small.

The money here is very strange and almost exclusively paper money is used & I have seen coins only twice since I have been here. I managed to obtain one coin which I will keep for you. The lire is practically the only value used & notes are issued for 1,2,3,4,5,10,20,25,50,100 lire and I believe there are also notes for larger amounts but I have not seen them. £1 equals 400 lire so you see each lire is worth about ½d. 1/- = 20 lire. Quite different from Egypt where there are many coins in circulation as well as the notes. There too the piastre (commonly called akkers) goes 100 to the £. Over here with our pockets full of notes we think we are very rich - until we go to buy something.The weather here is very different from that which we experienced in Egypt. It is rather like hot summer weather in NZ. Most of the chaps like it better here & in many ways it is more pleasant altho personally I think I preferred the climate of Egypt which seemed to agree with me for I fancy I felt better when there than I do here. Perhaps when I throw off the cold which has troubled me for the past fortnight & when I become acclimatised I will find myself agreeing with the opinion of the majority.No doubt Mum told you of my visit to the aerodrome where I saw over two of the biggest types of bombers. It was immensely interesting & I only wish you could have been with me. They are wonderful machines fitted up with the latest devices & I was allowed to see almost everything & to sit up in the pilots “office” etc. It was great. We often see very big formations of these big bombers passing overhead & single machines can be seen or heard almost continually. Dozens have passed overhead while I have been writing. We also often see the very latest types of fighters. They move at terrific speed.How are you getting on at school work and when do you expect to go back to school proper? Mum gives me very good reports on your progress. Keep it up son. It is not always easy & often you will feel more like being outside playing, especially when the weather improves, but always remember that the lessons you are being taught now are for your own good and your future welfare & happiness depend a lot on the way you apply yourself to your work now. If you do not learn well you will be regarded as a dullard and nobody pays high salary or wages to young men of that type. Now you may think Mum too hard in requiring you to do the lessons but later you will realise that she is doing it for your own good. Unfortunately life is not all play. There is of necessity much hard work needed to reap a full life. Work hard and fit yourself for whatever the future may have in store. Hard work now will perhaps save you harder work and give you a more pleasant time in later life. I trust too that you are paying heed to the necessity of talking properly. Pleasing speaking & pleasant personality are the greatest assets & it is worth going to great trouble to develop these faculties.The next time I am near shops selling stamps I will buy some & send them to you to add to your collection but please do not be disappointed if you should have specimens of those I send. Most of the stamps I have seen here in the shops seem to be a common variety. However I will do my best.Well son dear her I am nearly at the foot of the page so will have to close. I am always thinking of you & wishing you well. I just live for the day when Mum, you & I will be reunited to go on living our lives happily together. Lots & lots of love, Dad.

Sunday 27 Aug 1944Just a few lines to let you know that I am still here & that, except for the usual after effects of a cold, I am fit & well. I posted an ALC to Ron yesterday & if that has been received, which I doubt for experience proves AG’s to be much quicker than ALC’s. You will know of my receipt yesterday of your ALC 23/7 & Clare’s AG 10/8 both received together in spite of 18 days difference in date. This mail was very welcome as my last mail received some 12 days ago was your AG of 28/7. Please thank Clare for her AG to which I will reply in the course of the next few days. Have not written by surface mail lately as all news has been covered in these frequent AG’s & ALC’s. Haven’t seen or heard of Haze for quite a while. He gave me Wendy’s address (ATC HQ Wgtn) some weeks ago when I saw him at NZ Club, Cairo but I omitted to send it on. Also have lost track of Jack Hallewell, Geo Broad, Herbie Neal so if you hear of them let me know as it may easily happen that you get news which we may miss. Bruce Collins we left behind at M. Jack F has as one of his tent mates Jack Giles also from J’ville (lives in houses opp Wylde’s). Bob Craft asked if he may give his fiancée your address so that she could look you up sometime. Her name is Eva Olsen & she comes from Palm N having been man-powered into essential industry in Wgtn. According to Bob she is a fine (physically rather otherwise) lass as of course one would expect him to say. Bob & I spend quite a lot of our time together in fact we spent yesterday together visiting a village called Massafra which we found to be extremely dirty & uninteresting but nevertheless we had an enjoyable afternoon trying with the assistance of tribes of youngsters, a few who speak English slightly, to learn Italian. We had great fun. Ate lbs of grapes (go 15 lire per kilo - about 4d a lb) & almonds at 90lire per kilo. Kilo = 2.2lbs. They were delicious & I wish I could have had you with me. In spite of its filth the people of M seem happy enough but they are obviously very poor. With Bob, Jack & Laurie I am hoping for Bari leave on Tues.Lots & lots of love sweetheart. Same to Ron. Missing you both. Ever yours, Fred.

28 Aug 1944Upon returning to camp about midnight I was overjoyed to find 3 ALC’s waiting for me. They were those written 31/7, 4/8, & 9/8 all coming to hand together. Gee! It was grand to hear from you again as lately it had seemed that I was almost forgotten. Thanks a million!I note your remarks re Green Envelope letters & will whenever opportunity occurs write more of them for I sometimes feel I must say just those things I feel nearest my heart. Unfortunately it is not so easy here to write that kind of letter & in any case I was just a bit doubtful whether you would welcome that kind of letter. I feared they might upset you & perhaps stir emotions you might have preferred to keep subdued. Now I know you like such letters I feel free to say those things which express my emotions.Yes I know exactly how much you must look forward to mail. It is the same with me and while able I have been writing pretty often to give you the thrill of getting fairly frequent letters. Oh my sweetheart I know only too well the loneliness & anxiety you are facing but bear it bravely dear and don’t worry for I am sure I will be alright and as for your loneliness it is just inevitable. We will make up for it in due course. You know I am with you in spirit always & I sometimes wonder that we should be so far apart when my soul is so often with you. For it is. I seem always to be thinking of you & Ron even at times when there are so many other things to think of & to be done. I fear the efficiency of my work must suffer in consequence. The war is going well, very well, and it looks as tho jerry has “had it”. The situation is full of possibilities & anything may happen at ay moment but even adopting the most pessimistic view it is clear that soon now the German nation must collapse. With her satellites all turning it in, war closing in upon their own soil, continual & devastating defeats of the armies, internal unrest, and the many other evidences one can see, it is certain that disaster will fall upon the whole Nazi system. As I see it the next 8 weeks will see Germany finished & suing for peace. She is beaten now. Only the tyranny of the Gestapo prevents a complete collapse. We will be home soon you can be sure of that.For the first time for weeks I am writing on a table. Not a particularly steady one nor is it even but a table nevertheless. I am on cook house fatigue today & am writing this in the mess room (long, round roofed building, made of corrugated iron called Nissen Huts) while waiting for lunch. We have done all that is necessary for the time being & are more or less free for the next hour.Yesterday was Sunday normally spent quietly in camp. However Joe Louis was fighting in Bari & altho I applied for leave to go in & see him (as did just about the whole camp) I missed so after midday dinner I changed & in old Wednesday night (Trentham - Bridge) style hiked off. I secured a hitch hike to Bari a good few miles (say as far as to Trentham & back again for you) where I filled in a couple of hours at a café sipping good “Itie” vino & then at 6 p.m. I set about jacking up another hitch hike to the Stadium, about 3 miles from Bari. This was soon accomplished. The boxing started at 7 p.m. but there was much to interest me while waiting for the show to start. Band playing, soldiers endeavouring to secure good vantage points - their efforts at improving stands etc were humorous - but most interesting of all was watching the people of the various nationalities - their behaviour, dress etc. I suppose just about every Allied nation was represented & it was all immensely interesting. The poor old wops soldier, sailors & civilians turned up in masses & there were many women (some very good looking - any woman looks good to one these days) & quite a number of children. I secured an excellent seat & Joe Louis’ car (it was a jeep) stopped only a few feet from me. The prelim bouts were good but J’s exhibition was somewhat disappointing as he was much too good for his sparring partners. He is a wonderful boxer of that there can be no doubt & it would be a great sight to see him fully extended. Naturally I was thrilled at seeing him in action. After the show I hitch hiked back here arriving back about midnight tired & very cold for it was very warm when I set out & so I was in drill shirt & slacks. Nights are becoming very cold now & in open trucks the wind bites right into one. I came back with Poles some of whom could speak English. They have their camp only a shot distance from us but language difficulty prevents fraternisation on a large scale but we get on well together.While in Bari I bought a packet of stamps which later on I will post on to Ron.Have received word that my friend at M was successful in purchasing quite a nice article which he has sent on to you. Let me know how you like it. Howdy Ron lad! Thanks for your PS on ALC’s. Wrote you yesterday. All my love sweethearts mine, Fred.

31 Aug 1944 (Monday)I have spent nearly the whole afternoon writing having written to Frank and also a brief note to Ron with the stamps I bought him in Bari on Sunday. I also sent a postcard to John - a scene of Bari.I think my last letter to you was my ALC written on Monday. The only item of news since then concerns my visit to Bari yesterday. Four of us went together - Jack Fowles, Bob Craft, Laurie Berg & myself. It was Laurie’s first visit to the city so we spent most of the day visiting the main points of interest around the city & to this extent the visit was largely a repetition of my first visit. The first thing we did upon arrival in town was to

go to the NZ Club for a cup of morning tea. This we finished about 10 a.m. afterwards proceeding up town for a look around the street stalls & shops. We were soon accosted by an Ite lad touting for one of the many photographers in the city. These are quick service businesses where you have a photo taken & go back an hour or two later & collect the finished article. Naturally one cannot under such circumstances expect too much but in view of your remarks about wanting a photo of me in my beret I thought I would take a chance & see about having my photo taken so along we went. The charge was 300 lire (15/-) much more than the service was worth but in keeping with the usual charge so on the basis of the proprietor’s promise that he would make a good job we paid our money & had our sitting. This did not take long as there was only one exposure. Actually we made arrangements whereby he should take only one print & if we were not satisfied we would be allowed our money back. He professed to understand. The rest of the morning we spent looking around the city returning to the Club at 1 p.m. for lunch. After that we spent a short session at a nearby bar, lasting to about 2.30 when the other 3 went off for a swim from which I refrained on a/c of still suffering from the after effects of my cold. While they were swimming I looked at some of the city’s churches. Two of them are very old - some hundreds of years - but with one exception they are very unimpressive. The architecture of some is interesting but generally the buildings are ill cared for & in untidy state. The exception was Ferdinando Church, a modern structure in the centre of the business area. It is a fine place & altho somewhat showy is really quite nice. The whole of the interior is decorated by very fine paintings illustrating scenes from the scriptures. They are well done & with the other interior decorating make a fine show. In usual RC style the several altars are most impressive & of course there are the usual gaudy shrines etc around the walls. I returned to the Club at 5 p.m. & after going down to get the photos we had tea & afterwards a quiet rest at the Club before catching the last truck back to camp. This leaves Bari at 7 p.m. When we came to pick up the photos Bob was quite satisfied with his but I was very disappointed with mine. The workmanship is poor & I have a silly grin on my face. I wanted to either have another photo taken or have my money back but the photographer disclaimed all knowledge of such an arrangement ( said he must have misunderstood us or us him - the usual Ite racket). I was all in favour of “forcing” the issue but with Bob satisfied & with my usual reluctance about arguing over money matters we compromised by his agreeing to give us an extra print, 7 instead of 6. I hardly felt justified in going the limit in forcing him to adhere to the original arrangement because obviously the trouble arises from my inability to take a good photo. Still I did the 15/- hard. I will send the photos to you by separate mails in case mails should be lost. You can distribute them to who you like if you like the photo well enough to give it around. Will let you know as newspapers & parcels come to hand. Most interested in you’re a/c of inquest proceedings. Mrs.W must be suffering ample punishment in the form of mental anxiety. Does not Doreen’s statement to Police enable the case to be reopened? Is she still staying with you & generally how is she taking things? I gathered from your previous mail that she had displayed some unconcern over the whole unfortunate business. You remember you said you had difficulty in getting her to visit Dick. I would like additional information on this aspect. How is Ron getting on with the Morse? Let me know about his hearing & talking. Yes! It would be grand if you & Ron could come over in parcels, it would be the loveliest thing in the world. All my love darlings mine. Ever yours, Fred.31 Aug 1944I have just finished writing you a green envelope letter (in which I enclosed photo & negative - see yesterday’s ALC). There is no news since I wrote yesterday so I will put this aside until tomorrow as I am hoping for an AG from you either today or tomorrow. As I dated this AG my mind went back to 31.8.44. Five months! Hell it seems at least 5 years. Never mind it looks as though it won’t be much longer. Everything going along nicely here & we are having an easy & pleasant time but I will welcome it when we get on the move again. Should not be long now as we have already been here longer than was expected. Don’t get anxious if you should not hear from me for once we move I may find it difficult to write and lack of news does not mean that I am ill or otherwise incapacitated. How is Ron? I sent him mail (surface) yesterday. Later I will try & send him another AG. I did not mention him in letter just finished and that is just between you & me. I do so wish you would write a more intimate kind of letter. Don’t worry about the censor he is used to it. Another perfect day again & lately we have enjoyed excellent weather - hot sunny days with rather cold nights. With you & Ron here with me I would be perfectly happy. The Ites now guard their orchards & vineyards which have been placed out of bounds so activities in the way of fruit gathering have been curtailed. Delicious grapes large size & sweet cost only 10 lire (6d) a kilo (2¼lbs) so they are cheap enough to buy. Eric & Dudley should regard themselves to be lucky to be back in civil life. Those Islands men seem to have struck it lucky. Good luck to them. Any word of Colin returning? How is Wendy? Give her my love. When I was trying to get away I looked forward to the time when the four of us, Dick, Archie, Colin & I could stand side by side each having played his part in the scrap. My dream was in vain! Still we must keep trying. I sometimes feel very mean for here I am having good times seeing new & interesting things my interest sustained all the time while you & Ron have to carry on in the same old way. We will make up for it when I get home. What a wonderful prospect that is. Will finish later.

1.9.44 Friday. No AG either yesterday or today. Last night I went to a concert by an Italian concert party at local “El Djem”. Music excellent & thoroughly enjoyed. It was a glorious moonlit night - cool without being cold - & it was great sitting there listening to good music well played & well rendered. On FPC (Field Punishment Centre) guard tonight. No news to give you. Am very well, getting over after effects of cold. Very hot today - I feel the heat more here - it is a more humid heat than in Egypt. A parcel mail arrived yesterday but it is not yet sorted. All my love to you sweetheart. And to Ron. Hope you are well & not too lonely. Ever yours, Fred.

Thurs 6pm 31 Aug 1944My Darling Sweetheart, the remark in your ALC of 31/7 that you enjoy these chatty green envelope letters prompts me to continue with them altho I fear they will be none too frequent as conditions make the writing of this type of letter rather difficult. To write this sort of letter one requires to sit down in more or less comfortable conditions & let oneself go. Here all ones letter writing has to be done with pad on knee sitting in ones tent or on the hillside nearby. At the moment I am sitting in the tent having just finished tea. There is some rumour that we may be required to parade for a night march & we are to stand by until 6.30 pm. All the other lads are here talking, arguing, ragging etc so I leave you to imagine the noise going on. Not exactly the right atmosphere for the writing of love letters. However I will do my best.It has been a beautiful day and it promises to be a glorious moonlight night. As I look up I see the almost full moon & am reminded of the night of 12th Jan when with such a moon we went walking stopping awhile beside a haystack in a paddock at Trentham. What wonderful moments those were but I sometimes wonder whether I made the most of them. Yes! Those last few months before I left NZ hold very many pleasant memories but the episode referred to will always remain in my mind. Not only because of the happiness enjoyed that night but also for other reasons particularly the confession I made.How I wish we could live those times over again. I doubt whether I would be so careful about returning to camp after our outings nor would I be quite so reluctant to upset the sleeping arrangements of the good folk at Tawai St. Still that is the way I felt at the time & I do not really regret what I did for it helped me to maintain my self-respect. I feel it would only have cheapened me in the eyes of those who would have known what was my intention.When I get back I am going to take you for a trip to the far north as being the nearest approach to the warm climates of these parts & there live for a short while & do all those things I just dream of now. We will go on our own so that we can be absolutely alone for my plans include doing things which prying eyes should not see. With us we must we must take a good supply of vitamin D in case the passing years should have taken too great a toll on our vitality. From past experience I will insist that you shall start upon your share of the tablets well before we set out. Nasty aren’t I. I look forward to great things when I get home. In your AG of 4/5/44 you say you will love to let me stay in bed for a week & to wait on me while I am there. Waiting on me is no good, you will have to hurry me along & to keep me going. If you do your job properly we had better get someone else to do the waiting part - someone very discreet. But don’t leave things lying on the pedestal for the maids information in the morning!Warm weather suits me best & by going north it will be warmer. I well recall those lovely warm summer nights we were together last summer, nights when one could dispense with bed clothes & make love freed from all encumbrances. We must not forget the iced water though! I leave you to guess the purposes therefore.From what I saw in Egypt & here too for that matter it seems that in these enlightened countries the woman does the love making. Warm climates apparently stir women’s passions. They get their man & thereafter see to it that he responds to their desires. All he is required to do is to pay the fee. Quite a good idea it seems to me & it possibly explains the popularity of these countries as tourist resorts before the war.The night march has been cancelled and I can continue writing until the light fails. The days are drawing in quite noticeably now and by 6.30 pm it will be too dark to continue writing.I am really beginning to believe I may be the model husband. I have tried to be for almost without exception the girl of my dream has been you looking as charming & alluring as ever. It is lovely to have these dreams as they enable me for a short while to experience the sensations of being really with you. But it is not so good waking up & finding that it was only a dream.A favourite topic of conversation amongst the chaps is what we shall do when we get back home & it is surprising how often this subject crops up. Most of us know what will be the first thing we will do & I think you can make a pretty good guess. But when it comes to getting back to work again I wonder if I will ever settle down again to the old monotonous routine of life in the L&S Dept. I am afraid that if I ever earned the reputation for conscientiousness it will be gone soon after I get back to work. From my experiences during the past months I have derived a rather different outlook on life for the future & my main objective will be to cram into life the maximum amount of happiness. Unfortunately it seems that it is inevitable that in seeking to secure

for oneself greater happiness you frequently cause others unhappiness. Still I think we will be entitled to make up something of what we are losing at present. Above all else I have learnt just what you mean to me & one of my main objects will be to ensure that we will never again be parted. We will go on living with each other for each other. For God’s sake girl keep yourself pure in body & in soul that nothing may spoil our plans. Being human man I naturally look for beauty in a woman. At times you showed tendency to let yourself slip - you became careless in your dress & allowed your tastes & like for ease to spoil your figure. Please dear take care for however lovely your nature may be, & thank God it is all that I could wish for, man’s instincts crave beauty in his woman. I suppose it is because true love demands intercourse in its fulfilment & beauty does stir man’s passions.The light is failing so I must draw to a close but before I go! Yes! If you wish you may first slip into the bathroom & see if the clothes bag is still there (still kept there or is it put away pending my return?) but frankly I don’t care if you leave it. OK? Don’t be afraid to let yourself go that is what I have wanted you to do, but succeeded only occasionally, for years. You lovely thing! Your lovely breasts! Oh dear! Please hold me tightly….Now for the usual. Keep those fingers cool!Well dearest the time has come & I must away, but only for a while, I will be back soon. Cheerio my darling, God bless you! Ever yours, Fred. (Hope I haven’t been too silly).

04 Sep 1944Your ALC’s 15/8 & 21/8 just rec’d. Grand!! News only fortnight old! No need for woollens. Thank Ma just the same. Looks as tho we might be on way home by then. During recent weeks I have written to you about every second or third day but I fear that from now on it may not be possible to maintain such frequent letters. We are still expecting to be sent forward at any time but having been here for 5 weeks without anything happening we are almost believing the war will finish before we are required up in the actual combat zone. I have become so sick of this waiting around doing so little of a worth while nature that I have asked to be given a job in which I could feel I was in some degree “in the war”. This request has been acceded to & tomorrow I am to start on a job the nature of which I cannot disclose. You have no need to worry for the degree of danger is almost negligible & altho I may on occasion get a little nearer the war zone it is unlikely that I will be away from here for more than a day or so at a time. I am quite looking forward to the experience as the routine of the past few weeks has become rather monotonous. Rest assured I will write as often as possible.Yesterday I sent off the two tortoise shells referred to in previous mail. They are nothing more than curios which may hold some interest for Ron. I will polish them when I get home. At the moment they are lightly smeared with oil to stop cracking & it is advisable to rub them with say floor polish or furniture polish occasionally to replace the natural oil. They are wrapped in a sheet which I thought you might find useful. An interesting story attaches to this sheet but it will have to wait until I can tell you about it.Whenever I have been where there are shops or stalls I have tried to find something suitable to send you & Ron but with the usual disappointing result. Clothing is of poor quality & very expensive, jewellery is nearly all cheap jack never worth the price asked for it, and curios are scarce expensive and of very poor quality. I have been looking out for a wallet for Ron but they are all made of mock leather or American cloth and are not worth buying. Judging by the price of footwear (ladies shoes cost from 1100 lire upwards) leather must be in short supply & the people nearly all wear wooden clogs. [There’s a war on, Fred!] They say goods of better quality & cheaper are obtainable further north & I am hoping that if I can get up that way I may secure something to send you. I have over £16 saved so the money is available. We are unlikely to get much opportunity for “Cooks Tours” whilst we are here so it is no use saving the money for that purpose. Lack of travelling & accommodation facilities in this country make holidaying almost impossible even if one is lucky enough to secure leave. The only means of travel is by hitch hiking, & the greater difficulty is to find accom at whatever place one may find oneself.We seem to have settled down to a quiet life & the only two items of interest since my AG written last Friday are my visit to the camp open air pictures on Sat night when we saw the picture “The Stars Look Down” (taken from AJ Cronin’s book of that title) which was very good. It was a glorious evening nice & warm & very still & it was delightful sitting there in brilliant moonlight watching the show. Sat am was spent in IE, cleaning & tidying tent doing washing etc. In the pm I rested & read. Yesterday morning I spent generally messing around doing nothing in particular but in the pm I went with Jack, Bob, & Laurie to the beach for a swim. It was another glorious day & perfectly delightful on the beach & in swimming. I spent the evening with Jack. We had a little party. He had a tin of fruit & a tin of cream and I bought a bottle of vino & we had this & then settled down to a yarn & smoke for the remainder of the evening. We have been having some very hot weather here lately & I find the heat much more oppressive than it was in

Egypt. While the temp is not so high it is a moister heat & the humidity is very trying - at least I find it so. Ones clothing is always soaked with perspiration & to this I attribute my difficulty in throwing off the after effects of my cold. It has several times freshened up when I thought it finished.Washing takes up a lot of time here. Ones clothing gets dirty very quickly the fine powdery soil chocolate in colour, combining with ones sweaty clothing to make body & clothing very dirty.Our livestock (lizards, mice, snakes, etc) are as lively as ever but we are now more or less used to them. Several times mice have run across my face as I lay asleep at night, & yesterday when cleaning out my valise I found a scorpion nestling in my clean singlet. So far I have not received since being in Italy any parcels or newspapers but recent parcel mail is only partly sorted so there is time yet. I am not needing anything so don’t worry about sending me parcels.The war news is excellent. A very optimistic feeling prevails here & we feel certain that it is nearly over. In fact those of us who are left here feel that the nearness of the end explains the delay in sending us in. Yes! Dear it won’t be long now! I guess the momentous events of recent weeks have caused much elation of you folks at home. As you have heard me say before it is surprising how little stir great news like this causes us.Here we are dear once again at the conclusion of another letter. I wonder how many more there will be before it is all over. Look after yourself until I can return & care for you. Love to Ron who I trust is well. Must write to him again soon. All my love sweetheart. God bless & keep you safe & well. Ever yours, Fred.

07 Sep 1944Was delighted to receive a half hour ago your ALC of 25 th August. As your previous ALC dated 21/8 came to hand as recently as last Sunday I hardly expected to hear from you so soon & so today’s mail was an unexpected pleasant surprise. These ALC’s are now coming thro much quicker which is a good thing. Would you please let Eddie know that his ALC 25/8 also came safely to hand. I will reply at the first opportunity in meantime tell him I was very interested to get the news he gave re staff. We are still limited to one ALC per week.Where is Ngata now & where is Alfred? Any hews of their activities would be welcome.Don’t forget to let me know how you get on re continuation of rent concession. Also let me know what is done re the repairs to Ron’s room.. It certainly seems that something drastic is necessary to satisfactorily fix the trouble.Please thank Aunty Vic for her kindness in sending the cake. I will write her when it comes to hand.An interesting sight overhead just now. A Douglas C47 towing gliders. Wish Ron could have seen it.Yes I guess you find those breaks in the usual daily routine most welcome in breaking your otherwise monotonous & lonely existence. Remember sweetheart you are always in my thoughts & I am continually sending loving thoughts & good wishes to you both.Could you write smaller & so get a little more in your ALC’s. Also write so that the writing on the flaps can be read without having to turn the card upside down. Your latest was so written & it is much better. Interested to learn of Joan, Doreen, & Ethel. I guess Holly is as proud as punch. Yes! I do feel very very sorry for Doreen. Poor kid has been thro an ordeal which we can only hope she can see it thro. What is she doing & where is she staying?Started on my new job on Tuesday but so far have not done much to justify my existence. We are rather unsettled at the moment and on that account there is some hesitation in establishing a rigid routine but I am finding my work a little more interesting and somewhat less monotonous. Also it has enabled me to see some new places.Last night I spent at the Open Forum meeting in Lowry Hut. These meetings are occasions when various subjects are discussed & sometimes they are very interesting & educative. Last nights meeting was not as good as usual but still I quite enjoyed myself. In Egypt we often had talks by very competent speakers but the facilities here are not so good & it seems more difficult to obtain the services of speakers qualified to lecture on interesting subjects.Once again my cold seems to have freshened up but only slightly & it is not particularly troublesome, but it worries me a little to be so persistent. If it doesn’t improve shortly I will visit the RAP. Quite a number of the chaps have persistent colds so I am not the only one. Don’t assume I have put on much weight. If I have put on any at all it cannot be very much and I rather fancy I have lost a little weight since being over here. There is no doubt that the climate in Egypt suited me better than does the climate here.Recently we have enjoyed excellent weather. Hot days with practically no wind or cloud & brilliant sunshine. The nights are becoming very cold & altho I have now three blanket thicknesses over me I still find myself uncomfortably cold during the nights. You seem to have had a rather severe winter but no doubt it is improving now that you are well into autumn. [Spring!].Was in Bari on leave yesterday & we had a very enjoyable day visiting places we had not been to previously. By means of hitch hiking we ranged the district around the city and visited places up to 15 miles out from the city.

A very interesting way of seeing around & not without a thrilling aspect for one never knows by what nationality one will be picked up or where he is bound & all the other uncertainties go to make it a rather interesting sport.You know my old hobby so you can guess of one place we visited. Spent some time there & found much to interest me. Only wish I could tell you of some of the things I saw. Yes this was easily the best part of the day & you must remind me to tell you more about it when I get home.I see so much that is new & do so many different things of an interesting nature that I don’t know how I will ever remember to tell you about them when I get back. It might not be a bad idea if you kept my mail so that I could go through it later to remind me of incidents I might otherwise forget. Life is certainly eventful & my memory never good is not improving with the amount of incident being crammed into it these eventful days. Unfortunately there are some things about which we cannot write but no doubt they will come to mind as I am reminded of other events. When I finish work this afternoon (now finish at 4 pm) I must get busy & do my washing. A considerable quantity seems to have accumulated since I did it last.Nothing turned up for me in the parcel mail which arrived last week. This is definitely not a complaint, for I need & want nothing, but the remark is just to let you know how any parcels which may have been sent are getting thro.Once again sweetheart it has come time to say cheerio. I will write you again just as soon as I can. Loving you as much as ever, perhaps more. Yours forever, Fred.

11 Sep 1944 Monday 4 pmIf I remember correctly my last letter to you was written on Thursday of last week when I wrote my usual weekly ALC. Incidentally we are restricted still to one per week altho as you may have observed it has on occasion been possible to slip in an extra. How are you receiving mails these days & which are the faster AG’s or ALC’s? How long do they take to reach you? At first Ag’s were faster than ALC’s coming to us but lately the ALC service seems to have speeded up & your last ALC received just as I finished my ALC to you last Thursday, took only 13 days to reach me. I had barely finished my ALC when I was advised that 3 days leave to Bari for which I had applied had been granted and about 4 pm the same day Jack F was told that he could have leave. Actually the two of us getting away together was a stroke of fortune. I had made certain plans & Jack readily fell in with these & so we got off together on Fri morning. Leaving here by the leave truck at 8.45 we arrived at Bari about 10 am & went straight to the NZ Club where we booked our accommodation for the two nights (Fri & Sat) we were allowed to stay away from camp, then had a cup of tea & sandwiches after which we set out on our adventures which I will tell you all about in my ALC later in the week. Suffice it here to say we had a very enjoyable time seeing many interesting & new places. We spent very little time in Bari itself and in the main we concentrated on hitch hiking to various places of interest. I think you will agree when you learn the complete story that we had quite an adventurous time. While I may be growing old I still have, thank God, some spirit of adventure within me. My ALC to follow will give account of my activities on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and as today is Monday I am left with little to write about. I finished work about half an hour ago and am filling in the time until tea-time at 5.30 pm by writing. If possible I want to write to Clare & to Eddie now or after tea. At last I seem to have got the best of my cold of which only the slightest trace now remains & I am feeling really fit once again. Should be more mail this week & I am keenly looking forward to hearing from you. A big parcel mail is being sorted at APO so perhaps I may be lucky there too. Am thinking of you both always. Ever yours, Fred.

12 Sep 1944Yesterday I wrote you an AG & later today or tomorrow I hope to write you the usual weekly ALC. The time is just after 11 am & we have not long finished rifle practice on the range & we are now free until lunch time at 1215 after which we start on the afternoon programme of work. I will write until I have to stop for lunch. I am afraid I will not get much written as this writing with pad on unsteady platform is rather a slow business.The only news of outstanding interest is the account of the three day leave which Jack & I spent together last Friday, Sat & Sunday. While in town on leave last Wed I thought it would be nice to secure leave for a few days to enable me to have a good look round this part of the country. The idea came to me during the afternoon of Wed when Jack & I were hitch-hiking around the Bari district. It occurred to me it would be a good thing if I could secure leave to go wider afield. One can hitch-hike almost anywhere & on one occasion we met up with an American aircrew en route to the States. Jack & I were talking to them & they offered, quite seriously I think, to give us a ride to the States but of course we were unable to take advantage of the offer - worst luck! Perhaps the Yanks knew this & they may not have taken us along had we shown a readiness to avail ourselves of their offer.

On returning to camp on Wed evening I wrote out an application for four days leave giving as my reason that in town that day I had met my brother-in-law, Jack Gaellic RNZN who was in port for a few days. Rather to my surprise the leave was approved. Quite by a stroke of good fortune Jack also was given similar leave. He had not applied but an extra man was required to make up a 5 man leave quota & the CSM knowing that I was going on leave very kindly thought that Jack might like to go with me. I was called to the Orderly Room and asked if Jack wanted leave so I immediately sought him out, he was in Lowry Hut writing, & of course he jumped at the opportunity. It was funny to watch his expression as I asked him. He really took quite some convincing that I was not pulling his leg. The two of us going together suited us beautifully as we had more or less made our plans together but Jack had not been prepared to go to the same lengths as I was to secure leave. Did not have stray brothers-in-law conveniently located around the globe. Spent Thursday evening packing etc.Friday morning we set out & my AG yesterday gave the story up to the time we left the NZ Club in Bari at about 10.15 am. We had booked accom at the Club but only as a precautionary measure. We had set out prepared to sleep out if necessary & we had taken tin rations, chocolate, blankets, etc.Our first objective was Naples - nothing like aiming high! So we hitch-hiked out to the airport in the hope of securing a trip with the yanks who are usually pretty generous in this way. We arrived there about 10.45 & immediately got busy on trying to jack things up to the desired end but much to our disappointment we found that things had tightened up very considerably recently 7 the yanks would not come at it. So we cheekily dined in their mess intending after the meal to get out onto the main road & travel by the more usual hitch-hike method. However while waiting in the queue (even yanks suffer that form of complaint) Jack got talking to a yank pilot. Naturally we sounded the prospect of his giving us a lift as he was passing thro. He would not have it on but suggested we try the RAF so after the meal we decided to explore that prospect before going out to the highway. Here we struck luck & by means of a little wangling we ascertained that an a/c was due to leave for N at about 12.30 & that accommodation on it was available. A few more discreet enquiries & we found out the number & type of the aircraft. We quickly located the a/c which was unattended so we stood close by & waited. Just before 1 pm the crew turned up in a jeep (two RAF wing commanders whose names we had ascertained). As they were entering the a/c we approached them & put our proposition to them. Much to our delight they readily agreed but owing to the uncertainty about getting back they thought it would be advisable for us to return later in the pm with them. This suited us well as it avoided all difficulty about getting back & the uncertainty about securing accommodation in Naples where it is extremely difficult to find food & accommodation.Later, 6 pm Tuesday. We took off exactly at 1 pm & to attempt to describe all impressions & scenes on the flight would take hours. Actually Jack & I were the only passengers & when I tell you I was able to stand right up in the pilots cockpit right beside them (as did Jack) all the way you will realise what a thrill it was. The a/c was a Douglas Dakota, a big transport aircraft, bigger than any usually seen in NZ. You may have seen photos of them containing paratroops, jeeps, etc. We had a beautifully smooth flight & most of the way the aircraft was flown on the automatic pilot. It was a gloriously fine day & we had a wonderful view of the country over which we flew. The trip took exactly an hour (airspeed about 160 mph) & we landed at Naples at 2 pm. The pilots thought we would start back at about 3.30 so we had to be back by then. Actually it was just after 5 when we took off on the return trip. However in the 1½ hours we were able to see something of Naples which in any case we had a good view of from the air as we circled the aerodrome prior to landing. To describe all we saw again would take too but we had a hurried general look around & visited Carusso’s tomb. Incidentally the cemetery has suffered some damage from bombing & one sees many exhumed corpses lying around. It is amazing that the health authorities leave them so. I will have to leave all the minor details for when I get back. The return journey took exactly an hour & we were back at Bari aerodrome just after 6. There we spent a short while chatting with our friends the W/C’s who very kindly offered to take us on further trips should we get the necessary leave & we hope for the opportunity to avail ourselves of their generosity. We made good friends there alright. Obtaining a lift in a S. African ambulance which went some distance out of its way to put us down at the NZ Club where we arrived at about 10 to 7 pm just in time to get dinner before the dining room closed at 7. After a very enjoyable meal we had a wash & change of clothing & then at 8 pm went over to the Garrison Theatre which is quite close to the Club to see a show called the Victory Varieties a vaudeville show which we much enjoyed. The Garrison Theatre is the Petruzelli Theatre, Bari’s principle theatre taken over by the ENSA organisation for troop entertainments. It is a typical continental opera house & is quite a remarkable place really quite fine. Unfortunately lack of space & time & power of description precludes my describing it to you but if you recall pictures you have seen of grand continental opera houses you will have a good idea of what it is like. The show finished at 9.30 pm when a picture programme ran until 11.30 pm but we did not stay for this as we were feeling rather tired after our adventuresome day. And so to bed & what a grand feeling it was to get between sheets for the 1st time since leaving NZ.An exciting day not without its thrills I think you will agree.Naples itself is not the attractive city its reputation would lead you to believe. The scene looking over the city,

across the Bay of Naples onto Mt. Vesuvius with the Isle of Capri off to the right (whenever you hear the song you can recall this adventure) is very fine but the city itself is rather drab & very dirty as are the people who live there. The city is much damaged by bombing & enemy destruction especially the industrial plants on the outskirts, & generally one can see all the evidences of the suffering of modern war.On Saturday we were faced with the option of again going out to the aerodrome & seeing if our friends were again going places or hitch-hiking to the larger towns to the N of Bari. For a change we chose the latter alternative. We had breakfast at 8 am & were on the road by 9. It took us two hitch-hikes to get 7 miles but our third was lucky for we then picked up a fast moving American truck which was going as far as Naples. We did flirt with the idea of going right thro but decided against it. Passing thro many towns & villages we proceeded N as far as Foggia where we arrived about 12 noon. The principle towns en route are Barletta & Cerignola & the distance from Bari is about 80 miles by road. As you will see from the map F is an important railway junction & it has therefore come in for very heavy bombing mainly by the Allies in their advance N and there one sees the terrific power of air bombardment. It is very graphic & I wish time permitted me to give you a full description. Some of the things seen would interest you greatly, I must leave it for another occasion. We lunched at the local NAAFI which is easily the best club of its kind I have seen either here or in the ME. The building like most of the town’s principle buildings suffered heavy bomb damage & only the ground & 1 st floors are in use. Many of the other public buildings especially around the vicinity of the station & railway yards are too much damaged for occupation altho in the adjacent residential area one sees the townspeople still living amongst the ruins of their homes.Leaving F in the early pm we proceeded back 20 odd miles to Cerignola to inspect a very fine cathedral (RC) in that town. We did the 20 miles in as many minutes travelling by an air force crash tender. The cathedral is certainly a fine place and was well worth seeing. A fine piece of architecture with the usual impressive form of interior decoration. We reached C at about 2 pm & had to wait till 4 pm for the cathedral to open. We filled in the 2 odd hours at a cinema witnessing a film called “Bermuda Mystery” rather poor & really time wasted but it afforded us an opportunity to rest our legs. After viewing the cathedral & having a brief look around the town we set about catching a truck back to Bari & this was soon accomplished. We got back to B at 6.30 pm wet thro to the skin having run into a heavy thunderstorm on the way back (it was an open truck). Still we were in high spirits & did not care a damn. We quickly changed onto dry clothing & then to dinner. After this we spent the time quietly in the Club until about 9 pm when we went for a short walk thro the blacked out streets having a light supper at the NAAFI Corner House & returning to the Club & to bed at 10 pm. A heavy thunderstorm accompanied by the usual heavy rain from 7.30 pm until 8.30 pm had prevented us going out earlier.On Sunday we decided to spend the day quietly & thereby derive some benefit from our holiday. I think we here made a mistake for we found the day dull & flat after the adventures of the two previous days & we both feel we would have done better to continue as we had started. It was the most tiring day of the three. In the am after breakfast we walked down to the waterfront & along the Parade for some distance. It was very hot so we soon stopped under the shade of some trees in one of the reserves. We were soon surrounded by youngsters whose attentions were not unwelcome but they were very grubby & we did not speak the same language which made conversation difficult. Their main object seemed to be to obtain fumieres (cigarettes) for Popa. After a while we decided to adjourn to a wine bar we knew of nearby but we found this closed so instead of going to a place we did not know (they usually slam on the price to new customers) we agreed to go to the Marguerite Theatre. This is run by the NAAFI as a services club but in peace time it is used mainly as a dance pavilion. In usual pavilion style it is a group of buildings quite well designed & laid out at the end of a promontory jutting out from the shore. Here we had ice cream & lemonade listening meanwhile to an excellent dance band (Italian musicians) which was playing all the latest dance tunes & some of the more popular old ones. There was no dancing which was a pity as the music was excellent for dancing. At 1 o’clock & lacking anything better to do we decided to go to the Garrison Theatre again to see a show called “Broadway Rhythm” featuring Tommy Dorsey & his band. It was technicolour show & the frocking & staging were especially well done but the singing & music in modern American style were a bit beyond me. It finished at 3.30 pm when we went across to the Club for afternoon tea. From 4 to 5 pm we walked around Bari then had tea after which we bought grapes (7 lire, ie 4 ½d per kilo, ie 2¼lb) & almonds, a big packet for 10 lire & then on the truck & back to camp which was reached at 7 pm. Spent the evening telling the boys about our experiences & then to bed about 9 pm.And so ends the account of a very enjoyable holiday. In such an account it is impossible to recite all the little incidents which go with the main events (such as the thrill we experienced in buying in Naples the first apples we have had since leaving NZ, etc) nor to describe all the things seen & I am afraid my description of the holiday will afford you only a poor idea of the interesting nature of the things seen & the immense thrill we experienced in getting around as we did. In itself mere hitch-hiking is a thrilling & interesting pastime. One never knows by whom one will be picked up, where he is bound, but of one thing you can be sure. Get with an American & you are certain of moving fast. All drivers & all nationalities are very good & one can hitch-hike to

practically anywhere. And it is surprising the fellows one meets in this way. Decent & friendly drivers & riders they are grand chaps. We have ridden with Yanks, Poles, Tommy, Aussie, Greek, Yugoslav, French, Italian, in fact almost every nationality known as our allies. They all seem to rather like the Kiwis and admire our record in the field.I see this is my 13th page so I must think about closing. I hope you won’t be disappointed to find this different from my usual green envelope letter. I am compelled to write it as such as it gives a/c of things we are supposed not to do & so to overcome unit censorship which would give me away I have to use the green envelope. I will endeavour to let you have more of the lovey style as opportunity offers. But really I do wonder if you can bear with my silly sentimentality. Your letters are so wretchedly formal, I can almost detect that restraint about which I used to complain. I suppose it is because you are afraid of the censor’s prying eye. As though he or she matters! Hope they see these remarks. By the way are all my letters & ALC’s censored & if so is much deleted?While I go on living a life so full of event & adventure I am all the time conscious of you living on in the same old monotonous way with little to do but wait for my return. I feel terribly mean but really dear this is the only way in which one can make army life endurable & the alternative would be to isolate oneself from all enjoyment which in my view would inevitably result in resort to the temptations, excessive drinking and gambling etc so much in evidence around us. I feel & I think you will endorse my view that by engaging in good healthy fun, bettering ones knowledge by a full experience, one can better retain ones physical & mental well being. It is so easy to slip back that unless one lives a full life in the better way bad habits quickly develop. If possible I want to return to you as good a man as when I left & if I can gain in knowledge & experience so much the better. And so dear I trust you will not think that I am too selfish in having these good times. If I had one wish it would be to forsake it all to return to you and Ron. Oh dear! How I would like such wish to be granted. Still things are going well & perhaps ere long we will be reunited. Pray God it will be so.And now dear I really must close and get off to bed for it is getting late.I dreamt of you last night but we were having an awful quarrel which ended in our agreeing to separate. Can you imagine it. Can’t understand such a dream for nothing could be further from my mind these days especially.Give Ron a big big love & lots of kisses for me. I hope to write to him soon but so much of my time is taken up in writing to you that I seem never to have time to write to him. I will write this weeks ALC to him but will be at a loss for news. How I wish he (& you too) could share these pleasures it would be great fun.PS: Jack has read to me his account of our adventures & I observe that he has described aspects I omitted to mention. With J’s concurrence I suggest you get in touch with Mrs F & ask if she would mind you reading those portions of his letter dealing with our trip. Jack writes a very good letter & you will find his account very interesting. You will no doubt be happy to do the same for Mrs F. but be careful to omit what we chaps call “the sporting pages”. Love, Fred.

13 Sep 1944My Dear Ron, yesterday I wrote a long letter to Mum giving a full account of a very happy and somewhat adventurous three day leave just concluded & having given therein so much news I am at a loss to know what to tell you. By the way I have just added a PS to the letter which lies on the table in front of me as I write & I have at the same time enclosed as souvenirs two examples of the note money we use here. Up to 10 lire they are all about the same size but the 50, 100 & up are much bigger - more like our £1 or 10/- notes.Today all day I have been out in the field on a wireless set. We were situated beside a vineyard and during the day I must have eaten close on 4 lbs of grapes - perhaps more - & they were delicious. I do so wish I could send you some. They were there for the picking & even if the farmer had objected to my helping myself there were plenty of wild ones available. I guess your mouth waters when you read this.On Monday night we had a camp picture show here in camp. The picture was “This is the Army”, an Irving Berlin show with a full army cast. Has it been on in Wgtn yet? It was technicolour & quite good so if you get a chance ask Mum to take you. The singing & music is typically American but the staging & effects are well done.Last night I spent writing to Mum - the long letter earlier referred to.Will you please give Mum a message for me. Just tell her that the hint I gave in my AG of 19 th July & which she then understood must be repeated again now.Please let me know how you like the stamps I have sent to you & how many new ones you got out of the packet. If I know you added a number to your collection I will send you more. But I will wait until I hear from you in case these cunning Ities are filling their packets with stamps easily obtainable. There is nothing on in camp tonight so I am spending the time writing. Tell Mum I may not be able to write again for a while so if she does not get the usual mail she need not worry.How are you feeling these days? Well & happy I hope & getting on well with your schooling. Remember to be careful with your speaking. A voice firm & well spoken is worth much trouble to develop. Mum has mentioned

in her letters that you have sent me copies of your school reports. I look forward to receiving them.I am ever on the lookout for something to send you & have in mind a nice wallet. As soon as I see a good one I will buy it for you. The ones for sale in the towns around here are very poor. Is there anything else you would especially like? I have the money to buy things so please do let me know.Well son dear before closing I must say I miss you & Mum terribly. If only you were here with me it would be grand for we could have wonderful times together. Look after yourself & always play the part of a man thro life. Your loving, Dad.

Saturday 23 Sep 1944 Signal Sqn, NZ Arm’d Bde.I can well imagine how anxious you are for news so altho circumstances at the moment are rather against letter writing I hasten to let you know of my new address & give brief a/c of the happenings since. I last wrote a week ago exactly. As you may have guessed our move was imminent and I am now a long way from where I was a week ago - some hundreds of miles actually - and at long last I am properly into the war. Please sweetheart don’t worry about me for there is no cause for you to do so. I know I am going to come thro OK & I will be happier in the knowledge that you are not worrying. Inevitably my letters from now on must be briefer & fewer than previously but that was anticipated & altho I may not write so often you will be as much in my thoughts as ever. So don’t become anxious should you not hear from me regularly. Rest assured I will write whenever circs permit.Was delighted yesterday to receive your ALC of 4/9. We arrived too late to get an ALC to write home this week hence AG. Please let me know about Ron’s ear again. Also about his manner of speech. I want you to keep me posted.Most of the past week has been taken up in travelling and to describe the trip in detail would take many many pages so like other things it must remain unsaid meanwhile, but I do so wish I could keep a diary to record it. I fear I will forget much of importance. It was a wonderful experience but oh the devastation war leaves in its train. We arrived just in time to take part in important operations which are still proceeding. Bob Craft & I are together still but unfortunately I have separated from J Fowles meantime. Love to Ron. Fondest love dear, Fred.

Wed 27 Sep 1944 ALC.I am starting on this ALC but frankly do not know what to write about as we are not allowed to say where or describe recent activities and of course there is little else to write about. However I will do my best to make the letter interesting.Last Fri or Sat, I forget just which day it was, I wrote you an AG and I hope this reaches you safely. For reasons you will be able to guess we missed our regular weekly issue of ALC forms & not being able to lay hands on a spare form I was compelled to fall back on the AG. In case this letter reaches you before the AG I draw attention to my new address which as you see indicates that I have been posted to an Arm’d Brigade. And so here I am a “tankie” with black beret and I regard myself as being very fortunate in coming to this unit. The work is interesting & they are a fine lot of fellows. I remain Div Sigs and am simply attached to 4 Bde for signal duties but it is the custom for us to wear the same style of dress as do the tankies with whom we work. Actually I am not yet wearing a black beret as the QM has none of size 7&1/8 in stock at the moment. By a real stroke of good fortune Bob Craft & I were posted to the same unit and we are working together on the same set. Was very sorry to leave Jack but am hoping we may meet up again one of these days. He was very disappointed in not coming up with us. And so in spite of the start he had I have raced him to the war after all but I am sorry we have had to separate as we had become firm friends & we had some good times together.A chap has just been around selling an illustrated magazine called ROMAGNA which gives scenes of the district around hereabouts. I will post it to you shortly - see especially pp 7-14. The towns look very fine in the photographs but I regret to say they are very very different now. The devastation of modern war is terrible beyond words & has to be seen to be believed. To compare these scenes of happy people with the deserted ruins of today is very graphic. The few people seen about are far from happy looking & no wonder for their homes are just heaps of rubble. Thank God you folk at home have been spared the ravages of war! Oh if I could only tell of what I have seen lately but no pen however able could truly convey all the horrors of modern war - it must be seen to be believed. Pictures & newspaper articles convey only a partial impression but neither can express the full horror of it all - the sadness of those directly affected. There is something awfully sad in seeing people trudging along the roads with all their possessions piled high on a cart, going back to ruined homes which will have to be entirely rebuilt - thousands of them. The reconstruction work to be done here in Italy alone will take many many years for in places the damage is stupendous. Why the reinstatement of railway & road bridges is a terrific job on its own, without even considering all the other things such as rebuilding homes, public buildings, railway stations, tunnels, power stations, factories etc etc. I wonder how it will ever be done there is so much of

it.When I finished duty on Sunday late in the afternoon I was feeling a bit off colour so I walked over to the nearby ADS (Advanced Dressing Station) to get a couple of aspirin intending to take these & go to bed. While there they took my temperature which was found to be up to 102° - much to my surprise. This rather alarmed the doctor who seemed to fear the onset of jaundice or malaria. He immediately ordered my evacuation to the rear & altho I protested I would be alright he insisted & so I was moved back to this MDS (Main Dressing Station). On Monday my temperature was only slightly up & yesterday & today it ahs been normal. I hope to RTU (Return to Unit) later today. I don’t know what was the trouble but it has not developed into anything serious & really I did not feel bad enough to come out but they take no risks & so I was made to. And so here I am resting - doing nothing except be lazy. I find it rather irksome but it is nearly over & I will be back on the job again soon. I feel quite OK - never felt much otherwise - so don’t worry. Love to Ron - sent him surface letter on Sunday.Must get out into the lovely sun & stretch my legs so cheerio sweetheart.

29 Sep 1944 ALCNo doubt you are worrying unnecessarily about me, exaggerating out of all proportion the slight illness which put me into hospital earlier in the week, so I hasten to reassure you that I am quite OK again and an back with my unit. On arriving back here on Thursday I was told that the day before quite a lot of mail had arrived for me (there has been surface mail in) but as the Orderly Room were uncertain as to how long I would be away they had returned the letters etc to the APO to be sent to me wherever I was. This will mean they will chase me around and it may be quite a while before they catch up with me. Most annoying! Still it is nice to know that such a pleasant thing as mail is around & the anticipation of its receipt is a pleasant prospect. Our ALC quota has now been increased to 2 per week. Good! But what can one put in the extra one?I did not get back on Wed as I expected I would. They held me an extra day & it was not until yesterday that I arrived back & what a day! It teemed & blew a gale and you can imagine what a picnic it is living out in such conditions. The ground sodden wet in fact just a sea of mud churned up by transport passing over it & not a dry spot anywhere. My kit was soaked - I even had to pour water out of my spare boots when I unpacked it - but I was fortunately able to keep my bed roll (blankets) fairly dry and managing to find a vacant corner in a shell flattened casa (house) vacated for obvious reasons by its usual tenants I moved in but cannot say that my night’s rest was altogether peaceful. However I managed to get about two hours sleep so considering the general situation & especially the conditions such as adverse weather & none too good accommodation I did pretty well. Today between showers I have been doing my best to get my gear dry but it is still pretty wet. However I am a little better off so far as sleeping accommodation is concerned so when I finish duty at 1 am I m hoping for a good night’s rest.As you will gather from the foregoing the weather here lately has not been too good & already I am feeling the cold rather badly. As I sit writing now my feet feel like ice blocks but I am well wrapped up & the rest of the body is fairly warm. It is 8.30 pm & I am writing while sitting in the wireless truck which serves as our home. Unfortunately it is too small for us to sleep in but in any case that course is unwise - we prefer to be below mother earth or if that is not possible behind substantial walls. In this game it is wise to reduce all elements of risk to the minimum if one hopes for long life which I assure you I do.In my last letter I omitted to mention that I recently re-met George Broad & Herbie Neale. Met them about ten days ago so you will know under what circumstances our meeting took place. I am not allowed to be more precise.A chap came in for a chat just now (he is a cobber of Mac’s - the Sgt who is the third member of our household, being more or less in charge of the outfit) and he said that in tonight’s BBC news they named the NZ Div as having taken part in the war hereabouts. So it seems the news is being released.Recently I managed to secure some postcards of scenes of Rome. Lacking anything better (the pc’s are rather poor reproductions) I have used some of these to send to relatives & friends as a sort of Xmas greetings card. By surface mail I estimate they will get home about Xmas time. Nine I have enclosed in a letter dated 24 th Sept which I sent to Ron. This letter also contained a few Italian stamps. These I picked up locally amongst some old papers found in a place I visited.This letter is lot about nothing but necessarily so for altho news is not lacking I must leave it unsaid to comply with censorship requirements so please excuse my style of writing.As I sit here I wonder what you & Ron are doing. It is 7 am Sat morning with you so I guess you are just about to have your breakfast or more likely just thinking of getting up - you lucky people! It seems ages & ages since I saw you & how I wish I could be back with you now. Actually it is 6 whole months but even so it seems much longer. When one realises the amount of event & incident which has been crammed into that time one would think the time would have flown but no, quite the contrary. God knows how I love you dear & I expect it is

missing you so much that makes the time pass so slowly. Take good care of yourself dear! And Ron too.

03 Oct 1944 ALCHere I am again to write my weekly letter but I am still at a loss to know how to fill in the space available for while there is really plenty of news it must remain unsaid.I am fit & well, except for a slight cold, too slight to deserve mention, and I am well over the minor indisposition of a week ago. By the way in my last letter I omitted to mention that the MO (Medical Officer) diagnosed the illness as what they term “three-day fever”. They do not know the true nature of the illness but quite a number of the chaps are falling victim to it lately. It seems to be a mild form of flu’ and is only a minor thing but of course in the initial stages the high temp gives cause for precautions to be taken in case it may be something more serious.Once again we are suffering from bad weather. Yesterday was an awful day, heavy rain & cold wind but today is better altho still heavily overcast. In spite of wearing water proof clothing all day I was soaked through - wet and miserable - and it was terribly muddy in consequence of which I was covered in mud from head to foot - you could not imagine what I looked like. I changed into clean dry clothes this morning & it is a real joy to feel clean & dry again. Not that these clothes are really clean for in the soaking they got last week when my kit was wet through they collected much dirt from off my boots & shoes which were also in my kit. I have just come on duty and the job of washing the clothes I took off was the last thing I did before coming here. It took six big basins of water to wash six articles - shirt, slacks, singlet, underpants, sox and towel - & even then they are far from nice & clean but it was the best I could do with the facilities available. I had no sooner finished the job when I learned that later today we hand in our drill & light underwear to be issued with battle-dress and woollen underwear so my labours were unnecessary. I must see about changing the boots I was wearing yesterday as they are leaking badly. I wish I had not left my waterproof leggings in my base kit. They would go well here now but I had so much to carry I had little option but to leave them behind. When one has to carry on ones back all ones gear & we have been issued with quite a number of items of equipment - rifle, web, respirator, mosquito net, etc, etc - since leaving NZ it becomes essential to discard items which even at the time one realises may prove useful. It is simply a case of sheer necessity for every time we move we have to carry our gear sometimes for quite long distances between means of transport.Life is full of incident and adventure these days and one cannot complain for lack of excitement but unfortunately I cannot tell you yet of our adventures although perhaps you will from press accounts of the activities of the Div have a pretty good idea of what is going on. I will certainly have plenty to tell you when I get home.So far the mail which arrived last week has not caught up with me but I am hoping it will soon. It seems ages since I heard from you altho in actual fact it is only ten days or so.Parcels are more welcome now. The food here is excellent but little extras such as cake, biscuits, etc go well when we boil up for morning & pm tea, supper, etc. Tea (airtight packing essential), cocoa, condensed milk, jam, etc, are very acceptable. Please do not go to expense or trouble over parcels. I only convey these suggestions as you may wonder what to include in parcels.My next AL I will send to Ron for his birthday.Well sweetheart it comes time to close so with my usual message of love I draw to a close. Take good care of yourself & Ron for I just live for the day when I will return to you both.

05 Oct 1944 ALCMy Dearest Ron, at the present time and because of bad weather holding up operations, we are having a spell and so I take advantage of the opportunity to write this letter to you altho I realise that in writing now instead of a little later it will probably reach you before your birthday.My object in writing is to wish you many happy returns for your birthday next month. I hope you have a very happy day and that the years to follow will bring you good health and the best of good fortune in every way. While I will not be with you in person I will be with you in spirit sending all my loving thoughts & good wishes.And so by the time you receive this letter you will almost ten years old & you will be entering on your first year containing double figures. May you live to see the time when you enter upon treble figures.I regret I cannot send you a birthday present but the shops in the towns hereabouts are nearly all just a mass of wreckage and none of those not damaged contain goods of any kind. It seems that the shop keepers have removed all their stocks to safer places until the wave of war passes over them and beyond. So unless I can get leave to an area where business has resumed I will not have an opportunity to buy you anything. Such leave is most unlikely for a while so I may send you the money with which to buy yourself something. I realise you would like something from Italy so I may wait.Mum tells me your hearing is improving & that you are taking more care with your talking. Grand! Keep it up

son dear.I am always thinking of you and wondering how you are getting on & what you are doing. You know son I do really miss you - just how much you cannot know. However someday soon, we hope, it will all be over and we will be able to resume our happy times together.I want to say a few words to Mum so will conclude now. All the best lad. God bless you. Fondest love, Dad.My darling Ri, your ALC 19/9/44 to hand this am. Last week’s mail still not to hand bu expected any day. I am terribly sorry about Ngata & await your AG of 19/9 for further details. He was a really fine lad for whom there was a great future. I have always admired his fine character. Yes a very sad loss indeed. Such is war. I have just finished an AG of sympathy to Aunty E.Also received two parcels this am. One from the office (L&S) & the other from you (tin of fruit & 2 tins of cakes). The L&S parcel was undamaged but yours altho well packed had rougher handling & the tins of cakes were burst open. However altho in crumbs the contents seem ok & we will sample them for afternoon tea to be had shortly.Weather still bad although somewhat better than earlier in the week. Ground too muddy & weather generally so unsettled that military ops on a big scale are impossible so we are enjoying a spell. Very welcome it is too.Glad to have good news about Ron’s hearing & of his talking. Trust it continues.I wonder if any good purpose is served by forcing position re miscarriage of justice over D’s case. I am too far away to form any reliable opinion & not knowing the facts dare not express any views. But it seems doubtful whether any good will result & it must be agonising to your people & if it goes on too long without good result will prey on their minds. I favour accepting the position hard tho it be & forgetting the whole tragic event as much as possible. I feel t’would be best for all in the long run.We are now in battledress & find it much warmer & generally better suited to present weather conditions.Oh darling I do miss you so. It seems ages & ages since I was with you. Just live for the day of our reunion. Fondest love sweetheart. Ever yours, Fred.

Sunday 08 Oct 1944 AGMy last communication to you was as an addition to ALC to Ron written last Thursday. Since then I have received quite a welcome lot of mail as follows AG 14/9 from U. Charlie, your AG 16/9, Doreen’s AG 18/9 (which I will answer as possible - meantime thank her for writing), your AG 19/9 giving details re Ngata (rotten luck indeed) and your ALC 8/9 which was returned here from MDS. It was grand getting all this mail. Oh yes! I also rec’d an ALC undated from Belle Patton. Many thanks dear for your parcel receipt of which I acknowledged in in Thursdays ALC. The contents are most welcome & the shortbread is lovely & tasty in spite of its being badly broken. Have not yet started on the sweets. Your ALC of 15/9 handed to me this minute & am stopping to read it. Yes perhaps I did rail about not getting mail. Really I didn’t mean to but it seemed so awfully long . The inevitable consequence of missing you so much no doubt. Wonderful to know Ron is doing so well. Keep it up son dear. Wrote Clare recently. Tell her not to worry about replying as I understand. It is grand to have your assurance that you are well & happy. I know what a trying time you have had & I have been quite worried about you at times. That partly explains my anxiety when there was such a gap in your mail. Weather absolutely punk & causing serious hold-up. We are well established in casa (Italian for house) and so are weathering it without the inconvenience one would normally suffer under such conditions. We are really having a quiet time & find it welcome after the tension of recent times. Cold a little troublesome but otherwise I am very well. Will write ALC within next day or two. Am always thinking of you both. Seems years since we parted. All my love sweetheart, Fred.

Sunday 08 Oct 1944 LetterHas parcel for which I left money at M reached you yet?Dearest Ron, it is unlikely that I will be able to get anywhere to but you something for your birthday so I am sending you a small sum of money with which to buy something for yourself. I hope you buy something you like preferably something you can keep.These notes are those I brought away from NZ with me & I have carried them with me ever since. In Egypt they could have easily been exchanged for piastres but I never found the need to do so. It is more difficult here to convert NZ money into local currency. In fact it is almost impossible to do so & I can see no use continuing carrying the money with me.Of the sum enclosed £1 is for you & the other £1-10-0 is for Mum to pay for the cost of parcels, postage, etc. Will you please give it to her for me.With this gift go all my best wishes that the years ahead bring you robust health and the best of fortune in every way. With all my heart son go my fondest thoughts. God bless you throughout your life which I trust will be a long, happy and fruitful one.

In an air letter to hand today Mum tells me you are doing well & Doctor Mac is very pleased with your ear. That is really good news & it cheers me immensely. You are becoming a strapping young fellow & now you want to develop your personality. Don’t let other chaps scare you. You are as good every bit as they & you must stand up for yourself. You may have to take some nasty knocks in doing so (as I am doing now in standing up for right) but never worry about consequences for right will always prevail.Good manner of speech is essential to good personality so do not neglect this important item. I know the difficulty you have but it is not serious & with determination you can easily overcome it. And when you have succeeded as I am sure you will you will have all the more reason to be proud of your achievement.I am not worrying about your scholastic achievements but I do want you to grow up to be a man of honesty & good & noble character. What you learn at school is only a basis. Well learned it will help you in later life. But your real education will come later after you leave school & start to make your own way in the world.Strive to have yourself looked up to by your fellow men for your nobleness of character & good qualities. Never do anything you would be ashamed to tell Mum or me about & you cannot go far wrong.I could write for hours & hours giving you good advice but time does not permit.So in conclusion I just make this remark. Remember always that all you have & all you ever will have you owe to love & affection of your dear mother. Determine that you will always prove worthy of her great love & you will grow the man I hope you will be. I hope that I may soon return to take my part in moulding your character. To be there to help you along life’s troublesome highway.And so son dear I close with loving thoughts & good wishes.Ever your affectionate, Dad.

Thursday 12 Oct 1944 AGHave not yet received this week’s issue of ALC forms, they may be issued later today (it is only 4 am now) but things are quiet on the air & so I take advantage of the opportunity to drop you a short line. It may not be possible to write later in the day. Weather has improved somewhat the past few days & it cleared up late Tuesday pm. Yesterday was lovely & fine & it looks as tho today will be the same. If it keeps fine today I guess our spell is almost at an end. Am now wearing the black beret of the tankies. Seems to suit me a little better than the cap GS in which I had my photo taken. Jack F is up here now but unfortunately was not posted to this unit. He has been up about a fortnight but so far we have not managed a meeting altho we have exchanged letters. Has Bob’s Eva been to see you yet? In a recent ALC to Bob she mentioned he had omitted to give our surname when giving your address. Nevertheless she intended to visit you. Also have you had Mrs De Schryvas up? On Tuesday night the YMCA mobile cinema showed the picture “Rosie O’Grady” at a local hall (held 350 & was shell shattered but it served purpose ok). Very much enjoyed the show which was in technicolour & quite well done. Some of the singing, frocking & staging was really good. Thought of you as I sat in these strange surroundings. Has this film been on at home & if so did you see it? Have a message to clear so will get busy. Later 5.30 am. A beautiful still dawn just breaking - nippy - my feet are like ice blocks. Will finish this & then get outside & jump about to warm them. Was interested to note that you had put Lowdens gift in your trousseau. Good. We certainly will have a second honeymoon when I get back. Memories of the past & the anticipation of the continuation of those happy times in the sweet bye & bye helps one thro difficulties. I cherish those memories very dearly. Sent off a number of Xmas cards on Monday. Unit had some printed & ten were allotted to each man. Sent one to Ron all for himself but had not enough to send to all I would have liked. Will send Xmas AG’s to the others. Am leading very sober life these days & am not imbibing the vino much. Have been off it somewhat since Rome - got rather merry there in fact they say I was badly drunk. An exaggeration but still too nearly true. An amusing story for the future. Cold much better & now almost gone. Now for some PT to warm up. Fondest love dears. Ever yours, Fred. Get plenty on these AG’s don’t I.

13 Oct 1944 ALCYesterday morning (a few hours after writing my AG to you) I was delighted to receive your ALC of 22/9/44. Having given you what little news there is in my AG I will in the main use this space to comment on your ALC.Regarding Ron’s schooling. Undoubtedly your arguments for keeping him on with the Correspondence course are sound but it must be remembered that such action will result in his missing the opportunity of learning how to mix with & make his way amongst boys & girls of his own years. In short it may encourage a natural tendency he has being easily scared & timid of others. The ability to mix with others taking & giving knocks & generally learning to understand others is an asset worth more than much scholastic attainment. It develops character & personality. I know from personal experience (ie: our isolation in the Cook Islands) & so I suggest the issue is a very important one & not one to be treated lightly by any means. It may be a case even where in the lad’s best interest one has to be hard but for the best. Our prime consideration is Ron’s future welfare & scholastic attainments don’t matter much - his life will be more moulded by his character & physical qualities.

Yes the matter is important for I fully recognise the strength of the case to be made for doing as you propose. I must leave the decision in your hands - consider well before deciding.Dudley should regard himself as lucky in every way. His firm made up his salary for a long time, he got thro without seeing much of the horror of modern war, he has returned safe & sound etc. we are wondering what will happen when the European war finishes - this year we hope altho that seems very doubtful now. It seems likely to us here that those with less than 3 years overseas service & more especially those with only short such service will form the nucleus of the forces which we expect NZ will put into the war against Japan when it is over here & we anticipate being sent to the new sphere direct. We don’t know anything definite except Fraser’s statement (published in last week’s NZEF Times) that war cabinet is to consider the future use of the NZ Div following the conclusion of hostilities in Europe. As we see it it is to decide that 2NZEF forces will be diverted to the Pacific in which NZ has even more vital interest than in Europe & will thus want to ensure her full say in peace terms when Japan is defeated by playing a full part in the final phase of the war - the beating of the Japs. Should this happen & we go it will be unfair that men with comparatively short service in the Islands should get out of it but I feel sure that adequate safeguards will be imposed should the decision be as I think it may - ie that NZ troops must go on fighting until the defeat of Japan. I may be too pessimistic (I hope I am) but that is how I see it. Wish Billy all the best for me - Yes! She certainly deserves it. What Claude has been thro may change him to forsake his gay ways & settle down.Grand to know that you received such a sympathetic hearing from the Hon P.C.W. & I trust that he may be able to put matters right. Certainly there is cause for the case to be investigated as it seems justice was miscarried badly but without the full facts ( your surface mail with press extracts not yet received) it is hard for me to express any opinion.Yesterday it was 4 am when I wrote. Today it is 2 am (on duty midnight to 4 am). Real night owl aren’t I? Work is slack at this hour & so I use the chance to write as I think we will be on our way again shortly. Weather seems a little more settled.Learned that Jack F was quite nearby (ascertained this at breakfast yesterday) & so went over to see him yesterday. He is cooking & seems to like the work. To me he does not appear too well but don’t say anything should you meet Jen for I don’t know how much he says in his letters to her. Probably only a passing malaise anyway. Good to see him again. We had quite a chin wag.And so sweetheart it comes time to say cheerio once again. I am missing you as much as ever but have steeled my soul & am just waiting patiently for the day of our reunion. Give Ron a big kiss for me dear - wish I could see him - and you too. Fondest love. Ever yours, Fred.Your patience & good care of Ron with his lessons is wonderful. It is time well spent & your effort will earn full reward in due course. Don’t make yourself his schoolmarm. Always be his mother the best friend he can ever have. Don’t forsake that position under any circumstances.

15 Oct 1944 ALCYour ALC of 27th Sept to hand today. It is grand hearing form you so regularly & I thank you for your bright cheery mail dear. Your good news of Ron is most heartening & it is wonderful to know he is doing so well. He seems to show a keenness for carpentry & perhaps has inherited this from your Dad for I am afraid I possess little natural ability in this direction. Should Ron require tools do not hesitate to use my account. I posted him some money for his birthday a few days ago and he may like to use it to buy tools. If so better get your Dad to but them as it is not always a good thing to buy cheap tools. Good tools produce better results & this encourages further effort.Tell Ron that many times each day I repeat to myself his words “I wonder what Ron is doing now”. You both are ever in my thoughts.Will let you know as parcels come to hand. One so far as already notified.Yes it was predicted that Maurice Rossiter would make a name for himself as a singer. I not only heard of him, I know him well. He was working for me for quite a while when I was at Air Dept.So much for comments arising form your ALC. Now for some news, not that there is much & in any case censorship & security requirements preclude my giving much in the way of details of our doings.Friday was beautifully fine & in the am being free until evening Bob & I went into the nearby city to see it at close quarters. It was not possible to see much of it when we passed thro close behind our “friends”, who had decided to move elsewhere. The devastation is appalling hardly a building or house fit for habitation. It is a large place & it is not exaggerating to say that 90% or more, of it, will have to be entirely rebuilt. The damage is unbelievable unless actually witnessed. I hope your papers give you photos which may give you some idea. Imagine if you can the main part of say Wanganui reduced just a pile of rubble & you have some idea of what it is like. There is no doubt that Ted was very attached to these parts - judging from his reluctance to leave.We were required back for lunch & so we hurried. Obtained some postcards of the place as it was but must

delay sending these as we are not yet allowed to send them thro the post. This by the way will explain the delay in some of my Xmas cards which will not be received until well after Xmas. I had used some of the postcards to send Xmas greetings but they have been held up.In the afternoon we had aquatic sports in the form of boat racing (rowing) using the peculiar kind of pleasure boat popular here in peace time. Will try & get a postcard to show what they are like. We had some really good fun & much enjoyed ourselves. Bob & I rowed together but lost our semi-finals. This reminds me. Are you keeping my letters etc? It would be a good idea as by going thro them when I get back I will be reminded of incidents which might otherwise be forgotten. Also of events I am not permitted to discuss at time of writing. A sort of diary for future reference.Yesterday morning I was on duty and similarly last night from 5 to 10 pm. In the pm I did some washing & generally messed around doing odd jobs. Otherwise the day was uneventful. As you will gather we are still enjoying a fairly quiet period which however cannot last much longer. After the improvement in the weather the ground has dried up & conditions generally are getting to a stage where large scale operations again become possible.An officer who had more of the official Xmas cards than he needed has just given me four more so I will send these to the persons to whom I was sending postcards. As mentioned earlier these were held up by the censoring officer.I am fit & well & you need not worry at all about me for I am in the pink & enjoying life to the full altho of course living only for the day when we are all together again. Yes! I will want you to tickle me all night to make up for lost time - with occasional interruptions for what you can well guess. And so sweetheart I must draw to a close. Sending every known loving thought to you both. Ever yours, Fred.Sunday 15/10/44 11 am. Parcel containing Smiths Weekly, 2 Sports Posts, & 1 Colliers Magazine just to hand. Appears to have been posted in April or May. Many thanks. Reading matter very acceptable. Digests especially so.

Wednesday 18 Oct 1944 AGSince my ALC written last Sunday your letter of 26 July (No 8) which came to hand on Monday. The press extracts about Dick’s case I found most interesting. It is manifestly evident that the principle witnesses had arranged between themselves to evade & falsify their evidence and faced with this situation the police were in difficulties at once. The whole thing is most unfortunate but even altho Mrs W has so far escaped legal punishment for her crime I have no doubt she has suffered the agony of mental torture. She must go in continual fear of the case being reopened even apart from the guilt she must feel. The suggestion in proceedings that witnesses were threatened by phone messages does not read well even altho they were only asked to speak the truth. I hope there was no truth in the witness’s statement that such messages were sent.Now for some news. The possibility which I foresaw and referred to in my last letter eventuated and this explains why I have not written in the past few days. Incidentally we have not yet received this week’s issue of ALC forms hence this AG. They are due tomorrow but I dare not wait as it may be a while before another opportunity to write occurs. I am now on a different job to the one I had before and this has resulted in the breaking of my partnership with Bob. At the moment we are together but the reallocation of duties has meant our being on different vehicles and we may separate at any time. Bad luck. Still we will see a good deal of each other as we both remain attached to the same section. The other day one of the chaps here approached me & asked if my name was Fred C & whether I had once gone to Island Bay school. It seems we were school mates in 1915-16. I did not recognize him & even now cannot place him. We have not met since school days together so apparently I retain my youthful appearance. Weather today is dull & prospects are doubtful. Had a wet day yesterday. The first for quite a while. Bivvy leaked badly & blankets quite wet. It is not cold. Am fit & well so don’t worry. Fond love to Ron. Ever yours sweetheart, Fred.

Tuesday 24 Oct 1944 ALCI am writing this under extremely difficult conditions so please excuse poor writing and any mistakes in spelling & composition. Normally I would wait more favourable circumstances but it is about a week since I last wrote and any long delay in hearing from me may cause you anxiety, & so I am taking advantage of this opportunity to let you know I am fit & well even altho writing conditions are about as bad as they could be. Incidentally I think this is the longest time between letters since I left NZ. The reasons for the delay cannot be stated altho I have no doubt you will be well able to guess why I have not written. A clue was contained in my AG of a week ago.During the past week the only mail received was from Ron & coming as it did at a particularly welcome time it was doubly appreciated. Tell the dear kid that I will reply as soon as possible. I did think I would write this ALC to him but it is so long since I wrote to you I thought it would be better to write to him later. During the next week or two I expect to be able to write regularly again. I have lost the first of the two letters which I

received so cannot give its date but think it was written on 26/7. The second was dated 27/8. Both enclosed school reports which are really good. I have lost them too I am sorry to say but this last week has been a pretty hectic one & in the bustle it was well nigh impossible to keep things together in fact I don’t know where half my gear is, it is scattered all over the place & I can only hope I can muster a complete kit when it comes to getting it together again. Possibly the missing papers will then turn up. In the meantime please thank Ron very very much for his well written letters. They are greatly appreciated I assure you.In reference to your note enclosed in Ron’s letter of 27/8. I will complete the PT form 7 return it shortly.Have seen little of Bob in the past week but they caught up to us yesterday & we are together again but he is camped some distance away (about ¼ mile) so I only see him at odd times such as at meal hours. He is well so if Eva should come up you can reassure her on this point. I don’t know what sort of girl Eva is & can only express the hope that you find her alright. Bob is a good chap altho not without marked peculiarities & I should imagine he would choose a decent sort of girl. I fancy Eva is much older than Bob who is 22. The chaps who were at Army School with Bob say that Eva did the choosing but I did not know Bob in those days so cannot vouch for the accuracy of this statement. Obviously Bob’s affection for Eva is most sincere.Had the pleasure of meeting Jack Clendon last Thursday. Saw his unit near where we were & looked him up. He looks somewhat older & to my mind he did not seem too well. Rather nervy but don’t pass this on to Ev as it was only a vague impression. We spent some hours together & it was really good yarning together. He has more than 3 years overseas service & should be amongst next lot to go home. He needs a spell & has earned it.When you receive a parcel of linen wash it well (boil it). Parcel was sent from …. last Thursday I think it was. Will say more about it by letter but am mentioning it here in case I forget.As mentioned earlier herein anticipate being able to write oftener during next few weeks but don’t worry if you don’t hear. Something is afoot but details are lacking. If it is what we think there will better opportunities for regular writing. Fondest love to you both. Am always thinking of you sweethearts mine. Fred.

Thursday 26 Oct 1944 ALC What an experience the past 10 days have been and it is unfortunate that I cannot give you a detailed account of our daily activities. At the time some of our predicaments seemed rather grim but in retrospect it was really not so bad & with it all we had a lot of fun. By the way we use the word “grim” here not in the sense of ghastly with men being killed about you etc but as a general expression for not so good when Ted puts “inners” (shells which we receive for those we send over) pretty close. When things generally become unpleasant then we say it is grim. The ground was in a terrible state & caused considerable trouble in many different ways but fortunately we always succeeded in finding a casa in which to sleep & so avoided having to bivvy out on the sodden ground. The houses were peasant’s homes & pretty poor but they served us well.Early on Tuesday while things were in a state of flux I penned an ALC to you but frankly I have only a hazy recollection of what I said for at the time I was tired & very dirty. Since then I have had a hot shower, a change of clothing & two good nights rest & I now feel fine. I often wonder whether the state I am in is not reflected in my manner of writing.Are all these ALC’s censored before they reach you?Last week we missed an issue of ALC forms & this is the last of my two for this week so I doubt whether I will be able to write to Ron as I hoped to. No doubt he will understand. Facilities for writing here are extremely poor so please excuse me if I do not write much. We also missed getting any air mail (some surface mail did come in and at a most welcome time too!) & it is over a week since I had ALC mail from you. It should come to hand any time now & as you may imagine I am keenly looking forward to their arrival.The new work I am on is a mixture of good & bad. The work is much more interesting & definitely more worthwhile than the previous one where one had little to do except read & write to fill in duty hours. The main drawback is that we lack a permanent transport vehicle & this is inconvenient for when we move it is a business arranging for the transport of gear etc & I also miss having a cabin in which to read & write. The Sgt on the truck was rather difficult to get on with, he is a poor type & seemed to think he owned the place, went crook if we moved any of his gear, which was strewn all over the place, to make room for our own, & took offence if one happened to occupy the seat he usually occupied. This sort of thing led to a rather unhappy state. Bob remains there altho not too happy. I was very disappointed in the way he behaved over the little upset & he lost much of my respect for him for he crawled to Mac & left it to me to have him on. Possibly this led up to my being moved but if so they did me a good turn for I am happier for the change in spite of its minor disadvantages. In due course we will have a vehicle for ourselves but it will be an armoured car in which space is very cramped there being little enough space for gear etc & none for writing reading sitting etc. In action we work in a tank - a Sherman - & there again space is very cramped. I am getting used to working in cramped quarters.The NZEF Times gives account of our recent activities & I will try & get cuttings & send them by surface mail for your perusal. Having been published I presume they can be sent through the post. If you re-read recent mail

on receipt of these cuttings you will be able to form a good idea of our activities. Later on I will send some postcards & booklet showing places we have been to.The towns up there are in a terrible mess & the damage is appalling. Whole towns will have to be completely rebuilt.Things promise well for the next week or two but what is in store we do not know. The atmosphere here is very very peaceful & when the weather improves we should have quite a pleasant time. We are accommodated in casas but are somewhat crowded. The change & the rest are most welcome but we would like to know what is in store.I recently sent a parcel of linen but it was bought from Ities & will need a washing before you use it. They wanted food badly & I bought it with some of the unused stuff from the L&S parcel. It may not be much good but it is all one can buy up there.A cobber of mine recently had leave to Florence & I got him to buy for me some broaches & necklets which I will send as soon as possible. There is a necklet & broach to go with it & two other broaches. I thought they would serve as Xmas presents for you, Clare, & your mother. Will send them in one parcel & you can choose & pass on to others. I like them & hope you do.Loving you more than ever & missing you terribly. Fondest love sweetheart. Ever yours, Fred.

29 Oct 1944 ALCContrary to my usual practice I addressed this before commencing to write. Actually I intended to write to Ron but from force of habit I addressed the front Mrs FJC etc so I will use the first two pages for you & the third for Ron. I think I have already acknowledged receipt of your AG 27/9. This week has brought to hand your later ones of 4/10 & 7/10 the last being especially welcome in that it states that Ron’s arm is progressing well & is not broken. I was very worried until this news came to hand. Most unlikely that I will get opportunity to visit No 2 GH which is near Naples (at Caserta) was there once a short time ago to see Don Beck but assure Rene I will avail myself of any opportunity which offers to look him up. Hope he is now ok. Also the Foley youngsters. Good to learn of Ron striking out on his own by going to the pictures in town. Such outings help to develop initiative & self reliance & are to be encouraged. Your good report on Ron generally is most encouraging. Your AG 7/10 calls for no special comment except to say thanks for sending the tobacco which I will acknowledge in due course. And as for missing you dear I too suffer many & many heartaches but being a man I am not permitted the relief of tears altho frankly I must admit I often feel the inclination. Sometimes I become almost frantic to be back with you & Ron & do not know how I will ever stand say 3 years of separation from you but others have done it & I will do my best to last the distance. Past happy memories do help but in some ways it makes the separation harder.Sorry have not been able to write to Clare lately. Nor to reply to Doreen’s AG. Will give matter attention as soon as possible.We have been very unlucky with the weather since we have been here and have not seen the sun for more than a few minutes (total) or even had more than approx ½ hours blue sky & you will have a fair idea of how long we have been here. We are just about fed up with it for we have not been able to get out at all in fact except for once to the pictures last Wed night I have not been out of my room except for meals. [There’s a war on, Fred!] This is not wholly because of the weather but in part on account of not feeling too good. For the past several days I have been suffering from diarrhoea, in fact I have had it in a mild degree for a fortnight or more, but it became acute the last three days during which I have felt pretty crook especially yesterday when it took me all my time to keep going. I went to the RAP & there got some dose which has done me good & today I feel a lot better.We have no fires & it is very cold. Not really a pleasant “rest” by any means. Most of the boys are spending their time on the vino or with the village ragazzas (girls). But not for me. When the weather improves I hope to look around the countryside.I sent you a parcel during the week - Wed I think it was - a coffee service, broaches & necklace, & a parachute for Ron. A friend was on leave in Florence & bought these things for me. Keep the coffee service, the necklace, & a broach to match as a Xmas present & give the other 2 broaches to Clare & Mother as Xmas presents. Hope you like them. They appealed to me. They are typical Florentine work. Hope they arrive unbroken - packing material was hard to get. In next parcel please send some strong cotton for sewing on buttons & for sewing up parcels.Must close now darling. Loving thoughts. Oh how I wish I could deliver them in person. Fond love. Ever yours, Fred.Dearest Ron, many thanks for your two lovely letters which I received about ten days ago. I was very interested in the school reports which you enclosed with the letters. They were very good indeed & reflect credit on you & should encourage you to further effort. Keep up the good work. Your letters were well written & the composition was also good.

Sorry to learn of the injury to your arm. When I received the first news I was very worried & it was a relief to get Mum’s second ALC saying it was only a bad sprain. You really must be more careful. I don’t want you to wrap yourself in cotton wool & you must play normally like other boys but do be careful please dear son for I dread the thought of anything happening to you while I am away. The other night while one of the boys with whom I sleep was walking along the road he saw a goose which he caught & brought back with him. After a while we rung its neck much like Grandpa does to the roosters, cooked it & ate it & you can take it from me it made a grand feed.In a few days will send you a cable for your birthday which I trust is a happy day. Space is running low so I must close. Fondest love son dear. Ever your loving, Dad

Tuesday 31 Oct 1944 AGHappened to be passing the YMCA writing room with about ¾ hour before lunch so thought I would call in & drop you a few lines. Have been for a brisk walk & my body is warm but my hands are still cold so I can hardly hold the pen firmly enough to print. Guess my letter writing will suffer during winter months so please convey my apologies to friends & relations to whom however I shall write whenever possible. I am pretty well over the illness referred to in my ALC 29/10. Tummy still rumbling a bit ominously at times & I feel very weak but that will pass in a day or two now that I am back on normal meals - for two days I had only tea & hot water. I doubt whether I have ever experienced such monotony as at present. There is nothing to do & all day to do it. I sometimes feel I would do well to do as most of the others do - go the vino way & develop a cheerfulness in that way but it does not altogether appeal. We are rather short of reading matter & that reminds me could you write to the Digest people & ask them to put me on their distribution. Rates are much cheaper for service personnel so you can write as if it was from me. I have been filling in the time swatting Italian grammar but I am afraid it is too long since I left school for me to do much good with a new language and I never was much good at languages anyway. My memory never very good seems much worse these days. Spent this am looking around the RC churches which abound in this town which by the way is much larger than I first thought (some say population about 30000). The exteriors of the buildings are not imposing but inside one sees all the splendour so typical of this faith - everything & anything for effect. The church seems to believe it alright to bleed its people white & to keep itself in splendour & obviously religion is a flourishing business in this country. As I conclude I leave you to imagine the thoughts in my mind - they are very deep. Fondest love sweetheart, & to Ron. Fred.

Thursday 02 Nov 1944 ALCWe have just been given our weekly ration of ALC forms & I am getting down to use the first right away. The most important event since my AG to you two days ago was the receipt of your ALC 12/10 which I received a 9 pm. Tues night while playing 500 with some of the boys in our room. Glad to know you are both so well. Yes it is about time parcels came to hand, as only one (birthday parcel) has been received from you & one from L&S so far. Will let you know as I get them. Appreciate greatly Mrs Foley’s action in sending me a Xmas parcel. People are good. Wish Billy all the best on my behalf, she is a fine lass & deserves every happiness. Hope Mother’s foot is now improved again. I really must try & write in that direction but it is terribly difficult to write under field conditions. Will be interested to know definitely if Eric is posted to 2NZEF again & comes this way. I hope he is able to keep out of it for it is no catch in spite of its better moments. Yesterday I sent you an envelope (fairly large size) containing a booklet & some postcards of places we have visited lately. Let me know when you receive it. Yesterday was beautifully fine (we could hardly believe it ourselves) & in the morning I went down to the shower unit & had a clean up. Returned here about 10 am & so made morning tea after which I did my washing which took until just on lunch time. In the pm I went for a walk into the surrounding countryside & climbed up into the hills from which I obtained a fine view of the valley in which this town lies & the mountains surrounding us. Looked right down onto the town. It was well worth the effort & I enjoyed the outing in spite (perhaps because of) being alone for a while. Bob & I have not quarrelled but after his let down a fortnight or so ago & remembering other similar incidents to which at the time I did not attach much importance I have decided I cannot sincerely make a friend of him & so I am leaving him alone. He has been here two or three times but I have been friendly but cool & refuse his invitations to visit his casa. By the way he was in yesterday & mentioned that Eva was still waiting to hear from you. Last night I went to the YMCA cinema to see Dianna Durban in “His Butler’s Sister”. Quite enjoyed it altho film & sound track are badly worn. It was a pleasant change & a welcome break in the monotony. The latter is almost enough to make one wish we were back in action - but not quite for believe me dear modern war is a pretty terrible business.As you will have gathered the weather is b awful. Yesterday was fine & so was the previous day altho not as good as yesterday but otherwise it has rained almost continually. Today is wet again & during the night it was torrential. When I got up at 5 am (piquet) there was water flowing down the streets just like little rivers & the vehicle park was under about a foot of water. We are fairly high about 1000ft I should say & the continual

dampness makes things pretty cold. The climate here in summer may be alright - but on its performance so far it has nothing to skite about in winter. It takes a week nearly to get washing dry & the local inhabitants seem to regard this as normal so apparently present weather is not unusual.Had a great surprise on Tuesday. Was having lunch (we eat all standing around the mobile cookhouse situated in a little square on the main street through the town) when someone grabbed me by the arm from behind. It was Arch. He was driving thro the town in a jeep when he saw me, so stopped. He looks well & his leg is much better altho I fancy he concealed a lot to get to the Div. When I last saw him in Helwan hospital it seemed likely that he would be going home but the treatment they gave him was effective & so he was able to join the Div. Needless to say I was surprised & pleased at seeing him. He guessed I was over here & with the Div but did not know my unit so our meeting was a lucky one. He is quite nearby & is to look me up again soon.Living only for the day when we meet again. Lovingly yours, Fred.

Sunday 05 Nov 1944 ALCHere it is Sunday once again & I must accordingly get busy & write to you. I have had no mail since I wrote last Thursday & your ALC of 12/10 received about a week ago was the latest so far to hand. Recent heavy rains have done much damage to roads hereabouts - bridges washed away, slips, washouts etc - and I believe that for several days roads have been either completely out or else confined to priority traffic. This probably explains why we have not received mail during the past few days. There is little news to relate & I will have to fall back on trivial matters to fill the space.On Thursday after finishing my letter to you I played cards for a while before tea after which I sat around for a while until the cold forced me to bed at about 7 pm. On Friday am we had a route march during which we got a bit wet thro being caught in rain while away. Weather compelled us to return earlier than intended & we were back about 10 am so made a cup of tea, dried out our clothes & cleaned rifle this taking us until lunch time. In the pm I did assignment No 1 of a course on Italian which I have taken thro the Army Education Scheme. In the evening I again played cards - bridge - but two of the players were lamentable & the 3rd not much better so it was not really enjoyable except to fill in time. Yesterday was beautifully fine - the best day we have had so far - and I spent the am roaming around the town until 11 am when we took our places I the queue at the YM Canteen to but soap, tobacco, etc. It took us until lunch time to finally transact our business. The pm was too good to stay inside but some chaps had just got back from leave to Rome & Florence & they were full of interesting tales & so we sat around listening to what they had to say. In the course of their travels they had covered much of the ground the Div has come over & their tales provoked reminiscences from others in the group. In all it was an interesting afternoon spent listening to some great tales altho really it was criminal to waste such a lovely day indoors. In the evening I went down to hear a Canadian concert party at the YMCA who have taken the local Opera House for troop entertainments. By usual standards I would say the show was very poor but starved as we have been of entertainments, except for one picture which has been on for a full week, we all enjoyed it & it is voted a good show by all hands altho I very much doubt that it deserves that tribute. And so to bed at about 10 pm after a hot cup of tea for which we boil up in the usual army way - ie; petrol fires.Actually we have jacked up a stove in our room which adds much to the comfort for days & nights are now very cold. It is a proper stove & we have a good & efficient chimney but it was made to burn charcoal & so with our limited wood supply we don’t get the best of heat but it is better than nothing & on it we are able to make toast - a good thing definitely. Wood is extremely scarce in this country & one rarely if ever sees a wooden structure - all buildings, bridges etc are built with stone. The natives go to great pains to conserve wood as a fuel but charcoal is much used. One can even see their reluctance to burn the shattered beams etc of wrecked buildings. It obviously goes against their natural inclinations.Arch called in to see me yesterday am while I was out so will have to wait until he calls again.Jack Fowles is camped in a locality some 15 miles distant & transport is most difficult as they are off the main route. Accordingly we have not seen each other during the “rest” but one day next week I am hoping to get over to see him. Haven’t seen or heard of George Broad or Herb Neale since the trip up nor have I seen Jack Clendon lately. I fancy he is not yet back to the rest area. I see where a Pte. L.M.Lapworth died of wounds. [494109 Pte. Lionel Herbert Lapworth d.11 Oct 1944 (38)]. This I think is Mrs.Pat Burke’s brother who I know very well - a fine chap. We started together in Linton & have met several times since. We came away in same boat. It is hellish hearing of the death or injury of those one knows so well. Yes there is no doubt war is a bloody grim business. I am quite ok again now & am really very fit & well at present so don’t worry about me dear. I trust you & Ron are the same. Oh sweetheart I do miss you & at times I wonder how I will ever see it thro for time is passing terribly slowly. But others are doing it & so must I. In fact I should say we. I dare not let my thoughts run too freely on this subject for I fear it may cause me to become self sympathetic & so set my teeth & bear it.God bless you sweetheart mine. Ever yours, Fred.

Thursday 09 Nov 1944 ALCSince my last ALC to you written on Sunday I have received your ALC of 17 Oct which came to hand on Tuesday & of course you will know how welcome it was. As a matter of fact the significance of the date 17 Oct I quite overlooked at the time - we were too busy to think of such things - & it was not until some days later that it occurred to me. Actually to me it seems very much longer than a year ago since those sad happenings. [Father’s death] They seem very distant now, I suppose on account of so much happening since then. Sorry to hear that Mother’s leg is bad again & hope it has improved by now. Have not seen Herbie Neal since sthe trip up & nor have I seen or heard of Geo Broad or J Hallwell. Sorry to hear of Jack Halliday’s death in action. I knew him quite well having met him several times at Maadi thro visiting Jack. He was a fine chap. [462903 Pte. Loris Hector Halliday d.22 Sep 1944] I note your remarks about Ron trying your patience by his reluctance to do his school work. I refrain from comment except to refer you to some remarks of mine in previous letters about you not being anything except his mother. Remember too that you will be more highly strung than normally & will therefore tend to be less patient than perhaps you would be. Inclined to be ill tempered over things you would ordinarily not notice etc. You may not be aware of this yourself but it is possibly the case for there are sufficient grounds for it, ie; the strain & worry of being on your own & perhaps some anxiety on my account, the change in your mode of life, habits, etc, occasioned by our separation, & a number of other causes I need not mention as they must be obvious to you. Possibly Ron also is under some strain & at any rate he will quickly react to your condition even altho you may try to hide your feelings from him. No dear just so not worry & I suggest that the best thing for you to do is to see how much happiness you can enjoy together. Let the rest go hang meantime. We will face the problems of the future as we meet them.The weather has been much better lately & we are enjoying our “rest” somewhat more as we should do. Still we have little to occupy our minds & the monotony is our greatest enemy. We had route marches on Monday & yesterday and these filled in the mornings. On Monday afternoon we went to a concert by the Kiwi Concert Party at the YMCA which has taken over the local Opera House. We found the performance enjoyable altho I think much below the standard we saw at Advanced Base. It was the same show & they have been playing it continuously ever since we saw their first performance & in consequence they have gone a bit stale on it. However it filled in the afternoon very pleasantly. In the evening we played cards in our room around the fire. On Tuesday am I went for a walk around town & in the pm I went with three others to watch a football match between our unit & the 19th Btn. We lost 31-8 & our side gave a poor exhibition. In the evening I went to bed early as all the other chaps went to see a picture at the ENSA theatre. I had already seen the show which was rather poor so did not want to see it again. Yesterday afternoon I went around town & bought some postcards which I will send on to you later. They may prove interesting in showing the nature of our present surroundings. I have put the usual remarks on the backs of the cards. In the evening I went to a talk on farming by one of the practical farmers in our unit. Quite good altho not of particular interest to me. Still I learnt something from it & it stirred the old brain box out of its lethargy somewhat. Had a cup of tea at the YMCA where I met quite a few chaps I have not seen for quite a while. The usual yarn & then to bed. This am you see the result of my labours & as soon as I finish this I must get busy & do my weeks washing. Had a hot shower after the route march yesterday & then changed into clean clothing. Blankets badly need washing but will have to leave them as it is too hard to get them dry & in any case the washing facilities are too poor for such a big job. That gives account of my activities since I last wrote. Have you received the parcel which I arranged for a friend of mine at Maadi to send from Cairo after I left there? He sent word to me at Adv. Base soon after we got there that he had made the purchase for me & had sent it on to you. That is about 3 months ago so you should have the parcel by now. Please let me know as parcels & letters containing postcards reach you.How is Ron? I will try & write to him again soon but you can have no idea how difficult it is to write under present conditions even altho we have time on our hands. It is almost as bad here as when we are in action. I feel very guilty on account of my not having written to Clare for some time. Please apologise for me. I will address the postcards to Ron. By the way I sent him a cable for his birthday on Monday.Oh hell sweetheart I do miss you terribly & at times it is almost unbearable. I wonder how I will ever endure 3 years separation if we have to be apart that long as I rather anticipate we will. Only by taking a firm hold on myself am I able to retain my sanity. I fear you will find me rather a changed man when I get back for I am conscious of a change myself. I feel restless & in some ways disillusioned with life generally. I sometimes wonder whether I would not do better to let myself go and do as so many others do and live only for the day without regard to the future. But I can’t do it. All my love darling mine. Ever yours, Fred.

12 Nov 1944 ALC

Since I wrote last Thursday I have received your ALC 25/10 & Ron’s 19/10 with a PS by you. I will comment on these later.To continue the account of my activities. On Thursday afternoon we went to a concert by an Italian party, who were very good indeed & we much enjoyed their performance. There is no doubt that these people are born musicians. Their singing & orchestration were excellent & altho the songs were sung in Italian & we thus could not understand the words it was still much appreciated. In the evening we held a vino party in our room. You know the usual thing amongst men - stories, accounts of experiences, criticisms of ones fellows etc. It was a pretty wild affair & some of the boys got a bit drunk but I managed to get thro pretty well & in the end had to help two of my room mates to bed. The other three were just able to do without my assistance. I rather surprised myself for since my Rome experience I have kept off the vino pretty well. Some of the other lads are hardened drinkers who I thought would easily put me under the table. In all it was a good show even altho a bit rowdy & the stories a bit lurid and a good time was had by all. One of those occasions when we let ourselves go & while I would not like it too often I must confess I quite enjoyed our little show on Thursday evening. Got to bed about midnight but did not enjoy a good nights rest.On Friday we woke up to find the whole town & surrounding countryside under a heavy blanket of snow. The first of the season. In the town it was about 6 to 7 inches deep but rather more it seemed in the fields away from town. It was a pretty sight - but none too comfortable nevertheless - snow everywhere on the ground, on roof tops, on trees & bushes, etc. It was quite like the scenes so often depicted on Xmas cards. It started to thaw about 9 am & became very wet under foot so the route march scheduled for the day was cancelled & instead we did IT (Infantry Training) for about an hour. After the parade was finished we adjourned to our casa, made a cup of tea, & lit the stove around which we sat (day was very cold) & cleaned rifles & played cards. They had a four without me so I swatted (Italian). In the afternoon the others went to the pictures but I did not go as I preferred to wait for the evening. The evenings drag pretty much & it seemed better to wait. Went to the show in the evening & found it quite good, but it was very cold sitting in the unheated theatre even with a greatcoat on. Saturday dawned beautifully fine but still very cold & there was a heavy frost of I should say about 12º. I spent the day quietly - sat in sun in am & in pm did some sundry odd jobs which needed doing around our quarters. In the am we witnessed a remarkable sight in large formations of heavy bombers high in the sky with defined vapour trails behind them with the sun glinting on the polished surfaces of the aircraft & at the same time showing up the whiteness of the trails in the clear blue sky - it was a beautiful & spectacular sight. Have seen some remarkable effects from high aircraft in the form of vapour trails since arriving in Italy but this was best so far with another on our trip to Foggia a close second. The Ities were terrified until we assured them that they were our bombers (Americani) & not Tedeschi machines. Their fear was very real & rather pitiful to witness. They have good reason tho to fear for they have suffered terribly from bombing from both sides.While I think of it have you forgotten that I left my camera with you? Snaps would be very welcome! On Saturday evening I went down to the YMCA to listen to a vocal recital by two talented vocalists (Ities). The accompanist, a professor of music, also gave some renderings. Very excellent music & thoroughly enjoyable. Again I remark these Ities are wonderful musicians. Another feature worthy of remark is the beauty of many of their young women. Some, indeed many, of the signorinas are really beautiful (correct plural of signorina, young lady, is signorine) & must rank high even in world class. They seem to fade quickly & most of the women over 25 or thereabouts look rather poorly. Don’t worry dear altho often tempted I remain faithful to my one & only even if sometimes I do feel I would like to be otherwise. Did not get up until just on 8 am this morning which is again cold. Had breakfast, shaved, & made my bed & generally tidied up. It is now 10.30 am & I have been writing for an hour.Now for some comments on your mail. Many thanks Ron for your well written effort. I will try & write you again soon. You seem to be becoming quite a carpenter, & some of the things you have made sound fine. Mum tells me you are making a good job of them. Don’t hurry too much, take time & do the job well. Re Mum’s PS. Yes, I know about Lionel Lapworth - very unfortunate as he was a fine chap. Think I mentioned this in a recent ALC. I look forward to your Institute photo. Have not seen Arch or heard from him again. Think he may have returned to Adv. Base to be ready for what you have heard. Your AL 25/10 calls for no special comment but I look forward to learning of Dr Mackay’s report on Ron. How did Billy’s wedding go off? Well I hope. No! worst luck it seems we will not be home for quite a while yet - worst luck! Don’t worry I will do my best to look after myself.Have not yet been able to get leave to see Jack F. He is camped about 15 miles from here. Would like to see him & will go at first opportunity.Could you not write oftener & get more on AL’s. Try writing smaller & not so spread out across page. Should say take you only 15-20 minutes. Surely you can spare me more than ½ to ¾ of an hour per week . Contrast you r efforts with mine & you write under vastly better conditions I almost feel like easing up. Then too I have to write to others. Those too easy going habits again should I say still? Fairs fair you know! Mail means a lot to

us here, perhaps even more than you could realise. If my mail falls off it is for lack of your encouragement to write long letters oftener. On this sad note I will close. Your ALC 25/10 comprises a total of 352 words - ie only about as many as on one page of mine!Hope you are both well as I am. Will remember Ron tomorrow. Good luck. Fondest love, Fred.

14 Nov 1944 ALCOf late I have been writing on Wednesday & Sunday but today is Tuesday. I had arranged to go up to see Arch who I find is still here but it has set in to rain & so I am writing instead of going out & getting wet. It is quite cold enough without getting wet. Arch is barracked about ½ mile away, & one would get pretty wet walking up there. You can not have any idea how cold it is here all the time. Unless we are all here we do not light the fire until late in the pm as our supply of wood is low & it is unlikely that we shall be able to get more. There are no official figures but old hands estimate the am frosts at about 20°. Have had no more snow but if this rain sets in as seems likely I guess we are in for more heavy falls. Weather permitting I intend to go over to Divs Area tomorrow to see Jack. I have arranged transport etc.Yesterday morning we were on parade until about 10 am & the rest of the time until lunch I filled in wandering around town with two other chaps. In the pm we went to a concert given by our own chaps (4 NZ Armd Bde Revue its called) which was quite good considering the amateurish talent on which they had to draw. We thoroughly enjoyed the show in spite of the intense cold in which we had to sit for more than 2 hours. In the evening I was to have gone to the pictures with Alex Murray but he did not turn up & so I went on my own to a lecture on the history of Italy given at the MDS by a NZ corporal who has made a deep study of the subject. This was a talk under the auspices of the ERS & was very interesting. The medical personnel of 4 th Field Ambulance (who are always close to 4 Bde) have their ERS organisation working pretty well but in 4 Bde it is regrettably poor, in fact almost non-existent. Thoroughly enjoyed the evening altho it was hopeless to remember all he told us. Still it helped me to know the country, its history, & its development thro the ages, & in this way one gets some understanding of the people. Home again at 9.30 pm & made a cup of tea & toast on the stove & so to bed at about 10.30 but not to sleep. The DR’s (Don R’s) ie Despatch Riders were holding a vino party which was extremely lively & their room is next door to ours. It is absolutely amazing the manner in which some of the young chaps let themselves go & I fear it bodes ill for the nations future. I am no moralist but unless they can pull themselves together in later life, & they show little promise of their ability to do so, then NZ faces a serious social problem after the war. The casualties from enemy action are small in comparison with the moral deterioration so much in evidence. Whether it is directly attributable to the war I would not care to say. It almost seems to me that war has only assembled it together into narrower confines & that the tendencies must have been there always. I know I am getting old & thus perhaps inclined to be narrow in my views but even allowing for this I cannot understand the mentality of fellows who allow themselves only harmful recreations, & make no effort to lift themselves above the demoralising influences of war. The behaviour of some of the chaps astounds me even altho I try & be broadminded & tolerant. I go so far as to say outright that there is an inherent weakness in our young men & that the war is only bringing it more to notice. Remembering the chaotic world conditions under which they have been reared I suppose it is not to be wondered at but it leaves me most unhappy about the future. Unless man can recover himself the brave new world we all hope for is an impossibility for as I see it (pray God I am wrong) the spirit of man is decadent!Enough of this moralising!On Sunday pm I went down to see Alex Murray (of HO L&S) who is in 22 nd Btn. He returned Saturday fro a week’s leave to Florence. We went for a long walk together & had an interesting yarn my being much interested in his accounts of the sights of Florence. In the evening I sat over the fire & read - it was too cold to go out. Alex did not turn up here to go to the pictures last night as we arranged on Sunday so I presume his unit was engaged on training. He thought they might be. This morning I had haircut at one of many local Itie barbers, a hot shower, shopping expedition to mobile NAAFI for weekly purchases - beer (½ bottle per man), tobacco, soap, etc, did my washing & changed after shower. This all took until lunch time. Straight after lunch I started writing & here I am still - time 2.30 pm.I hope you do not think I was angry when I wrote last week complaining of the brevity of your AL’s. Maybe I was a bit nasty but it is very disappointing to get such brief mail especially as I do try so hard to make my letters frequent, long, & interesting. I read yours in 3 minutes. There is a lot you omit which I would find interesting, ie incidents in your daily life to give some idea of how life goes on in my absence, things Ron has said or done & to show his mental outlook & capabilities, humorous incidents which must surely sometimes occur, position re Eva & Mrs. De Schryvas, position re repairs to Ron’s room, whether you have lately looked at those of my things stored until I return, how the Hindmarsh St pros are getting on now that Americans have left, latest village scandal etc etc. Oh there is plenty really!Will leave rest of space until tomorrow in case further mail arrives. Now for a cup of tea. Will boil up billy.

Am frozen, feet especially.Wed 9 am. This mornings parade cancelled owing to heavy rain so am finishing this off. No further mail to hand. It cleared late yesterday afternoon so I went up to see Arch & we spent a pleasant couple of hours yarning together. He is well & I think will be pleased to get back if he has opportunity. Got back at 5 pm just in time for tea. Spent evening playing cards around our fire until 10 pm when we make supper & tea & toast - & then to bed. It is not so cold today there being a warm rain falling. Will be unable to go & see Jack on account of the rain.Well sweetheart space is running out so I must draw to a close. Needless to say I miss you as much as ever, if not more as time slowly passes, & just yearn for the time when the wretched nightmare is over & we are together again. Give Ron a big love & lots of kisses for me please. Fondest love darling. Ever yours, Fred.

19 Nov 1944 ALCAltho it is four days since my last ALC to you there is very little in the way of news to write about so I will start off by answering the two ALC’s which I received just as I finished my last letter. It seemed that you must have anticipated the comments in my ALC of 12/11 for both the last two of yours contain more news than has been your custom. Good! Keep it up. No matter how small the writing & how crammed the space you can be sure I will manage to read every word altho at times I find your writing a little difficult to decipher. By the way Ron’s AL in pencil came through alright but ink is better. Answering ALC 27/10. Am glad you like the photo. Personally I thought it rather poor but perhaps my conceit explains that opinion. Really though I think it could have been much better. Am also pleased that Ron’s stamps reached him safely & that he liked them. Will send some more at first opportunity & in this connection note your remarks re getting a set of the Mussolini Hitler lot which I will try & obtain for him. None available here. You seem to have struck bad luck in having to buy so much new house linen etc. If you need some extra cash let me know & I will send you some. I am living a very frugal existence myself & in spite of having spent quite a bit on parcels, cables, postage etc have managed to save £20-9-9 this being my pay book credit at the present time. Not bad for the time we have been over here when you consider that I was broke when we left Australia & that much of the time has been spent in towns. It is grand to know Dr Mckay was so pleased at the improvement Ron has made since he last saw him. Such news cheers me greatly. Keep it up son. Wish I could be with you to see the progress he is making. Guess I will see a big difference in Ron when I get back - he will be quite the young man, & Dad’s youngster will have become a thing of the past. It is sad to miss this stage of his development. Now on to ALC 1/11 which arrived about a fortnight after it left you - good going. This is the first I have received which has not been opened by the censor. It was a good effort & contained more news than any previously received. Yes I join in hoping that Billy reaps the happiness she so well deserves. As for Nancy well perhaps love is there, I hope it is, but I cannot help feeling that Theo’s financial & social status must have proved the real attraction. Frankly I wonder that Theo should be so attracted by Nancy for without being unkind & I hope not bitter, I should imagine he must have had opportunity to choose a more attractive wife. Nancy is not especially good looking, is not possessed of attractive personality - her posing becomes too obvious - and well to my way of thinking has no specially attractive feature. Still it is said love is blind. We will hope she makes him a good wife & is very happy as Mrs Kelly. It is a strange paradox that things have turned out so. Yes! I guess my loving aunt is about the happiest woman alive. I wonder how far she schemed to this end. I feel that her encouragement of Nancy to agree to the dissolution of her marriage to CDF [Cecil Dickens Fletcher] (I fancy the course followed originated in her - auntie’s - fertile brain) envisaged something like this happening. We will wait & see but ….. Glad the folks at Trentham enjoyed the surprise party. Doubt whether the photos deserve the compliments they have been given. However I am not in best position to judge. Look forward to your ALC giving news of Eva Ohlson’s visit. Saw Bob & told him that Eva was to visit you & he was pleased that arrangements had been made. He had not heard from Eva that she was to visit you. I think he realises now that he was a bit mean in his behaviour & he is at some pains to be pleasant but I am constrained to disregard his approaches but at the same time I am pleasant to him. He is a bit disconcerted at my manner towards him.No have not seen either Laurie Short or Jack Melvin altho I have made numerous enquires for them. Did aunt Ede get my AG? Will enjoy hearing from Alwyn about HG smoko. Would have enjoyed being there. Yes Colin deserves to get home & I hope he manages to do so soon. Would love to have heard Ron’s recitation.Now for some local news before space runs out. Oh by the way on Friday I received a parcel of 2 Sports Posts, 1 Truth & 1 Smiths Weekly posted early in June (post date stamp obliterated). We are told a big parcel mail has just arrived & may be expected in course of next week or so. Will let you know if I receive any. Many thanks for the reading matter - it was very acceptable.The news since Wed is mainly a repetition of our doings before then & having given you a fairly full a/c of our routine you will, without me giving a complete account, be able to form a good idea of what we have been

doing. On Thursday pm went with 3 others to see Bob Hope, Bing & others in Star Spangled Banner. A good show & much enjoyed. That evening played cards as we did on Wed night. We have quite a fair bridge four now. On Fri night to an ENSA show which was quite fair. You will gather that entertainments have now been organised pretty well & there is quite a bit to do in our spare time. ENSA shows are never very good & Fridays performance was about usual standard. Sat, another fine day, we went over to Div area to see the rugby games starting the Freyberg Cup competition (hoped I might see Jack but didn’t altho saw many others who I had not seen for quite a while) & we did not get back until late in the pm. Spent evening playing cards by the fire. Had some keen games & thoroughly enjoyed the evening.Well here we are sweetheart nearly at the end of page 3 reminding me of the fact that space is running out. Had a wonderful dream only last night dreaming I was back with you. It was wonderful while it lasted but oh how disappointing to awake and find it only a dream. Time is passing terribly slowly. It seems ages & ages since I started this adventure & when I realise it is only 7½ months I am amazed that so much could happen in such a short space of time. Remember dear I just live for our reunion. All my love darling. Ever yours, Fred.

22 Nov 1944 ALCSince writing last Sunday I have had no further mail from you but this is not unexpected on account of fast passage which your ALC of 1/11 made. I quite expect there to be a gap before your next mail is to hand. On Sunday afternoon in company with two of the chaps with whom I share this room I went for a fairly long walk out into the country taking a route different from any followed on previous trips. We walked for about 3 hours then hitchhiked back to arrive “home” shortly before tea at 5 pm by which time it was very cold. Nothing of interest occurred during the walk but it was enjoyable for it was a beautifully fine afternoon and the country hereabouts is really quite pretty. One sees quaint old farm houses which from a distance look well (but upon close inspection lose much of their attraction for they are invariably dirty, untidy & smelly) and an intensity of cultivation quite unknown in NZ. It is all very interesting & novel to us altho we are now well used to the Italian scenery. Spent the evening by the stove playing bridge. This is becoming our usual form of evening entertainment but it is really too cold to go out the theatres being unheated & it is quite pleasant sitting by the fire playing cards until supper time when we boil up the billy for tea & make toast using any bread kept over from our breakfast and/or lunch ration.On Monday & Tuesday I was working during the day but on Monday night went to the Theatro Gentile to see a show put on by the YMCA. It was Judy Garland in “Lily Mars” which I seem to recollect having seen previously although strangely enough many of the scenes seemed quite new while others were quite familiar. A good illustration of how poor my memory has become! Did I see it with you before I left NZ? It was quite an enjoyable show in spite of the poor sound system & extreme cold.I was nearly frozen stiff although sitting with greatcoat & jerkin on. I was again working Tuesday and from now on my days will not be so pleasantly spent as has been the custom of late. I have been harnessed up again & am being put to work once more. Draw your own conclusions. On Tuesday night I again went to the pictures to see a film called “The Lodger” at the ENSA. It was quite good especially the acting but at this theatre the sound system is very poor - owing to weak power the film runs thro more slowly than it should do & this has the effect of making the voices slow & drawling & thus hard to understand. However in spite of this I thoroughly enjoyed the show which was a mystery thriller.This morning we had our usual parade after which I did my washing & here I am now trying hard to finish this before lunch. It is another beautiful day in fact the weather has been really good lately & last night I was able to go out with a coat & at the pictures did not feel at all cold.Bob Craft called in a short time ago to let me know that in an ALC 6/11 from Eva she said she had been to see you & had enjoyed her visit. Apparently you have arranged for her to stay a weekend later.Managed to but a few more stamps for Ron in town last evening (including two of the Hitler & Mussolini series which he wanted) & will send these on with postcards of this town in due course. Sorry I could not get more but they are very hard to get here.This afternoon & perhaps this evening I am due for duty but we are somewhat in a flap so it remains to be seen what I will be doing. It is now 15 mins from lunch time so if this is incomplete you will know why.Have not managed to get over to see Jack & now most unlikely that I will succeed in doing so. Had a note from him the other day & replied to him yesterday explaining why I had been unable to get over to see him. Was over that way last Sat to watch football but did not see him.I can tell you now that I was due to go to Rome tomorrow on 3 days leave but much to my disappointment this is now all off. Really bad luck that as I was looking forward to the trip very much. Still, knowing my luck in such matters I anticipated a hitch at the last minute & so did not build my hopes too high hence my not saying anything about it in previous letters. Nothing would please me more than to see Rome properly. My previous visit there was all too brief & I saw very little of the place.

The time has come for lunch so I must leave this now. Will try & add a few lines later but prospects are not the best.Later. Wed. 10 pm. Will add a few lines to finish this & then to bed. Have been working since 1 pm so have no news to add. The others are in bed & asleep & I am sitting on my bed with the light beside me (we have EL here but of low power & not the best) but am not very comfortable as the fire is out & altho the room is still somewhat warmed it is nevertheless pretty cold & my feet feel like ice blocks.Hoped for mail by the second delivery but so far as I know I missed out. Perhaps tomorrow will bring something as AL’s up to 7/11 have been received by some of the chaps.When I left Arch a week ago he promised to come down & see me but as far as I know (we have all been out some evenings) he has not been down. I expect he has been busy this last week so it is not surprising.Well darling mine I trust that as I sleep I may dream of you & Ron & thereby live for a short while a few moments the life I think of so often. You will know the thoughts in my mind as I write these final lines. I step into Ron’s room & give him a good night kiss & then to bed with you sweetheart. Oh how lovely that would be if only it could be true. Still it will be some day & until then well let us be sustained by the thoughts & memories of happy days gone by & the anticipation of the future ahead. Goodnight sweethearts mine. Fondest love. Ever yours, Fred.

Saturday 25 Nov 1944 ALCI am writing this but not with any great expectation that it will reach you within the usual time that letters take in transit. I am in a special job - quite routine & nothing to cause you any worry whatever, in fact you need worry less even than if events had taken a more normal course - and it is possible that you will have to endure quite a lengthy period without hearing from me. I can’t give any indication of how long it will be & it may be shorter than is anticipated at present. Nor can I explain the reasons for this happening but you can rest assured that I will get mail through whenever I can & as soon as I can. Again I stress you have no cause to worry.Likewise I will be without mail. I have not heard from you for more than a week now & it is not a pleasant prospect having to be without mail for some time yet - still this is only one of the minor inconveniences of war.Am very well myself - and hope you are the same - both of you.In a most unusual way & by an extreme stroke of good fortune I ran into Jack yesterday & he has undertaken to send Jen word to relay to you just in case this letter does not get thro. The manner of our meeting was most fortuitous & rather interesting but cannot be given here partly because of lack of space & time. However it was grand to get together again & in the evening we spent a most enjoyable time yarning etc over molto (much) vino. Yes! Definitely an evening to be remembered. Jack by the way has been transferred to the job as cook for the Kiwi CP. It is a great opportunity for him as he should see much of the country in travelling around with the Party to concerts in different parts. By the way he was somewhat concerned that you should have passed on to Jen the contents of my letter wherein I mentioned that he (Jack) was not looking too well after a short spell in MDS. Jen is inclined to worry unnecessarily so you must be more careful in what you say (how often have I had to say this?) or else I will have no option but to curtail what I say in my letters to you. I suggest you get in touch with Mrs F & ascertain what Jack passes on to her. This last sentence refers to the first part of this paragraph not its ending.This letter should reach about a week before Xmas so I take the opportunity of wishing you two dears the very happiest of times at Xmas with all the best fortune in the New Year. Oh how I wish I could be with you to convey these greetings in person. Still some day it will be possible & I cannot see that we need to spend another Xmas in these parts. I think we only need another summer to finish the job.Must close hurriedly now as the chap is waiting to get away & I have kept him over long already. Fondest love darlings mine & greetings to all. Ever yours, Fred.PS: Howdy Ron lad. I am ever thinking of you. Sorry I have not written toyou lately but I know you will understand. Good luck & God bless you, Dad.

30 Nov 1944 ALCAltho I am writing this now there is little prospect of my being able to mail it to you for a while, but it will serve to show you that even when circumstances preclude my sending regular letters in the usual way I continue to think of you & Ron as much as ever. I wonder if the letter I hurriedly wrote about a week ago reached you safely. I hope so as otherwise you may worry at the gap in my correspondence. By a very devious means we received a small amount of mail on Sunday last but my share consisted of an ALC dated 8/11 from Eddie but none from you & the last communication I had from you was your ALC 1/11 received at __ about a fortnight ago. Please let Eddie know that I received his letter & will reply as soon as possible. It was grand to hear from him. The receipt of this mail was a pleasant surprise as we had not expected to get mail until our job here is ended.

I do not know what to write about. To give a full account of our daily routine & activity is not advisable and so I might confine myself to very general matters. I am sure you appreciate the reasons which compel such vagueness on my part & I know you will make allowances for the lack of interest contained in this letter & perhaps in others to be written in the near future. Letter writing on active service is a difficult thing for not only has one to contend with the lack of writing facilities but just when one has something really interesting to write about we are not permitted to mention the subject for security reasons & by the time the subject is permitted to be discussed so much has happened in the interim that it seems futile to go back & write about something that has happened so much previously. In any case the details have probably become so blurred as to make writing about them somewhat difficult. I remember at the time thinking what an interesting thing if I would be able to give you describing ….with the Div in action. How I felt & acted when for the first time I came within sound of real war & then shortly after came under fire for the first time but now it all seems so distant & in some ways so much the accepted thing well I just cannot bring myself to write the impressions which altho most vivid at the time faded in a strange sort of way. Even if I tried I would do the subject extremely poorly so I leave it unsaid.Sunday 03 Dec 1944: I had just completed the above para when to our amazement we received instructions that our job had been done & we were to return to the main force. We had been functioning as a detached unit. It happened thus. The other two chaps were out on the set doing what we call the sked (the schedule) & I had remained “home” to cook the tea & whilst it was cooking was sitting on my bed writing by candlelight. By means of you will think of we were instructed to return & this of course put us into a flap & letter writing went by the board. The tale of our adventures during the past week would be an interesting one if I were free to tell it but I am not so it must wait like many other tales. However I make the following notes for future reference. Our daily duties, routine, etc. Description of our accommodation. Vino hunting. Black out. Floods. Return to __. Our farewell activities with spec ref to café, jeep tour thro town, meeting the Itie & our midnight escapade thereafter, mountains, PO, steps, etc. And so here we are once again. You will realise I cannot say where we are or discuss future possibilities. The weather has been extremely poor lately both here & where we were earlier in the week with the consequence that the ground & the roads are in a terrible mess but we are in casas so tis not so bad. But what casas! Don’t jump to false conclusions but I am living in a brothel! Vacated of course by its usual tenants & not without good reason as you would soon see could you witness the state of the building (spent 3 hours solid hard work to make our room habitable - patching holes, removing smashed furniture, cleaning up debris etc). Can you imagine it! Me actually living in a brothel & very happy to do so - in preference to living out in the open. It is quite a big place, 15 rooms & obviously it was a thriving business in this part of the town for the houses on either side were in the same line. Quite interesting to read the notices on the walls, see the general set-up etc. My education proceeds apace!Had a hot shower & change of clothing late this afternoon & now feel a new man. Tomorrow I must get busy & do my washing. My clothing is in a terrible state & I do not relish the prospect of washing it with the crude facilities available.Today received your AL of 8/11 (typed at office). Guess it must have been typed in a hurry as there were many typing errors & extended only to a page & a bit. Rather disappointed with the brevity of this letter as seemingly it was your first since the one dated 1/11. However I make allowances because of your being at work. Still I do wish you could only see the difficulties under which I write. Hell if only you could see me now!! This brings to mind a para I noted in an English paper which I picked up (to use for a purpose I dare not mention) on the journey yesterday. I quote: “Soldiers Happiness: happiness is achieved in a negative way that is more from the absence of unpleasant things rather than by the presence of pleasant things. There are two exceptions: first mail, secondly memories and hopes for the future“. - (Evening Standard 19.8.44). Note the first of the exceptions. We have plenty of adventure & make the most of our experiences but only a fool would call them pleasures in the real sense of that word. Your AL calls for no special comment. Jack H’s unit until recently formed part of this Bde but it is not so now however I will try & see him now I know his unit. Hope Ron’s party went off well. You were certainly having a crowd. Was thinking of him all day on 13 th Nov. Get AG’s sent that day? Sitting on bed in uncomfortable position, in draughty bombshell shattered room, candle lit, temp about 20F, ie 20° frost & no heater, time 10 pm.Well my dears must close now as space is exhausted. Fond love to you both. Ever yours, Fred.

06 Dec 1944 ALCSince my letter to you last Sun I have received two ALC’s from you, those of 15 th & 18th Nov 7 these I will answer first for while there is plenty else I could write about I am not permitted to say much. I cannot adequately express my delight at getting this additional mail but how about writing smaller to get more in for you cannot imagine just what your letters mean to me. Sometimes it seems that they & the anticipation of our reunion are all that keep me going. To whom did you take the negative, a good photographer would take more pains than a poor one, and how did the print turn out? It is a long time since I sent any further green envelope

letter to you dear. It is almost impossible to write that sort of letter I the field & in any case such writing requires reciprocation without which one feels one is saying something to which the other part is happy to listen but not to play. I know how you feel & your difficulty in replying in the same strain but still there it is. I just cannot do it now. Am glad my cable reached Ron on such an appropriate date. Wish I could have been at his birthday party. Have noted Aunty Gwen’s kindness in sending me a cake the receipt of which I will acknowledge in due course. Should you see her please apologise for my not writing but honestly sweetheart you cannot imagine how difficult it is to write under real active service conditions - if you could only see how I am writing this now well you would marvel that I make the attempt. Although I may not write I think of you all often. Was surprised to know that Theo is a Wing Commander. Yes you had already told me of Nan’s marriage to him and I have commented on this subject in previous correspondence. Now for your AL 18/11. It is grand to get such good reports about Ron. In a previous letter recently I noted your remarks re how pleased Dr Mackay was with his progress. Good work son dear. Keep it up for when I get back I want you fit & strong so that we may have some real good times together. Glad the parcels arrived safely. Yes the one from CC MacDonald was as you supposed. He was the chap with whom I left the money when we left Maadi. Felt sure he would send you something in good taste. What did he send & tell me frankly did you like it? You say you were thrilled but omit all description. Yes by all means use the sheet - it was sent for that purpose. The tortoise shells were trivial but I thought Ron would like to have them as novelties. Glad he liked them. They are strange creatures. Pleased to hear Clare & family are all well. I will write to her at first favourable opportunity. Sorry that Sister Howell is ill again & hope that by now she is well along the road to recovery. Gave news of Jack in last letter or was it the one before. Yes! I think you will be pleased & well like the contents of the last parcel I sent. Am anxious to know how it reaches you as packing was not as substantial as I would have liked it to be. And you are not alone in your heartaches sweetheart I can assure you - sometimes it is hell! But we can take can’t we?Have not seen Bob since receiving your ALC describing Eva’s visit. Was on that special job for a week & since coming up here have not seen him. He is camped some distance away & our paths have not crossed. We get on well & I think he knows now that he let me down & appreciates my manner of indicating that our close friendship was ended. There was no quarrel just the breaking of a close association which was unfortunate. Has Eva been up for a weekend yet?The two chaps with whom I was on the special job are really good fellows. The corporal is a bachelor aged 40 & the other aged 29 is married with 2 kiddies. Both good types & we got on very well together & had some experiences I will long remember. I am still with them (share their truck & am in the same room) but only temporarily. I am sorry we cannot stick together but that is one of the Army’s many drawbacks. No stability, moved around, split up etc all the time. The corporal tried to arrange for me to stay with him but it was not possible.Have not seen much action since rejoining the main unit and my work has mainly been of a miscellaneous nature. I have been a wireless operator, brick layer, builder, carpenter, boiler-maker & God knows what else. We have had some less pleasant moments Jerries arty having given us unwelcome attention but really nothing much. We get two doses of hate each day - one about 6 am & the other about 9 pm. Still “Ted” is getting hell & I would hate to be on his side - it must be pretty grim over there. Monday was a beautiful day & the Air Force gave him the works all day. We are about 4 miles back but even here the force of the explosions - noise & concussion - was felt in no uncertain fashion. I must not say more on this subject as I may infringe censorship requirements.On Monday I posted a surface letter to Ron containing postcards of the place where we spent our “rest”, stamps, souvenir given to me by some signarinas at F. & some newspaper extracts. In recent mail you mentioned receiving postcards of Taranto etc but do not say if Ron was interested & welcomed them. Please let me know as if he not really interested I will not waste time & money sending them. You complain of lack of items to write about but really dear you leave out of your letters much that a little thought must show you I would like to know. This is only one of many examples I could quote.The weather is far from good. We had a fine day on Mon but have seen little of the sun otherwise. Even when it does shine it moderates only slightly the extreme cold that prevails here. The time is 11 am & even now the temp must be barely above freezing point. I feel frozen & my feet are like ice blocks. It is foggy with light rain.Again it is time to draw to a close. And so dear I close yet another letter sending you & Ron loving thoughts and my best wishes. To avoid repetition I refrain from saying again how much I miss you but you know that feeling never leaves me. I pray that the days will soon pass that we may be together once more. This war is hell but it must end sometime. To Ron all the best son dear. All my love. Ever yours, Fred.Have just learned that Sigs Sect of this Bde is being reorganised somewhat & some of us will be going to Main Div Sigs from which we are attached . Have reason to believe I may move. Will let you know. Another upheaval!

Sat 09 Dec 1944 ALC No1 Coy. 2NZ Div Sigs. 2NZEF CMF.5 pm. It is quite dark already. We have just finished tea (tea at 4.30 pm here whereas it was 5 pm at 4 Bde) and having nothing better to do I am getting this written while the opportunity offers. Lately I have been in the habit of writing on Wednesdays & Sundays but I dare not wait until tomorrow as with things so unsettled just now there is no knowing what I will then be doing or even where I may be. As you will see from the above address I am back with my parent unit - Div Sigs - but the future is by no means settled & before long I expect to be again moved out to some other unit. We are remaining here until our future duties are decided upon but how long that will be & where we are likely to go I have no means of telling. Five of us left 4 Bde last Thursday morning & I understand more signals personnel may be moved later but this is merely hearsay & nothing definite is known. I was in some ways sorry to leave 4 Bde as it was a good unit to be in but in other respects I am happy to be out of it for since I was posted there I have been moved from job to job & at no time had much opportunity to settle down properly. Two of the chaps felt their posting back to Div rather keenly. They had been with the Bde for quite a long time & thus were upset at having to leave old friends & the routine they had come to know so well. It was a bit hard no doubt but unavoidable as it simply happened that as the result of a reorganisation the sets we were working were no longer required at 4 Bde & so they, the vehicles in which they were situated, & the operators, came back to Div from where we will be sent to other duties either there or elsewhere.We are still in action altho my part for the past three days has been more in the nature of a silent spectator than anything else. I have been doing miscellaneous work (fatigues) but little else to really help win the war. Still we have felt some of Ted’s nasty temper altho not really enough to worry about.Yesterday I went into to ___ to see the final of the rugby competition for the Freyberg Cup between the 22 nd Btn & Ammunition Coy. The 22nd won 4-0 after a close game in atrocious conditions, the ground being a quagmire. We went in by truck as from here it is quite some distance to the ground where the game was played. As an exhibition of football it was poor but nevertheless I do not regret going. I went with Len & Lawson the two chaps with whom I was on that special job & both of whom returned to Div with me.On Thursday just as I was leaving 4 Bde I was handed two parcels which had just come in for me. They were your parcel of toilet articles posted about June or July last & a tobacco parcel form the office. Many thanks sweetheart for sending such a welcome lot of things. It all arrived in good order except that the intense heat had melted the boot blackening which had leaked out of the tins & mixed with the contents of the Listerine the tubes of which had been crushed & punctured. The “mixture” was a solid block of black & white. The barley sugar was soft & sugary. It does not travel well in packets & unless in sealed tins is not worth sending. Even in tins it is often soft. The Pulmonas arrived in tip top order. The prev lot was just a jelly. The soap & shaving soap were ok & very welcome altho there is no shortage here. The tin of tomato soup is most acceptable & will be handy now that the weather is so cold. The Cholera drops (for which I am most grateful Molly dear) will be a handy stand by. Twice since arriving here in Italy I have had need of them. Please pass my message on. It was a good idea putting them inside a tin for it afforded protection against the rough handling to which parcels seem inevitably to be subject. Once again dear many many thanks.Yesterday I received an ALC from Eddy which I acknowledged last night at the same time asking him to thank staff for parcel. After I had posted my letter I remembered I had omitted something I intended to ask him. I was going to ask you to pass on the enquiry but on thinking the matter over this moment I see the explanation, so it is not necessary. Eddy agrees that the silly excessive grin on my face when the photo was taken rather spoils the photograph. I think so too!Thurs & Fri were somewhat milder than usual but today it has been severely cold again. We had heavy rain last night but otherwise it has been fine altho pretty much overcast for most of the day. The mud around the casa in which we are living is about a foot deep & it is impossible to go outside except wearing gumboots & believe you me this Itie mud is the usual sticky kind so much disliked by soldiers. We have to stand in it to eat our meals (not since Bari leave with Jack have I sat down to a meal & I have almost lost the art of using a knife & fork - use a spoon for everything - isn’t it awful?) [There’s a war on - Fred!] and it needs a distinct effort to “unstick” oneself after standing in one spot for a few minutes. We are spared the horror of having to sleep out in the sodden fields & are accommodated in an Itie farm house some distance forward of where I last wrote from. It is the typical farm house, two stories, the lower one accommodating the farm beasts (& at present the poor Itie & his family). I say poor Itie because even up here the smell is terrific so what it must be like down there. Still they are used to it! Plenty more to say but space is exhausted so must close. How is Ron? Cheerio son dear! To you my sweetheart goes all my love & the usual loving messages which space forbids me to express. Ever yours, Fred.

16 Dec 1944 ALCSorry that circs compelled me to miss my usual midweek letter this week but we have been right into it again this & this is the first opportunity that has offered to pen a few lines.

Last night I had a pleasant surprise in the form of your ALC 23/11. We are well forward & it was not expected that we would get mail until we got back. Yes indeed it was good to hear from you. Am afraid you are in for a sad disappointment about the parachute. It is merely a small one, 30“ diameter, of a mixed silk and cotton texture, used for flares. It is shot into the sky & lights up at about 400 ft. Ron might like it for a novelty. You will like the other contents of the parcel better. Many thanks for the digest. Will let you know as it comes to hand. Note your remarks about the delay in the local publication of news of the Div’s activities. Perhaps it is a good thing in some ways as it may result in your reading in the papers of our doings at the same time as you receive my letters in which I give as much detail as I think the censor may permit. Gee! It is grand to have such good reports of Ron. Keep it up son. When I get back you will be a strapping young chap and we will be able to have lots of fun together. Don’t worry about not saying dear. I know how difficult it is and you have done well to save enough to buy those items you have mentioned. We have enough for a good start when I get back. All we want is enough to buy a car so that we can get down in earnest to enjoying the rest of our days together without worrying too much about much else. This war has shown me that life is so trivial an affair - we see it wasted in such a terrible way - that in future I am determined to get more enjoyment from it. Work & other things can take a secondary place altho I still fully appreciate that as a member of a community I have a responsibility to do what I am able for the general good. I can only hope that the war does not harden me to the extent that I shall forsake all my ideals. I don’t think it will for I never forget that in serving a cause one must not spoil oneself for the future of that cause. Enough of that subject now for some news.Early in the am after I last wrote (I fancy I wrote last Sat evening) I received orders to proceed with a party on a special job. We left at 8 am after the usual delays, and reached here at 2 am. [pm?] taking six hours to travel about 10 miles which will give you some idea of the state of congestion on the roads and oh what roads it is a marvel that the vehicles hold together. We passed many vehicles fallen by the wayside having slipped off the mud surface into the water channel. It was raining a slight drizzle & very cold & in all was not a pleasant journey. We got straight down to work & have been at it pretty steadily ever since. For some reason I cannot account for I have found a bit of spare time this am and so here I am. I cannot tell you what we have been doing but I have found the work interesting & to my liking & will be sorry in some ways when I am posted to another section as is likely when this job is finished. Life this past week has been full of incident & excitement, perhaps rather too much so at times. Some of my experiences would have seemed an impossibility even in most imaginative dreams only a few months ago. Never worry dear I may get into some tight spots but I am never exposed to really serious risks. It is more nerve-wracking than really dangerous, & as I am not a nervy kind - take it all quite calmly & as a matter of course altho perhaps a bit jumpy at the time - there is nothing to worry about. You will know how I react better when I tell you that I behave just the same as I did in the earthquakes. How long we will be here nobody knows but the operations are going very well indeed and it should not be long before we resume a more normal roleThis past week I have lived the form of existence inevitable in the field. You would disown me if you could only see me. We are in a casa (thank God because mud is a foot deep everywhere outside) but conditions are not the best. Imagine living & working in almost midwinter in a room without windows or doors, no fire place or heating of any kind, floor almost continually mud covered for it is impossible not to tramp it inside in large quantities. Conditions are not the best but it is not so bad. We keep dry & have our meals cooked for us by Tommies who are with us. We handed our rations over to them & they feed us which saves us much time & trouble. My washing bowl consists of a Jerry helmet inverted. I did some washing in it yesterday. Not the best when one has to wash underwear sox etc. You try it using the bedroom utensil of the same size & same name! However in spite of it all (& really it is not all as bad as my remarks may lead you to think) we are well and happy.Did I mention that Arch looked me up again just before we left the place where we rested & we spent a pleasant hour or two together. He is much the same as ever but rather of a more serious nature I think. Well sweetheart it has come time to close, & in doing so I send you all my love. Yes indeed as you say as time goes along our separation is no easier. Still a few more months & Herman will have “had it” & we will be on our way home. And what happiness is in store when that happy day arrives!! Lots of love to Ron too. Good luck son. Ever yours lovingly, Fred.

20 Dec 1944 ALCHere I am again on wireless watch in the early hours of the morning (it is 2 am) but at the moment there is no traffic for me & so I am taking advantage of the opportunity to write to you.As you will see I have now been transferred from D Sec to R Sec since I last wrote. This was not unexpected for it had been indicated when I first came back to Div Sigs that I would go to D Sec for a short time only & then come here. How long for tho is a matter for conjecture and the job is so good & the environment relatively so much better than anything I have previously had I am inclined to think it will not last long as it is not usual for me to land in this sort of job. I am

back much further than when I last wrote & the sounds of war seem rather distant after my recent experiences. Our only excitement is the occasional “inner” but they are well away from our area so that even they leave us without worry. The peaceful atmosphere hereabouts is quite strange. We are nicely “jacked up” in a good casa & the accommodation is truly luxurious for these parts - no holes in roof or walls; we have been able to install a fire; there are doors & windows which do serve the purpose for which they were intended; we have also been able to install beds to avoid sleeping on the floor; there is good EL (run off our wireless batteries) & generally things are pretty good, altho I don’t doubt that could you see us you would rather marvel that men do live in such conditions for believe me it is nothing like home. Ours is the best room in the house the others have all been damaged by shell-fire some very badly. As Itie houses go this one was a good standard & much superior to those I was in during my last days with 4 Bde. This was quite a good residential area on the outskirts of the town but it will be some time yet before it resumes its normal status. Much damage requires repair & until the army moves on the Ities are not disposed to do the necessary repairs & cleaning up. I am in the room with 3 others two of whom I am well acquainted & know to be really good fellows. The other chap I also know - he was 2 nd/11ths - but he is not so good, an impression shared by nearly all our crowd. However with 3 to 1 majority we can keep him in control. I arrived down from D Sec at 11 am today, no, yesterday of course & quickly settled into my new temporary abode. After lunch went for a badly needed hot shower following which I had a change of clothing for the first time for a week after living in filthy conditions. And believe me did I feel good afterwards. About 2 pm I strolled up into the city of ___ which is slowly resuming its usual role as the war passes - & there had a hair cut at the Church of Scotland Services Club. Before we left we had a cup of tea meanwhile listening to an Italian orchestra which rendered some good music. A stroll around to see the effect of some bombing which we had witnessed from beyond the city a week previously & then back for tea. After tea we sat around the fire yarning until 10 pm when we all went to bed. I was roused at 1 am & here I am until 5 am when to bed again I shall go. Of my doings since Sunday I can say little except to mention that they were full of event. (I make the following notes for future ref: Tac into town to deliver letter to __, water cart, school, midnight meeting with 13th lads, impressions of F.) The weather has behaved pretty well the past day or two. They have been grey days & we have seen nothing of the sun which has been obscured by a grey mist but it has not rained. It has been very cold as usual but for some reason I cannot explain it is not particularly cold at present. Strange because it is usually freezing at this hour in the morning. It is quite cold enough though sitting here in the unheated truck. There is mail trying to catch up with me so I will leave the rest of the space to add a line after I get it. Will now get busy & clear some work which has come in while I have been writing. Not much but enough to keep me going until 5 am. Atmospheric conditions are so poor so it will take a while to get it thru. Wed. 20/12, 4 pm. Delighted to receive Ron’s ALC, undated; yours 28/11; also cable (Xmas) of 4/12. Many many thanks. St. Marks plan excellent, hope it can be arranged. Sorry Eric called up again but doubt if he will have to go overseas. All my love darlings mine, Fred.

21 Dec 1944 AGDearest Ron, I was delighted to receive your letter written at the end of November which reached me two days ago. Next time you must try writing in ink as the pencil is a bit hard to read or else use a softer pencil. Also you must try & avoid spelling mistakes, the use of the same word too often and to put capital letters where needed. Your effort was quite good and I can assure you very much appreciated. In her letters Mum tells me you are growing up quickly and regaining your strength rapidly. That is fine. When I get back you will be a big strong lad & we will be able to have some grand times together. You seem to be doing well with your woodwork at which you appear to be quite adept. It is an excellent hobby & likely to serve you well in later life so keep it up son. Your stamp collection sounds to be growing. I will send further stamps but they are hard to get and we are rarely in places where they are sold so please excuse me if I do not send many. I wish we were permitted to send you some of the equipment lying around after being abandoned by Herman the German - tin helmets, rifles, gas-masks, mess gear, containers of all sorts, and lots of other stuff. I know you would like it for souvenirs & lately I have had the opportunity to pick up plenty but we are not allowed so it cannot be done. Hope Mum has been able to arrange for you to go to St. Mark’s School which I am sure you will like if you go there. I went to College near there. Lots & lots of love & every best wish. Your ever loving, Dad.My thoughts are with you & Mum on Monday [Xmas Day] take good care of her.

21 Dec 1944 ALCMy Darling Ri, it is a long time since I have had such a letter writing session as I have had tonight. I got busy after tea and up till 9 pm when my shift started I managed to complete five AG’s (Clare, Molly, Doreen, Bel Patton & Ron) which is pretty good. However it is much better here and perhaps in the future I may find it more possible to write to others as well as to you. There is an excellent light in our wireless truck up until 10 pm & at

present plenty of room on a/c of the Orderly Room staff, with whom we share the truck, being established in the adjacent casa. Unfortunately it is not always so. Received a lovely lot of mail this evening - 2 cables & 3 AG’s (cables Clare & Molly, AG’s Belle, Doreen & Edie) & in case we move which seems likely thought I had better get busy right away. Tis good to catch up on it. Find it much more pleasant back here & relatively extremely quiet. Since I wrote last, two days ago I think, I have had yet another change having been moved onto another job but it is equally good & in some ways better than where I was before so I am not complaining. I am on the set which maintains communications from the ADMS at Rear Div to the forward Field Ambulance Stns & CC Stns. It is one of the best jobs in the Div & I am very lucky to land it. Hope it lasts. You need not have any worries while I am here. The two chaps with whom I am working are grand fellows & everything is fine & dandy.Weather still very cold & we have not seen the sun for several days, but there has been no rain for about four days & so the mud and slush is better than for quite a while. If I am to be here for another winter (which God forbid) please send me another scarf. Left my old one in Base kit (like many other things I could now do with) hoping I might get another from Patriotic sources before the winter but no luck so far. I miss it badly but it serves me right. Even had you sent Dick’s it would not have got here in time. Parcels take a long time en route.By the way will you please include another bottle of Cholera drops in your next parcel - see remarks in AG to Molly. It seems likely to become popular.Have had a good day today. Was on duty from 8 am to noon when I had lunch after which I washed the clothing worn up to time of my shower & was it filthy altho only worn a few days. Completed this job by 1.30 (it could do with being done again but maleesh) when Ray Foster called & to ask me to go to the pictures which we did. Anne Sheridan & Errol Flynn in “These Dark Ages” (I think that was the title) but it was a poor show however I enjoyed the change & relaxation. We got back here by 4.30 (town is only a short distance away) in time for tea since when you know what I have been doing.Much enjoyed getting Ron’s letter the other day. Perhaps I am wrong but I doubt whether it shows any marked improvement over his previous one some time ago. Quite a few spelling errors (he must take after me!) & composition of sentences not particularly good. I fully appreciate his effort & you must not acquaint him with these remarks. I think your plan to send him to St. Marks a good one in every way & I hope it can be arranged. The cost can be met out of the money I left with you. It is little enough even if it did matter which it does not. The money is there for just this purpose - for you & Ron as you require.Sorry to learn Jack & Herbie have landed in hospital altho perhaps it is a good thing in some ways for they are well out of it for a while especially in this weather. The PBI have my sympathy AND MY ADMIRATION! It is surprising the chaps who have cracked up over here while I who so many thought unfit for active service keep going in good fettle except for my usual number of colds & minor ailments. Yes I well remember the disbelief of many when I passed Grade I (hell was I at that time?) & the remarks that I would not stand up to it if I ever got here. Well the critics stand confounded. No dear in spite of all I still feel I did the right thing & believe me that takes some saying in the light of experiences since 31/3/44.Will be thinking of you all day on Xmas Day next Monday dear wondering what you are doing etc. expect you will go out to T. Yes sweetheart I miss you too terribly much so but well, breaking ones heart about it does no good so what? Still it takes a lot of self-control & sometimes I wonder whether this restraint on oneself will leave its mark later. Look after yourself darling. With loving thoughts & always thinking of you. Ever yours, Fred.

Xmas Day 1944 ALCHere it is Xmas Day and I thought I would write these few lines to let you see that altho I am not with you in person my thoughts are very much with you & Ron. I am wondering what you are doing & what sort of a day you are having. A very happy one I trust. Probably you are out with the good folk at Trentham & I can only express the hope that they too have a happy time. I am thinking of you all & living again the routine there which I know so well.Ron, what did Father Xmas bring you? I am deeply sorry I was unable to send you a gift. I tried hard to get something to send you but it was impossible. However you may rest assured that at the first opportunity I will remedy the default.On Sat I received your ALC 4/12 & also Olie’s AG of same date, and yesterday I received the parcel (cake, hankies, chocolate, PK’s & Pulmonas) despatched 21/8/44. Many many thanks sweetheart but you should not go to the expense of sending these things. I am not sure but fancy I recollect you saying that the cake was from Ma. If so please convey to her my grateful thanks. You could not have timed its arrival better for it reached me Xmas eve. It is delicious!! Cakes are one of the most acceptable parcels to receive of that there can be no doubt. We can get along without tinned stuff but cakes go so well with morning & afternoon tea and supper & are so different from the usual army fare. Yes they sure are good! I found your AL 4/12 very welcome indeed & it was

far more newsy and contained much more than the ones received a while back. Thanks dear! I sometimes wonder if you can really know just what your letters mean to me. They are all that makes life worthwhile these days when we cannot see & speak to each other.Last Saturday morning it began to snow & thro’out the day there was a light fall which continued thro’out the night. By Sunday am (yesterday) the whole ground was covered to a depth of about 6 inches & it is still the same now. It looks very pretty, but feels much otherwise, with all the ground white, roofs snow covered & similarly the tops of the transport densely parked around the streets. Indeed a white Xmas! Just like you see it so often depicted in Xmas pictures. It is beginning to thaw now & so of course the roads which the trucks, jeeps, etc churn up are in a terrible mess. Mud & slush well over boot tops. I am thankful for a pair of gumboots which I have managed to get. You cannot know the intensity of the cold, it is agonising. At least I find it so altho it does not trouble others quite so much. Thank heavens we are in houses!I spent a very happy Xmas eve. Was working from noon until 6 pm & after I finished here I went over to the casa where I was when I first cam to R Sec. Ray Foster, Laurie Berg, Ray Andrell & Lorrie Waite (who took my place) are living there. It is only about 100 yds away but it is a real adventure getting there thro the mud. There we had a wild party with much vino. It was a men only affair & just as well for the songs we sung & the yarns we told were fit for no lady’s ear! Yes! It was really a wild party & we had a grand time. There were others there beside the ones I have named. Ray does not drink & so he was sober enough to prepare supper at 10 pm. We had oyster patties (tinned oysters fried up in batter), tinned fruit, sardines on toast & most of my cake (had to cut about 4 inches out if centre because it had gone mouldy) so you can see we did ourselves proud. After supper more vino. Oh what a night! Laurie was “out the monk” (a Div saying generally meaning finished, has “had it” etc) by 10.30 & others soon followed. Ray was in a bad way but insisted on seeing me home. I was really not that bad but he insisted. Back at our casa we fell into more bad company & so had to drink more vino. It finished up I had to see Ray back to his casa & put him to bed. Incidentally after I left him he was terribly sick & when I saw him about 11pm today he was busy washing his blankets & trying to get them dry by the fire. I successfully made the return journey thru the mud & so to bed to which I was pleased to go altho really I was not by any means “out the monk”.This morning dawned sunny - the first time we have seen the sun for some days - but still very cold. Breakfast as usual & then distribution of Patriotic gifts comprising eight (!!!!) one pint bottles of beer per man (Canadian beer & good) 50 cigarettes, & a parcel. Mine contained small cake, tin pears, tin sweets, tin coffee & milk, tin oysters & cake Lifebouy soap. All much appreciated. There is no doubt the PFB do good work. Filled in the am with social calls to wish friends a Merry Xmas. And so to the feast, at midday. The cooks had done a marvellous job & the menu reads like a fairy tale. We were served with roast turkey, roast pork, seasoning, apple sauce, baked & boiled potatoes, cabbage & cauliflower and desert comprised Xmas pudding. It was a grand meal & much enjoyed. It was served by the officers in the traditional way but unfortunately it was not possible to have a sit down meal owing to lack of suitable accommodation & after being served we either had to stand around the cookhouse & eat our meal or retire to our truck or casa. It was so cold most of us did the latter & this meant the loss of the convivial atmosphere which should normally attach to the meal. After dinner I came on duty & here I am until 6pm when I again propose to visit Ray & co. Hope night is not as hectic as was last night.We have not been without our periods of excitement & amongst his other pranks Herman has given us two air raids - more in form of nuisance raids than anything else but still not to be taken lightly. He gets a hot reception from ack-ack but I have yet to see an enemy plane brought down by AA fire in spite of its great intensity. Have experienced several raids, some not so good, since being with the Div, but still Herman gives only a minute fraction of what we give him. Relatively speaking we possess complete air superiority.ERS means Education & Rehabilitation Service. Same as AEWS. Latter name abolished in ME, & ERS substituted. Have had no time lately to do much swat on my course.Glad your glasses enable you to see so much better & hope you are now used to the new lenses. You should not have worried about the expense (I left money with you for such contingencies) & if you preferred rimless you should have got them. However it seems the ones you got do suit you. Fondest love darling. Yours for ever, Fred.26 Dec 1944 ALCYou will be surprised to receive this so soon after the ALC written only yesterday but there was insufficient space therein to reply to your AL of 4/12 so I intend t use this mainly to answer that. At the same time I will answer some points in prev mail which I overlooked or had insufficient space at the time of original reply.Your AL 8/11/44. How did you enjoy the 3 pictures you went to see at Symonds Hall? Saw the Russian War picture myself. Pretty grim in places but it gives a good idea of the horrors of war. We see a lot of that sort of thing here.Your AL 15/11. How did the prints form the negative turn out? With touching up by a tradesman it may have looked better. I presume you received our (Jack’s to Jen, mine to you) surface letters giving a full a/c of our 3

days leave in Bari during which we did the trip to Naples. What did you think of our adventures?Your AL 23/11. Yes I knew Jack Shadbolt RNZVR quite well. Sorry to learn of his death. He was a good footballer & an even better cricketer. I don’t think you knew him. In fact I am sure of it altho you may have heard of him.Your AL 28/11. Sorry to learn of the trouble Mr Harris got into. How did he get on in court? Our neighbours seem to be a bit unfortunate lot in this way.Your AL 4/12. Sorry to learn that the old bridge game at T has had to come down to playing 3 handed bridge. Rather sad. Never mind I will be back one day soon I hope t complete the four again. Pop still as lucky as ever with the blind hand? Most unfortunate that Ma’s foot is not doing too well & I hope that by the time you get this it has shown a vast improvement. It seems you are getting some good work in in the garden & I hope your crops turn out well. Will tell you all about my experiences in Rome some other time. No I did not mention it in any surface letter of which I write very few indeed these days. It was really nothing much - just that I got somewhat inebriated! It happened on our trip up from Adv Base. We stopped several hours at R & I partook too freely of the local vintage.Will be pleased to receive the snaps when you can get the films. I understand your difficulty dear but had not realised that Clare’s supply had been so drastically reduced.You say that both Molly & Mrs Wylde had sent cables. None from Mrs W received so far.Yes indeed Xmas apart is not the happy occasion it might otherwise be but never worry dear we will make up for it later. And don’t worry you may be the first to kiss me in New Year yet - hope so. Have not been kissed since yours on T station 31/3. Have not spoken in English to a woman for months. In fact I fear I will have forgotten how to conduct myself in ladies presence by the time I get back. That remark is not facetious in any way. It contains more truth than you at home can realise.I note that you have sent another parcel. Please dear don’t go to the expense of sending parcels frequently. We can get almost anything at the canteens now - honey, jam, tinned meat, oysters, soap, tobacco, in fact everything we need & I have plenty of credit (now about £28). All I need is a cake or biscuits to repay the kindness of those who give me the privilege of sharing their cakes etc. Don’t pass this onto the office. Let them send what they like. Many many thanks for what you have sent.Now for a matter I have wanted to bring up for quite a while. I know you are well but we both and you as a woman especially are at an age when it becomes more necessary to watch our state of health and so I am going to suggest that you should go to the Dr at regular intervals for periodical check up. you may say that as you feel so well it is quite unnecessary & needless trouble & expense. Not so by any means as careful thought should show you. The onset of disease can be unsuspected & unnoticed especially some forms of dangerous diseases. And if you do suspect something to be wrong well you owe it to me who cannot be there to watch you to go immediately to the Dr however much you may fear his verdict & remedy. In any event it would be a great source of comfort to me to know that you are under constant medical observation. So please give the matter your earnest consideration.This morning dawned brilliant fine & it continues so now at 11.20am. I am on duty from 8-12.30 & have passed all accumulated traffic & am now just calling the stations each hour to ensure they are ok. It is grand to get this sort of weather again after the many recent dull cold days. It is very cold after a very hard frost - the ground is frozen hard & for once one can walk on the roads without going deep into mud & slush. Such sunshine cheers us up a lot.Last night the boys in our casa organised a Xmas party for the youngsters living with us. We put on a grand spread for them - something they have not seen for years poor blighters - we got some bread from the cooks & made bully beef (much liked by the Ities) sandwiches, fruit salad from our tinned fruit, cream (tinned), sweets, (boiled & barley sugar & chocolate), nuts, oranges, & of course Xmas cake. The parents joined in and enjoyed themselves just as much as the children & that is saying a lot believe me. We managed to make up some toys & these we gave to the youngsters - the first they had seen for many a day.There were 7 children & 6 adults. They all had a wonderful time & their delight was really touching. In all a good show. Incidentally these people are Fascists - should I say were? - so we are told. Again left with no space for fond farewell. All my love dearest, Fred.After the Xmas party at 8.15pm went over to Ray’s place but they were all in bed (having given me up) and it seems rather feeling the effects of our Xmas eve party. So I spent the rest of the evening with other friends. Had a nice time & so to bed at about 11pm. If you see Eddie tell him he didn’t explain how NCK’s position became vacant. This was the matter I started to mention in a previous letter but crossed out thinking I saw the explanation. Refer back 2 or 3 AL’s.

Saturday 30 Dec 1944 ALCSince I last wrote the following mail has come to hand, Mrs Wylde’s cable 5/12, your ALC’s 5/12 & 9/12, yours

& Ron’s Xmas AG of 10/12, and an AG from Uncle Jim. This all came to hand on 27/12. A red letter day indeed! Please thank Mrs W for me. I am sorry I doubt if I will be able to find time to write personally to thank her but no doubt she will understand & make allowances accordingly. Many thanks to you & Ron for your Xmas AG. Yes my dears I hope we never again have to see another Xmas go by with us not together for the occasion. I miss you as much as ever too & only by keeping a firm hold on myself am I able to carry on without being overcome by self pity. It is hard but one must always realise there are many others in the same position & if they can do it so can we. Still at times that awful feeling of loneliness is hard to throw off. However all in good time, tho it seems ever so slow in passing, it will be over & we will be together again. Oh what a happy thought! And perhaps our love & mutual respect may be greater (I doubt whether it is possible tho) for what we have been through.Ron, I have some good stamps for you & these I will send on in due course. There are 80 of them so unless you do happen to have most of them they will add to your collection quite a bit. The other day I saw a set (yes there are 6 to the set) of the Hitler-Mussolini stamps you wanted but they were unused (no postmark) & the chap who had the them wanted 150lire (7/6) for the set which was far too dear so I let them go. Heard a story about these stamps which may interest you. Here it is: these stamps were most difficult to stick on letters etc & after a while protests were made to the PO which replied that the gum on the back had been tested & found ok but people would have to realise that to use them they should spit on the backs of the stamps.Your AL’s do not call for much comment except as follows, the smaller writing & greater volume of news is very welcome. Sorry that your plan to send Ron to St. Marks could not be followed but your new ideas seem just as good - perhaps better in that they avoid long travelling each day. Sorry about Ron’s cold & hope he is quite over it by now. Does he show a tendency to colds? Maybe he takes after me in this respect. Hope not. And so Bould St resumes a normal respectability once more! Your weather certainly is unseasonal. I trust that it is better now. After so much bad weather in late spring & early summer you will have an unusually good spell after Xmas. Yes I well remember last Xmas when we were together. The thoughts of those days are very fresh in my memory. Yes Herbie is lucky to be going home. But I would rather wait & go back really well. Or would I? After working all night from 10pm on Tuesday to 8am on Wednesday I had all Wednesday off until 9.30pm. It was a beautiful day so I went with a DR up to __ where is situated the ADS (Advanced Dressing Station) of the 6 Fd Amb. I thought Jack C was still there but found he was now at their MDS (Main) which is here in __. We returned here for lunch frozen stiff. Riding in a jeep these frosty days no fun. I exchanged duty with Doc (one of the chaps here - a good fellow too) & worked from 12 noon till 6.30 when after tea I went & looked up Jack. Found him feeling pretty blue for he had only 5 mins before been told that he will have to go to hospital for an operation. Don’t say anything to anybody about this. He has the same trouble as I had - bleeding piles & the Dr advises immediate op. The situation called for drastic action so I brought him back to our place where we picked up some liquor & then over to Ray Foster’s casa where we held a party. Having exhausted our supply by 9pm, by which time we were fairly merry & Jack feeling tired after a busy day he decided he would go home & I thought I would like to walk back with him. Unfortunately we ran into another party at his place into which we were invited & somewhat foolishly accepted altho we really had no option. Much drinking, singing, yarning, etc (of course I got onto my old favourite “International Politics”) & we finished up pretty merry. Arrived home at 11.30 & was pleased to get to bed. Nearly run in by a town provo on my way back for being out after curfew which is 9pm. Went pretty close to spoiling my record but can still claim that except for Rome episode I have not been drunk since I left you. Am convinced now I can hold my own with the best. It was a good evening & for a short while was able to forget my sorrows & I think I helped Jack to forget his. He should be on his way home soon after he comes out from hospital. Doubt if I shall see him again - worst luck. If you see him in NZ remind him of our party.Have had some nice days lately. Bright & sunny after hard frosts. Snow has nearly all gone now but it is still terribly cold.Yesterday am had a hot shower & in the pm did my washing. I absolutely hate the latter job. No facilities & however hard one tries ones clothing seems never to come out nicely clean. Worked from 4.30pm until 10.30pm.This morning I messed around generally rearranging my kit, remaking bed, etc. Started work at 2pm & finish at 10pm in ½ hours time. The Kiwi CP arrived here yesterday. Jack with them. Looked him up this am & we have just spent a pleasant evening together. He came & sat here with me after tea at about 6.30pm & in between calls we chatted. He has to give up cooking (Jen will tell you why) & probably will return to Div Sigs shortly. He looks well after his spell in hospital but his job is disagreeing with him. Hope to see the Kiwi CP show sometime tomorrow. Jack says it is pretty good.By the way, Ma’s parcel arrived early this week & I have sent her an AG thanking her. So the cake was from you. Ma’s cake & shortbread delicious & very popular with all hands, biscuits especially.

Well my sweetheart I must close now. You know the loving thoughts that go with this & all my letters. I do love you dear so much that it hurts & just live for the day when I can really let you see & feel how true are these words. All my love dear & to Ron too. Fred.

02 Jan 1945 ALCIn this my first letter of the New Year I commence by wishing you and Ron the very best of good fortune and good health. May we always have reason to remember the year 1945 as the year of our reunion. The very best sweethearts mine. I look forward to our greeting the next New Year in together as has been our usual custom for the past many years. There is no dearth of news but whether space permits my giving it all remains to be seen.I fancy my last letter to you was dated 28 th Dec so I take up the story from there. I was on duty from noon until 10pm & so did nothing of importance after finishing my letter. In fact I rather think I finished your letter during the last hour or so of my shift.Friday morning I was off & I spent the time just messing about. Did not get up until 9am as I felt pretty tired & the rest of the morning I spent cleaning up our room & generally tidying up my things. On shift at noon & there until 10pm again. Jack came in & we had a good yarn together.On Saturday I changed shifts with “Doc” & took over at 8am doing the shift lasting until 12.30. In the afternoon I went over to see some cobbers with whom I stayed until tea time. After tea went down & talked Jack into going to the pictures. He had not been feeling too well & I thought an outing would do him good. We went to see Leslie Howard in “49th Parallel”. altho LH takes only a small part in the picture it is quite well done & we both enjoyed it. Usually these theatres in areas as far forward as this are only makeshift affairs with projectors insufficiently powerful to penetrate the thick smoke (smoking is permitted in almost all theatres here & it was the same in Cairo) & with only poor sounds stems from which one has the greatest difficulty in following the dialogue. On Sat the sound system was excellent & the screening for the most part really good. A welcome change after having other shows spoilt from causes mentioned. The show finished at about 8pm & we went to the Church of Scotland canteen for supper but it was so crowded there we did not wait but came on back here & obtained a billy of tea from the nearby YM. This we took back to our truck where we sat & had supper. There were 5 of us )Jack F, Doc Jennings, Jack Blythe, Bill Lasky & self) & we got into Ma’s cakes with serious consequences thereto. They have been very popular all remarking on how nice they were. We sat & yarned till about 9.30pm & then to bed.On Sunday I was on the pm shift from 12.30 till 6.30pm but I also did most of the morning shift to let Doc away to church. This being New Year’s Eve saw the taps flowing pretty freely & everyone that came into the set in the afternoon had a bottle or glass with them & insisted that I should share a toast with them & so even by tea time I was pretty merry. Jack came in about 7pm & in accord with arrangements prev made we went over to what I have come to term Ray Foster’s casa. There it was just an orgy. We yarned, argued, sang etc & of course drank steadily until midnight when only by a miracle were most of us still on our feet. At 9pm I realised we would have to slow up for two reasons (1) our supply would run out (2) we would “go out” before the New Year arrived so I suggested we should get cracking on supper & this met with general approval. And so Jack got busy on the oyster patties etc. This was just nicely under way & we were settling down nicely when three chaps from the 4 Armd Bde came in. They were off on six days leave to Florence next day & had just arrived here from __ so as to get the leave truck early next am. Incidentally this was the leave party I was to have gone to Rome with & so had I stayed at 4 Bde I would have been going on leave too. I think I told you about our leave being cancelled at the last min consequent on our returning for action. They had ascertained my whereabouts & had looked me up to wish me seasonal greetings. Good fellows. They were Sigs & so already knew most of our crowd. Unfortunately they brought with them a good supply of vino. There is an abandoned factory at __ from which an unlimited supply is available in fact one has to wade in gum boots thro about a foot of spilled vino to get to the casks. You just walk in & help yourself. Jerry got out in such haste he did not have time to wreck the place & so plenty of good cheer has been available for recent celebrations. And so after supper away we went again. God knows how any of us were on our feet at midnight but most of us were. Sang Auld Lang Sigm, For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow etc wished everyone all round a Happy New Year & then set out for home. Outside even at ¼ past 12 hell was still a-popping & the air was filled with the noises of all kinds but mainly with the noise of small arms fire. There were rifles, pistols, tommy guns, spandaus, & God knows what else going off everywhere. The boys were sure in high spirits. Some of the incidents I have heard of were really funny such as Maori leading the Band thro the City firing his revolver into the air continuously. He must have fired 100’s of rounds. Hell! Was I merry? I remember thinking of the golden rule under fire - keep down - & for part of the distance between Ray’s & our own casa I crawled on the road. It was too hard on hands & knees so I soon gave it up & ran. See I wasn’t so silly really. No didn’t get dirty at all. Mud & roadway was frozen hard. Unfortunately I ran into more celebrations here & did not get to bed until after 1am. Disgraced myself by being sick in my bed (I did not know anything about it until I awoke, or was it regained consciousness, in the

morning). I have often wondered what a bad hangover feels like. Now I know. Hell it’s awful! Felt so bad that I could not get up until 10am & then only by a supreme effort. Spent a busy two hours cleaning up the mess, washing etc & then on duty at 12.30. So much for my NY celebrations. Pretty disgusting isn’t it? Still there you are. What lengths we go to to forget the war & our sorrows for a while. And to think that only in my last letter I boasted of my ability to take it. Safely over the Xmas & NY celebrations I must now set about rehabilitating myself. Saw Jack last night, & we both agreed that an early night was called for (he too had a bad hangover) & I was in bed by 7pm. Still lots I would like to write about but space is exhausted. All my love my dearest. God bless you & keep you safe, Fred.

02 Jan 1945 ALCTwo ALC’s in one day, not bad eh! I wrote you earlier today, this morning in fact & was intending this afternoon to go out but it has become necessary for me to do Doc’s shift this afternoon. He went out this am & is not back yet so here I am. No doubt he will do the evening shift for me. Now for some points which lack of space compelled me to omit from my earlier letter & then to answer your ALC’s.Have not seen Jack Clendon again so presume he has been evacuated to hospital. When we parted it wqs arranged that he would look me up if he did not go out next day. By the way he had become very unsettled as the result of his service over here & like myself doubts whether he will ever quite settle down properly again. I know Ev hopes he will ask her to marry him soon after he gets back & I am wondering if she may not be disappointed for I can see that J does not altogether relish the idea of taking on matrimonial obligations. Even if Ev’s wishes do come true I fear they may face great difficulties for a while. You can have no idea how being in the war unsettles a man’s soul. You have to go thro it to find out. I wonder sweetheart how you will find me when I get back. Much changed no doubt & for the worse I fear. However I guess we will solve the problem in due course.Saw the Kiwi CP show the other afternoon. Quite up to its usual high standard & very much enjoyed their performance. Good clean entertainment with some of the performers most outstanding. Some think it their best yet but I don’t agree. Their show as we saw it at Adv Base some months ago I think was better.The snow the other day did not come to much & was only a light sprinkling barely laying on the ground. During the earlier fall we as you might have guessed altho I omitted to mention it in my letter had the usual fun snow balling each other. Some really tough battles ensued & one occasion I got one right on the back of the neck with the result snow went right down inside my clothing. None too pleasant for a time. Still I scored some good hits too.Please refer to my AL 24/10 & observe ref to rumours therein. Similar rumours are circulating again. I wonder what does it portend.Now for a word about the gang here. The detachment is under the control of a corporal & his name is Jack Blythe. A very decent chap altho inclined to lose his temper quickly and rage a bit precipitately (termed “do his scone” in the army). However he repents quickly & his other good qualities make up for this defect. He is a 6 th

Reinforcement & has been overseas over 3½ years so should be on his way home any time now. Then there is Jock Jennings, “Doc”, he is next. He is a very fine chap & I like him immensely. Good natured, obliging & generally most likeable fellow. Incidentally he is a Plymouth Brethren & so holds religious views which to me are a bit extreme. However while a very good living fellow he does not go so far as to cut himself off from all pleasures & he often goes to pictures, concert shows (pretty broad jokes go across at some of these especially ENSA shows & Doc is horrified bu the goes nevertheless). He does not hold such extreme views as some PB & this may be gauged from the fact he is a 1 st Echelon volunteer who willingly came back on expiry of furlough. He too will be going home with the next lot (5ths) & so our happy associations here seem only likely to be of short duration worst luck as we get on well together. Too often the case in the army. No stability in any way. The 4th member of our team is Sam our driver but we see little of him. I am very happy here & find the job to my liking in every way. Actually it is very quiet in comparison with life in more forward areas & at first I felt rather strange for back here in Rear Sec one is so far as to be out of the battle. Why lately we have not even had the occasional inner to make us realise there is a war on & Jerry seems to have given up raiding us by air. They were only small nuisance raids anyway. Yes I fear I have landed a “bludgers” job. Still we are doing an essential service & as an “old man” (poor salve for my conscience) perhaps I am better here. At all events it is infinitely more pleasant even if rather less exciting than other jobs I have had.Now for your letters while space is available. AL 12/12. Please give Joan & Lou my congrats on the birth of their daughter. Would like to write but can’t find time. Write too many to you eh? Yes your new form of writing each day is much better. No doubt Xmas shopping is a difficult problem. Hope Molly is over her sun burn. Gee that word sunburn makes me jealous. It is hellish cold here now - in mornings I wash in water from which I must lift ½ inch of ice to get down to the water! That is absolutely true. Hope the snaps are not too long getting here. While Ron may be always talking about me I am always thinking about him. Wish I had someone

I could talk to the way he talks to you. You can’t say those things to fellow soldiers.AL 13/12. Those loving sentimental words in this letter most welcome. More please. Letter was not opened by censor. Yes as time goes on the separation does seem harder & I feel it as much or more than ever too dear. Oh for a good old tickle & a good ___!! Hell sweetheart how I wish it were possible. You seem in the rough as regards weather. I will speak over the air should I ever get the chance but don’t expect to be so lucky. Hope you managed to throw off your cold. It sounded to be a rather severe one. Damn still short of space. All my love, Fred. PS: Many thanks for yours & Ron’s joint Xmas AG also received two or three days ago. A week ago I posted you a copy of the Xmas issue of the NZEF Times with some comments on a cartoon therein. Hope you find bot paper & comments of some interest. Please acknowledge its receipt.

03 Jan 1945 LetterI am sending the stamps to Ron enclosed in a green envelope & so thought I would pen these few lines just not to disappoint you for when you see the GE you would expect another of these sentimental epistles of mine. And in any case I find some sort of encouragement to write this sort of letter again in your most recent AL wherein you reciprocate some of my feelings. Your mention of having me for a while “just to give you a good old tickle & you to give me a good old __ “ provokes a ready response in my being for I can well interpret your meaning even altho the last word is incomplete. Hell girl! Your wishes are my wishes & your thoughts are my thoughts. How I wish they could be made to come true. Just to hold you close for a while & prove the extent of my feelings for you. Yes there would be more than kisses I would give you my all just as I have so many times before. And maybe when I do get back I may find you more responsive than so often before. You know dear after years of abstinence & continual restraint I may need you to play the coaxing part for I wonder whether these causes and advancing years will leave me the passionate lover as in the past. Still I guess your charms will be as enticing to me as ever so we won’t worry, but you must be prepared to find me somewhat changed as the result of experiences I am now passing through.Am afraid I am really not in the right mood to write this sort of letter - weather too cold probably - but they may serve to let you see that I love you just as much as ever and am living only for the day when we can get together again & go on living only in our old happy way.In the meantime I must be content with happy memories of the past and keen anticipation of the future. And sweetheart with a loving embrace lots & lots of kisses holding you so close that you may know what else is on my mind - oh! You are willing - well let’s ---- gee it was lovely to find you so responsive! But I wish now that I had waited for you to fetch that little article from the bathroom. That old feeling of remorse you know so well.All my love sweetheart & you know the deep meaning conveyed in those words. Ever yours, Fred.

06 Jan 1945 ALCAltho I am starting this letter now I doubt whether I shall finish it in the one session as it promises to be a fairly busy morning and I expect to have numerous interruptions. As you will gather I am on the morning shift from 8am until 12.30 or 1pm. It is a miserable wet morning dull & cold & not the sort of day on which one could do very much even if not on duty. Have had no mail since I last wrote but understand there is a mail due in today so here’s hoping. By the way on Thursday 4th Jan I posted to you a green envelope letter also containing the stamps for Ron. I had found some slight encouragement in your last AL (“now for a tickle and a good old _”) to again write this sort of letter. It was only a brief one but then so were your remarks! Am very well myself and hope you and Ron are the same. By now you should be getting finer weather & I can just imagine you making the best of it. Wish I could be with you to share your enjoyment of it. Those lovely warm sunny days when one could go about lightly dressed without feeling the cold. I have very happy recollections of those lovely summer days and evenings.I was working on the morning shift last Wednesday. In the afternoon I had a hot shower and afterwards did my washing. It was a glorious day after a hard morning frost.Thursday dawned another perfect day & altho the morning was very cold from another severe frost I was up punctually at 7 and soon after breakfast at 8am had done all essential jobs. I was not on duty until the evening so had the day free & so decided to get out & about a bit, do a little of the old hitch hiking game. I was out on the road by 9am & soon picked up a truck going in the direction I had decided upon. But unfortunately I struck a fool of a driver a pommy or pongo as they are now termed & he took me miles out of the correct route with the result that I took 2½ hours to do a distance which should normally have taken only about an hour. He put me down at a spot where he said I should easily get a lift for the rest of the way but it turned out that this route is so out of way that it is little used. After waiting for ¼ hour without anything turning up I set out to walk & I walked about 4 miles before anything showed up. This, an officer in a jeep, was not going to Ravenna but he picked me up and took me to a point where I secured a lift for the rest of the way. Incidentally to do this we had to go right up into forward infantry positions, hence the little use of the road I was on, & then back again to the

main road. And so I reached Ravenna at 11.30am & for the next 3 hours I spent a busy time looking around this historic city. In the limited space here available I cannot give a full account but I visited the renowned San Vitalic Church (built 550AD) which is wonderfully preserved in spite of its 1400 odd years. Not particularly imposing from the outside but an architectural & artistic masterpiece inside. The mosaic work is marvellous. Then to a mausoleum (which building by the way formed part of one of the earliest Christian churches in N Italy being built about 400AD) nearby in which are buried the Empress …. forget her name but she was one of the Roman Empresses, & her son & daughter. This building formed part of the original church which was pulled down when S V Church was built. It adjoins S V Church. The inside of this building is decorated with the most marvellous mosaic work, carved marble etc & altogether it is a most impressive place. The huge stone coffins stand on the floor & are not buried in the usual way. Charlemagne when he conquered N Italy was so impressed with the grandeur of S V Church that he removed much of the interior decorations, beautifully coloured marble, mosaic work etc to a church he had built in Aachen in Germany to commemorate his victories. It is certainly very fine still in spite of the removal of this work which has never been replaced. An interesting tale attaches to the Empress whose tomb I saw. The roman Emperor picked her up on the streets of Rome being taken by her beauty. She made an exceptionally fine wife & is regarded as the best of the Empresses. She did much good work for the people. Her origin enabled her to appreciate their needs and view point & altogether she did much for them that would not otherwise have been accomplished. Next to the cathedral is a comparatively modern building being only 200 years old & according to my guide is not as fine a building as the one it replaced. The present building is much damaged by bombing & we did not make a careful examination of it but concentrated on the Baptistry which forms a separate building adjacent to the cathedral. This & the campanille (a round tower about 60ft high in the old Roman style) form part of the original structures & date back to 400AD. Descriptions I must omit for lack of space. Then to the Bishop’s Palace which in his absence we were permitted to look thro. My guide by the way was a Canadian RC padre who was renewing acquaintance with the city. He had previously made a tour of it some 12 years ago after completing his training at the Vatican. A fine chap. Next to see the Leaning Tower - a remarkable sight - it is 60ft high, brick, & leans about 10 from the verticle - & a general look around the town including a visit to Dante’s grave. And so back home. An interesting day indeed! Yesterday not of any special interst. Spent evening with Jack in YM reading. Fondest love darling, Fred.Sorry space is so limited but I will tell you all about it when I get back. Life is quite peaceful here these days.5pm Sat. Three ALC’s just to hand (16th to 20th Dec). Grand! Many thanks. It is snowing very heavily at present, changed from rain to snow at about 4pm & ground is now deeply covered with about 4” of snow. If it keeps up it will be pretty deep by am tomorrow. Looks very pretty but doesn’t feel it!

09 Jan 1945 ALCHave you ever tried writing with gloves on? That is what I am trying to do now. It is so cold that I am wearing the woollen mittens which you gave me for my birthday in 1943. They are proving most useful altho I must admit that letter writing in them is not the best but it so cold this morning that unless I had them on my hands would be too numb to write at all. It is a beautifully fine morning after a hard frost one that makes those Johnsonville frosts seem like a mid-summers morn. The ground is like concrete, the snow is frozen & crackles like ice when walked on, all tank water and taps are frozen, puddles on the road & in the fields are frozen solid & in spite of the bright sunshine it is terrifically cold sitting here writing. The snow is about six inches deep on the ground & the tops of our trucks, tops of houses, fences etc all have their mantle of snow. Looks rather pretty - a dazzling white but I prefer it more drab, & warmer. When the thaw sets in it is going to be a terrible mess underfoot. Yesterday I received two bundles of papers from you & also two bundles of AW’s from Frank. Many thanks dear. While I am in this job there is no need to send any reading matter not even Digests as we are usually fairly close to the mobile YMCA from which we can obtain an abundance of reading matter including the latest Readers Digests. So please do not worry about sending papers.Yesterday I also had a pleasant surprise in the form of a visit from Arch. He had discovered my new whereabouts & seeing our unit in passing he ducked in for a very brief call. He is well. Only stayed five minutes so we did not have time to say much especially as during part of that time I had a call on the set for a short message. By the way I am now working what we call a WT link, ie morse all the time. [W. Toc link].There is not much news so I will first answer your mail & then if space permits give you any news that may interest you.Your ALC 16/17 Dec. Glad to know that your colds are nearly better. I seem to recollect your saying that you had enrolled Ron with the Crippled Children’s Association so as to obtain certain foods etc he needs. Was this so? I am anxious to know that his disability is not sufficient to justify his being regarded as a cripple. I hope too that his association with other crippled children does not leave him with the feeling that he is a cripple or an invalid in any way. Please let me know.

Your ALC 18/19 Dec. Was interested to hear that Doreen (Dick’s) has a son. I think that Ma is taking the wrong view altho I can fully appreciate how she feels. There can be no doubt that D was the father of the child (I know enough of his association with Doreen to definitely that he was) and being a son will carry on the family name. I think Dick would have wished it to be a son. Don’t pass this on. You may remember a party which D went to about mid-March. Well he told me a good deal about it & it comes as no great surprise to me that the babe was born during mid-December. I think you may remember some remarks I made to you just before I left in which I gave warning of the possibilities. Do you?Yes I know sweetheart that you will keep your pecker up. That is one of my greatest comforts. But never fear dear I know I will return safely and that is not wishful thinking. I just know it, instinctively. All in good time altho I agree it is hellish waiting for the happy day when we meet again. The time passes terribly slowly but every day is one less to go so don’t get downhearted. You mentioned reading in the paper that the Kiwis had been in action & had taken Faenza & you ask was I there. I’ll say I was. I was amongst the first troops into the town but more than that I cannot say.Your ALC 20/22 Dec. Was pleased to learn of your Xmas activities. You seem to be having a busy time. That is grand. Sorry to learn of Mr Fredric’s death. He was fine man. Clare seems to get more than her share of sorrow.It is good to learn that Ron will be in standard 3 this year as it will bring him up to a normal standard for his age. He has indeed done well considering his handicaps. Hope he does not find the work too hard. Congratulations son dear. This is the best news I can get.Eddy had advised me of Pat’s promotion & also of many other staff changes affecting chaps I know well.No space again! Suffice here to say I am very well & am now behaving myself. And so my darling once again - all my love & best wishes to you & Ron. Ever yours, Fred.

10 Jan 1945 ALCYou may wonder at receiving another letter so quickly after the other one written yesterday. Well, I am sitting here on my own and there is very little doing at the moment on the set & so I thought I would spend time having a chat with you. As you may guess I am on evening duty and it has just gone 7pm. Everybody has gone out and altho Jack may be in later I am on my own at present and have just finished communication with the outstations & for a while am likely to have a quiet time. On account of bad weather I have not been out much lately & so there is not much news I can give you. One night last week I went to the pictures with Jack & we saw a film entitled “My Sister Eileen”. Not a particularly good show and the sound track was very badly worn with the result that the talking was almost unintelligible which quite spoilt the show. However it was an outing for us both and we quite enjoyed the change. As a matter of fact we set out again on Monday evening of this week to see a picture called “Heavenly Bodies” (Hedy Lamaar) & altho we got away immediately after tea we found a big queue already there. It hardly seemed likely that we would make it but we decided that having got so far we may as well wait, which we did. After a ½ hour wait the queue started to move & in another 20 mins or so we got almost to the door only to be told that the house was full & no more could be allowed in. Our long wait in a freezing air & on frozen snow covered ground was therefore for nothing. And so we walked briskly back here a distance of about a mile & a ¼ & spent the rest of the evening reading in the YMCA which occupies a casa just a short distance (about 30yds) along the street from where we are. There is a fire there (a bit smelly as it is a home made oil burner, but warm) and we sat there reading & listening to the radio until about 9.30pm when we came home & went to bed. Incidentally I picked up a RD & therein read an article which sets out better than I ever could the strange change which comes over a man on active service. I will send it to you later. I often seem to be referring to this in my letters & as the article does express something of how I feel I think you may find it of some interest. Let me know after you have read it.While I think of it. Here are two points I thought of after posting yesterday’s ALC. I notice that you have had enlargements made from the negative I sent you. I doubt very much if the photo was good enough for that but if you are satisfied that is all that matters. Hope the photographer by touching up was able to reduce my sickly grin and also to hide my over prominent fore teeth. Plastic surgery would have been better!The second matter. I later wondered if you might not be pleased that that I should have commented on the way I did about Dick’s pre-marriage associations with Doreen. I trust you kept my remarks to yourself. I of course meant no harm whatever & only mentioned the subject to refute Ma’s attitude that it could not be Dick’s kiddy. Altho I knew exactly what was going on, as my statements to you some time ago must amply prove, I thought none the less of D for it. To have done so I would have had to condemn myself. I refer here of course to my conduct in the years 1930-32 approx. I think you know what I mean. I have no regrets & do not feel the least bit guilty, for my love then was no less sincere than subsequent to 23.6.32. [Wedding Day] If you felt offended at the remarks in my AL of 9th Jan I hope these comments will dispel that feeling.Yesterday I was working in the am. In the pm I had a hot shower and then spent the rest of the time until tea

time looking over a large building which was being built during the Fascist regime for an Aeronautical College. Quite an interesting place about which I will tell you more when I return. There are some exhibits there, sectioned aero-motors, airframes, planispheres etc which interested me of course because of my interest in flying. It was stripped of much of the things which would normally be found there in such a place but enough remains to let one see that it was set up on a grand scale. A credit to those whose business it was to ensure the education of a young generation in modern science. It is a very big place rather indicating much interest by the young generation. Again spent the evening at the YMCA in Jack’s company.Today has been a miserable day dull & very cold. This am I potted round doing odd jobs & this pm I spent looking up cobbers & yarning. Sat \around in the wireless truck for 1½ hours after lunch yarning & then looked up Jack with whom I spent a ½ hour & then over to Ray’s casa where I stayed until tea time yarning with all the lads over there. Today has I think been our coldest day yet. This am when I threw out my shaving water it froze immediately on striking ground & this pm when I bought my issue beer (1 bottle) at the mobile NAAFI it was frozen solid. These two examples (I could give many others) may give you some idea how cold it is here now. Well dearest I never seem to have the space to say those loving words with which I would like to conclude. But I know that you know they are there just the same as ever. All my love sweetheart, Fred.

11 Jan 1945 ALCMy Dearest Ron, I have just finished reading your AL which together with two from Mum reached me about half an hour ago. At the same time I received a Xmas card from Uncle Charles in England. He wants me to try and get over to see them. I only hope I can manage to do so ere I return to good old NZ. Please tell Mum that I received her letters which were dated 22nd to 26th Dec & will be writing to her again soon. Posted her a letter this morning.Am pleased that you had such a lovely time at Xmas & received such nice presents. Yes! I had quite a good time at Xmas but of course it was not much like Xmas being without you & mother & as we are in action our scope for celebrations was rather limited. Still we did ourselves well as you may have gathered form the letters I wrote at the time.You were a good lad to put your hand to making things for Mum & Wendy. Keep at it son, all the time trying to improve your work. Never skimp your work or make poor job in your haste to get it finished. Take your time & ensure a good finished article in which you can take pride of your effort & workmanship.Many thanks for writing in ink. It is much easier to read. Except for the few smudges and deletions it is a good effort but you should pay more heed to your manner of composition. Do not use the word “got” in writing. I think it might be better if you first wrote a rough “draft” & then asked Mum to go over it with you to suggest alterations and improvements as this would help you to learn. I hope you do not mind these words of advice. I appreciate your good effort but strive always to improve & these comments may help you. Your hand-writing shows much improvement. It is very very cold here now. The snow on the ground is frozen into ice, all water (except well water) is frozen, & pools & water courses are covered with ice across which men can walk. If I had skates I would try my hand at ice skating. This morning I made morning tea for the boys. I poured it out on the tail board of our truck & then distributed the mugs around. Before I drank mine I was called away to do a small job & returned about 35 mins after I had poured it, to find it a solid block of ice. Great eh! So I relit the primus, stood the cup on it for ¼ hour to melt the ice & reheat the tea. It did not taste so bad. The roads & streets are all frozen & are slippery and dangerous. I have several times been lucky to avoid nasty falls. It is thawing a bit this afternoon (it is a beautiful sunny day now with no wind) but will start freezing again as soon as the sun goes down.Sorry space does not permit me to give you much news but I will tell you all about my experiences when I get home. Am enjoying a fairly quiet time at present & find it welcome. By the way the tank on the Xmas card is a Sherman like the one I used to work in. Your ever loving Dad.

13 Jan 1945 ALCIt has just been pointed out to me that last week I had posted 4 of these ALC’s which is twice the number officially allowed. So I must in future conform to orders & send only 2. There is some talk of our allowance being increased to 3 but apparently this is not to be for a while yet. This will account for the falling off in the number of these you receive from now onwards. It is Sat afternoon & I am sitting in the YM writing these lines while waiting fro tea. I am on evening shift (4.30pm - 10.30pm) & may have to finish this then as it is now 10 to 4 & I am not likely to finish this before tea. It will depend on how busy I am during my shift. It is still very cold but a relatively warm rain is falling (if it were colder it would be snowing) from leaden skies & this mixing with the snow on the ground & thawing is making conditions under foot very unpleasant - sloppy & slush everywhere - but fortunately it is not very deep as the ground remains frozen hard. The mail I acknowledged on the back of

AL to Ron was most welcome. The photo does not do you justice & the manner in which the light has reflected form your glasses spoils what might otherwise have been a good photo. However using a soft pencil I have blackened the light spots & this improves it a good deal. Of course the photo is very very welcome & I carry it in my wallet. I would however appreciate a really good photo of you one which I could be proud to show my friends. This one hardly meets those requirements. Thanks for the papers but as mentioned recently I can obtain plenty of reading matter here - plenty to fill in my spare time which in any case I mainly use for writing these letters to you - so do not worry too much about sending these parcels in future. I will put the diary to good use. Many thanks Ron! Now for some news & then to comment on your letters. Am very fit & keeping free of colds etc.On Thursday night I went with Jack F to see a picture called “Heavenly Bodies” (Hedy Lamaar) which I rather enjoyed as did J. It is a farce & not of a serious nature but it was quite well done & the sort of entertainment we like best as its lack of seriousness provides more relaxation. Sound effects are rather better at this theatre & the screening was also clearer than in some of the other theatres. Yesterday, Friday, I was working in the am. In the afternoon I went with Ray Foster & Laurie Berg to see an ENSA live show. It was very good & much better than the usual ENSA show. We all thoroughly enjoyed it . It was good to see non Itie girls singing our songs & speaking our language - even altho they were only on the stage. Made me feel somewhat homesick but the show bucked me up quite a lot. When I meet in person womenfolk of my own kind I will not know what to say or how to behave it is so long since I met or spoke to any. Yes indeed one does miss female companionship in this form of life! In the evening I went down to the casa in which the Kiwi CP is accommodated & with Jack F & a number of others indulged in a party to celebrate -well you know what happened on 12.1.44. Had a grand time & much enjoyed myself. Left J at about 10pm but we did not get to bed until after midnight as in the short distance up the strada to our casa I met some other mates & they insisted I spend some time at their party being held in the house (casa) two down the street (strada) from ours. Was not at all keen as I know it meant more drinking & I had had enough. However good fellowship made it necessary that I should not refuse so in I went. Much drinking, singing, yarning, etc & I was just about a case when I left for home after midnight. Really I wasn’t so bad & I did not disgrace myself in any way on this occasion as I did on NY’s eve. Just before I left I was amazed to find quite by a chance remark that the chap standing next to me was an old school mate over 20 years ago. We were at Wellington College together as boarders & had in fact slept next to each other in the same dormitory for some months. Neither of us recognised the other.This morning I had some work to do & this took me until 11am. I spent the remaining hour doing odd jobs for myself. After lunch I walked up town for a haircut & to see if I could get some stamps for Ron. There are now many shops open & selling stamps but exploiting their opportunity their prices are extremely unreasonable (300lire = 15/- for the set of 6 Ron wanted so I did not buy any). On the way back I called into the NAAFI Canteen for tea & cakes meanwhile listening to the Itie orchestra playing in the Canteen. And now I am back here engaged as you can see. Later. Now for comments on mail while space permits. Ron’s letter was quite a good effort but I think he should be able to do better. Let him draft & you revise suggesting improvements & reasons etc therefore. Laborious perhaps but a good way to teach him. Don’t go too far. Let him develop his own style & do not undermine his confidence & initiative. Talk it over with him on the lines “would it not be better said another way say thus ….” Let him do the suggesting sometimes. Hope Molly enjoyed her holiday at Chch. I found your account of Xmas doings interesting but please give more details of home life. Anecdotes about yourself & Ron etc so that I can imagine your life together. A lovely thought on Eddie’s part to spend some of Ngata’s money in such a way. The action of a true Christian indeed as she, Edie, could well do with the money herself. Yes very silly & thoughtless of F & J [Frank & Jean] sending Ron such a present. I appreciate their thought in even sending him anything but wonder as to their sincerity when so little judgement is shown in the selection of a present. Very selfish & self-centred relations I fear! Believe me darling I miss you too - terribly much so all the time. I also dream of you (& Ron) but it is only a poor substitute for the real thing & I just yearn for the time when dreams give place to reality. Oh what a day! Yes you can have an arm each but how about someone for my back? All my love darling & then some. Bye-bye. Ever yours, Fred.

13 Jan 1945 LetterEarlier this evening I finished an AL to you but lack of space prevented me from saying all that I wanted to say so I again take up my pen at this late hour (11pm) to say those things that were omitted from my AL.The photo taken at the Institute party is really a good one of you but the way the light has caught on your glasses leaving white spots about your eyes spoils what would otherwise have been a good portrait. In its original form it was not attractive but by the careful use of a soft black pencil I have succeeded in improving it by blotting out the white spots & by retrimming the photograph to get you squarely in the centre, cutting off some at the bottom, (I cut it across just below the brooch) with corresponding trimming all round it now looks much better & at the same time fits nicely into my note-case. I wish you could see it. I think you would observe a big improvement.

The Leicagraph people did not take any pains to show their work to the best advantage. With touching up to eliminate the faults it could have been made really good. They did little or nothing beyond print from the negative. If you have a copy try doing as I did & see the difference. Leave ½ inch of white above the top of your hair, then make the photo 3¼ inch deep or high. Measure 1&1/8 inch on either side of the centre of the brooch & cut vertically. Darken the white blobs out & there you have it. Don’t you agree it is much better?Your surface letter 26/10/44 calls for little comment. Colin was indeed lucky to miss going with those lads who were murdered by the Japs. I had already read the article, it having been printed in full in the NZEF Times. A bad business but that is war.The diary will help me to keep track of events but I will need my letters etc which I write in diary form 7 give a pretty full account of my activities within the limits imposed by security & censorship. Are you keeping them? If so I guess the file is already a pretty big one.Ron’s letters are much appreciated but to be quite frank they do not show as much improvement as I would like to see. Probably I expect too much for it is only a short time since I left. The inevitable consequence of it seeming so terribly long which it indeed does. Still with coaching he will improve rapidly I do not doubt & the suggestions contained in my AL are made purely with an earnest desire to help him. You will have to be careful how you go about giving effect to my ideas as it is all too easy for him to come to rely on you to do the thinking for him & you must be careful to avoid this. Make him do the work & then show him in a way that will require some ingenuity (so that he still does some thinking & at the same time effects the improvement while retaining a natural style) how he can improve his composition etc.Your AL 22-23 Dec. Wish I could see you in your new print frock & the nightie with its lace trimmings. “Maleesh” (Arabic for ‘don’t worry about’ or ‘forget it‘) the nightie for you won’t need such garments when I return! They may cramp my style.Frank & Jean’s thoughtlessness with Ron’s Xmas present properly annoys me. All I say is that they run true to form. Again I am constrained to say - does not their action prove what I have often said.And so you sit up in bed to write letters. Wish I could do the same but better still I wish I could be beside you & there would be very little written I fear. Yes that bed (at Trentham) holds some very pleasant memories. I guess it will hold many more, in the future.Your explanation to Barry (re brothels) was rather amusing & very truthful. I really must find out what these places are like in “working order”. May I?While I think of it. Has Ron Clark gone overseas yet? Now that her boy friend has departed from NZ (at least I presume so) is she still desirous of a divorce?Jack came in for supper just as I was finishing my AL this evening & he stayed for a while. He is still with the KCP but I think he will be remustered within the next fortnight or so but whether he will come back to Div Sigs remains to be seen. I expect he will. He had a nasty fall on the slippery ice-covered footpath on the way back from the pictures on Thursday night & fell heavily on his elbow. Poor Jack went white, yellow & green alternately when he sat down in our truck when we got back here & I had to get him three aspirins which after a while had the desired result. His elbow is still pretty sore. These slippery roads are terribly treacherous & I have been lucky to avoid nasty falls myself.We are still in the same place as when I first came to this job & we are very fortunate in being so long here (where we are pretty well jacked up) in the weather we have had since we returned to action. Really I feel a bit of a cad in soft job like this while the PBI & a few other units are having such a hellish time of it out in the open this extremely raw weather. It is the softest job I have ever struck & we are sheltered from the worst of the weather & unexposed to enemy action or pretty well so for a while we have remained stationary the front has moved forward & away from us. We have our shifts but that is all. Still I suppose we are performing an essential service & I certainly did not ask to be put here. But I do feel that I am doing very little to justify my existence. Still I am one of the old men & possibly I would not be much use more forward under present conditions for the weather here now is pretty severe to put it mildly. At present tho I am not a big brave soldier so you have no need to worry for the element of risk is almost negligible (yes wrong but maleesh) & our discomforts are as nothing when compared with the PBI. Tell Pop I am working a No 9 set on W/T (morse). He will know it well. Actually I am having a most pleasant time & in spite of a somewhat guilty conscience am really enjoying life - within limits!Must get off to bed sweetheart. It is well into the early hours & altho I need not get up until about 8am I must away. Yes I relish the thought of you tickling one arm & Ron the other whilst I tell you something of my more interesting experiences. But mind you if I am long on this job they will be somewhat dull do I had better see about a change eh? Had better bring back a little of the local ice (plenty hereabouts) to cool your hands.Wish I could have seen Wendy & Ron having their shower under the hose. I bet they enjoyed it. Yes no doubt W is at a lovely age. Would love to b e there to see her but then my desire in that respect can be as nothing compared with Col’s. [Colin Campbell m. Doreen Chorley, Wendy Campbell b.1941]

Without my saying it you know dear I miss you as much as ever, even more so were it possible, & like you my thoughts & plans are for when we are reunited. Just to try and make up for the time we have been separated. Yes I want everything to be nice for I am always thinking of it as so. But above all I want you well & lovely as that is as I am always thinking of you & I hope not to be disappointed. I look forward to proudly reclaiming as my own an alluring & passionate wife as pure in every way as when I left her on this adventure. Never fear sweetheart I will fulfil my part of our understanding knowing always that you will do the same. Should I fail I would frankly admit it to you but it can never happen for I love you too dearly.And so with loving embrace holding you closely & ever so tightly in my arms I say “goodnight my darling”. All my love sweetheart mine, your own ever loving, Fred.PS: 14.1.45 Had a horrible dream last night. I dreamt you were with me at the pictures or at a vaudeville show & you fell from the banister of the dress circle into the stalls & were killed. It was horrible! Almost feel like sending you a cable to see if you are alright. It was all so vivid. Should not have sat up so late writing. Bu perhaps it does show an inner fear that something may happen to you. A big silly aren’t I!

17 Jan 1945 ALCThere is really very little to write about and so perhaps for once I may find space to say all I want to say. After my last AL to you (dated 14-1-45 I think) there was so much I still wanted to say that I sat up until about 1.30am writing a surface letter which I have sent forward in a green envelope at the same time enclosing that article from the RD to which I referred in a recent AL. wrote a lot of trash in the letter but thought you might like to get another of these letters as my AL’s are I know very matter of fact, & are written mainly to let you know of my activities from day to day.The weather lately has been pretty awful & in consequence I have not done anything of importance or been out much since I last wrote three days ago. We have seen nothing of the sun for some days & today again it is just visible through the foggy haze. During the night we had a further fall of snow, very light, which we find is to be preferred to the rain which makes things very messy. It is still very cold something which I suppose we will have to endure for quite a while yet. I will not be sorry when we can dispense with the heater we use here in the truck. It smokes terribly & gives off most awful smell (it is a kerosene heater). Our clothes are in a filthy state & altho I washed my battle dress only about a week ago it is a distinct shade of black from the sooty smoke. Even ones underclothing becomes filthy after being worn only for one day the wretched stuff penetrates right through to ones skin. The fumes are equally bad & after sitting here for long one feels quite nauseated. As a matter of fact for the past couple of days I have felt a bit off colour & I attribute it to the fumes. I feel giddy & have a persistent cough & as I am sure I have not a cold, I know the symptoms of colds only too well, I can only think it must be the effects of our gas-pot as I have been working rather longer hours in here lately on a/c of Doc being away for a few days leave. Very economical on tobacco tho for I have not had a smoke for a couple of days which is definitely a remarkable feat for me these days. I smoke about 6 or 8 as many cigs etc now as when I left NZ so be prepared for the worst when I get home.On Sunday I was working from noon until 10pm. Did nothing of interest in the morning except make my bed, tidy up, a bit of washing, generally potter around doing odds & ends. Jack came in for supper & stopped, yarning for a while. On Monday morning I was again on the set & in the afternoon went to see Ray Foster & co. After tea I was again on duty.Yesterday I lay in until 10am when I got up & had morning tea (lazy aren’t I but was not feeling the best). The afternoon I was on the set. In the evening I went over to the YM for a while but I found the fumes there from the diesel stove as bad as they are here so at about 7pm I retired to bed where I found warmth & comfort. Read for a while but it was too cold on the hands so I soon stopped. Had a fair night and here I am again this morning. Felt dizzy when I first got up but am much better now.Was delighted yesterday to get your AL of 27-28 Dec which does not call for very much comment. Yes! Your more recent AL’s are a vast improvement, but I would still like a few more anecdotes to show something of your life with Ron - those little incidents which must happen now & again which would show me how you are getting along. These are apart of course from the recital of your doings each day. The expression “Ted’ is derived from the Italian word “tedesco” meaning German. We refer to the enemy as “Ted”, “Jerrie”, “The Hun”, “Herman” & sometimes when he is especially unfriendly by other expressions unfit to state here.To me it seems much more than 9½ months since we parted. When I recall all that has happened since 31/3 I marvel that so much could have happened & such a vast change taken place in such a short length of time. No, to me time has dragged terribly & it continues to do so. But I still love you & yearn for you as much as ever. All my love darling mine, Fred.

20 Jan 1945 ALCAm starting this letter with little hope of being able to finish it this sitting as we are busy this morning & there

are bound to be numerous interruptions. Was delighted yesterday to receive your AL of 29/12 & to read of your activities during the holidays. Tis grand that you are having such a nice time, the change will do you good. As mentioned in my mail lately I need nothing so if you do not want to use the 30/- as I suggested then use it to buy something for yourself - a gift from me. Your good reports of Ron are most heartening & easily the best news of all. Hell! How I do miss you both. Yes sweetheart there is nothing I would like better than to be able to hop in beside you - the thought is just too delicious to contemplate, so I leave it at that for fear of the heartaches that invariably follow after one allows ones thoughts to dwell on such matters. Yesterday I also received a surface letter (22/10/44) from Frank. He complains of much family sickness & certainly they are having more than their share what with the kiddies ill, Jean ditto & F also far from well and I fully sympathise with them but in 2½ months they had guests (incl. EWC & family for a week) practically all the time, so it is largely their own fault. With the knowledge I have I doubt whether a generous hospitality would explain the number of guests they have to stay with them. The mentality of some people absolutely puzzles me. I have been about a bit since I wrote on Wed so I had better give you account of my activities while space is available. On Wed evening Ray, Jack & myself went to the “Oak” (a p/c of this theatre will follow when we are allowed to send them) to see Gracie Fields in “Holy Matrimony”. This is the 1st GF picture I have ever seen I think. She does not sing at all to speak of but her acting is good & in spite of adverse circs under which it was shown (poor projectors, sound, etc) we agreed that it was a really good show. The plot was interesting & amusing and light which is how we like our entertainments these days. Home at 8pm & after supper (tea & biscuits) at the YM we went to bed. Thurs dawned a beautiful day - a very hard frost but bright sunshine from a cloudless sky & no wind - and as I had the day free again I set out early on a hitch-hiking trip to a place called Predappio which is a smallish country village lying in a valley up in the hills some 14 miles from here. [Faenza]? The place is of special interest in that it was Benito Mussolini’s birthplace. Using my most fluent (?) Italian I soon ascertained the whereabouts of his old home & made my way there. There is really nothing to see, the house is the usual type of stone bldg & at present the portion of the casa which was once occupied by the Mussolini family bears a deserted appearance. It is slightly damaged by shell-fire but not enough to justify its not being occupied, & it is my considered opinion that the Ities are afraid of the place or hold it in awe for of a number that I asked to show me the room he was born in none would do more than point it out to me & so I was left to go there on my own. Room was bare of all furniture & very uninteresting to look at altho I did feel something of a thrill to stand at the spot where such a man had first seen the light of day. I am of the opinion that the local inhabitants do not like to show any interest in the place for fear of being suspected as fascist sympathisers coupled with the strange aloofness with which on a/c of present unhappy events they prefer to adopt towards Mussolini and everything to him appertaining. We see much evidence of this from time to time ie defacing of his statues etc & at Predappio one sees the same thing. For instance the school at the bottom of the street in which M’s house is situated had the following inscription engraved above the doorway “Infants School to the Memory of Mussolini” (English translation). Now the last 5 words have been chipped out altho they are still readable. For the time being at least the Itie people have “had” Musso, or perhaps more truly, so they want us to believe. Not the least interesting part of the trip was hitch-hiking with the Poles who are on that part of the front. Our efforts to make each other understand what we were saying were most amusing. They have numerous girls in their army & they do a great deal of the driving on the supply routes. In all a most interesting experience. Arrive back about 3pm (went without my lunch as I usually do on these trips) & then had a hot shower, changed clothing & spent the rest of pm doing my washing. In the evening I was on the set until 10.30pm. Jack called in for a while.Friday, yesterday, was a miserable day with some rain & rather more wind than usual. It was very cold which goes without saying. About 9am I went up town to get tickets for a concert & after waiting in a queue for 2 hours during which I almost froze to death I succeeded in obtaining them. Got back for lunch & was on duty from then until tea time. After tea Jack & I went to the concert for which I had got the tickets. It was a pantomime put on by troops from AGRA (Army Group Royal Artillery) & was a wholly amateur show. It was entitled “Ali Baba” & to some extent followed the plot of the original pantomime of that name. Men took the part of the harem women (Sultanas they were called) and it was one of the best shows I have seen since I have been in the army. With one exception the singing was only fair but the exception had a very fine voice & his rendering of the song “Jerusalem” was really wonderful. The production (scenery & lighting) was a remarkable effort considering the circumstances & a tribute to the producer. While perhaps not fine music it was good light hearted entertainment full of frolicking fun well done. Ron would have thoroughly enjoyed it & so would have you. It lasted 3½ hours (much longer than army entertainments usually do) & we did not get back until 10pm when we went straight to bed. This am it is again fine with sun shining thro broken clouds & as you will have gathered I am on duty but not so busy as expected. The flap is off until this pm now. All my love darling. Take good care of yourselves, Fred.Bad weather is holding up activities as far as serious warlike ops are concerned & in the words of official

communiqués “patrol activity “ is the order of the day. I am not likely to be involved in these ops so don’t worry.

23 Jan 1945 Letter to RonWhile I have been here I have made friends with the Italian children who are living in the house in which we are billeted. There are four, one boy (nearly 2 years of age) and 3 girls, the eldest of whom is Maria Teresa aged 10½. She and the other kiddies were most interested to know all about you & were delighted to see your photo. Yesterday morning Maria Teresa (Italians usually use both Christian names) knocked on the door of our wireless truck and handed me the enclosed drawing saying “per il vostro figlio Ronaldo da Maria Teresa” (for your son Ronald from Maria Teresa). Hasn’t she made a wonderful job of the drawing & colouring. She is only 10 ½ years old - about the same as you.These children are all nice youngsters (except perhaps the little boy who is very spoilt & rather a cry baby - but Italians all make too much fuss of their male children) but Maria is especially nice. Rather shy & quiet & not the least bit precocious. She is a pretty little thing & I am sure you would like her. Her mother is a very nice lady, very refined & much superior to the usual Italian woman. She was born & bred in Rome & one notices that this class of person is more proud & of a better class than average. Tell Mum she is a woman of fifty years of age - perhaps a little more - so she has no need to worry.Re the enclosed maps which I have extracted from some damaged books found at various places. Will you please look after them pending my return.It is a lovely fine day again today but altho the sun is warm it is still cold outside with snow still on the ground. Will try & write again soon but my Air Letters to Mother give you all the news which I will not repeat here as this will not reach you until well after my regular ALC’s.Mum tells me you are growing into a fine strong lad & applying yourself well to your education. That is grand. Keep it up son so that when I get home you will be able to join with me in having a good time together.Fondest love, Dad.

24 Jan 1945 ALCI last wrote to you on Saturday since when I have done nothing of any great interest but I will try and make an interesting story to fill the space. On Saturday afternoon I walked over to the aerodrome, which is quite some way from here, & there spent an interesting couple of hours amongst my “first loves”. naturally I cannot tell you of all I saw there (censorship) but it is dreadful to see the manner in which this one time modern airport has been smashed up. Had a maniac bent on destruction been given the task of smashing things up just as he liked he could not have done a better or should I say a worse job. It was done by allied bombing and shelling while the aero was held by the enemy. I got back just in time for tea after which I went over to Ray F’s casa & spent the evening there. In the course of the evening Ray’s brother Norman came in and so we had a bit of a party. He is a very fine chap indeed & I liked him immensely. He came over with Jack Clendon’s crowd & so is hoping, well you know, soon.Sunday dawned beautifully fine & continued so throughout the day. For the first time one could feel some real warmth in the sun about midday. Spent the am having a sponge off, from causes previously referred to I was filthy even altho I had had a shower only two days before my body was a grimy black which even hot soapy water has little effect on. The rest of the am I spent washing clothing, making tea, etc. in the afternoon I did some repairs to the body work of the truck, readjusted aerial etc. after tea I was on duty. Jack came in for a while & had supper with me bu ti fear he found me dull company as I spent the time mostly in other ways than in yarning to him.Monday was another lovely day altho a rather stronger wind than is usual over here made for chilliness. Was working from 8am to tea time & in the evening I went over the YM where I wrote an AL to Frank and a letter to Jim Cahill (2/11) who is in the postal unit in Cairo.Yesterday I was on duty during the morning and the afternoon I went over to help Len Turner build an oil stove & this we finished just before tea. In the evening I went with Jack F & Jack Blythe to see a picture at the “Oak” called “Between Us Girls”. had seen it before but quite enjoyed seeing it again. We got back home at about 8pm when we had supper at the YM retiring to bed at about 9.30pm. Did not sleep too well.Today. Many happy returns Pop! This am I went down to see Bob Craft. I had not seen him for quite a while & as he has looked me up twice recently, I was out both times, I thought I had better look him up. We had a bit of a yarn & a cup of morning tea & then a brief look around the town to see if I could see anything worth buying but as usual it was wasted effort as what little there is is just rubbish at an exorbitant price. And so back for lunch which finished about an hour ago. At present I am in the YM writing as you can see.That concludes the news bulletin for the period since I last wrote & now for comments on your two AL’s covering period 31/12/44 to 4/1/45 which I was delighted to receive on Monday last. Gee it is grand to get mail

form you so often. Thanks a million sweetheart! Yes indeed 1944 was a sad year for your good folk. I pray that 1945 brings only good fortune & in such volume to compensate slightly for 1944’s ill fortunes. Never fear we will see 1946’s arrival all together once again. Ted has had it but just won’t lie down. Aren’t the present Russian offensives amazing. I feel they may presage the end but I hesitate to think that way too much for fear of disappointment but one would be deluding oneself to see it otherwise. Thanks darling for your New Year kisses, they are a poor substitute for the real thing though still I made the most of them & kissed the places where you had imprinted the kisses. Big silly aren’t I? Your letter writing in bed may be alright in summer but it will be a bit chilly in winter but then we hope it will not be necessary. You would soon give it up here I guess. Would I like to hop in (your double underlining - notice I do not say double meaning) - is noted & understood. Pleased to know that the surface mail reached you safely & that you found it interesting. Will love you to feed me as you suggest but if you do so I never be able to learn to use my fork. Hope Ron has better luck with his canary this time. Seeing it was bred locally it may stand up to the severity of the J’ville climate. The garden seems to be doing well & that cauliflower sounds good & similarly the strawberries, but I rather forget what the latter are like. I note that Jack Hallewell is back with his unit will try & look him up sometime. Have not heard from Jack Clendon nor seen Arch lately.And so sweetheart here I am again at the end of the available space, so I must say cheerio for the present. Hope you are fit and well (I am). I miss you terribly still & just yearn for the day when we are reunited. All my love sweetheart. Ever yours, Fred. Posted a surface letter to Ron yesterday.

27 Jan 1945 ALCSince I wrote to you on Wed I have received your AL 5 th to 7th Jan which does not call for very much comment except to say how pleased I am with Dr. Mac’s report on Ron. He certainly appears to have made great strides during the past 10 months or so. Good work keep it up son! So far you have been extremely unfortunate with your summer but it must improve before long & I hope that by the time you receive this you are enjoying really nice days. In his recent AL Frank mentioned that they were having really good weather now so they seem to be doing rather better than does Wgtn. When I get back I think I will try for a transfer to the north where the climate is more as I like it for there is no doubt Wgtn’s weather does leave much to be desired. The only thing is it will mean moving away from friends & connections (such as Drs MacD & McKay) which is not so good. What do you think? A good idea giving Ron a garden plot of his own & I hope he gets good results to encourage his efforts. Yes! It would have been grand to have spent the day in the garden with you & then have a lovely hot bath etc - note the etc. By the way, how does one have a proper bath? So long since I had one that I forget. No, the lull in news of the Div in your press just indicates what is actually happening. We are bogged down by bad weather. While I think of it would you please send me another “sniffer”. I think you will know what I mean. lost my old one & the one I brought with me is getting done.On Thursday am we woke up to find that in the night there had been a further fall of snow. Spent the am clearing pathways (to avoid as much as possible tramping snow inside the truck, casa etc) and shovelling it off the canopy of our truck (to avoid it dripping inside as it thaws) and generally messing around on odd jobs. As you may guess snowballing is a sport much indulged these days especially after a fresh fall when the snow is fresh & clean and we have some good fun at it. It is one of the best ways to keep warm but gee ones hands hurt like one thing handling the snow and moulding it into balls. In the afternoon I was on duty. Having nothing to do in the evening I again went to see the Kiwi CP but I fear I found their performance only fair entertainment - the consequence of previously having seen the show no doubt. Got back here about 8pm & spent a while playing chess with Jack Blythe (he beats me easily) & then over to YM for a cup of tea & to listen to the news. And so to bed at about 10pm.Yesterday was a cold dull day the sun being obscured by mist. I was on duty in the morning and after lunch I had my weekly hot shower & changed my clothing. Gee you can have on idea of the agony of coming from under the shower & drying off in a room without doors or windows & into which the icy wind off the snow & ice blows freely, one might as well be standing out in the snow & drying off. After I got I got busy on trying to repair an old primus which had been condemned as useless & this took me until tea time. I managed to fix it good enough to boil our billy & make toast but it is hardly good enough to use continually for heating the truck which I hoped might be possible enabling us to discard our kerosene heater (our “smoke-pot”) the smoke & sooty fumes from which are terrible. Spent the evening with the KCP boys at Jack F’s casa. It was a very pleasant evening nattering (yarning) over glasses of vino. Met an American named Ed Wise who is 41(well over the USA limit for overseas service) & so volunteered for service in the American Field Service as he was keen to do his bit. The AFS is a non-military organisation which with army approval operates in the field in the same way as the Red Cross. They handle both military & civil cases. Ed is an especially fine fellow with ideas much like my own & I found him immensely interesting. Yes a fine type indeed.Today dawned beautifully fine, & as I am not on duty until this evening I set out on a tour of the country-side -

hitch-hiking as usual. I like to do this as I feel it helps avoid the stagnation & demoralisation which besets so many chaps in the army. On this occasion I went to Cesena (pronounced Chessena) a town thro which we passed on the way up here but did not stop. It holds much of interest but space precludes my giving you a full a/c of what I saw there. I arrived back here at 3pm & here I am writing this while waiting for tea. I expect to be fairly busy this evening so thought it best to get this done now. There are quite a few shops open at C & they carry stocks not available in shops here. Tried to find something for you but as usual couldn’t. The only thing that looked even likely was a Crown leather bag (1600 lire) but knew you already have all you need in this line. Bought some stamps for Ron (34 at cost of 200 lire, 10/-) which will give you some idea how expensive they are as at this price they were cheaper than they are here. All my love, ever yours, Fred.

27 Jan 1945 Letters - Ron, Ri.My dear Ron, when I went down to Cesena today I found a stamp shop and thought you would like some of the stamps I saw there. There were many I would like to have bought for you but they were too expensive to buy many so I made a selection of those which I thought you might like best & these are enclosed. I hope you like them. Unfortunately I see on looking at them again that I picked out two of the same kind in at least two instances but in one case one is franked & the other not so you may like to keep both. In the other instance you can “swap” the stamps I have duplicated. Will send you more stamps later on. I hope your collection is growing, as no doubt it is, & I look forward to seeing it when I get home. Would you prefer me to send you money instead of stamps so that you can buy them for yourself in Wgtn. They may be cheaper there for I feel sure that the Ities are exploiting the soldiers & charging too much as they know soldiers buy anything. Please give this matter your earnest consideration & let me know by air letter. Fondest love, Dad.

Dear Ri, with reference to the enquiry contained in my letter to Ron please look into the matter & let me know as soon as possible as it is silly for me to pay prices higher than you can get the same stamps for in NZ. I have quite a substantial pay-book credit, £30 at the moment even after sending money to Frank to have mother’s grave done up so can easily spare money for you & Ron to buy something which will afford you some additional joy. I don’t want more than £30 to pay for any leave I may be fortunate enough to be granted so would prefer to send you amounts from time to time as it seems well nigh impossible to buy a present for you the selection available being poor and priced much above their true value.At Cesena today had lunch at the NAAFI restaurant - the first time for a long time that I have sat down to a meal. There was even a table-cloth on the table and I used a knife & fork & rather surprised myself to find I have not altogether lost the art of using these. For 2/- one obtained quite a fair meal (chops with potatoes & peas with stewed plums and custard for desert with a cup of tea). You sit down & an Itie waiter brings you a glass of ale & when you have consumed this the waitress serves your meal. Quite a good Itie orchestra was playing.Goodnight dearest, feeling pretty tired. Fondest love, Fred.

31 Jan 1945 ALCMy last letter to you was on Sat & although I am pushed for time now I must try & get this away today. I note that today is Mother’s birthday. Please give her my very best wishes. I trust she enjoys good health & that much good fortune comes her way during the year she is now commencing upon. There has been no mail to hand for several days so I can give only the news for the past 3½ days which have been quite full. Sunday dawned dull & cold a biting wind emphasising the coldness. I spent the morning changing some worn out clothing at the QM (it takes a devil of a time to do these simple things) & afterwards did my washing which I finished just before lunch. In the pm I was on duty. After tea I spent a while yarning in the truck with Doc & Jack B but Jack F came in about 6pm & I could see at once he was not the best & he admitted that he was feeling unsettled so we went out for a long walk together & this seemed to cheer him up a good deal & next day he mentioned he had gone to bed really tired had had a good nights rest & felt much better. We got back about 8.30pm & had a cup of tea & biscuits at the YM & listened to the 9pm news. Went to bed about 9.45pm but did not enjoy a very good night. On Monday morning I was on duty but in the pm I went into Faenza to see some friends there. Had afternoon tea with them & got back here for tea. In the evening I went with a party including Ray F & Jack F to see a show put on at the ENSA theatre by the concert party of the 56 th British Div (Black Cat Div, so called because their shoulder flash & identification sign is silhouette of a black cat). It was quite a fair performance altho I don’t think anywhere near equal to our own Kiwi CP but some of the talent was really good & we quite enjoyed the entertainment. Got back just in time to get a cuppa from the YM & hear the 9pm news. Now for Tuesday, yesterday. Ray had been disappointed that I had not taken him along to Ravenna when I went there so I decided to again make the visit for his benefit & incidentally for my own too for it is a place that easily bears more than one visit. We got off to an early start & were lucky in very quickly getting picked up by a truck going right thro & we were in R by 10am. Got busy at once & did the rounds of the places of interest, including

a few I had missed on my previous trip, & by 2pm (when the South African canteen opened) had had a pretty good look around & so we adjourned to the canteen for a badly needed cup of tea & cakes & spent a pleasant hour recuperating & exchanging views with the Springboks. They are fine fellows & welcomed seeing us as not many Kiwis are seen out that way. At 3pm onto the road once more & we were again lucky and we were back here by 4pm. I again much enjoyed looking around R but limited space here forbids my giving you what would otherwise be an extremely interesting a/c of the sights of this historic town. However I succeeded in buying some postcards which I will send on in due course. I will write details on the backs as usually & in this way you will get a better idea than I could give here of what some of the places are like. Yes there is no doubt it is a very interesting place. Was on duty in the evening. As usual JF came in for supper & we had a bit of a yarn together before the others returned from the pictures.Today Wednesday is another beautiful day & it seems we are in for an early spring for we have had some really good days lately. By the way in my usual cautious way I have kept my woollen singlets in reserve for the worst of the winter & have not worn them. Have managed to get thro with wearing flannel shirt, jersey, & tunic, so far. Not bad for an old man who feels the cold eh? It seems I will not need the “reserve” for indications are that the worst of the winter is over. Tough guy!This am I cleaned our sleeping quarters, made morning tea, had my weekly shower (yes nearly frozen to death drying off as usual) & by then it was lunch time. Since lunch here I have been but we are not quite so busy today altho enough so to force me to get thro this in 50 mins which is a good effort for my slow hand. Must get cracking again now though. You will know the thoughts in my mind as I conclude (10 months! Hell it seems like as many years!) Fondest love, ever yours, Fred.

03 Feb 1945 ALI was delighted to receive yesterday your two AL’s covering the period 8 th-14th Dec. & these I will answer first because there is not very much else to write about. Yes I would like to send Ron a jerry tin helmet & also some of the other things I could so easily obtain as I know full well how he would enjoy having them. But we are not allowed to send them in parcels so that it just cannot be done. Am glad to know that you are enjoying more summer like weather. We could make good use here at present of some of your excessive heat! Actually we can notice a distinct change in the weather here since mid-winter’s day 6 weeks ago & there is plenty of evidence that spring is approaching. For instance we are now having some really nice days occasionally, the roads do not freeze so hard at nights, in the morning when we get up the ground is thawing out & oh what a sloppy muddy mess it soon becomes! We are in the mud once again & in some ways the hard frozen ground was to be preferred. There is still a little snow lying around but it is thawing away rapidly adding much ot the messiness & if the present weather keeps up it will all be gone in two or three days. Of course it is still very cold with the temperature only just above freezing point except for the hours in the middle of the day when on a sunny day we can really feel some warmth in the sun. I look forward to the time when we can dispense with the smoky heater we have to use in the wireless truck, but which we are extremely lucky to have, as without it we would have well nigh perished. There is no hurry for the cholera drops. Have not needed to use them for myself nor for anybody else since the occasion referred to in mid-Dec mail. However they are a good standby. Yes the parcels should reach you very soon now as it is quite a while since they were despatched. I am anxious to know how you liked the things sent from Fabriano early in Nov. This parcel contained the things bought in Florence for me by a cobber who was there on leave. Tis grand to hear of the kiddies running around in bathing togs & having a hosing down. I guess they will all be grown up by the time I get back, even Judith who I expect is now quite a big lass, & well past the “coo-coo” stage. Your picnic to Khandallah must have been quite nice & I wish I could have joined you. I will have to be satisfied with memories of past happy times spent there. No I do not altogether endorse your attitude towards Doreen my dear. Whatever she does or fails to do the fact remains that she has born Dick’s child & your gifts were to him. Admittedly she should have acknowledged your earlier kindness but at the time you wrote it was barely a month since the babe arrived & assuming a max of 3 weeks in the home she may have had only a week home & as you know that first week is not the easiest. In any case she must feel he situation terribly & naturally she may find writing to you extremely difficult. She is in a rotten position & I think you should willingly go further than you normally would do & extend much more latitude. If then she fails to show her appreciation & act as one would normally expect then you can all feel that you did your duty & have no regrets. I hope that you may have since heard from her. Yes I remember Mr. Fryer. In fact I was reminded of the discussion you refer to only a month or so ago when I read an article in the RD I think by one of the most notable & deep thinking men in the States advocating exactly the same thing & expressing the same arguments that I had put forward. Did you read it? This man, whose view incidentally was endorsed by other prominent men, was not a “wouser”. He is regarded as one of the most profound thinkers in the USA at the present time. I thought of sending it to Mr. F & had I known his address I may have done so. I wish to God you people could, without suffering, come to know (you only think you do now) the horror of modern war & to

see its awful effects. You would soon cease endorsing anything that tolerates waste of man-power, material & patrons time etc. Try & imagine the people of Berlin attending a race meeting at the present time! The only difference is that they know the danger. There is now no or little danger to NZ but concentration of effort in one direction would expedite victory. In the meantime every additional moment it continues brings untold suffering & misery. The trouble is you people at home cannot see it because you don’t want to. To do so would mean just too much self-sacrifice. Horse racing is only one of the many pleasures which NZ could very well forego under present circs.You see I am still something of an idealist & as yet have not been completely corrupted and demoralised by eth experiences of the past 10 months. I wonder what I will be like after 4 years of it? Still I came to maintain my self respect so I won’t fall an easy victim!There is little news of unusual interest since I last wrote so I thought you might like a letter like this as a change from the diary form of recent weeks. Which reminds me please do try to write a little more legibly as I find some of your writing difficult to read. Yesterday I posted a parcel containing some books I may find useful when I get back. I included postcards giving views of Ravenna & Forli on the back of which I have made comments you may find interesting. Also two ties (bow) which you can give to Uncle Skenning [?] or anybody else you may know of who wears this type. I found the ties so they cost me nothing. Please acknowledge receipt of parcel in due course. With loving wishes & fond thoughts I must now close, all my love, Fred.

08 Feb 1945 ALI do not feel the least like writing and so this will probably be a rather poor effort. However it is six days since my last letter so I must do something about or else my long silence may cause you to wonder if I have forgotten you. Far from it my dear but through feeling off colour I have not been able to write as regularly as might otherwise have been the case. Was beset by a severe chest cold accompanied by flu, you know the sort of thing which used to lay me low when I was at home. It was bad enough when one had home comforts but here it was infinitely worse. Moreover the position was somewhat delicate in that I knew that if I reported to the MO he would take a dim view of the high temps I was running and probably order my immediate evacuation which would mean somebody else being called in to fill my position & frequently when this is done the temporary readjustments remain as a permanent reshuffle of staff. I dreaded the thought of being reposted again so soon so was prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to avoid being sent out & incurring the risks of being sent to another section with the usual unpleasant business of having to settle down in a new environment & amongst strange company & furthermore I doubt whether any new job could be quite as congenial as I find this one. And so I entered into a conspiracy with Harry our RAP medical orderly and a really fine laddie. I had of course to play down my feelings & make out I was really not so bad and carry on pretty well as usual altho feeling as I was it took some doing & I usually only just managed to get thro my shift feeling absolutely done. Yesterday was the worst day of all. Even when I got up at 7.30am I was feverish but at 4.30pm when I finished duty my temp was just on 103° & I fear that Harry at this stage was somewhat sorry he had given in to my persuasion against letting the MO have free rein. I only just managed to get up & into bed & Harry very kindly brought me a “hottie”, warm orange drink & some aspirin & dover tablets (the latter by the way gave me terrible stomach pains & made me sick so perhaps Ron used to be upset in the same way) and during the night for the first time, in spite of endeavours to do it each night before, I got up a good sweat & this morning I awoke feeling tons better. It is just as well as otherwise Harry would have had no option but to order my evacuation as I really was in no state to stay with the unit, static though we are just now. Tonight for the first time for 4 days I have eaten, only lightly but I feel the better for it & in a day or two I shall be ok again. Jack B says I have aged about 10 years in the past 4 days & he calls me a walking corpse so I must look pretty awful. Even the Italian family living in the house noticed it & they have stopped me to enquire if I was alright & remarked upon how ill I have been looking lately. They are good folk & I really do appreciate their sincere concern. However I am ok now & by taking things quietly for a few days yet & keeping out of sight from those who matter everything will work according to plan. Already I can feel my old spirit returning rapidly & tis a grand sensation after feeling so rotten fro the past few days when at times I was literally out on my feet. I shouldn’t have done it for I was really pretty crook & now I realise it was not worth the cost but I dreaded the thought of yet another change.This letter must sound a real tale of woe but there is absolutely nothing else to write about as I have done nothing. All my off duty hours since I last wrote to you have been spent in between the blankets. I used to sneak away there & just get up for my shifts and other essential duties.Arch popped in for a few minutes this pm. He looks & seems well but has, I think, aged quite a bit during the past 12 months. I am not likely see him again for some considerable time - worst luck as I enjoyed these unexpected visits of his.The weather is now much better & improving markedly. Some days are really spring-like. The snow has all thawed & it is noticeably warmer both by night as well as in daytime. Summer is approaching fast altho we

must expect many poor days yet awhile.Space is almost exhausted so I must draw to a close. I only wish I could be with you instead of having to say goodnight dearest in this way. But you know my feelings as I know yours. All my love, Fred.9.2.45. Your ALC’s 15th to 20th Jan just to hand & very welcome. Glad you liked contents of parcels but sorry so much was broken. Should have packed it more carefully. Feeling even better today. It is raining heavily & more & deeper mud! And it was drying up so nicely!

09 Feb 1945 ALCI was very pleased indeed to receive this morning your ALC’s for the period 15 th to 20th Jan, receipt of which I acknowledged by postscript on the ALC which I posted this morning. Sorry to hear of the trouble Ron had with his tooth & I hope all is now well. He was a good brave lad to face up so well to having it out in the way he did & I am proud of him. It takes “guts” to face up in that way to something we know to be extremely unpleasant. Yes he is a game lad! Very sad about Mrs Beswick. I know how she looked forward to Harold coming back & their settling down to some home life together. Poor fellow he must feel it! I feel very sorry for him. Will appreciate the photos when they come to hand. Sorry also about Alf Williams but the news of his death really was no shock for he has not taken proper care of himself for a long while, drinking much too heavily. Still he was a good fellow in many ways & I rather liked him. I fancy he suffered a severe illness about two years or so ago. I am sorry now that I did not take more care in packing the parcel containing the coffee set as the breakages have really spoilt the set which is unfortunate. But we had just got to Fabriano & packing material was hard to get & in addition to this I was feeling ill at the time suffering from an acute attack of dysentery & on this a/c I did not go to the trouble I might otherwise have gone to to safeguard against damage altho I thought it was good enough to withstand normal handling. As you say the parcels from here must receive pretty rough handling in transit. Am glad you liked the brooches from Florence. I thought you would. Tell Ron that much as I would like to bring back some of the souvenirs it is most unlikely that I will do so. It is not allowed & with strict kit inspections they are hard to get away with & a greater difficulty is carrying the stuff. It takes us all our time to carry our issue gear let alone extras of that kind. I knew that Don Buck was on his way home as at long last I had found a chap who knew him & was able to give me information about him. He was badly wounded but I think he will be ok back in civil occupation. He is lucky to be out of it. Ditto Herbie Neal. Yes the Italian children did enjoy their Xmas party! The people in whose house we are staying are nice folk - better than the average Itie. I should say something about equal to our upper middle class citizen - and they have taken Quite a liking to us. We have been here so long now - unprecedentedly long as a matter of fact - that we are treated like members of the family now & while at first & for some time they were a little aloof this is now all gone & while one can still detect a feeling of awe on their part it is breaking down & I think we have gained their confidence & respect. They often invite us into their part of the house for a talk & they like us to give our opinion about the people of Italy & the future of this country.Am feeling much better today and am now well on the way to being my usual self. It is good to feel well again! Today started off very dull & about 1pm it started to rain heavily & it has continued raining ever since. About 3.30 heavy flakes of snow were falling with the rain but it is not lying on the ground at all as the rain is washing it away immediately. The snow with the rain serves to show that while we regard this as a warm rain it is nevertheless pretty cold here. The ground was beginning to dry nicely but this will spoil it & it will now be worse than ever. Jack F leaves on Sunday with the KCP for Florence but I think his remuster will go thro soon & he will then come back to Div Sigs. I will miss him quite a bit for we have seen much of each other the past few weeks. Doc has left us as I suggested might happen & we have new chap Max Boyd with us in Doc’s place. He seems a good chap, just a young lad who came over in the crowd after us. More anon. Fondest love, etc, Fred.

11 Feb 1945 ALCHere it is Sunday evening, time 8pm, & I am on duty on the set but am not busy which is unfortunate because in my present mood I would rather have more to do to keep me occupied. I feel very very restless & unsettled, a feeling that has been with me all day. Am afraid that unless I can throw it off pretty soon I will be having recourse to a “session”, as we term our vino parties, to boost the old morale up a bit for I have had this rotten feeling on me quite a bit lately. Through feeling off colour during the past week & as result of a sequence of dull gloomy days I have not got out much & to some extent no doubt that is to blame. You can have no real idea the moods of depression which beset one on occasions in this form of life - it is infinitely worse than those moods which affected one back home. Please don’t think I am looking for sympathy, I am not but perhaps unburdening myself by writing to you in this way may help me to wear it off. I wonder? In some ways this sort of war is more nerve racking than when we are more mobile & doing more. We will all be rather pleased I think when this tiresome stage is over and the weather enables us to get on with the job again. One should not complain

really because we are better off now from many points of view but it does become monotonous & when we hear of the other fronts cracking in spite of the bad weather etc we cannot help becoming a bit restive here. There is good reason for the strategy adopted on this front no doubt but that is small consolation to us & does little to ease our restlessness. Of course the PBI, Arty, Engineers etc are not having such a quiet time, poor beggars, as “noises off” as I sit here writing amply prove but they must feel somewhat fed up too, pinned down for so long in the same area & for so long forced to adopt holding role by the bad weather and atrocious state of the ground. Enough on this unpleasant subject.Today has been dull and somewhat colder than usual. The snow & rain yesterday have made a terrible mess and one cannot walk outside at all except in gumboots as the roads are a foot deep & more in mud. Jack Blythe has just come in from seeing a friend a little way down the street and the mud was nearly spilling into the tops of his gumboots. There is no snow on the ground, the heavy rain melted it straight away.This afternoon I walked down to the Dorchester Club a short distance from here & there read for a while until 3pm when I went to listen to a gramophone recital comprising classical numbers by renowned artists. It was fine music but I am afraid I was not in the right mood to properly enjoy it. Arrived back here just in time for tea at 4.30pm.Spent last evening with Jack who left this morning for F. where I think he will have a very enjoyable week as it is a very famous city with much of interest to see. It has been good having him here so long. Doc left a week ago and I was very sorry to see him go as I liked him immensely. He is a very fine chap who I much admire, & his departure broke up a very happy team we had here. However his successor is quite a nice young chap & promises well.Some work has come in so I must put this aside for a short while. 10.30pm. Will finish this tomorrow as I am feeling too tired now. Goodnight sweetheart, sweet dreams. Wish I could be going to bed with you instead of to my lonely fleabag. Monday 12.2.45. Here we are again. Weather much better again today with sun shining thro broken clouds. Spent morning at dentist & got back just in time for lunch at noon. All my teeth are aching like hell still but no doubt will settle down as day proceeds. May have to have one & perhaps two out as the dentist fears abscesses. Hope his suspicions are wrong as they are front teeth. Your ALC 20/1 was waiting for me when I got back.. Am glad you concur with my proposal re regular medical exams & I look forward to a reassuring report following 1st exam which you should have without delay. Why didn’t you have the fiver on Lambourne? En route to dentist this am I saw some stamps which thought Ron would like so bought them & will post them later today. They are San Marino ones 11 of them. Am also sending you a £1 British Postal Order (should cash for about 25/-) for you to buy something with as it is impossible to get anything here by way of presents. Am hoping to go to pictures tonight. Will use rest of space for closing remarks.

12 Feb 1945 LetterPlease excuse me for not making this my usual kind of green envelope letter. Lack of sufficient time precludes it being more than a short note to accompany the gift enclosed. Please use the money to buy something you may need or for general purposes as you feel inclined. I have accumulated a £30 credit in my pay-book & this will be enough for any likely requirements I may need. If I can manage it I will send further sums from time to time to cover the cost of the things I may ask to be included in parcels & to generally help along the finances on the home front.Have just finished a short letter to Ron enclosing San Marino stamps & I will post it at the same time as I do this.Remember sweetheart, I cherish the thought of returning to a beautiful wife who will be happy to look after the needs of a “war weary old man” so please take good care of yourself in every way. I love you just ever so much & yearn to hold you close once again & to give you lots of passionate kisses & to show in every way how sincere & deep my love for you really is.. I sometimes wonder whether you can indeed know just how much you really do mean to me. If you do, then I need have no doubts that you will ensure that when I return I will indeed be proud to claim you as my own.Must close now sweetheart. And so with all my love dearest, I remain, ever yours, Fred.

12 Feb 1945 Letter to Ron.Hullo son! How are you my lad? Well in body & thoroughly enjoying life I hope. I am afraid that I have been very remiss in not writing to you more often but I know you realise it is not possible for me to do it and you can rest assured that I still think of you very often & just as much as ever I did and am looking forward with keen anticipation to the time when I can rejoin you and Mum to once more enjoy those happy times in each others company. It will be a great day won’t it? Still I am afraid you will find your old Dad a rather older man by then & not quite up to the lively pranks - such as chasing you young fellows around the house etc - that I used to indulge in. However I may be able to make amends by telling you something of the interesting things I have

seen & of some of the more thrilling of my experiences during the period of our separation.Mum’s letters show me that you are being a good lad while I am away. That is fine. Keep it up won’t you lad? As regards your interest in souvenirs -enemy equipment etc - I am sorry that I cannot send you anything as a keepsake. There is much that I could send - jerry tin helmets, gas-masks, rifles, spandaus, caps etc etc - but it is not allowed so that is all there is to it. The stuff must instead lie around & rot or until it is picked up by the local inhabitants when they return after the wave of war has passed beyond their lands.I am enclosing a few more stamps. These I bought in a local shop here this morning on my way up to the Mobile Dentist Unit for attention to my teeth. They are San Marino stamps this being a small independent state - a republic - not very far from where we are at present. I thought that perhaps you may not have many of the stamps of this place & these would serve to add yet another page to your album. How do you like them? They are rather nicely executed issues aren’t they?I must close now. So with fondest greetings, lots of love & all best wishes, your ever loving, Dad.

14 Feb 1945 ALCI am not altogether sure but think my last letter to was written on Sunday. Not very much has happened since then but I suppose there is enough to easily fill these three pages. Working from the diary which Ron sent here is a day to day a/c of my recent activities.Monday 12/2. A moderately warm day with the sun shining thro broken cloud with practically no wind. It hardly ever blows here. The am I spent at the RAP for typhus inoculation & then after a cup of tea at 10am went to the dentist. In the pm I was on duty - I remember now I wrote another AL this afternoon. The evening I spent at the “Oak” to see a film called “Adventures of Tartu”, featuring Robert Donat, which I quite enjoyed except that the ending is a bit over dramatic. Got back about 8pm & then to the YM for supper & after listening to 9pm news I went to bed but not to sleep as I had very severe toothache throughout the night & did not get a wink of sleep all night in spite of my taking several aspirins, & APC tablets (those I brought from NZ). A wretched night indeed.Tuesday 13/2. A lovely day with bright warm sunshine throughout the day. Up early & as soon as I started moving about toothache eased off. In the am I was on duty & was busy until lunchtime. Immediately after lunch I set out for the dentist. Altho on Monday he had indicated that 2 teeth were in a bad state he did think he would be able to save them however on re-examination following the severe toothache he found them hopeless so out they came. Felt a bit crook afterwards but did not relish coming straight back & going to bed so went to the ENSA theatre where a review was supposed to be on. Thought it might help me to forget my aches & pains. However the review was off & a picture called “Man Called Joe” (Spencer Tracey) showed instead. It was a most unusual theme & quite well done & I thoroughly enjoyed it, & felt much better when it was over. Back here for tea. After tea we went & spent the evening til 10pm with the Italian family in whose house we are accommodated. The lady of the house - the Signora we term her - is a most charming lady & we spent a very nic evening talking about all sorts of things. She speaks French fluently & Jack Blythe is quite good on the French language which he remembers from school & by means of his French & my Italian we were able to carry on quite an interesting & full conversation. Incidentally I find that altho I’d forgotten much of my French & cannot express myself in that language I can understand it as spoken quite well. An interesting & amusing evening. And so to bed at 10.30 - slept well!Wednesday 14/2. This am I spent the time doing my washing (incl self - am not having a shower until well over the flu) & doing miscellaneous odd jobs. This pm again to the pictures to see a film the title of which I forget but which both Jack Blythe & myself, & others with whom we walked home too agree was only fair. Its war theme was to us well just not what we look to for entertainment. This evening I am on the set. Was busy for a while but have cleared up the work & now at 9.30pm and filling in the time as you can see. You will notice that I have been making full use of the troop entertainments available in this area. Lately I have been feeling very restless & unsettled & I seek this relaxation in preference to indulging a session (vino). I like a “party” now & again but I must be careful not to develop the habit of breaking these blue spells by going the weak way. It is all too easy to give way to the temptation to seek cheer and relaxation the easy way & pleasant way. As the weather improves & as I get more over the after effects of the flu I shall get about the outlying country by hitch-hiking again. Still I have “had” this area & will be pleased when the time comes to move on again.You may wonder at such a number of AL’s in such quick succession. Well there are 2 reasons. 1- these AL’s are now unlimited in number, & 2 - I expect that a situation may arise soon which will preclude my writing for some few days - perhaps a week or ten days. So if a break in my letters should occur don’t worry about me.While I think of it. If you hear from Doc or Bill Lasky personally please let me know. They are both fine fellows & I will welcome news of them. Bill is a friend of Doc’s & I think I have referred to him in past correspondence. Get it?

Have had no further mail from you so cannot comment on your correspondence. I seem to be in the doldrums a bit lately again & except for the 2 (approx) air letters I get from you each week I don’t get much other mail. And yet I seem to do my share of letter writing in fact I seem to be always at it. Well sweetheart must see about clearing up the odd work about & then to bed. Am feeling very tired but I guess t’would not be so if I were with you. Lots & lots of love my dearest. And to Ron also. Ever yours, Fred.

18 Feb 1945 ALCAgain feeling very unsettled tonight. Had just about got over the last spell when along comes something else to bring it on again. Our team here has suffered another upset today. At 10.30am Jack Blythe was told that he was to be ready by 1pm to proceed to Adv Base on a tour of duty. He was busy on the set at the time so I immediately relieved him so that he could pack up which he did in something of a “flap”. he got away ok but of course it has had an upsetting effect for we were a happy team & while in many ways Jack was a peculiar chap we got on well together & I am rather sorry to see him go. However this sort of thing happens all the time in this life. And so I am the sole survivor of the team which was here when I first came onto the job. I suppose I will be on my way again before long for we never seem to settle long in one job. I was delighted to receive on Fri your AL of 22/24 Jan (& also Doreen’s AG of 21/1) which I will answer before giving you the news of recent doings. Am glad everybody likes the necklace brooch. Am afraid that it is not possible to obtain cotton wool for packing altho I appreciate it would be just the thing. Thanks for sending 2 nd

lot of Cholera drops. Still have not had to use the 1st lot except for cases mentioned in prev corresp. Re the photo. Your letter reached me Fri am & then I had not received the photo which I concluded must have been lost in transit. But in the pm by strange coincidence it arrived safe and sound and what a thrill I got when I opened it! It is immeasurably better than the AG had indicated it would be & the colouring makes all the difference. It is just what I wanted & I am awfully proud of it & pleased to have it. Many many thanks dear. Looking at it I do feel a bit closer to you both. Yes indeed it is grand & a good photo of both you & Ron. Yes I knew Mr Wilton who died. Went to school (Ocean Bay) & College with his sons Hayden & ……. (name forgotten) & of course knew Muriel from Aero Club days. Yes the war news is wonderfully good but I am resigned to having to endure another three years here before I get home. Hell! Isn’t the prospect b___ awful. No I hardly dare to think of what it will be like to be with you again. Such thoughts make me too homesick & too sorry for myself. One simply has to put himself under a continuous restraint in this way or else I am afraid it would soon get the better of you. I fancy my last letter gave news up to and including Wed so I will take up the story from then. Thursday was another nice day with the sun shining warmly thro broken clouds. Spent the am generally tidying up my gear, remaking my bed roll etc & at the showers for a hot wash. I was on duty in the pm & was fairly busy. After tea I sat & yarned with Jack & Max for a while & then in an endeavour to beat my unsettled feelings went for a long walk (3 hours nearly) in the twilight getting back just in time to hear the 9pm news at the YM where after a cup of tea I sat & read until 10pm when I went to bed.Friday morning I was again on duty. In the pm I spent an hour or thereabouts at the dentist & then back here & did a bit of swot on my Italian course (about time!). After tea I went over to see Ray who was just back from a week in Rome on leave & had a wonderful time there. Whilst there he met Jack Ellison (see letters written on voyage) who is now doing a base job at Bari. You may remember Mrs Priest, she is the wife of one of the chaps who came away with our crowd & was about the only other wife apart from yourself who was on Trentham station the am we left to say goodbye. Remember her? Well she has had a nervous breakdown & her husband has been given compassionate leave to return to NZ. He is probably already back. By the way Gordon Billing who left with JF got compassionate leave for the same reason & he is I know back in NZ. He is the chap who Phil knows, lives in Miramar & left 3 kiddies, & we mentioned him when we were at Phil’s place at Xmas time I think it was. Remember? Asked him to ring you (he left us when we were at Adv Base) but apparently he has not done so. Yesterday I did both am & pm shifts. Jack was crook with flu so spent the day in bed & I did his shift for him. In the evening I went with Ray & another chap to see the opera “The Barber of Seville” which I thoroughly enjoyed. Performed by Itie opera coy who are her by arrangement with ENSA. These Ities are wonderful with their opera singing. All my love darling mine. Ever yours, Fred.Will try to give more details re opera in my next letter. It was a memorable occasion.

19 Feb 1945 ALCIt is just 4pm & I have been told that I can go on leave to Rome leaving tomorrow morning. Grand isn’t it but oh how much better it would be if only I could have your company there. They say it is a very wicked city with many of the eternal city’s nicest looking girls “on the batter” so I really need you with me to keep me in order. Those in a position to know express the opinion that Rome is about the world’s most immoral city at the present time so you can see I am in fro a grand time! Never fear sweetheart I feel pretty confident that my regard for

you will keep me out of mischief. I will be away for eight days, of which five are spent in Rome the others in travelling, and as I propose to make the best of my time whilst there I probably will not be able to write for say the next ten days. This will serve to acquaint you with the cause of the break in correspondence but I will drop you a line if at all possible but if it is not you may rest assured that I will resume my regular correspondence as soon as possible after I get back.I say again how much I would like to have you with me for I know how much you would enjoy seeing this famous city with all its historic interest. However it is not possible so the best I can do will be to see as much as possible & then to tell you all about it when I return.I hope to be able to buy a few presents to send you from Rome & I will try & get something for Ron, Wendy. Pat, John & Neville but those who have been there all remark on the scarcity of goods suitable for gifts and they remark even more upon the terrific prices ruling. However I will do my best, & will try not to disappoint. Just in case I cannot get anything for those mentioned it would be as well not to say anything to them for the time being.Now my darling I must close as there is much to do in preparation for tomorrow’s journey. It has been an unpleasant day here. Dull at first & then a bit of sunshine thro cloud but with a remarkable phenomenon for this place or so it would seem, ie a strong wind which has made it very cold. However it is doing much to dry up the ground which is now less muddy.Will be thinking of you all the time dear & my constant thought will be the realisation of how much more enjoyable it all would be with you and Ron with me.Be a good girl - until I return - and I will be a good boy - until I return - & will tell you all about it when comes that happy day that unites us once again. Loving thoughts sweetheart mine. All my love, Fred.

26 Feb 1945 Rome NZ Forces Club ALCWe return tomorrow am early after a wonderful 5 days here. I needed only you & Ron with me to make the holiday perfect. Have seen some wonderful & interesting things about which I will be delighted to tell you in the sweet bye & bye. Could not do justice to the subject in a letter. Rome is a wonderful city and well deserves its name of the Eternal City - words cannot describe it at all adequately & it has t be seen to be believed. Am writing in great haste as tea (dinner) is on & afterwards I must get my packing done & then to bed early in preparation for the arduous trip back taking two days.My main purpose is to let you know that I have just made arrangements for the following parcels to be sent to you.No 1. Alabaster ornament - bird for Ma.Cameo brooch in silver setting for you.Cameo, unset “ “PS (read this after p.3) hope Clare won’t be disappointed as I didn’t get anything for her. Money exhausted! Will get something for her next time.No 2. 2 books of Italian stamps for John & Neville.Belt for who you like.Book, “Vedute di Roma” keep for me.Book, “Roma” “Postcards “Photo of group at St. Peter’s “Photos of Rome “Opera & Ballet programmes “Kid gloves for Pat.Stamps for Ron.No 3. Alabaster ornament - two horses for you.Alabaster ornament - one horse for Wendy.No 4. Wallet for Ron.Stamps “Yes indeed I am broke but happy to have been able to send you these things. In all modesty I say they are very nice & I know you will like them. They are really nice & this time I am able to say that even I am satisfied. The Club packs & despatches our purchases. One of the many facilities provided by this truly excellent organisation. Things are an awful price here - it is appalling really - & I would hate to tell you the value of these things. I have spent over £30 since I have been here so you can see I have spread myself.Also I had my photo taken & it has turned out really quite good. Still have my black beret so you will be able to see what I look like in it. Will send the photos on (in separate envelopes as before) when I get back.Wish I could pin the cameo on you myself but will make amends in due course. The setting is not the best but

still it is a nice article which I am sure you will love. The unset one I will have set after the war.The horses are gorgeous - beautiful work! Wendy can keep hers until she gets older. Bought it hoping she has inherited Colin’s love of these animals. Ron. Your wallet is quite nice too & I have sent about 200 stamps including the full Musso & Hitler set. Oh how I wish I could be there when you get these things for I know (as I say this time I am satisfied with the things bought) how you will like them. All my love darling, Fred.

28 Feb 1945 Letter.This will probably be the first of these photographs to reach you. I had six copies taken off but have not yet decided whom to send them to & I may send you the others or I may send them to others such as Frank, Clare, Ma, etc, direct. I will let you know as I send on the others. By the way I included another in a parcel to Ron (wallet & stamps) sent away today. How do you like the photo? I think it is quite a good one & perhaps the best I have had taken. Hope you like it.Got back this morning just before noon & was delighted to find four ALC’s waiting for me. Am in the process of trying to settle down to the old existence once more. Time is 10.30pm so must away to bed as have to be up early in the am. Loving thoughts sweetheart! Ever yours, Fred.

01 Mar 1945 ALCHere I am back again at the war after a most delightful week in Rome. We arrived back about midday yesterday after an excellent trip over the last stage which we made in unusually fast time. On Tuesday we were travelling from 7.30am until 6pm & for about four hours it was very hot & the roads were very dusty & so when we reached Seneglia we were tired & dirty in fact we looked as tho we had been out in snow our clothes were so covered in dust. However after a wash & something to eat we soon freshened up. I was delighted to find waiting for me when I got back your AL’s covering the period 25th Jan to 3 rd Feb to which I will reply herein if space permits. I will first give account brief though it must be of my leave. I could fill a book giving account of my activities but time does not permit so perhaps if I give it in diary form you will by using your imagination be able to fill in the blanks.Tues 20/2. Up at 7am. Breakfast 7.45am. On set 8-10am. I hurriedly attended to final details & got away at 10am arriving at petrol point at 10.30am. There embussed at 11am for Senegalia [Senigallia?] arriving there 4pm. Washed & bedded down & then tea after which a hurried look over town.Wed 21/2. Had a poor night sleeping in crude conditions (concrete floor & draughty barny room - old horse stables). Up 6am, washed, shaved, etc & breakfast 7am & on road at 7.30. Lunch at Foligno. Arrived Rome 4.30pm after a very tiring but interesting journey. Washed & rested until dinner at 6.30pm. Had bath at 7.25pm then to lounge to listen to Club orchestra & singers from the Royal Opera. Excellent music & much enjoyed. Supper at 10pm then to bed. (Your ALC’s, 2 of them, 4th -8th Feb just handed to me. Lovely to get them!).Thurs 22/2. Visited St. Peter’s in the morning. It is marvellous beyond words & the most impressive thing I have ever seen. Wish space permitted my giving impressions in full but it must wait until I can tell you all about it. In the afternoon on a sight-seeing tour to: the Pincio, Castle of San Angelo, Mussolini Stadium, Church of Capachins, Janiculum Hill.Fri 23/2. Morning, tour of Vatican City. Afternoon, sight-seeing: Colosseum, Caraculla Baths, (old ruins), St. Callistus Catacombs, Constantine Arch, Old & New Appian Way, Quo Vadis Church. In evening to Royal Opera House to see “Aida”. a bit disappointing.Sat 24/2. Spent this day shopping in Rome. Walked miles & saw much of interest in around Rome City. Had my photo taken. Plenty to be bought but the prices appallingly high. L450 for a tie, L2300 for shirt, L4000 for shoes. It is unbelievable! Evening at Royal Opera House to see the Ballet. Very fine & much enjoyed.Sun 25/2. Walked down to Victor Emmanuel Monument form which I obtained glorious over Rome, then Capitol Hill, Temple of Vesta, etc. then along Tiber & back to lunch. PM: sight-seeing tour to Horatius Bridge, Malta Knights, the British Cemetery to see Keats’ & Shelley’s graves, St. Paul’s Basilica, St. Mary Major Basilica. Evening in lounge listening to orchestra until 8.30 when with Colin McKenzie I walked down to view the Victor E. Monument in moonlight (looked very fine), we walked on over Capitol Hill down thro the Roman Forum & past Colosseum & then home. All very impressive in the bright moonlight.Mon 26/2. Around Rome shopping. PM. On tour including Roman Forum, St. Peter’s in Chains, Holy Stairs, St. John’s in Laterin Bascillica, Musical Doors. Evening, preparing for return journey & in lounge listening to music. Went for a brief walk around gardens & down Via Nationale with Ted McPherson & Don ___ . Back at 9pm for supper, then to bed.Tues 27/2. Up at 6am. Breakfast 6.45. On road at 7.30. Lunch at Foligno. Arrived at Senegalia 6pm after a tiring dusty journey.

Wed 28/2. Completed return journey.In addition to the places named as seen on the tours I also saw many other famous places too numerous to mention & considering the short time I was in Rome (it would take weeks to see it all properly) I think I managed to see most of the more interesting places. It meant a lot of hard work, going at top speed all the time & in fact it was sight-seeing in typical American tourist fashion, but it was well worth it. I only wish space and time permitted my giving you some of my impressions of the various places seen but it is not possible. Suffice it here to say that Rome is a truly marvellous place and I should say the City of the World but oh very wicked just now. I lost count of the times I was accosted by women, some very tempting ones too, whose purpose I leave you to guess. Prices are so terrific & food so scarce that poor things they are driven to it by sheer necessity in many cases. Oh the stories I could tell but it must wait. Later I will send you some guide books I bought to help me learn about the various places & from these you will be able if you wish to learn something of the history of the famous places in this remarkable city.Last night I posted to you a GE containing a short note & one of the photos I had taken in Rome. I compared it with the one taken in Bari & it is infinitely better. I know you will like it. It even satisfies my conceit! Also posted today to Ron the parcel containing his wallet & the stamps (not sent from the Club as stated in ALC posted there) & I included in the parcel another copy of the photo. Quite a nice wallet & a good selection of stamps, about 150 of them including the full H & M set. Guess he will be thrilled. Please let me know if you receive the AL sent from the Club in Rome enumerating contents of parcels. I assure you you will love the things I have sent. Only hope they reach you safely & undamaged.Will write again just as soon as I can but there is a flap on at the moment as you will see from later mail. Oh my darling how I do love you! Yes I remain true in spite of Rome’s many temptations. Your ever loving husband, Fred.Ma’s AL 6/2/45, AG 15/2/45 from Uncle Chas, letter 23/2/45 from Jack F, just to hand. A surfeit of mail indeed. Grand.

02 Mar 1945 ALCI must first concentrate on answers to your six AL’s which have come to hand since I returned from Rome & then when I have done that I will give the news - space permitting.Please thank Ma for her AL of 6/2 which she wrote to thank me for the brooch. I hope her spell in bed has a beneficial effect on the leg which I am sorry to learn makes such slow progress. Hope Pop enjoyed his holiday at Picton & that good fishing was to be had. Now for your mail.AL 25/1. Yes you do seem to be having a very poor summer indeed. I trust that you have a good late summer. We are having a great early spring - warm & without rain & ground is now quite dry again. Have not heard from Jack Clendon & I haven’t his address so cannot write him. You may see him soon. Your plan re hiring a housekeeper & cook is an excellent one except that she would be a bit in the way. It will take me all my time to accustom myself to one woman (you) let alone two! Yes having Ma to stay would be a nice break for you. I like your comments at the end of this letter. Loving words like these are especially welcome.AL 28/1. Interested to know Herbie N has arrived back. Hope he is well & suffers no perm disability. No darling much as I would like (how inadequate that word is) to be back I would rather wait a while & return to you fit & well - physically & morally. Hope that by the time her next birthday comes around Ma’s leg is much improved & that I can be one of the bridge four.AL 1/2. The change at Trentham would do you good. And so T still has its flies! When in ME I thought they must have migrated there in fact I seemed to recognise the more tenacious kind as of T origin. Hope Colin does not have to go too far forward. He has done his share & deserves to get home. Good to know that Dr. Mac was so pleased with Ron’s progress. How is the ear? Still discharging & how is the hearing? Glad Clare liked the brooch. The snaps will be welcome (you & Ron & he & Wendy). Sorry to learn of the fire at Daniell St. but glad it was not more serious. [Shed fire from me burning rubbish!]. J’ville must be showing some enterprise holding such a carnival. Hope it was a success financially.AL 3/2. hope missing mail has turned up. From 30/12 to 10/1 I wrote; two AL’s on 2/1, GE 3/1, one AL 7/1. Yes the cold was pretty bad but it is past now & we are enjoying lovely weather now. Appreciate your reassuring remarks about Ron. It puts my mind at rest to have your reassurance. Re Doreen, Dick’s widow. Yes I am inclined to agree she is a poor type - she must have been to do even what Dick told me she had done - & undoubtedly she has behaved very badly. Still there can be no shadow of doubt that Dick was the father of her child & the fact that he married her clearly shows that D [Doreen?] knew it too. It is only natural for her to go back to her relations (even altho she knows that they supported her aunt who killed her husband) & I don’t think she is open to criticism on this score. In the circs it is best in every way, now that she has shown her wishes in the matter, just for you all to forget her & who she is. I think Dick would approve in view of what has happened.AL 4/2. loving remarks herein again welcome. Ron’s enrolment at Ngaio School is a sound step & I generally

like the sound of the situation there. Hope he likes it there & that he settles down well & gets on. Yes my darling I am afraid you will have to play a very big part in things when the happy time comes for me to settle down again. I will do my best too but there are factors involved which are going to make it a difficult process, in spite of my endeavours to keep myself right. I sometimes wonder which is the better course (1) let myself go & hope to be able to rehabilitate myself when I return, or (2) keep myself decent & respectable & hope that the repression & self-restraint will not have lasting effects. I favour (2) - at the moment! But oh hell - I can’t help feeling __! Re Dick’s Doreen. You should be very discreet in what you tell your mother but everything I have told you is true & if it would relieve her mind I don’t mind you telling her what I have told you in my letters & before I left NZ. In view of what she knows of our courting perhaps you are able to speak more freely than would otherwise be possible. Dick took me completely into his confidence (my realisation of this makes me reluctant to do anything which could be construed as a betrayal of his trust) & knowing what I do I say again that without possible doubt he was the father of Doreen’s child. Please respect my duty to Dick in discussing the matter with your family for his death does not release me from the obligation to honour his confidence. I only told you something o what I knew before I left to prepare you for a shock which I could see was inevitable. Of course I never anticipated that events would culminate as they did. I never met Doreen but two conclusions are possible; (1) that she loved Dick very deeply, (2) that she desperately needed a man - any man. I may be quite wrong but from what I know I would say the second alternative is the more likely. I don’t think that even Dick believed the first alternative & I feel that he was not without regrets that he had allowed himself to get into the position he was in. Still it was very very human, & when one takes into a/c his unsettled state following war service it was well just inevitable. I don’t blame him one bit.Am sorry now that you had my Bari photo enlarged. I think you will agree when you see it, that the one taken in Rome is much better. The 22nd Btn is nearby so I hope to meet George B sometime soon. Made many enquiries re other friends before eventually finding them so may not see him for a while.AL 6/2. Yes indeed it must have been a grand sight to see Ron setting off for school in the normal way once more. I pray that a happy future lies ahead for the dear boy. Good luck pal! Yes too I guess you miss his company but in every way it is a good thing that he is able to follow the normal course in the life of a boy & as you say relief from the strain upon you is also a good thing. By the way how about that medical check-up? I am worried that you have not attended to it ere this. J’ville soil cannot be so poor after all judging by the number of the monthly bloom competitions you manage to win. And so Herbie Neal seems embarrassed upon meeting women. I fear what I will be like, they will scare me stiff. Why I shall even be shy of you! There is more truth in this than perhaps you realise but still I suppose we will resolve the difficulty in due course but we see so few women that we forget how to conduct ourselves in their company. But can you imagine me shy of you if so it will be rather a reversal of the previous position. What! More bad weather! You sure are having a rotten summer. Thanks for the reading matter but we get more than enough here & I doubt if I will ever read what you have sent. Spend too much time writing. If you keep sending it I will have to stop writing & get onto reading. The Carnival sounds quite attractive. Good to have such reports about the “set up” as regards Ron’s schooling, his teacher, quality of his work, etc. I can almost hear those howling winds - oh how I detest them. Think we will have to see about a shift when I get back. Strong winds are quite an unusual phenomenon here & I will find it strange to have such frequent strong winds when I get back.That is the lot - thank goodness. Now for a few general remarks. The weather for my Rome visit was absolutely perfect. Warm still days with brilliant sunshine from a clear sky with lovely moonlight nights (it was almost full moon). Just lovely - not too hot as it becomes later in the year. We are having a lovely spell of weather here just now, but it is noticeably cooler than in Rome. We are having rather more wind than was the case a month or so ago. A steady moderate wind thro’out the day. Recollections of Rome; a bath in a bath, meals off a table, having a tablecloth, using knife, spoon, & FORK (have not lost the art!), sleeping in pyjamas, sitting over meal table, being waited on, having EL and H&C water, speaking to English speaking women ….etc. In short being able to live like a human being for a short while. It helps one recover a little self respect. Again short of space.All my love my darling. Hope you are well, as I am. Ever yours, Fred. 06 Mar 1945 ALCHaving answered all your mail in my last AL & not having received any further mail since then I am rather at a loss to know what to write about as it is not possible just yet to give you account of our recent doings although you will be able to guess what has happened from remarks in previous correspondence coupled with what is said herein.Last evening having nothing very much to do I accompanied the DR on his circuit in the course of which we passed the house of our old friends Olivia, Rena, etc whose Xmas greetings you acknowledged in your last AL. we stopped for a few minutes to exchange greetings but could not stay long on account of shortage of time.

They were extremely pleased to us & were insistent that we call again which we hope to do again.12.30pm Same day. Earlier this morning I put this aside for 2 reasons, (1) there were several small matters to attend to, (2) I was at a loss to know what to write about. By a stoke of good fortune the second difficulty has in the meantime resolved itself because in the meantime your surface letter of 12/12 7 your AL of 9/2 have come to hand. By commenting on these I hope to fill in the space. No doubt you will understand the reasons for my not writing the more usual kind of letter. The photos are much appreciated. They are really quite good as snaps & they show graphically hope as Ron is growing & filling out. He does look well. Quite like the one of you too. You look well also but I cannot see any manifestation of slimming programmes. Thanks for the newspaper cuttings. Dorothy Kemp seems to be making a fine impression as a singer. The materials look very nice especially the pinkish one. Don’t know that I would like such a patterned nightie but I wait until I see you in it before expressing any opinion. The best comparison would be for you to put on then take it off & I could then judge better. Or could I? For the first view would not receive full attention!Now for your AL 9/2. Am glad the missing mail has turned up. Yes you certainly are having a poor summer indeed. Hope Ma, Doreen & Wendy have an enjoyable time in Auckland & also Pop at Picton. Your comments re Ron, the manner he is getting on at school & his initiative when playing at home are very welcome. Tis grand to see he is getting on so well. Sorry to learn of Colin’s disability and hope it has no lasting effects. Yes as I said in a recent AL he has done his share & deserves to get out. I hope things turn out this way now. But it would be terrible & a great shame if his sight is in any way affected & I sincerely hope this is not the case. Please ask Doreen to convey to him my best wishes for a rapid & complete recovery and a safe return to home & civvy occupation. You will be pretty busy helping Ron with his stamps when all those en route reach him.I love your remarks re tickles, cuddles etc & they help me to live again through some of the very happy incidents of the past & as far as I dare to anticipate the future. Oh hell how I miss you my sweetheart! You just could not know how much however you might think otherwise. I can only say & say again that I just live for the time when I can return to claim you as my own & to lavish my love & affections upon you, you lovely thing (sounds foolish but I do mean it dear). Just to think of the grand times we could be enjoying together & here I am so far away & really very homesick for although I have some wonderful times there is something missing all the time & I know only too well that something is you. Yes sweetheart we will have a lot to make up for later and it will heavenly beyond words when that happy time comes around. As you say it will be just too overwhelming. You know I sometimes fear that the intervening years & effect of present experiences may change us to such an extent that we may be inviting disappointment in the way we dream of the future. The fear is very real with me at times. But remember my darling that whatever happens and come what may, my love for you is as profound & sincere as ever it could be & leaving you has only made me fully realise what I thought was so. Yes sweetheart I do love you very dearly and it will always be so. With those few loving remarks (even altho they must sound very cold in print) I change to another subject.The NZ Forces Club in Rome is a delightful place. It occupies the premises of the Albergo (Hotel) Quirinal which before the war was one of the best hotels in Rome. It has been taken over as a going concern except that the food is army fare which however the cooks (Ities, I think) effectively disguise & make quite nice. Even today it is as good, & I think one could say, better than NZ’s best even in spite of the fact that it is merely soldiers who are catered for. Some of the soldiers however do not behave too well (altho this is I am glad to say not the general rule) & this rather spoils the atmosphere of the place, but not to any marked extent in my opinion. For a few days we were able to live like men - not beasts. It was grand. Will tell you more some other time.I am writing this sitting on the cab of our wireless truck. It is delightful here in the warm sunshine with a pretty view of the surrounding mountains. Snow covered slopes are only a mile or so distant & at nights it is pretty chilly altho on many still days as today is it is pretty good it seems. Am very fit & well & hope you & all are likewise.All my love darling. Ever yours, Fred. Love to Ron, all the best son!

08 Mar 1945 ALCHave just had a wonderful thrill in the receipt of your three AL’s 13 to 20 Feb. Oh sweetheart it is wonderful hearing from you so often & so regularly! Words cannot adequately express my thanks to you for writing so often but I think you must know how much your letters do mean to me, especially when you do “let yourself go” & wrote those words I do love to hear from you. News items are of course very welcome but most welcome of all are the remarks you sometimes interpose in some of your letters. I cannot exactly say why but they do really fill a definite need. Perhaps it is that it makes me realise that the feelings I have for you and which are with me all the time are reciprocated and I derive much pleasure from the knowledge that such is the case. Now to answer your mail after which I will give you some generalities altho we are still not able to say too much.Your AL 13/2. I rather favour our forgetting the birthdays of Frank’s kiddies. Neither Frank nor Jean deserve the compliment & altho it is unfair that the kiddies should suffer it is not easy to send them things under present

circumstances that they would really appreciate. Was pleased to note that you had understood & correctly interpreted the message contained in my AL wherein I asked you to refer back to AL24/10. The diversion of troops to Greece necessitated a postponement but my anticipations have now materialised as no doubt you have already guessed. Have had no further parcels. Will acknowledge them as they come to hand. Yes it is time the tobacco parcel reached me. Has EWC left NZ for service in this theatre of war? My Italian is not too fluent (never was good at learning languages) but tis good enough to find my way about & generally I get along quite well provided they don’t speak fast as they usually do. I can understand their remarks but have difficulty in making myself understood. It is a language in which the inflections of voice are most important, a slight difference in sound making a great difference to the meaning of words etc. Never good at reproducing sounds, musical & otherwise. I am weak in the pronunciation of the language, hence my difficulty when speaking to the people. I continue with my ERS course but I have not the time to put into it, & I am much behind with it. I get good reports on the work I have sent in but altho I should by now have finished the course I am actually only 1/3 thro with it.Your AL 14/2. Good to know that mail is reaching you so soon after it leaves here. Yes it helps to overcome that feeling that we are nearly 12,000 long weary miles apart! So Charlie L has bought a car (second hand I expect as new ones must be impossible to get - we would say: must be “out of the monk” in Div parlance). Good luck to him & I hope he never has cause to regret his purchase. After the war when petrol & tyres are again plentiful he will drive much pleasure from it. I expect Ron is quite envious & perhaps somewhat jealous. Good to have such good reports on the quality of Ron’s school-work. Keep it up my son! Note your remarks re handbag. I think it would be better if I sent you the money & you bought it in NZ where I feel sure you could get one of better quality & much cheaper & at the same time be sure you got what you wanted. Will send money shortly. I looked at many handbags in Rome but anything decent was priced £5 & more. Yes it is a shame about Colin & I do hope he gets home & completely well soon. We are well off here & while some moan there is nothing to justify it. For weeks we had more oranges than we could eat - they were going rotten, plenty of food (typical army fare but good enough), beer & cigs & choc & really everything we need in canteens. Yes indeed we are running extremely smoothly over here now the army having exceptional consideration for men’s welfare & being able to get the stuff to properly care for us and the National Patriotic scheme doing good work also. To let you see how little I need, when Doc left he said if parcels came for him for us to use them. Well 2 did arrive, a cake which we ate & a parcel of tinned meats etc. Jack Blythe left soon after Doc so I was the sole benefactor and having so little need of the stuff to which I had no real claim anyway I have given it away to Ities who I could see needed food of this kind. The chaps think me a damn fool not to sell the stuff which fetches really fantastic prices, 7/6 to 10/- for a tin of tongue, but I can’t do it, altho I must confess that on a few occasions I have sold a or bartered goods but I hate doing it altho I know full well how the Ities exploit us. Still food is terribly scarce especially meat etc, & well it seems wrong when we have plenty to make them pay exorbitant prices for stuff which costs us nothing. Don’t think I am an angel my dear. Far from it. I stoop to all too many low practices these days.Your AL 17/2. Glad Pop had good fishing. Grand news to learn that arrangements have been made to roof the shed & to do up Ron’s room. Hope the work is done sooner than sometimes happens. Long overdue this work but in view of the consideration shown re rent one should not complain. Had letter from Jack F a few days ago & he was then still at Senegalia cooking for KCP but hoping that his replacement would soon take over as he not at all well (effect fumes). Haven’t answered in hope I might see him here but not so far, altho should be any time.Am having a very lazy time here at present in fact the lack of something to do & the general monotony are extremely boring but we will get “organised” shortly I expect. In fact I am rather afraid they intend to get too well organised & I think we may find ourselves with too much to do. We are working “skeds” (schedules) ie calls at prescribed times but we have plenty of time to ourselves. Yesterday sunny but very cold wind. I went for a stroll over hills with Max & in the evening went into __ where I met many friends & we spent some time in a wine bar in convivial atmosphere. Severe storm during the night & hills are again heavily with snow which is quite low down & only about ½ mile away. Today is fine again & I am sitting outside in the sun (nice & warm writing this). Nights are extremely cold here but the days are nice & warm except when the wind is blowing when it becomes really unpleasant.Lots & lots of love to you both. Fondest love sweetheart. Ever yours & yours alone, Fred.

10 Mar 1945 ALC (Typed)I guess your eyebrows will go up when you receive this typewritten ALC and you will probably wonder how it is that I have access to a typewriter. Well the truth of the matter is that I happen to come over to see a pal of mine who has a portable typewriter and he has kindly allowed me to use it to send these few lines to you. As a matter of fact he has gone out for the evening and I am here on my own and having nothing better to do am

filling in the time as you can see. Pat, who I came over to see, had previously arranged to go out to visit some Italian folk living nearby and he is spending the evening with them. It is a beastly night blowing hard as it has done all day and very cold. Before long it will be raining hard judging from the heavy appearance of the clouds around the hills. In fact as I sit here now I can hear the first drips on the tent in which I am sitting and I fear we are in for a rough night. To make matters worse it is very cold and with the strong wind blowing it right through clothing we are all feeling it rather severely. These winds we get here are an unpleasant change from what we have become accustomed to lately for during the real cold weather we had little or no wind. A chap has just come in to type some work on this machine so I will finish this page then hand over to him and then try and finish this some other time. It seems he requires the typewriter for some time so it is no use my waiting for him to finish. We are having a very easy time at the moment but we will be getting back to work again in the course of the next day or two. I have never been more lazy than I have been during the past few days, just loafing around doing nothing. If the army has dome nothing else for me it has taught me laziness. It has been said that war consists of long periods of monotony broken by short periods of intense excitement and my experiences since leaving NZ convince me that the man who uttered these words had an excellent appreciation of the ways of war. While in some ways the periods pf monotony are to be preferred I really must say that over such an extended period as we have had to endure for the past several months it becomes too much of a good thing. Ray Foster and the other chaps whose company I enjoy are living some distance away and it seems that I will not see very much of them for a while. Last evening Max and I went for a stroll to the village which is about a mile and a half away and after spending some while in a wine bar sipping vermouth we went to the cinema to see a Sonje Henje picture called “Wintertime” which however we voted rather a poor show. The skating scenes were enjoyable and well done but too much was made of the band and in usual Yank fashion it just blared and blared in the most awful fashion (I simply cannot understand the modern American swing music). The whole programme was poor and the evening could not be voted a huge success although I quite enjoyed our short session before the pictures when I re-met quite a few chaps who I had not seen for some time. Today the main item of interest was the receipt of Clare’s letter of 21 Feb to which I will reply as soon as possible. I was very pleased to hear from her. As I look back over this letter I see that it is not a very creditable effort and my ability as a typist is not what it once was but you will have to forgive me as this is the first time I have used a typewriter for some time. Have not heard of Jack and presume he is still at Senegalia although I expect to see him or hear of his arrival here at any time. It will be good to see him again. Yesterday I went for a walk over the surrounding countryside with two Sigs friends who are camped here in the area as I am. Saw nothing of exceptional interest but met a young Italian who spoke English very well and we had quite an interesting discussion on various matters. He started learning English for only 3 months and considering the short time he had a remarkable grasp of the language. I wish I could claim as much for my knowledge of his native tongue. He rather put me to shame but I gathered that he had been able to give more time to his studies than I have been able to. As I sit here typing these lines the wind seems to be becoming worse and if it keeps up I foresee our having trouble with our bivvies and tents ere dawn. Nights are very cold and I do not relish the thought of having to get up during the night to erect collapsed tents. I usually wake up about 3 am aching with the cold even though I have five blankets over me. As yet the rain which I anticipated has not developed into anything serious but when the wind abates it may become worse. I am fit and well and trust you and Ron are also well and happy. As your last mail was so fast in transit it will probably be a while before the next lot arrives. That is one disadvantage of mails reaching us so fast. Tomorrow or the next day I have to go over to ___ (place where I called in to see friends - see last letter but one) to see the Sigs personnel there so if time permits I may look up my friends again.11th March. Had to leave off there last night for two reasons. First the tent in which I was sitting required tightening up as the wind became worse. Secondly some chaps came in and made supper after which we sat & yarned & then went off to bed. Slept well in spite of the elements & our attentions to tentage the previous night obviated any trouble from that quarter. This morning dawned a perfect day & it continues so still. A cloudless sky and no wind & the brilliant sunshine is really hot. It is just glorious sitting here. I have just returned from having a hot shower and after I finish this I must get busy and do my washing. My blankets are out in the sun airing. Well that just about completes the news - little although it is - and I must draw to a close & get busy on the odd jobs which require doing.All my love sweetheart. Take good care of yourself. Ever yours, Fred.

14 Mar 1945 ALCI am afraid this will be a poorly written & not very interesting letter but of late I have become rather lax in writing to you and so I must write even although there is little news I can give you. I am sitting in an awkward position & am in rather a hurry (am writing in our midday break) hence the poor writing. Have had no further mail from you so am unable to fill in space by commenting on home news. This is in no way meant as a

complaint as I expected something of a gap in the receipt of mail following the rapid transit of the last mail to hand. Today is another glorious day & we are enjoying a beautiful spell of weather here at present. I am sitting outside the wireless truck in lovely warm sunshine from an almost cloudless sky. A brisk breeze is blowing but it is not so cold as it sometimes is & actually it is rather welcome as without it it would perhaps be too warm. We are hoping it does not freshen too much as strong winds are not too pleasant in our present situation. As you will already have gathered we are out of action and have moved back to what is termed a rest area but it seems that we are not here altogether for a rest, which we hardly need after so long on a static front, and it seems that the idea is mainly to give us a change & fitten us up. As an example of the daily routine I will give you an account of yesterdays & today’s activities. Yesterday up at 6.45, washed, shaved & tidied bed and quarters before breakfast at 7.30. Parade at 8.15 lasting about until about midday when we had lunch. After lunch I was free until 3.30pm when I went on duty on the set. Was due to finish at 8.30pm but unforeseen difficulties precluded my getting away until 9.30pm when I made supper & then went to bed. This morning up at 6.45 following the same routine as yesterday except that parade was not until 8.30am & the syllabus provided for a route march from which we returned at 11am. We were very hot & dusty & were pleased of the opportunity to go for a hot shower getting back to our camping area just in time for lunch at noon. Have just finished lunch & here I am. On account of having to do some clerical work (in connection with our wireless programme) from 2 to 4pm I am exempt from training this afternoon & so I have until 2pm to finish this. This evening I am free & I hope to go down to the village to see Ray & other friends there. I cannot give you the name of the village but it is where Jack F was last October so if you see Jen she will be able to tell you. We are out in the fields about 1 ½ - 2 miles distant from the town which is only a small place & very uninviting. In good weather we are much better off here. The town where I was last Oct is about 12 miles away. On account of my change of unit I did not return there altho as you will know from my AL’s written a week or so ago I paid a brief visit there the evening of the day we got here. Am hoping to get over there again shortly. It is a much better town than the one nearby. This short account will give you a fair idea of the daily routine which you will see has changed since I last wrote when I mentioned how lazy I was being.On Sunday evening four of us walked into the village for a stroll. It was a beautiful evening & the whole town seemed to be strolling the streets. The Ities have a custom doing this & often of an evening & espexially on Sundays & on occasions of fetes (festivals) one sees them dressed in their best clothes standing in squares & streets chatting & generally fraternising - a sort of grand social gathering. We walked round for a while & I met Ray & other friends and about 6pm or a little later we adjourned to a wine bar for the usual good cheer, yarn etc. We were there until closing time at 8pm when a chap called Fitz & myself (the other two Max & Bob had returned earlier) set out for home (here). On the way we met two Ities who invited us up to their casa & we accepted their invitation. Fitz is a DR & has a jeep (he is the chap with whom I went to F.) and we picked same up from here as we went past. Had a pleasant evening but we had rather excess of the vino. (The Ities always turn it on liberally for Kiwi soldati) & we finished up somewhat “ubbriaco” (drunk) altho really not so bad. I drove the jeep home. Yes it was a good evening & I quite enjoyed it. I seem to do much better with the language with a few in & I can natter away in good style while at other times I am only poco buono (literally little good), only fair. While I think of it, I yesterday posted to Ma a green envelope containing a copy of my photo which I hope she will like better than the previous one & if so substitute it therefor. Well darling it is after 2pm & space is exhausted so cheerio. God bless you & keep you safe & well. All my love sweetheart. And also to Ron. Ever & forever yours, Fred.

18 Mar 1945 ALCThis morning I was delighted to receive your two AL’s covering the period 21 st to 25th Feb inclusive. It is over a week since I last heard from you so that this mail was especially welcome. There is little news so I will answer your mail first & then add what news there is. Your AL 21st Feb. Thanks for sending the sniffer so promptly. “Karsodrine” is what I have used for a long time now & is as good as or better than Bensodrine. My old one which I thought lost has turned up so I still have the other almost new one still in reserve. Your report on Ron’s physical development is reassuring and makes good reading. I am most pleased to know he is doing so well & taking part in the school’s recreational activities in the normal way. No! I do not think I will now need my woollen singlets. Actually during the worst of the cold weather we had very little wind & I thought it advisable to hold back in case we had strong winds when we would have felt the cold much more. Fortunately we did not get much in the way of wind until the weather had become noticeably warmer. I am quite proud having come through such cold weather wearing only a shirt, jersey & BD jacket because oh hell it was cold! Sorry to learn that the weather in NZ continues so beastly. You should not have worried sending presents to the kiddies in Auckland. Frank’s nature rather disgusts me & in future I don’t intend worrying too much about them. Not the right attitude I know but I am afraid I am becoming more & more intolerant the more I see of mankind & believe me I see rather too much of it these days. If in the

hereafter (which I firmly disbelieve) most men & not a few women must be called to account for a lot & hell must be awfully overcrowded & heaven awfully sparsely populated.Your AL 24/2. Please do not enlarge your writing too much - it cuts down on news too much. Thank Brian (for his kindness in cutting the lawn) for me. It was very good of him. Yes indeed! It would be nice if you could come in on our wireless group & call me as you suggest. It would be grand to hear your voices again. You are quite right dear in encouraging Ron’s self-reliance. It is not only a good thing it is absolutely essential to do so. Your mention of the Lourie family lying on a rug in the sun makes me really envious. Still our time will come & we had our turn in the earlier war years when others were away. And as you say those happy times will come again for us & in the not too distant future we hope!That is all the comments needed so now for some general news. Our mode of life goes on much the same as ever altho one notices that the enthusiasm about the parades etc is beginning to wane and we are gradually getting more time to ourselves. However there are a few jobs we must try & get done while we are here & these will take time. One such job is to paint the whole of the inside of our truck (we are waiting on the supply of paint) which is filthy dirty form the effects of our heater.The weather has deterioted somewhat lately & on Fri evening late a storm blew up & we had wind & rain during the night. Yesterday am was nice & fine but as the day drew on it clouded over & began to blow & became quite cold. During the night it blew & rained hard but it is fine again now. The ground is horribly messy & muddy. Today being Sun we have the day to ourselves. Max is the wireless operator on duty for the day so I have got busy on various odd jobs such as washing, writing, etc.Yesterday I received Mrs Foley’s parcel for which I am most grateful. I shall write & thank her as soon as I can (if possible later today) but in the meantime will you please convey my grateful thanks.Last night Max & I went down to the village to the pictures at the YM Cinema. It was rather poor show but the outing provided a welcome break for there is absolutely nothing to do around camp in the evening when one is not on duty. Arrived back about 9.30pm & made a cup of tea & then to bed. Kept dry in spite of the rain.Another fortnight & we will have been away for a year. In some ways it has gone quickly for me but on the whole it seems much longer. It seems ages & ages since I held you in my arms & kissed those loving lips. Oh hell I do so much miss you my sweetheart. Still someday soon we will be together again so until then, ever yours,lovingly, Fred.

20 Mar 1945 ALC to Ron.Today brought me a very pleasant surprise in the form of your Air Letter of 4 th March. When I received this I was very puzzled to know who it was from as I could not recognise the writing of the address and not until I looked on the back did I realise that it was from you. In every way this latest letter from you reflects a vast improvement over anything you have written previously. It is well written and your composition is excellent, & the subjects are well chosen. Yes in every way it is a creditable effort and one which pleases me greatly as to be perfectly truthful your previous endeavours had somewhat disappointed me. However this one leaves little to be desired and Mum tells me it was almost entirely your own effort.Actually I was extremely lucky today for I received no less than six letters. Yours, three from Mum, one from Miss Smith (L&S Dept) and one from Doc Jennings. By the way you may have met the latter friend of mine by the time this letter reaches you.Am glad you liked the stamps which I sent. There are a lot more on the way which I will list so that you will know what to expect:30 Italian varieties, sent 27-1-45.? San Marino “ “ 12-2-45.2 envelopes, 150 misc. sent 22-2-45 (from Rome).15 Vatican? Italian varieties, incl Hitler-Mussolini set, sent 2-3-45 (with wallet).I hope these reach you safely. Was interested to hear that your house won the school sports competition. Stout effort. And I was pleased to know that you like your new school. From what Mum tells me in her letters I feel sure it is a grand place & well worth the time & trouble in travelling the extra distance from home & back each day. But always remember that when on your own you must be a really good boy & must always be careful as regards traffic on roads etc. You must never give Mum cause for worry while I am away. I am not giving you very much in the way of news in this letter because in my letters to Mum I give everything of interest & no doubt you hear of my doings in that way. I will be writing to Mum tomorrow or later today.As regards the suggestion contained in a recent letter from Mum that I ask one of the chaps returning to take with them a souvenir for you. This course is unfortunately hardly possible. We have more than enough to carry without including things of that kind & I would not ask anyone to do it. Lots & lots of love son dear & every best wish. Your ever loving Dad.

22 Mar 1945 ALCIt is now just 2.30am so you can see I am at work in the wee small hours, my shift being from midnight until 8am. I have just finished my supper or perhaps more correctly my breakfast. Atmospheric conditions are extremely bad & we have lost touch with our outstations & so I have been taking it easy & calling & listening for only 15 mins each ½ hour. At 2am I made myself a cup of cocoa & while the primus was on I fried a couple of eggs & made a slice of toast. It went well believe me. So you see we have fun & games at times!To answer your enquiry while I think of it. B Sec is the same as R Sec. The designation was changed early in the new year. Wondered if you would notice it. Your AL 24/2 PS refers. As you will know from an AL which I wrote to Ron yesterday I was very pleased to receive your AL’s 26/2, 1/3, 3/3 yesterday am. I did not expect this mail so soon after the 2 AL’s received a day or two before & they came as a very nice surprise. Not much comment is necessary & I will leave it in abeyance meantime.Now for an account of my doings during the past few days. I fancy I last wrote on Monday afternoon. On Monday evening after tea I played a strenuous game of tenni-quoits with Pat & then after a wash off we went for a stroll in the twilight together, eventually finishing up at the casa where Pat was visiting when I used the typewriter. The family was about to have tea (8pm is the usual tea hour for them at this time of the year) & they insisted that we join them & so altho not hungry we had for the sake of appearances & good taste to get thro the huge plateful of macaroni they set before us. Oh what an effort was needed! After tea we sat talking & in accordance with custom sipping the usual vino the while. They are very hospitable people as are all the folk hereabouts. There is no doubt the Kiwis are extremely popular wherever they go. We returned about 10pm. I really will have to revise my opinion about my linguistic ability. The boys are very complimentary and even the Ities express surprise that I speak so well after so short a time in Italy. I even on Monday was able to discuss that favourite of mine - International Affairs & Politics & what is more amazing I find myself being sought out as an interpreter. Pat said he was amazed to find me so well able to natter away and he certainly left me to keep conversation going.Yesterday, Tuesday, I had occasion to go over to F. [Faenza?] OHMS. Went with the DR in his jeep. Was too busy to attend to social calls altho I did look up Bob Craft and Doug Davies who however were away, on manoeuvres I think. We got back in time for tea after which Fitz (the DR) & I went touring in his jeep. We went away into the hills & the road we were on faded out altogether & we had to turn into a casa to turn around. We were at once surrounded by many Ities & in their usual hospitable fashion theyivited us in for vino. We accepted, staying there for about an hour. I bought 10 eggs at the cost of 150 lire (7/6) which will give you some idea of food values in this country. Actually I did not pay cash as I exchanged 2 tins of sardines (which Jack gave me in Forli) for them but the cash value of these was about 5/- & had we paid cash for the eggs we would have had to pay the usual price of 15 lire each for them. Rather amazing isn’t it! The family life of these people amazes me, there are so many living in a small space & they get on so well together. Married sons seem usually to take their wives (only one each of course) home to live & marriages are blessed with molti bambini - thanks to Musso no doubt & perhaps more so to the perfect climate & healthy outdoor life. Seven to ten children is quite common. Could write a long story on this subject but space too limited. We got back at 9pm & after supper including friedeggs we went to bed.Today (another perfect day as regards weather) I again went over to F. but this time purely for social purposes. I first looked up Jack Hallewell who however I found was away on a special course & won’t be back for a week or so. Next I looked up my Italian friends & they were simply delighted to see me again. Had lunch with them. They could not get over how my linguistic ability has improved. We nattered away in great style. They are fine people & Rena is an especially lovely girl in manner, nature & appearance. Yes their pleasure in seeing me was most flattering. Their gratitude for the trifles I gave them (tin of meat, chocolate, soap, & cigs) was overwhelming. After lunch we sat & talked for an hour when I left to see Alex Murray whose name appears in my previous mail from F. (in Oct-Nov last). Spent an hour with him then hitch-hiked back here arriving in nice time for tea. Had another interesting & amusing adventure this evening (yesterday now) but it must wait. Got to bed at 10pm & just nicely asleep when off went the alarm & here I am, tired but well & happy. All my love darling mine. Fred.If you see Doc as I think you may soon, please tell him I rec’d his 2nd letter a week ago & will reply shortly.

23 Mar 1945 ALCI have just re-read the AL which I wrote during the early hours of Thurs am & I feel tempted to tear it up it is such a poor effort. However it was written under rather adverse circs there being constant interruptions to attend to the set, poor lighting, cold (did not put the heater on, too smelly) & towards the end some fatigue for I had only an hours sleep before going on duty. With this explanation I am sending the AL with the hope you will forgive its shortcomings.

Now to give you briefly the latest news & then to reply to your mail. But while I think of it this is how I distributed the photos. You 2 (I by GE, 1 in parcel to Ron), Clare 1, Ma 1, Uncle Chas 1, & one I have kept to replace either to the two sent to you should they go astray or suffer damage. Will you want both of them? You will notice I maleeshed Frank & this was done intentionally. If you do not want the second one (better wait till both arrive) you could pass it on to Aunt Gwen. Yesterday - another perfect day as is also today - I did not do anything much . Did not finish work until 9am when I went & rested for a while & slept for about an hour. From am tea time until lunch time just potted around doing odd jobs. (Yours & Doris’ AL’s 5/3 just handed to me! Comments later). In the pm I walked into the village with Max & after buying a few sundries at the YM Canteen & spending some time in the ERS room looking at books we walked slowly back & arrived back just in time for tea at 5pm. Spent the evening around camp yarning reading etc & so to bed at the early hour of 9pm. Good nights rest & awoke much refreshed this morning. This morning after breakfast went down for a hot shower after which we waited around for ¾ hour for the YM’s morning tea. This finished we walked back here (it takes a good ½ hour ) & having had a short rest & a bottle of beer to cool off, here I am. We are able to buy two bottles of beer a week - actually we get 4 small bottles containing equivalent quantity - thro the NAFFI & it is something of a tonic. I buy mine regularly each week. This afternoon I must do my washing & generally tidy up my bivvy. As already stated it is another glorious day brilliant warm sunshine & just a light breeze. The Ities say this weather is not out of the ordinary & that they will now have only occasional rain (short & heavy) & slight winds so it is evident that this locality has a lovely climate. It is just on lunchtime so I will shortly have to break off. I was much amused to read about Ron’s grasshoppers. Gave me a good laugh & I welcome this kind of news. Will acknowledge cake when it arrives. So petrol thieves are active again. Yes I wonder! Very unkind of Olive not to ask at least one of your family to the christening. So Jack Lee is home. Yes I also want to return to you fit & well & never fear sweetheart, I will. As I think you will see from my recent mail I am very fit and well at present & enjoying life to the full but oh darling I do miss you. Foregoin refers to your AL 26/2. Now must away to lunch.Later 2pm. Now onto your AL 1/3/45. Delighted to know Dr Mac was sopleased with Ron & I pray that the new treatment he has gone onto may have the desired result. Glad Ron liked the stamps & I hope the others on the way arrive safely. I have heard that some Jan surface mail was lost. My AL to Ron the other day contained details of my postings. His collection must be growing. Haven’t written many GE letters lately. I really must try & do so again in view of your remarks but somehow I don’t seem to have time & it is a while since I felt in the mood anyway. However your reassurance that they are not too sloppy & silly is most welcome.AL 3/3. Yes we have now received (about a week ago) official advice re increase in our pay. We had heard rumours of it for about 3 weeks but we are very sceptical about believing rumours & so were unsure until the official advice issued. It is good altho we don’t really need it. There are few chaps in the Div who have not substantial credits in their paybooks. I am busy rebuilding mine after my leave in Rome. I will probably send my back pay to you after it is entered in my paybook over here. In this way we get the benefit of the 25% exchange. Yes I guess you will find the increase very welcome. Good report on Ron in this letter is grand reading. Yes his letter was excellent. Other mail to be answered in my next AL. again space is too short. And so my sweetheart I come to the end of yet another letter with loving thoughts very much in my mind. Ever yours, Fred.Please thank Doris for her very nice letter & say that notwithstanding her “orders” I shall reply ion due course. Appreciate her action in sending cake which I shall ack when recd.

27 Mar 1945 ALCThe above address does not mean I have a new job & I am still in B Section but am attached to Div Sigs & mail addressed as above comes direct to me. Otherwise it comes me thro B Sec Div Sigs which takes a bit longer. Should have explained this the other day when answering your enquiry.Since my last letter to you on Friday last (I think t’was Fri) I have received your AL of 5/3 which of course was most welcome. Mail is certainly coming in in great style these days & I thank you sweetheart for writing so often & so regularly. I also received letters from Jack Fowles, who expects to be here or wherever we are in about a weeks time, and also from Jack Clendon. He gave a vivid account of the ordeal of his operation & in reading his letter I lived again through the hellish experience I went thro. Because I made light of it at the time nobody knows what I went through - no not even you - but well now at least Jack knows. When I said nobody I meant those of our relations & friends at home. Yes I went pretty close to “finito” that time. I can well sympathise with poor old Jack. Wish now I had kept his letter to send on to you bit I destroyed it. By the way he is not returning to NZ meantime. He applied for & obtained a position with the ERS in UK & I expect he is en route there now. Probably he will be engaged on work in connection with the repatriation of NZ’ers in the UK back to NZ. When he wrote he did not seem to be able to decide whether to be pleased or otherwise that he had got the job. He always wanted to get to the Old Country & is probably wise in taking the present

opportunity. It is of some interest to note that a notice appears in the latest RO’s inviting applicants from Div personnel for work in the UK in connection with repat. I gave the matter some consideration but knowing that such personnel will be the last to return home I quickly gave up all thought of even applying in spite of my desire for the opportunity to see the Old Country & relations there.There is little news of op interest so I will concentrate on answering your mail. The most interesting item of news is that our run of fine weather broke today. After dawning dull it started to rain lightly about 9am & has continued intermittently throughout the day. It is cooler, of course on a/c of there being no sun, but it is not cold.AL 5/3. Don’t worry my dear I will not take needless risks. The posn when I had flu justified some risks being taken for had I done differently I might easily have lost this job & gone to another less congenial and exposed to greater risks. I always weigh pros & cons in cases like this. Will be glad to learn outcome of your visit to the Dr & look forward to your next few AL’s. Note reason causing delay in your seeing Dr. Should I make a note of it in my diary for ref to when we are on our way home?! Glad to note your remark that you feel well but still I will be much happier after you have had a complete check-up. Tooth extraction did not spoil my notable good looks. It was further back than I thought. The tooth that ached most was the front one (you may recall I had an abscess under it & Mr Rimmer treated it for many months) but it was reflected pain from a decaying tooth further back. I think I told you in AL 14/2 that it was not until my 2nd visit that the dentist located the decayed tooth & he took it out then & there. Thanks for data re increased salaries. £435 will go well when I return. Hardly expect a regrading to CIV £480 meantime. Guess the Dept has forgotten one FJC but by rights it should come up as have been on max of CV for a long time now. The Dept will run true to form tho I expect & I suppose quite a few are jumping ahead of me while I am away. Tisn’t fair but what can one do?Your AL 6/3 - 8/3. Ron certainly does seem to be doing well with all those GW stamps. Fine son! Keep it up but please don’t swipe all my stamp collection! What hellish weather you have had for your summer. Yes Ron’s stamp collection must be good to be worth so much. Hope he won’t have to sell it in manner you mention. Still it is a good way to at it. You certainly have done well with the garden & it is good to know your hard work is returning dividends. Am happy to know that the repairs have been so effective. How is Ron’s room now? Very sorry to learn news about Mr Lourie, most unfortunate but such is war & in any case it may have developed later even had ne not seen active service. His a.s. will ensure him a pension which otherwise he would not have got. Please convey my sympathy.That’s the lot as regards comments on your mail. By the way, would you rather I dwelt more on my activities instead of such lengthy comments on your mail? Let me know. I feel that discussion of your mail makes our correspondence more chatty but you may think otherwise.And so my darling I must say bye-bye. All my love. Ever yours, Fred.

28 Mar 1945 ALCHaving a few spare minutes I am making a start on this letter now but will not get very far before I have to stop. I would like to get as much done today as I can because if the weather is more settled tomorrow I intend to set out on a days hitch-hiking & my plans include a visit to some places quite some distance away & it may be quite late when I return. At the moment the weather is rather more unsettled than we were having previously. Yesterday was dull & windy with occasional showers & today after a wet night (altho not very much rain) is again dull. However it looks as tho it is on the mend and I hope tomorrow will be fine.Yesterday morning early after breakfast I went down to the village & had a shower & afterwards adjourned to the ERS room where I spent the rest of the am looking at books & reading. Came back here for lunch & spent the afternoon quietly doing odd jobs about the place. Our set is off the air at present & the parades etc have died a natural death so we have little to do. Max & Bob the other two operators went into town for a session. This is quite a frequent amusement they indulge. In the evening I went down to the village again & after a stroll round doing nothing in particular I finished up at the YMCA where an Italian professor entertained us on the piano from 7pm until 8.45pm. He is totally blind but his playing was wonderful. He rendered all classical music which of course was all played by ear & memory. There is no doubt he is an outstanding musician & I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Bob & Max with whom I had walked down preferred to resume their “session” & did not accompany me to the recital. However while walking thro the town I had met several chaps I knew, including Pat who is barracked in the village this week while on a special course, & they were going to the recital so I was not disappointed to be without the company of the others. Must away now to do some more work which requires immediate attention. Will continue as soon as possible.Easter Sunday, 31-3-45. Well my dears I wonder what sort of an Easter you are having. Ours has been very unsettled & we have hardly been able even to realise that it is Easter. Thurs dawned beautifully fine & I was up early & so by b’fast time I had washed, shaved & done the various odd jobs necessary. Immed after b’fast I set out for the day. By lunch time I had reached a town called Maserata where I had quite a nice lunch at the NAAFI to the music of an Italian orchestra, then a hurried look around the town which is quite a fair size & so

back towards home returning by a different route from that taken on the outward journey & so seeing a number of interesting places both ways. Would like to tell you something of the interesting & of the more amusing of my experiences on this outing but tis not possible on a/c of lack of time & space. At M (where shops are quite well stocked) I bought some stamps for Ron & these I have sent to him by GE. Circumstances precluded my doing more than simply put the envelopes of stamps into the GE & sent them away without a covering note. But he will understand that my love & best wishes went with them. When I got back to camp just in time for tea I found a “flap” had unexpectedly developed but more than that I cannot say at present altho I rather think you will be able to do some good guessing.Well sweetheart tis not often I do not utilise the full space but this time I must reluctantly leave part unused as these lines are being penned in desparate haste & under most difficult circumstances. My Scotch instincts rebel to see half a page unused!! I pray that you are enjoying a very happy Easter & also all friends & family. Good luck & happy days to you all. Am very fit & of good cheer. Hope you & Ron ditto. War news is good, no absolutely wonderful & will be even better soon & the end of the journey is in sight. Our reunion draws nigh & oh how wonderful it will be. God bless you all. All my love & to Ron too. Ever yours, Fred.PS. No have not forgotten that today is 31/3/45 but too much else to think about to give it much attention.

04 Apr 1945 ALCI have a few mins to spare so am whipping off these lines just to ack receipt of mail to hand yesterday and at the same time to let you see that I am fit & well. I am afraid however that this letter is of necessity to be much shorter than is usually the case.Yesterday I received a nice lot of mail, your two ALC’s 9th & 4th March, ALC 11th Mar from Mrs Ede, also one from Edwin 16th March. The two latter I shall reply to as soon as poss but it may be a little while before I can find time so in the meantime will you please convey my thanks to these good folk for writing.Weather here is simply perfect except that during the middle of the day it becomes rather too warm. It is quite pleasant living under canvas in these conditions. Am not able to give you any a/c of our activities so will go onto answering your mail. But first (1) How is Colin & is he to return to NZ? (2) What about your medical? It was in your AL 5/3, ie well past the week since you explained why you were unable to visit the Dr. (3) Aparently Tom is still fin-sec of the Lodge & judging from Mrs Ede’s letter not making a particularly good job of it. Why did you not take it after I left as was once suggested? Don’t chase the job now as Tom may be offended & it would make it incumbent on me to take over when I return & I may not want to do it again but I would be interested to learn why you did not take it on. (4) What is posn re Eric coming o/seas? (Hell my writing is awful but I am going like x ! Now onto your AL 9/3. The work your Dad is doing at Trentham should do much to add to the appearance of the home. Am afraid there is little prospect of my seeing the folk in England. Wrote to Jack Clendon recently and asked him to look up the relations there. Hope he can. Good to know Ron’s ear is doing so well & I hope it continues. How is his hearing? Now to your AL 12/3. Yes indeed Ron does seem to to be doing well at his school work & tis grand to get such good reports. Guess there won’t be many stamps left by time I return. What will you do when they run out? Sent him a lot more the other day - bought them at Maserata on my hitch-hiking tour. And it is wonderful to learn that he is so well too. Lots & lots of love “fellah”. yes I often think of those rambles wish he & you could be with me on occasions here. Hope Jen’s relations prove acceptable guests as I am sure they will. Yes I always let you know when parcels come to hand. Have ack all so far even when they were from others than yourself & so far I have always written to the sender (incl office) to thank them for their kindness. Oh sweetheart I do miss you & just yearn & yearn to be with you. Lots & lots of love darling. Ever yours, Fred.

05 Apr 1945 Letter + Photo.This is a trial of the new air mail letter service recently inaugurated. Let me know how long this takes to reach you. I have already sent you two of these photos one by GE sent about a month ago, & one in a parcel to Ron. This copy is the one I was going to keep for myself but I don’t really need it so thought I would send it to you by this means. It will probably reach you some time before the others sent some time ago. The time is 9.30pm and I have just returned from a stroll in the glorious evening. Played tenni-quoits (my daily PT) for about an hour until the light failed and am penning this while having a smoke before going off to bed.There is not much in the way of news I can give you and I have no doubt you will appreciate the position and make allowances accordingly. I wonder what you are doing at this moment. It will be about 7.30am on Friday am at home so I expect that you are just getting up to see about getting Ron away to school.We are enjoying a lovely spell of fine weather here at present and although the nights are still a little chilly the days are lovely & warm with brilliant sunshine& little wind throughout the day.Here I am into my 2nd year of O/seas service & well on the way to becoming on old timer. As I have said many

times before it really does seem much longer than twelve months since I last saw you and when I think of all that has happened & what changes have taken place during the last year well I just find it difficult to believe that it all could have happened in such a short space of time. I wonder if the next year will be so full of event? What a wonderful thing if it is but in the reverse order! We can but live in such great hopes. If the next twelve months treat me as kindly as those just past I shall have no complaint for while on occasions things have looked a bit grim it has always come out alright in the end & as far as I can see I am little worse, & indeed perhaps even better, for the experiences passed through. One great lesson I have learnt is just how deep is my love for you especially and for Ron and my home. I know now that it is all enduring & nothing could ever happen to change it. Space runs low so I must conclude. Remember sweetheart I love you. Just that! Ever yours, Fred.

06 Apr 1945I am making a start on this although at the moment I have no idea of how I am going to fill up the space for there is little interesting news and in any case it is not possible for us to give a detailed a/c of our activities at the present time. The weather is perfect, fine & warm with very little wind. Last night was very cold & so much so that I woke up at 1am aching with the cold & did not get off to sleep again properly. It was quite unusual & this morning for the first time since we have been here there was quite a heavy frost. The days are gloriously fine & during the midday hours it becomes rather too hot. This morning was gloriously fine and the only clouds in the sky were those formed by the vapour trails from the high flying aircraft. Some of these are really quite spectacular and in no small degree a beautiful sight. The vapour trails are really clouds formed by the passage of the aircraft through the rarefied air & the patterns hang in the sky for a long time especially on these days of light winds. At the present time we are standing by all set to go and except for routine duties nothing much is doing & we are having quite an easy time after a few days hectic rush. Tonight after tea when it had cooled off I played tenni-quoits with Ray & Pat & another chap. We are now on double summer time, ie 2 hrs ahead of GMT or 10 hours behind your time, and it is light up until quite late in fact the sun does not set until about 7.30pm & it is fairly light until about 8pm. We had some good games & a lot of fun. It is a good form of exercise but one gets rather warm and a good hot shower afterwards would be welcome. Ray & Pat are fine fellows & I like them immensely. Pat pulled me out of bed this morning. After my rotten night I decided to maleesh breakfast & have an extra hour or so in bed & I was just settling down nicely (as the sun got up it became warmer & I was beginning to thaw out) when Pat passing my bivvy on his way back from breakfast noticed me still in bed & time approx 8.30. That was more than he could stand on such a fine am & in spite of my protestations & explanations out I came. In the process my bedroll (we all have our own favourite ways o making up our bedrolls) was of course badly disturbed & so throughout the day my blankets have been out in the sun to air. Made up my bed a slightly different way just before tea & am hoping for a good night tonight - unless something occurs to determine otherwise as may easily happen! I think I mentioned in previous mail that when Jack Blythe left he was replaced by a chap called Max Boyd. Well he has now left us & a chap called Albie Wilson has taken his place. He is a L/Cpl & takes charge of the detachment. He was in the Islands (3 rd Div) for just on two years before coming over here & he is quite an interesting chap to talk to. Gives good promise & I think we shall get on well together. Actually I am not really sorry to see Max go. He was just 21 years old and inclined to be somewhat “scatty” whereas Albie is older and more of a chap of my own nature. I see I have made a slight error. Max replaced Doc & when Jack left a chap called Bob Madden took his place. Bob is fair enough & we get on quite well together altho to be quite frank he is not a chap I admire or respect in any way. He is an RC & can best be summed up by saying he is typical of the species. He has very few good qualities. A big parcel mail came to hand yesterday & I had hoped some of the parcels on the way might come to hand for me but not so far. Possibly there are more to be sorted at the Army PO altho I doubt it as there were no more in today. There is no doubt that parcels do take a devil of a time to reach us. Whenever I receive a parcel I shall mention in my mail as I have always done in the past. That is about all I can write about (there is much else of interest but it is taboo) & really I think I have managed to fill up space pretty well. I am very fit and well & trust that you, Ron & others are likewise.And so now my sweetheart I must away to bed on the cold hard ground. No! Much as I would like to have you beside me I cannot ask you to share these discomforts. Still the day is fast approaching when it will all be over & we will be on our way home. What a wonderful prospect! Always our sustaining thought that. Oh dearest I do love you so! I wish you were here so I could show you just how much. Fondest love, ever yours, Fred.

07 Apr 1945This am I was thrilled to receive 3 AL’s from you being those written 15 th to 20th Mar. Gee it is grand to get your mail! Thanks sweetheart for writing so regularly. Will answer them right away as this evening I am unable to play tenni-quoits on a/c of having had a series of inoculations which have had a two-fold effect, first to make my left arm very stiff & sore, and secondly & the worse of the two to make me feel quite a bit off colour. I am

writing this hoping it will take my mind off it. Will be ok again in the morning - this effect is quite common - so do not worry. In my AL written last night I omitted to mention that on Thurs I posted you a copy of the photo taken in Rome & sent it by airmail so you should get it by about the end of the month & somewhat earlier than the others sent by other means about a month ago. We can now send letters by air mail but I intend to go on using the ALC’s as in the past. The air mail letter costs 9d & I think one can say more in three ALC’s and you probably get more thrill from 3 of these than from one letter. Referring to a remark in last night’s AL I may say I enjoyed a good night’s rest. There was much “noise” to disturb the beautiful clear night but I was so tired I slept through it all. We remain waiting! Another beautiful evening today after a fine day with rather more cloud & wind than is usual. I have spent the day quietly - mostly lying down resting on a/c of reasons above stated. After I have finished this I will away to bed.Now to answer your mail. AL 15/3. Am glad to hear that the different style of built-up shoe is having such beneficial effect on your Ma’s foot & I hope this proves to be the solution of the trouble. Yes I can well realise that your family must still feel Dick’s death very much. Time will however gradually soften the blow. It is good to know that Dr Mac continues to be satisfied with Ron’s progress & that Dr F could see such a vast improvement. I appreciate his enquiry concerning myself. Kind remembrances to them all (Sister H Drs Mac & F etc). No you had not told me about Miss Parsloe. Am glad to hear she has got her man & please convey to her my best wishes for her future happiness. Am interested to learn about Nancy but am very disgusted at her behaviour. A fine war effort indeed! I feel inclined to write to her & her mother (my dear dear Aunt!) & have them on about it. And yet there is a God while such people prosper! Now to your AL 18/3. Before I lose my temper. Yes I know, my own sweetheart, the torments you must go through at times & my heart goes out to you. But stick to it my darling & before long I will return to take you again into my arms & to live a life so full of happiness that the memory of these unpleasant occasions will quickly pass. Yes indeed it is hellish & then some but we are only two of many in like circumstances & I guess we can do as well as any & I hope better than some we know of. I don’t altogether agree that it is harder for me. While I have discomforts hardships & danger to add to my loneliness I am far less subject to the awful monotony which you must have. At times I get right down to it but I am gradually disciplining myself though and it now does not upset me quite as much as it once did. I continue to miss you as much as before (I think even more so) but well I am able to adopt a more placid attitude. I sometimes wonder whether this artificial pose will be easily thrown off when the happy day arrives that it becomes no more necessary to retain it. Enough in this strain but in conclusion be a good brave girl & time will quickly pass & before you know it we will be reunited. It was nice of Mrs L to ask you to the Coronation & I am glad you went & enjoyed it. Re your dream - did I? Yes I guess being FJC I did! Oh how I wish it really could have been me. Vivid as was your dream reality would have made the dream seem very tame. You know sweetheart of all the dreams (yes you know the kind) I have had since I left NZ (rather fewer than you may think perhaps - the old man is losing his dash?) every one has been with you. So I am true even in my dreams. Silly but true & I think rather strange for when I was home it t’was not always so. Now your AL 20/3. Delighted to know that at long last mail reached you. Yes I guess it came as a lovely surprise. I know how grand it is to get a swag of mail like that. I have replied to some of your remarks in interim mail. No please do not stage a faked illness. My greatest comfort is knowing you & Ron are well. And I need you fir & well (f.f.f. - can you interpret these 3 f’s) when I return. Each mail I hope to learn result of your med check up. Why the long delay? Most of the money was spent on gifts but I had a grand time nevertheless. It is possible to do so as the NZ Club provides its accommodation, meals, guides, tours, etc very cheaply & often free. I do so hope the parcels get thro safely as I know you will love the contents. There are lots ofastmps for Ron. By the way don’t omit to advise me how you are. Like these “reply” letters better than the “news” ones?Goodnight my darling. Ever yours lovingly, Fred.

12 Apr 1945 It is some days since I last wrote to you & no doubt the news of the opening of the offensive here has made you somewhat anxious so altho circs are much against good letter writing I am penning these lines to let you see that I am fit & well. Ted has taken a severe knock & everything is going well so far. Can’t say much but it is tremendous - an inspiring & in some ways an awful sight to see such forces released against mankind. However he deserves it all. In many ways I hanker to be more forward as I was in previous offensives & quite frankly I would welcome a posting to a Bde or Btn. Still I should not complain because here we are pretty safe. Except for occasional shelling the risk is negligible. So you have no cause for worry. As you may expect we are very busy & life is by no means dull. Wish I could do justice to the scene going on around me as I write these words. I am not allowed & anyway it would take a master pen to describe it properly. And amongst it all here I am sitting on the ground in the shade of a beautiful orchard in all its spring glory!! Hell what a paradox! Between the trees is plough sown with wheat crop which is about 9” high. I am sitting on the poor Ities crop. My table is

tobacco parcel 12598 handed to me as I came off duty a few minutes ago. Thanks for it my sweetheart. At the same time I recd your 3 AL’s 21 -27 Mar which are most welcome. Comments at some later date if possible. In a recent letter Frank mentioned Eric is Gr II (skin exema) & so does not have to come away again. Yes wonder how he likes his new job. Oh - also recd Doreen’s AL 27/3 (written in Auckland). Many thanks Dor. Hope Colin is soon home. Am due back on duty in short while so must finish soon. Was relieved for lunch but thought I would write instead. Not a bit hungry - too hot & busy. Weather is perfect - thank goodness. We are highly mobile moving all time & filthy dirty as roads are all very very dusty. In fact air is dust laden still from the bombing. Hell Ted took a whole packet that time & it still goes on. A horrible effort this, as a letter I mean, but I know you will understand. I write knowing you will excuse anything for the sake of learning I am ok & doing first class. As stated earlier I really am very well & as fit as buck rat. No doubt this life & the warmer weather do suit me. Still I am longing to be back with you. Got our back pay the other day too £13 odd I think it was. Got our pay-books back yesterday but have been too busy to make a note of the amount. Will send £10 to you at first opp. Don’t need it myself as am unlikely to get more leave for a while. Haven’t spent anything since Rome leave so pay book credit now about £20 again. Must away my darling. Ever yours lovingly, Fred.

13 Apr 1945Even in the midst of battle we do strike slack periods and the present one, which I hardly anticipated would occur, I am making use of to write you a decent letter. The one I sent off yesterday was really a disgrace & I feel somewhat ashamed for having sent it but it was five days since I had written & knowing that on account of your knowing that we are again in action a too long break in my letters may cause some unnecessary concern I thought I had better make the best of the poor opportunity to scribble a few very hurried lines. It was a poor effort but could you but know the circumstances under which it was written you would make full allowance even if you wished to do otherwise which I know you would not. For obvious reasons I cannot give any account of our activities & so I shall concentrate on answering your three air letters recd yesterday. However I observe that they call for rather less comment than is often the case.AL 21/3. If you should see Auntie Gwen please thank her for sending another (1st not yet to hand) cake the receipt of which I shall ack when it comes to hand. I really must write to her but I am already more than fully extended in keeping my correspondence up to date. Will you please explain the position to her & convey my regrets at my writing so infrequently. I have sent you 3 of the photos taken in Rome. If you do not require all of them perhaps you could send one to Auntie Gwen. Ron seems to be doing well at woodwork. Am glad he has taken up such a useful & interesting hobby. I shall send him some money to buy tools shortly. Will remit £11 sterling to you through my pay-book & £10 of this will be for you the other £1 for Ron.AL 24/3. Am glad to learn that you have had word from Dick’s Doreen & that the trouble has apparently been settled - we hope finally. As far as I can make out our back pay works out to £13-11-0 to 31/3/45 the same as yours but it is difficult to see how the credit balance shown in my pay-book just back from Base Pay Office, is made up and at the moment I have not had time to look into the matter in detail. By the way on remission to NZ you get 24/11 (I think) for each £1 sent to you. The pay of 1/- extra per day will make a big difference. Already since my Rome leave I have accumulated adequate a good credit & by the time my next leave comes around I should have plenty so don’t argue about the amount I am sending to you.AL 25/3. Yes sweetheart I well remember the latter days of Mar 1944! Those memories remain very dear but hell it seems so very long ago & when one thinks of it as only a year & that it is perhaps only a third of the total time - well it just gives me a severe fit of the blues. It seems ages and ages and ages since I held you close to me and lavished some of my love upon you. Still the thought of the future is our sustaining hope & oh my darling how wonderful it will all be. Just to return to you out of this wretched business. It is just too wonderful to contemplate. Please do take good care of yourself for I want you to be lovely. In fact I will need you so as I am always thinking of you that way. As I read your letters knowing they are usually written in bed I allow myself the liberty of thinking how grand it would be to be there with you (I fear your writing would suffer). You should see my bed - blankets & ground sheet on the ground with my great-coat as eiderdown & my battle-dress as pillow. Still I do not regret having come to play my small part in the battle & altho the heartaches are severe on occasions well that is just part of the price to be paid. Some day it will all be over, soon I think, & we will then be able to spend the rest of our life together perhaps better & at any rate prouder for what is now happening. Things are going very well here with still perfect weather - its consistency is remarkable!Now for a bit of shut-eye. Love to Ron. To you my darling well you must know my thoughts. All the very best & all my love sweetheart mine. Ever yours, Fred.Your AL 28/3 just to hand. Also letter from Jack F who is back with Div Sigs - haven’t seen him yet. Fine again today.

17 Apr 1945.

I have lost all count of the days, fancy today is Tuesday, & am quite uncertain when it was that I last wrote to you. It seems days & days ago but event crowds upon event so quickly these days that all sense of the passing of time is lost and it may only be a short time since I did write. All I do know is that for the past day or two I have had the feeling that it is time I got busy & wrote to you. This is the first opportunity I have had to do so for a while & altho I fear it will be a poor effort - it will at least serve to let you see I am fit & well and thinking of you. I wonder if you could realise how often you are in my thoughts! And Ron too!For obvious reasons I must omit mention of our activities - recent past and possible future - but no doubt you have been able to form a fair idea of what we are have been up to from the press accounts of the Div’s activities. The weather continues perfect & we are indeed lucky to strike such a fine spell. Rain in this low-lying country so much intersected by water-ways, canals, drains, etc would quickly become waterlogged with heavy rain. However the weather is just made to order. Actually some rain would be welcome because the roads are inches deep in finely powdered dust which rises in thick clouds off the roads. Moving as we are so much ones clothing & body become filthy & altho I wash off & shower whenever possible I feel continually grubby. At the moment I feel nice & clean as about an hour ago I managed to have a hot shower after which I changed my clothing. God alone knows when my dirty clothing will be washed. Have not seen Jack F who however must be somewhere fairly nearby. Hope to see him soon. He is back with Div Sigs.Everything is going well here and all hands are in high spirits and in good heart. Ted has taken a severe blow with more to follow. He is well & truly beaten but fights on desperately I suppose in the vain hope that he Allies will fall out between themselves. We hope the San Francisco Conference brings forth good results and consolidates existing international friendships. If it does I think Ted will turn it in - that is if he is not beaten onto submission before 25th . I regard Roosevelt’s death as a major tragedy. With all due respect to Churchill and Stalin I really do regard Roosevelt as the driving force and true idealist of the three and perhaps the only really sincere one so far as striving for the brave new world we all so much desire. His loss is indeed a grievous one especially at this stage of the war. You may notice a change in the writing from the word Roosevelt onwards. I had got half way down the page when things began to happen & this is the first opportunity I have had to get to it again. It is Thursday 19/4 today. Am afraid my correspondence is going to suffer because as things are at present & it looks as tho it may go on for some time, it is very difficult to find time for writing. Another glorious day. Some hard fighting but things are going well. No further mail received. Am feeling fine. Cheerio sweetheart, I will write again as soon as possible. All my love. Ever yours, Fred.

20 Apr 1945Here I am again to give you a few lines but circs are still much against letter writing so please excuse me if the letter is short and the composition not the best. Since my last letter to you I have recd your AL’s 28 th Mar to 4th

Apr (3 in all) for which many thanks, also the parcel which Clare posted in Nov. I shall write to her as soon as I can & also to John whose letter (enclosed in parcel) I much appreciate. I am afraid tho that it may be some time before I am able to write so will you please convey my grateful thanks. Contents are well chosen & very acceptable & not at all damaged. Not being able to say anything about where we are or what we are doing makes letter writing rather dull & I will have to dwell mainly on answering your mail. Your AL 20/3. Glad to know Col Mac is well. Wish I were in a position to judge if you are slimmer, in the meantime I accept your assurance that “slight thinning” is noticeable. Oh how I would love to be able to ….(yes you can guess)…..& tease & reproach you about being so fat as I have done so many times before. But seriously darling I am continually thinking of you as young & beautiful - the lovely dream girl - so please do not disappoint me when I return. At times I allow myself the liberty of imagining myself ravishing you the most lovely creature possible, lavishing upon you all my boundless love & affection and I just want that dream to be fully realised one day - soon! Oh what a prospect! It is too wonderful to think about - makes me feel too homesick.AL 30/3. Calls for little or no comment. Was in Jack’s locality yesterday & called in to see him but he was not about & I could not wait for him. Good report about Ron extremely welcome. Hope his room is now ok.AL 2/4. Glad you enjoyed your visit to Plimmerton & am interested to have word of the boys. I think it is good of Rene to pay the £50 for Bob’s tuition but it would be better in some ways if she spread her favours amongst all three. It is unfair that just because she likes Bob the best he should get it all & the others none. However it is not my business & I am glad she is helping so I only hope she does not spoil it by regarding herself as having acquired a mortgage over his destiny & acting accordingly. She too often spoils her goodness in this way. That is about all that calls for comment in your mail so I shall give as much news as censorship permits & then close.You will know fairly well from your papers what is going on. The weather holds fine & is very hot. Today is dull & cooler & I think we may be in for some rain. As long as it is not too much it will be welcome in many ways, as the dust on the roads and even in the fields from wrecked casas etc is terrible. Things are going well & we are advancing steadily in spite of Ted’s determined efforts to stop us. Back here is much less tense than

where I was in previous action but nevertheless we are not by any means without excitement, but do not worry as there is not much danger. Ted is being forced back so rapidly that we are out of range most of the time. Have collected a real museum of enemy equipment (caps, rifles, spandaus, automatic rifles, Berettas - sort of Tommy gun, etc) and would love to be able to send some of these things home as souvenirs but it can’t be done and before long I shall have to throw them away as we are carrying so much redundant gear. Ted has lost heavily in men & equipment, & we have just about got him on the run again.And now my sweetheart I must close. All my love, Fred. Howdy son! All the very best!

23 Apr 1945Here I am once more but again it must of necessity be only a brief & sketchy note more to ack parcels & mail in the hope that the good people who have sent them and written will accept my grateful acknowledgments thro you. At the moment it is quite impossible to write to them individually. I am all too conscious that I am owing letters to Doris, Mrs Ede, Clare, John, Office, Frank, and now Agnes Smith, but when opportunity to write will occur goodness only knows. Since my last letter to you I have recd a parcel from Frank - all tinned goods & so survived the Bari incident & arrived in good order. Also a parcel (cake) from the office which also survived the fire following the explosion & arrived in excellent condition being one of the few to do so. No doubt you have been given news of the Bari incident in your press. The fire following the explosion apparently spread to a ship carrying NZ parcel mail and a big number of parcels have arrived severely damaged & affected by fire & water. Very few cakes have been any good & so I was extremely lucky. Now this am Ags [?] air letter of 10/4/45 just to hand, & very welcome. Please thank her & say I will write just as soon as poss. Yesterday I think it was I posted to Ron a small book of cartoons of the “two types” & a recent copy of the 2NZEF Times. The cartoons in the former are amusing altho I doubt if you will be able to fully appreciate the subtlies, something which is not possible unless one has lived thro the experiences of army life in the ME & here in Italy & thus acquired the local colour necessary to properly appreciate the humour of these cartoons. They are a regular feature of our army newspaper - The Eighth Army News - which comes out each day. One of these days I will be able to explain them more fully to you.Weather remains perfect but with a little more wind than is usually the case. This makes conditions on the roads even worse than usual as the dust is blown about and the visibility on the roads is rarely more than a few yards. The dust covers ones clothing & body & after moving we look & feel absolutely filthy. The dust is so fine it penetrates right through ones clothing. It is now a war of movement with a vengeance & we are on the move almost continually. Just get settled into a spot when away we go again & believe me travelling under these conditions is no fun. A recent journey * of 7 miles took 7 hours from 6.30pm until 1.30am so you can see it is no fun. Roads are in a terrible state - I know because I drove part of the way - dusty & severely damaged. The * indicates where I started today Tues 24/4 3pm. Had to drop everything in great haste. Actually I was writing at 11.30am yesterday & hurrying to get AL finished by 12 when lunch went on. With about 10 mins to go word came round that we were moving straight after lunch so the usual frantic rush pulling down bivvies, packing up etc etc. And so here we are again but not for long, may move again today. This is how life goes on just a wild goose chase after friend Ted who is well & truly on the run. It is good fun in a way (we are welcomed as liberators by the locals) but oh very tiring, move, work, move, work, ad infinitum. As I write a cuckoo is singing (sort of melodious hooting) in the trees nearby. Tis another glorious day. We are having marvellous weather indeed. Things here are going very well as no doubt you will have gathered from your press. Am very fit & well so do not worry about me. There is any amount of news I could give & it would be very interesting were I permitted & incidentally able to give it to you but it is the same old story. Must finish now as there is plenty to do. All my love darling mine. And lots of love & kisses to Ron. Sorry my letters are so hasty but you will know. Just living for the day etc etc. fondest love, Fred.

26 Apr 1945 LetterThe enclosed gift is to serve a double purpose. First as a wedding anniversary gift & secondly & no less important to support birthday greetings on the occasion of your birthday in July. We can only pray that this is the last time we have to celebrate these occasions separated.Am afraid the present will reach you somewhat late but it was only a most fortunate circumstance that enabled me to buy these things a few days ago. We passed thro a town almost undamaged by war (most unusual!) as Ted had passed thro there in great haste. Shops had only limited stocks but I think you will like the bracelet. In the few minutes we stopped I slipped in & bought these. Thought bobby pins & elastic may still be difficult to obtain in NZ. Elastic is not plentiful here but occasionally shops have stocks especially in these small towns not often visited by soldiers.Am well & hope you are. Still having a hectic time & am beginning to feel the strain. Long hours of work and much travelling under unpleasant conditions. The weather holds good altho today has been dull with some light

rain.Received Ron’s AL 5/4 & yours o0f 7/4 today & most welcome they were. Mail is a heaven sent blessing these days. Am very busy so must away now. With every best wish and lots & lots of love to you both.Oh sweetheart that it were all over & I were with you! All my love, ever yours, Fred.

30 Apr 1945When it was that I last wrote to you I cannot remember. It seems ages ago but it really cannot be so very long & no doubt the extremely eventful days we are having make it seem longer than it really is. I think 3 letters have come to hand in the interim but they are not handy & are possibly lost for we are all topsy turvey & generally conditions & our way of life these past few days well no writer however able could adequately describe them. Allow your imagination to run riot & you would still underestimate. It passes all description. To my knowledge only one comment was called for & that is re stamps. I was only joking when I asked Ron not to swipe them all. Am only too pleased for him to have them especially the way he earns them. Today a parcel arrived. It remains unopened (too much else demanding attention) but I think it is from you. Wrapped in sacking with address on calico - your writing or printing I think. Many many thanks.Well it would be impossible to attempt to describe all that has happened lately even if I were permitted to do so. Life is absolutely unreal & never in ones wildest imagination could one have thought it would end like this. It is a fantasy come true. Oh hell how I wish you were here to tell you about it. You will never believe the tales I can tell. It is the impossible happening & one event crowds upon the other so rapidly that ones mind is in a whirl. That is absolutely true. It would take hours to describe events & time & space are at present very limited. I have travelled miles & miles under the most fantastic conditions & worked long hours - at one stage had only 4 hours sleep in 72 & none of those 4 hours was in bed. One journey of 27 miles (less then 10 in a straight line) took over 27 hours on the road all the time. At present we are well past a place you know well by name just think of blinds and you will guess. [Venice]. We crossed a river of unusual name & yes you will guess right again. I did. And from the number who did likewise I fear there must have been a serious flood downstream. To all intents & purposes it is all over bar the shouting & believe me there is plenty of that for we are welcome as victors wherever we go. It is just a mad chase after a defeated (utterly) and disorganised army who is powerless to offer anything in the way of organised resistance. The weather has not been so kind lately & rain & wind have added to our troubles but of course we are all in such high spirits that nothing less than a deluge would dampen our spirits. However the strain is there & one notices signs of irritability at times. In events such as have been taking place communications become even more important than ever & as the distances become greater it is more & more difficult to maintain contact. We have been right up against it at times but altho so attenuated we have managed to get messages thro.I am very well & altho sleeping & living under conditions you could not even imagine & for a large part of the time eating iron rations I still do very well, really I am as fit as a buck rat. I hope that you & Ron are well also.

03 May 1945No doubt you will expect this, my first letter to you after it is all over, to be in jubilant strain & I suppose one should be bursting with happiness and jubilation. But strange to say I do not feel the least bit that way & the same feeling is most marked on all sides with the exception of the local people whose enthusiasm is unrestrained. Our feelings are strange indeed & frankly I find it impossible to analyse my emotions. I suppose the sense of relief is there in the background but the pose & discipline we adopt to carry us thro is not easily put aside & as yet there is no sense of exultation. We all say thank God it is all over - here in Italy anyway, & we rather wonder that we have come thro it unscathed physically if not mentally. Then again the uncertainty of our future precludes our giving free vent to any exuberance of spirit. Will the war in Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, drag on a while (I think not), will we be sent to Burma, China or another theatre of war, will we have to stay here as garrison troops (this country will be very unsettled for a very long time & no doubt others are in the same position). All these and many other such doubts all tend to dampen our enthusiasm. I imagine the people back in NZ are in high jubilation over recent events. All celebrating the victory in most enthusiastic fashion. If you are your celebrations are in a complete contrast with the sober feelings here. This life has become so much part of us that exaltation over the triumphant ending does not readily manifest itself. We just go about our duties in the same old way & as far as we on this job are concerned we are as busy as ever, perhaps even more so. The mad pace has of course slackened somewhat but there is still a terrific volume of work to be handled & still under most difficult conditions. I have only the haziest recollection of what my recent letters to you have contained & I have lost all recent inward mail so please excuse me if fail to acknowledge receipt of your later mail. It has come in & gone out in such a whirl of events, well it had been impossible to keep tally of what I have said in my letters (I fear all too few of them) or mail written & received. Why I have not been able even to remember fully the events of the past few weeks. I wonder will they come back to mind later. This am I

received air letters from Belle Patton & Agnes Smith which I hope to answer in due course. Hell how shall I ever catch up on my correspondence? Oh yes I received some few days ago a bundle of reading matter from you. Many thanks. The parcel was from you. Contents very welcome - somewhat damaged having been involved in the Bari explosion, but all tinned stuff was ok. Thanks sweetheart. Please do not send any more parcels until we know more definitely what we will be doing.Weather is not so good way up here. Much rain & fairly windy but with sunshine in between. Has been cold & we are glad to still have our BD. Often wet through & bedding has been soaked & is still quite damp. Am fit & well & altho feeling the strain of the past month there is nothing to worry about as I am extremely fit. Have seen much of Italy these past few weeks & was extremely lucky to get a brief visit (3 hours) into Venice. Saw all the famous places, twice sailed on the Grand Canal in a gondola, etc. A most fascinating place about which I will tell you in due course. We are now well beyond there. Have sent you a parcel for your birthday & at the same time as a memento for 23/6/32 a small item of jewellery - but I thought rather nice. The story of its purchase is enclosed in package. (Sent registered). Have just been told we are off again at 2.30pm. Hell! What a life! All my love, ever yours, Fred. Love to Ron. Time now 1.30. We are at present camped in a railway station yard. And it is not damaged at all! The 1st & only one in that position I have seen since being in Italy.

05 May 1945Here I am again to give you a few lines but as usual I fear that they will be very hurried. I wonder when I shall again have the opportunity to write at leisure, fully composed & able to think beforehand of what I put down on paper. Since my last letter I have received a further bundle of reading matter from you (as yet unopened & present whereabouts unknown), a very nice surface letter written in Jan from Mrs Ede, and air letters from Belle & Agnes Smith. Goodness knows how I shall ever overtake the arrears of correspondence. I owe about a dozen people letters but see little hope of being in a position to reply to them all for some time. However I will do my best & in the meantime I trust they will accept your thanks on my behalf. Today I sent off to you a parcel containing two books giving the history of Rome & some rather nice books showing views of Venice. The former you may find of interest to read & in the latter you will find the colour plates of Venice interesting. It is certainly a quaint & very interesting city about which I will tell you in full detail at a later occasion. By the way while I think of it if I am not back with you by the time the small parcel (referred to in my last AL) is due to arrive, please do not fail to let me know when it reaches you. I gave it to a chap to post registered & when I asked him for the duplicate slip he said he had lost it. This could easily have occurred because we were moving at the time & as I know from my own experience it is impossible to keep track of everything & the past few weeks - well one would have to live thro them to know what it has been like. Still I would be very sad to lose the parcel for it contained rather a fine article & was expensive. I refrain from telling you what it was so that it will be a surprise when you get it but you will know the package. It was grey tin, round 50 cigarette tin. As opportunity offers I have other parcels ready to send but if my statement of contents is misleading (as written on outside) don’t be surprised. Stuff I will make use of when I get back. I have some souvenirs for Ron, Ted caps, badges, etc which I hope to sneak through too. God if only I could send some of the multitude of stuff lying around just rotting. Thousands & thousands of pounds worth of equipment abandoned by friend Ted. How I wish I had a ship of my own! Yee gods the stories I have to tell you when I get back. At the moment we are settled down in a most interesting spot and it seems that our nomad days are over for the time being & not a little pleased we are too for we have “had” the mad chase of the past few weeks & find the relief from the strain rather welcome. We are in a rather pretty spot and it is one of the most intriguing places I have ever been in. For obvious reasons I am unable to give a detailed description (even tho the war here is over we still retain security measures) (!!) but it is a veritable pirates lair. That is absolutely true in the literal sense of the words. Yes indeed it is an intriguing spot & Ron would get the greatest thrill of his life here. I will always remember this spot as Pirates Cove, & in due course will have some remarkable tales to tell you about it. I suppose you folk are having a wonderful time with the events of the past few days & I often think of you & wonder your reaction to the news. Guess you are shrilled as one thing. We take it all very calmly & just hope we will soon be on our way back home. Am very very fit. All my love darling mine. May we soon be reunited. Ever yours, Fred.

07 May 1945I was very pleased to receive this morning your two air letters of 15 th & 18th April to which I am replying straight away while opportunity offers. First I must say how disappointed I am to note the long delay over your medical exam. I fully appreciate the cause of the latest delay but it was fully three months between the time you must have received my request and the time of your letter of 18 th April & I fail to see why you need have delayed so long over a request which when I made it I stressed as an important matter. Your behaviour calls for explanation, & this is still the case even if the period is less than the three months I think it is since I suggested such a course. Sorry to learn that Chris looks so ill & trust nothing serious is wrong with her. Glad to know Xmas issue of

NZEF Times reached you safely. It took quite a while to write those notes. Your good reports on Ron are most welcome and you can tell Ron that his Dad is proud of him & fully appreciates the effort he is making. I would liked to have heard that his hearing is better altho it is good news that the ear has been dry for so long. Sorry to learn that Uncle Chas was so depressed when he last wrote to you. I really must try & write to him again but oh if you only knew what an effort is required to keep anything like up to date with correspondence. I have earned quite a degree of notoriety for being such a martyr to my correspondence. Often I feel like letting it go hang but when people are good enough to write I feel I must acknowledge their kindness but it is not easily done. Re cameos (Time 14 mins to 8pm Mon 7th May - BBC has announced this minute that war in Europe is over! Germany had announced this earlier today but this is the first official news from any Allied source - more in a minute or two). The ones mostly available are rather poor quality & very dear. The Ities are turning them out in mass and quality suffers accordingly but I will keep my eyes open for good ones & if I see anything worth while I will buy it & send it to Molly. Have the cash so no need for her to send any. Well it is all over here in Europe! At last! I suppose you folk are thrilled to the marrow and may go mad with excitement. To give you some idea how calmly we here take these things. The BBC announcement opened with the words “Here is an important news flash ……etc”. We just listened to it (the same with everyone within sight from here) heard the news & then went on with whatever we were doing. Little or no excitement & no cheers or anything like that. Just taken as an ordinary event in our days life. Remarkable isn’t it for really we should be most thrilled as I suppose it is true to say it is easily the most important event that could happen to effect us. Still there you are & perhaps it does throw light on how our nature has been affected by the war. I suppose we all feel some degree of excitement but we have become so accustomed to keeping emotions in suppression that we just cannot let ourselves go. That is the only explanation I can offer. I wonder what happens now? The uncertainty about the future does much to curb our enthusiasm too! Events certainly have moved this last week! Was there ever before so many great events in such a short while. You folk must be having a thrilling time indeed. All my love sweetheart. Must get to work again. It has piled up while I have been writing. Fred.

10 May 1945By hurrying I think I may be able to complete this letter before lunch which will be in an hours time so provided too much work does not come in during the next hour I will have this finished. This afternoon I hope to do washing & several other small jobs requiring attention. Have had no further mail since I last wrote so will be able to concentrate on news items. The weather here is now perfect & from about 11am until 4pm it becomes very hot & not a little enervating. Amongst the mass of equipment abandoned here by Ted were a number of hammocks & having acquired one of these I have slung it under the pine trees a short distance from the truck & it provides a very pleasant rendezvous for a siesta during the heat of the day. The evenings here by the seaside are simply glorious. There is no doubt that Italy has a lovely climate (except for the severity of the winter). The past few days have been out of the box - brilliant sunshine with hardly any wind - and the blue Adriatic has been a real picture glass smooth as far as the horizon. The day before yesterday I went out with the DR on his run & was able to see something of the countryside hereabouts. It is really very pretty, somewhat rugged & bare hillsides but possessing a grandeur which is quite outstanding. It compares favourably with anything to be seen in NZ. This part of Italy has been spared the ravages of war & little sign of war damage is visible. Road blocks & gun emplacements etc are grim reminders of the war & of course at present soldiers of all nationalities are everywhere & much military transport is about. Jack F was in for a few minutes the other day but I was just leaving to go into ___ (you will probably be able to guess the name of the city) which is only a short distance away & so was only able to say a few words to him. However I broke the return journey at Jack’s area & spent the afternoon from 3pm with him. Had tea there & left to come back here about 7pm. We spent a pleasant time together & had quite a chin wag as it is some time since we have met altho never very far apart. I found ___ a very fine city & there is no doubt about it the cities here in the north are vastly better than those in the south. A few shops were open & I was able to make some small purchases which I have posted to you in a parcel. In it are some stamps for Ron & also some Jerry caps which I think will please him. Also posted another parcel but it is of the peculiar kind referred to in my recent mail & its contents (not true to label) will not interest you. I hope to make a speedometer for Ron’s bike with the stuff later. The stamps are not Italian but German issues & I think Ron will like them too.We are not feeling altogether cheerful these days as it has been indicated that it is not likely that we can expect to return home for a long time & even as long as a year is suggested. Moreover it seems there is a strong possibility that we will have to go to another theatre of war. This is a grim prospect indeed & has knocked us for six well & truly. We all feel it is most unfair & we can only hope that the public will influence the government to insist on our early return. I write only briefly on this subject because space is limited but I feel very strongly about & may discuss it more in later mail.

Am very fit & well & much enjoying our stay in this rather lovely spot. All my love dearest. Ever yours, Fred.

13 May 1945I am writing this sitting in the shade of a tree adjacent to the wireless truck. It is very hot the sun blazing fiercely (time 3pm) from the usual cloudless sky & only a very light breeze to stir the air as I sit here in my bathing shorts. My “table” is the Digest you enclosed in the bundle of reading matter recently received & my seat a wicker double chair previously part of the furniture of the Jerry inhabitants of this spot. It is not really a comfortable position for letter writing so please excuse the shortcomings of this letter. Am endeavouring to catch up on arrears of correspondence & yesterday wrote to Uncle Chas & Doris & the day before wrote to Frank & Mrs Ede. Have also written in the course of the past few days to Miss Smith but there are still quite a few including Doreen, Clare, John, Belle Patton & Edie to whom I must yet write so you can see how much behind I am. It is really delightful here & if only you & Ron were here with me I would be perfectly happy but as it is I just long to be on my way back to you. The weather continues to be perfect & each day is glorious sunshine from dawn till sunset from a cloudless sky and hardly any wind in fact more often than not the surface of the sea is glass smooth. The evenings & nights are perfect too. Oh sweetheart what a spot this is for you & I to spend such happy times together.The censorship regulations have been eased so I can write more freely in future, and presumably there is no harm now in telling you that this spot was previously used by Jerry as a secret submarine base. His camoflage was so well done that the place has escaped the vigilant eye of our Air Force & altho everything is now hopelessly smashed up, this was done by the enemy before he withdrew. He is very thorough with his demolitions. We are occupying a smallish cove surrounded by perpendicular cliffs about 150ft high & from the base of these, which form almost a semicircle round the cove, to the shore is a crescent shaped flat area about 100yds wide at the widest point. On this flat area are the remains of the workshops, the broken remains of some twenty midget submarines & the remains of many torpedoes. The cliffs have been tunnelled & are a maze of passageways store rooms etc. Altogether it has been a most elaborate set-up & friend Jerry suffered a severe loss when he lost this place. At the wharf are the remains of three ships (largest about 500 tons) which he scuttled & tried to destroy before he pulled out & the boys have much fun retrieving stuff from these. Some valuable stuff has been got too! Along the beach were the wrecks of several very fast motor launches (you may have read of the type where they are loaded with TNT & proceed at high speed to ram big ships the pilot baling out - pulls a trigger arrangement & with a small raft attached falls backward out of the cockpit which is right at the stern) with which it was hoped to disrupt our sea communications. The boys have salvaged two of these & using parts from the others we hope to have them seaworthy again soon. However large scale repairs are necessary & it is a big job to repair the boats and motors but we are getting there & in fact one did trial runs yesterday but leaked rather badly & so is again on the slipway. The other one which I gave a hand in my spare time is more extensively damaged & require much work yet before being put on the water. Pre-war this spot was a popular tourist resort (we are quite close to Trieste which is only 10 miles away) & there is a large building with nice grounds which was the guest house. It is a nice place beautifully set in amongst very pretty native bush which fills that end of the bay. At this end the bush is less dense but still very pretty. I could write for hours on this most intriguing spot but space is limited & so I will have to leave much unsaid until I see you which I pray will not be too long for I must confess that with our work here ended I just yearn to return home to you & Ron who mean so much to me.Fri. I had a good day. In the am I hitch-hiked to an aerodrome about 15mls distant & got yarning with one of the pilots there. Persuaded him to take me up & we spent a pleasant hour in the air together viewing the surrounding countryside including flying & circling over here at a low altitude. He allowed me to take control for about 15 mins & you can well guess how I enjoyed that. Again must leave much unsaid but it was grand! Got back here about 2pm & spent rest of day swimming & sun-bathing. Had the whole day off my first for quite some time. Yesterday I worked all day but managed to have a dip & do a few odd jobs. So you can see we are having a grand time & doing little more than picnicking. I only wish time & space permitted my giving fuller a/c of our activities but needs compel me to be very brief & sketchy. Work is falling off now & we are having more time for fun & games & very nice it is too! All my love, ever yours, Fred.

15 May 1945Yesterday brought me a lovely lot of mail, four from you & one, AL 27/4, from Doc Jennings. Your mail contains quite a lot calling for comment & so altho I wrote to you on Sunday last I again take up the pen but this time most, if not all space will be devoted to commenting on your letters. Your AL 20th -22nd April. I too saw “Five Graves To Cairo” when at Adv Base but was rather disappointed in it. Rather overdone I thought & the scenes hardly true to life in many places, but of course these faults would not be

apparent to you. Your hopes for our early reunion are I fear too optimistic. As mentioned in my air letter the other day it seems we are doomed to be a long while away from home yet. And am I mad and blue at the prospect - well one of these days when space & time permit I will go to town on the subject but in the meantime I suffer in silence. Your Aunt Florrie’s behaviour is most unkind & uncalled for. As you remark she has had similar happenings in her own family & who is she to criticise others. Still one can understand her feeling bitter for Molly’s conduct was very very strange and in my opinion cruel beyond words. Am not surprised to learn that Noel & Noeline have turned out that way. However it will get them nowhere & they will suffer for such conduct eventually. Glad to know that Colin is ok and hope that his furlough in June turns out to be a permanent home posting. He has earned it. Guess he made a wonderful job of the yacht, & would have liked to see the finished article.Your AL 23/4. Am glad you recd money & stamps ok. Yes I thought Doc would be seeing you about this time. He is a grand fellow (as is also Bill Lasky) & I am delighted to know he has seen you. He wrote telling me about his visit & I was very pleased indeed to get his letter. Hope Bill soon looks you up & that Doc revisits you later. I trust his report on me was satisfactory & that he did not tell too many tales on me. Yes I appreciate his early visit also but he is a fine fellow indeed & I an not surprised that he did this kindness. Oh how I envy these chaps getting home but all in due course my turn will come I suppose. Meantime I must curb my impatience & longing for you. Was more than pleased & relieved to learn the result of your medical exam. I trust you will go back again in say 6 months time for re-examination. And so I can be a naughty boy in future without fear of consequences! I fear I will be so old & worn out when I do get back that I will be past that sort of thing. I wonder? I agree with you that the op is unnecessary & best avoided. At times I think more kiddies would be nice but in saner moods I realise that it would be very unwise in every way. Hope Doreen’s babe (Hokitika) is not seriously ill. Let me know if you hear further.Your AL 25th Apr. Very strange & most interesting about Mrs Wylde knowing Doc! You must take him down to see her when he is up next time. Never thought to ask Doc if he knew the Wylde’s when he was here, big silly aren’t I? Yes he is a good fellow & I am proud to have him as a friend. IMPORTANT (for Ron). Yes go ahead & sell the scooter & get Ron his bike making the best arrangements you can. I leave it entirely to you. All I do is ask that Ron should take the greatest care for I would …(well you know) …if anything untoward should happen to him while I am away. I could say much on this subject but you will know what is in my mind. He must avoid all risks. When you buy the bike I suggest you get good advice & in this connection perhaps your Dad or somebody else will assist. But please do not buy a poor machine in your anxiety to get one as quickly as possible. The greatest care is needed in this respect. I can only leave it to you & trust that you will take all possible care & Ron also. Sorry to note that Ron’s teeth require so much attention but am pleased to note they are not being neglected. Also sorry to learn that Clare is unwell. Must write to her but it is hellish hard to find time for all the letters I should write & am getting more behind all the time. I hope she responds to treatment ordered by Dr & that by the time this AL reaches you she is completely well again. Your AL 27/4. Dr’s favourable report on Ron (& myself also) extremely welcome. Yes it does seem that at last an effective treatment has been found & I pray that his hearing will rapidly improve. Must leave further comments for next letter as space runs low. Another glorious day but terrifically hot! All my love, Fred.

18 May 1945First I must finish commenting on your mail & then onto news items. Continuing with your AL 27 th April. Am pleased to know you like the Rome photo which is I think is vastly better than the Bari one & I find your view that the latter is as good difficult to understand. So Dr Mac suggests I make the army my profession. No thank you!! No doubt the life suits me for I am wonderfully fit & well but while one has some grand times in the army & it is an easy life in many ways still I could never make it my life’s career. However when I get back I must try & get into a job that suits me better than office work for it is a wonderful thing to feel well all the time. For an “old man” I do pretty well & am more active & energetic than most of the young fellows hereabouts. In fact they often tell me that a grave error must have been made on my birth certificate. Sometimes though I wonder which way! Hope Gran is now ok & over her bronchitis & I trust she does not find the winter too severe. Nice to know that Ron is able to do such helpful odd jobs. Eddy is right the Rome photo is the best. Re extra copies. This may be possible from the photo itself. I was unable this time to obtain the negative. You say Ev [?] prefers the Maadi photo. What one is that as I don’t remember having one taken there. Saw Sister Howells photo in an old Free Lance the other day (holding a babe in her arms). It was an excellent one of her. Please give her my kindest regards & best wishes when you next see her. Your news re Nancy & Theo very interesting. It seems that social ambitions have outweighed her prejudice against RC’s. I wonder how she likes the idea of her children (if any) & the eventual inheritors of the family fortune being brought up in RC faith. Or will this be the rock on which N & T will split? As I have often remarked, fate has a strange way of working out & people usually pay for their misdeeds - retribution I term it.

Now for news. Weather continues to be perfect & altho it is now only 9.30am & I am sitting here in shorts only the sweat is pouring off me & I hold the pen with difficulty. Am continually having to w….. my hands. Contrast this with conditions five months ago! It is really too hot but I love it. Shortly I will go for a dip - have several each day - & will then wander around in bathing shorts for rest of the day. Am getting nicely tanned. Have only about 20yds to go & am in the water. We are really having a wonderful time here & will be sorry to leave unless on the way home. There is no doubt about it it is a grand spot & except for having to do a certain amount of work which is now fairly easy as a maleesh feeling prevails, we are having a wonderful holiday in perfect surroundings. I wish you could be here to share it. Haven’t done much of interest lately as all my spare time I have put in on the boat which we finished last night. We put on the water as soon as paint has dried. Quite a big job fixing her but she looks well now. She should be pretty fast (up to about 30kts = 35mph). Yes she is a trim ship! It is really amazing the fleet the Div has got together. There is at least one full size scow with motor, three big launches (something like E-boats), six or seven speed boats like ours (they are about 20ft long & carry up to a dozen), many ordinary boats some with outboards, canoes & even boxes made to float, not to mention rubber boats, rafts, etc. The Div is practically seaborne & all from equipment which Jerry did his best to destroy before he surrendered. Must close as space is exhausted. All my love, ever yours, Fred.

22 May 1945Since my last letter to you I have received your AL of 28 th Apr & your cable of 8th May for which many thanks. I also recd one from Clare which I hope to acknowledge in the course of the next few days. Your cable came as no surprise as I thought you would send some message at the ending of the war. I intended to do the same myself but at the time I had not access to an army PO & then when such facilities became available it was really too late & in any case the whole thing was taken so calmly here that it almost seemed that the sending of any special message was unjustified. On the night of the coming into force of the armistice we held a mild celebration in which we drank the supplies of liquor stored for such occasion & we lit bonfires, fired off shots, very lights etc. but we fairly say it was noticeably artificial & a forced cheerfulness prevailed rather than a spontaneous one. I don’t think any of us felt like having the party but we felt we should have one. However that is ancient history now so let us get onto current events. Now for your letter of 28/4 re tobacco parcels. In view of the uncertainty as to our future & not knowing how long it will be before we are on our way home it is hard to know what to advise. As mentioned in previous mail it seems probable that we will be here for some time yet & these parcels are so acceptable perhaps you could risk another. Has L&S sent one lately? If so don’t you bother. Also you people in NZ may know much better than we can tell what action is intended re our return. And so generally the position is so indeterminate that I leave it entirely to you to do what you think best. I suggest that the other parcels be not sent. There must be some still in transit. Yes I am sure I shall see a big difference in Ron & oh how I look forward to seeing you both! Referring to your remark re Musso, “fini” is incorrect (it means thou finishes). “Finito” is the word = finished (past particible). Here endeth the 1 st lesson! Congrats for winning the competition with the duchess set. Now that war is over does Dudley still have to go back to camp? Some time ago you mentioned that Alfred was in 16th Reinf. Is he still there & does he expect to leave NZ? Please don’t fail to answer this question as your reply may afford some indication of our future. Also why was he not retained in the Air Force after getting so well on with his training as a navigator, I think he was? News of Murphy boys is welcome. That’s all calling for comment.My writing is pretty awful but I am sitting in an awkward position so please excuse. Wrote to Doreen yesterday & her letter may contain some news not included here. Our boat is a great success & is much admired as unlike some of the others she required very extensive repairs to make her seaworthy. Was out in her for over an hour last evening & altho water was a bit choppy (yesterday & today have been quite windy) I drove her along at a fair speed with 8 of us aboard. She is only a small boat (about 20’) but lightly loaded & in calm water she is very fast & will do up to 30kts. We have not had her up to that yet & we are waiting for ideal conditions as we don’t want to strain her in rough water. Having been so much rebuilt she is weaker than the others & so we are nursing her somewhat. On Sat Ray Foster & myself went into Trieste & there spent a very pleasant day. Spent the am strolling around the city & in the pm went to see Dianna Durbam in “Spring Time”. a good show with interesting supporting programme. We got back here about 4.30pm, had a swim followed by a hot shower & then tea. Was on duty after tea. Sunday was spent mainly on military duties with some time spent working on the boat. Yesterday am was working. In the pm did my washing & wrote letters. After tea was out in the boat & down at the slipway until dusk when I came in & turned in. It is not dark here until about 9.30pm these days (from the above alterations you will se how difficult it is to keep record of the days!) I am very well altho yesterday had a slight attack of diarrhoea which is going about at present. However took dose of cholera drops & am ok today. Weather is still good altho yesterday rather more wind than usual & today is windy & slightly overcast & it looks as tho we are in for a change. With the wind it is much cooler & the change is welcome. For reasons referred to in letter to Doreen we must remain in camp so will not be able to get about much until the

flap passes over. [Trieste impasse]. We are still very much in the dark as regards our future & it is all very upsetting as we all wish for an early return home. Still we must be patient I suppose & I try to be! Space runs low so I must draw to a close. Hope you & Ron are happy & well. Still miss you as much as ever & am yearning to be with you. All my love sweetheart. Ever your, Fred.

25 May 1945I have already sent you two cloths similar to the one enclosed & so you may if you wish give this one to whoever you like. Perhaps Molly or Doreen, I leave it to you. I don’t know whether the kid gloves will fit you but if they do you may keep them otherwise you will have to give them to someone they will fit. But I hope they are your size. The silver bracelet rather appealed to me - saw it in Trieste when there some days ago - & so I bought it. Getting extravagant aren’t I? I have already sent you quite a nice one & perhaps you will feel that two items of such jewellery is too much. I quite realised this but felt that it would do for someone else. You could pick which one you preferred leaving the other for disposal at a later date, possibly after my return. These bracelets are gilded silver not gold which is rarely seen in this country even wedding rings being silver. Hope parcel arrives safely. Fondest love, Fred.

26 may 1945Have had no mail from you since I last wrote so will have to try & fill the space with what little news there is. It will be difficult because during the past few days I have done nothing of exceptional interest, in fact most of my spare time has been engaged in trying to catch up on arrears of mail & at last I am right up to date so can now get busy on some reading. Have several Digests and World Press Reviews on hand. The WPR is a weekly magazine published by the CMF Command. It deals with current international affairs & contains some excellent articles. I have also put some work in to the boat, strengthening repairs which were found too weak to withstand the heavy strain of high speed on choppy water. We have not had the boat at sea much during the past days as a strong wind off the sea has made it too rough. As a matter of fact the weather lately has been rather poor with fairly strong winds & cloudy skies. On Thursday we had heavy rain showers and it has been much cooler so much so that I have not been in for a swim since early in the week. On Wednesday evening a YMCA mobile cinema visited the camp & showed a film entitled “A Woman in the Town”. a bit far fetched but really quite good and an enjoyable change. The evenings here are the worst time of the day in many ways. We have our evening meal at 5.30pm & as it is not properly dark until about 9.30pm it gives us four hours to fill in before one can reasonably think of going to bed. Such a long period of spare time sounds attractive but really it becomes rather boring and it is during these hours that one feels most homesick & unsettled. Believe me it is not very pleasant.As I put the date at the heading of this letter I was amazed to think that it is only two months since we returned from Matelica, our rest area. When one recalls all that has happened since - the hurried rush back to the operational zone, waiting for the attack (the days seemed like weeks), the hard slogging during the first phase, then the break thro & wild chase under difficult conditions, our arrival here with general relaxation, then the reinstatement of preparedness to meet the local tension. Hell it seems more like a year than only two months! The more eventful ones life is, the slower time seems to pass. And when I say that it seems years since I left NZ you cannot realise (no not even you) how true are those words. And to think that it may yet be a long time before I am back, well it is too awful a prospect to contemplate. Some of the boys who heard the broadcast of NZ news over the radio earlier in the week say that it was stated that the NZ Govt is investigating the possibility of sending us to the UK. It would be very nice if it could be arranged altho for my part I would just as soon return straight to NZ. However seeing we are so close to the Old Country it would be grand to see it & meet relations there. Whatever happens I only hope they get busy & soon as this life is most demoralising when it lasts for too long. You might think such an easy life with so little to do in such pleasant surroundings would be very pleasant & I agree that under different circumstances such might be the case. But as it is I am getting a bit “browned off” and “I want ter go home”! in a sour mood this am aren’t I? Not really though, just an army moan. Well sweetheart I wonder how you are this evening (your time 8pm Sat) & what you & Ron are doing. I suspect Ron is in bed or just getting there. How about you & I doing likewise. Yis early I know bit it will be late before we are asleep! Fondest love. Ever yours, Fred.PS. Any indications available in NZ re future of the Div? Any hints or advance information will be welcome!

28 May 1945Had a lovely batch of mail from you yesterday receiving altogether four AL’s (2 nd to 11th May) & at the same time one from Frank. I have again done nothing of interest since my last letter - the monotony is terrible! - so will concentrate on answering your mail. AL 2/5. Many thanks Molly for the biscuits. Will ack them when they come to hand. Am glad to know you folk at home celebrated the victory in a proper way. Perhaps if it were all

over, including the war against Japan, & we were assured of an early return home we would feel able to celebrate in better style. Also the shortage of vino locally does much to curb exuberance of spirits. AL 5/5. This letter deals mainly with victory celebrations & so does not call for much in the way of comment. Glad to know that Doreen’s babe is getting on alright. Thank Alwyn & Gwen for their greetings which I reciprocate. Was wondering about Geo Broad as I have not seen him for quite a while. AL 9/5. Again mainly about victory celebrations (which I enjoyed reading). Hope photos taken at Molly’s turn out well. I much appreciate Ron’s kindly thought. I only hope his prayer is answered. As always he was much to the fore in my thoughts during those eventful days. AL 10/5. More to comment on in this one I think. Those words “newest of brides” sound inviting. I wonder shall I be as satisfying as the “newest of bridegrooms”. Much afraid not! But still as you remark our love is something more than mere passion & just the thought of having you near & enjoying your company (& your lovely tickles!) is lovely to contemplate. When replying to Colin, altho I expect you have already done so, please thank him for his greetings which of course I reciprocate. Dr Mac’s good report on Ron is welcome. Altho you mention having lunch with Clare & the boys you omit mention of how Clare was. In a letter the other day you mentioned she did not look or seem well. Yes my sweetheart I realise onlt too well that we are growing older all the time & at 37 we must expect the inevitable. But somehow it seems I must of you as a beautiful passionate young thing. I suppose it is silly but it is as I like to think of you & in a way it helps me to resist the temptations here so freely available & I regret to say often partaken by married men as well as single. Many things (loneliness, the monotony of army life, physical fitness, etc) all tend to make female company most attractive & the bright young things one sees about are really appealing. It helps me to resist the temptations by thinking that there is a beautiful young thing waiting patiently for my return, faithful & true. Perhaps I am inviting disappointment by thinking this way but somehow it seems I must do it. There are too many aspects to mention them all in a short letter like this but it may give you an insight into my feelings when I say that it would hurt me terribly if when I return I found you as Colin must have found Doreen when he came home on furlough last time. She seemed to rely solely on Wendy holding Colin for her. Oh I could write for hours on this subject but I think you know a lot of what is in my mind without my saying it in this limited space. So to summarise. You are my dream girl & I hope always will be - but a lot depends on you. You may rest assured however that I am not lacking in appreciation of your efforts “to be all you imagine & desire” (to use your own words). I only pray that we are both successful in our efforts to retain our love & mutual respect. Am fit & well & hope you & Ron likewise. All my love. Ever yours, Fred.

28 May 1945Have a lot to say still & having time to spare I shall continue for a while. I wonder what Ron gave you for Mother’s Day? Am afraid we were inclined to overlook the occasion here. As a matter of fact I thought it was the previous Sunday 6th May being the first Sunday in May. What is the rule?Re your comment would I like a bath? Yes sweetheart & with you as we have done before. But I warn you …… you can guess! Yesterday I posted you two parcels, one another bracelet, a pair of kid gloves, another tray cloth (same as two already on the way) and some postcards showing views of Trieste. A letter enclosed gives suggestions re allocation of these items. The other parcel contains sundries which I may find useful when I get back. It is the not true to label kind. Items in first parcel I bought in Trieste when there the other day.Weather is on the improve once more. We had a bad day yesterday & on Saturday/Sunday night. Came up bad on Sat evening with strong wind & much thunder & lightning. Rained heavily during the night & altho it dawned a cloudless day yesterday we had intermittent thunderstorms. But between times the sun broke through brightly & it was quite hot. I had a swim in the afternoon & quite enjoyed it. By evening it was beautifully fine altho rather cooler than usual. By local standards the weather for the past week has been poor but by NZ or should I say Wgtn standards it has been quite good. It is just that one classes anything not perfect as poor this being the result of our having so many really perfect days one after the other. The situation here is improving & tension is easing. In fact I hope tomorrow to have a day in Trieste with Ray Foster. It will b e our first outing for a while & I am looking forward to it. The local tension required that we should be on hand to meet any emergency & we were not allowed out of the area without having to carry arms. However things are much improved now. Had serious misfortune with our boat yesterday. Buffeted by the rough weather she sprang a leak & this but more especially the bad mooring method caused her to sink at her moorings last night. It will be a big job salvaging her & will necessitate having to take the motor out & all to bits. We had just done this (taking advantage of the rough weather which precluded our using her much) & the boys are a bit fed up. She has given us a lot of work for a little amount of fun so far. Hope to slip up & see Jack in the course of the next few days but Albie is on leave as from today so that means extra duty for Bob & I so may have to wait a few days. Space is again exhausted so must close. Once again, fondest love, ever yours, Fred.

31 May 1945

I have not my record of letters written by me at the moment but I am fairly certain my last letter to you was written on Tuesday so will take up the story from then. Tues evening turned out to be a glorious one & after tea I went for a stroll along the coast road. Really should have been helping the boys with the boat but did not feel like it & in any case it was all work on the motor & there are plenty of mechanics available in the crew. The country is really very pretty hereabouts, in a rugged sort of way, and with the road running along the edge of high cliffs with an almost vertical drop to the sea & the sea smooth as far as the eye could see it was lovely. We sat up there & watched the sun set & then walked back & so to bed for it was after 10pm when we got back. Wed was another fine day & with Ray Foster I spent the day in Trieste. We just strolled around the city visiting the parks & suburbs. There are two fine parks almost in the centre of the city & it was delightful sitting in the shade of the trees watching life go by. The tram service is operating (city is very little damaged) & we had our first tram ride since Cairo days going out to one of the suburbs. The subs are less impressive than the main part of the city & there one sees the usual squalor & filth so characteristic of Italian towns. Still it is much better than is often the case. After a most enjoyable day we returned at 5pm. In the evening after tea from 7.30 until 9pm the 5th Bde band played & rendered some enjoyable music & then at 9.30pm the YMCA mobile cinema showed an Andy Hardy film which in my opinion was only “poco buono”. And so ended what was almost a gala day. Yesterday I had to work all day finishing at 6pm. It was a fair sort of day but not up to usual & not nice enough to entice me into the water to try out the bathing shorts I had bought in Trieste on Tues. (Cost 300 lire). The ones I brought away with me have “had it”. During the day many local thunderstorms could be seen but altho some only just missed us here we had only a few drops of rain. With so much lightning about conditions in the air were atrocious and I had a rotten day. Certainly no spare time for letter writing! By 5.15 it was impossible but I stayed on until 6pm trying to get close down instructions to them. This is usually a simple procedure but impossible to get even it thro. After tea I went for a short stroll with Ray but at 7.30 it started to rain & we had to hurry back. We bought a kilogramme (2½ lbs) of cherries (cost 18 lire = nearly 1/-) & believe me they were delicious. By the time we got we were pretty wet & as it had cleared up somewhat I went down to the slipway as I could see & hear our boat scudding about the bay. Spent an hour that way & then, having got thoroughly wet thro, changed & went over to the YM for a cup of tea but found I was too late so spent an odd hour looking at magazines & then came over to bed. The boat is again on the water but is not going as well as she should be, acid from the batteries having got into the motor when she swamped the other night. However she is not bad & on smooth water she will do just on 30 knots. It is great fun skimming along at that speed on the water. All last night from the time it got dark there was brilliant lightning. It was almost continuous (one could just about read a book by it) and was in several parts of the sky at once. Even more spectacular than the display we had at Adv. Base some months ago. Early this am a thunderstorm broke right over the camp & the thunder & lightning was terrific & there was torrential rain for about half an hour. A high wind blew down some bivvies & blew the rain thro others. At one time a stream a good two inches deep was flowing through my bivvy but having acquired a bed (iron frame, spring wire mattress) & being about 6” off the ground my bedding kept fairly dry. However the sides leak badly & my gear got pretty wet. Like everyone else my things are now out in the bright sunshine drying.Albie is due back from Venice leave this evening so our team will be up to full strength again tomorrow.Wild rumours prevail here about the Div’s future & it is said that all up to 10 th Reinf will return home. There is nothing official so we must wait and see before complaining but all I say now is that it will be most unfair if the return is arranged that way and age and family responsibilities are not taken into consideration. If it is done that way I think the NZ public should do something about it. If up to the 10th return what happens to the rest? Do we remain as occupation troops, go elsewhere etc etc? the 1st elevenths were only six months behind the 10th’s anyway. Except that I am feeling restless & unsettled I am well & am enjoying life but our job being done I want to be on the way home and that smartly.Must close now so with fondest love to you both. I remain your ever loving husband, Fred.

09 Jun 1945I am writing this with a strange pen, albeit not a particularly good one, hence the strangeness of the writing. Also my position is not the most comfortable as I am sitting on a bed on the floor with an Auckland Weekly serving as my writing table. Have not had any mail from you so far this week so will concentrate on news of my activities since I wrote last Monday.Our trip to Austria went off well but was somewhat spoiled as you will see later. We were up early (5am) on Tuesday morning & after a wash & shave we had breakfast of wheatbix which I had managed to buy at the YMCA some time ago & had little used. By 6am we were on the road and quickly picked up a lift to Cervignano where the road branches, one going on down to Venice, the other branching north to Austria thro Udine. Actually we had arranged for a lift in a staff car right from camp to Udine leaving at 6am but the driver was at that time “out the monk” still suffering the effects of a heavy farewell party given in his honour on Monday

night. Judging by the way I last saw him he will always have cause to remember his last night with the Div. However to get on with the story. From C we soon picked up another truck which took us to 9m N of Udine, then another lift to Venzone, this being only a short one of a few miles, then another good one on a fast travelling jeep to Tarvisio, here we had to wait about ½ hour before we clicked but again we were lucky to strike a fast moving light truck which took us to within 6m of Klagenfurt, form here we quickly got a jeep which took us into the outskirts of K. six lifts for the 160 miles which we covered in 6 hours is good going for hitch-hiking. It was 12.10 when we arrived at the NAAFI in K & after a spot of bother trying to exchange Itie money into Austrian currency & succeeding after some difficulty we had lunch there (tea & buns) & discussed further plans. We had hoped (too ambitiously altogether) that we might get thro to Vienna (170 miles or more further on) but the information available in K indicated that this was absolutely impossible. So we decided to have a look around the town & then travel on as far as possible but to return to K aerodrome that night & pull in the ex POW repat camp. We got as far as a place called Zwischenwassern but by this time traffic had thinned out & it was very difficult to get a lift. The weather which up till then was perfect showed signs of becoming unsettled (thunderstorms) & so we turned back, arriving at the aerodrome at about 7pm. After a scratch tea we bedded down in some bivvies set aside for ex POW’s but we sneaked in, there being few POW’s passing thro there now. We had arranged to go into together for the evening but I found the aerodrome crowded with I should say 100 or more Jerry aircraft, all types & mostly in tip-top order. And so as you will guess Ray went on his own while I had a wonderful time closely examining Junkers, Foche-Wolfes, Dorniers, Messersmidts. Had free rein to examine them just as I liked. I pinched myself to make sure I was awake. Souvenired a few instruments. Could have got almost anything but could not carry the things I really wanted - too bulky! In the course of this interesting pastime I met two South African pilots (who were doing the same thing as myself) & we struck up friendly acquaintance. They were pilot & copilot respectively of a big Douglas Dakota which was up from Bari to evacuate ex POW’s. Incidentally we were sleeping only about 50 yds from their machine. They mentioned they were returning with a light load at 7am next morning & asked if we would like a trip back with them. Well I ask you! So I slipped over & saw Ray who had just got back from town. And we arranged to travel back via Udine & Venice to Florence and hitch-hike back from there getting back in 2 days, 2 days late but it would not have mattered much. Klagenfurt is not a very impressive place & it is somewhat damaged by bombing. The non-fraternization order is very strictly enforced & the people so not seem at all friendly. Sullen & rankling under defeat. Typical Hun types. Women dress rather prettily. The airport strange to say is very little damaged. From Venzone to a place called Villaco (25m from K) the road is thro high mountains & the scenery is grand & beautiful. The frontier is crossed soon after leaving Tarvisio. From Villaco to K the scenery is marvellous especially along the lake shore (Worther See) & unhesitatingly I say it is the finest I have ever seen. I could not possibly describe it properly. Yes it is very very beautiful! I look forward to telling you about it in greater detail later. In such perfect weather it was seen to full advantage & oh sweetheart how I wish you & Ron could have shared the enjoyment! It was wonderful! And so to bed on Tuesday night after a successful & most enjoyable day & the morrow’s prospect bright indeed. But our luck was too good to hold. I had been in bed only a short time when I felt violently sick & I was soon vomiting violently (had no basin or anything & just had to be sick onto the ground beside my bed & oh what an awful mess). This continued right thro the night & altho dog tired I did not get a wink of sleep. To add to my troubles about 5am I was beset by diahorea. By 7am I was feeling too ill to move & when they started up the Dakota I could not even get up to explain that we would have to cancel the arrangements made the previous night. I fancy they waited too as it was 7.20 when they took off. At this stage I had decided I would have to lie up all that day & try & get back on Thursday. At 8am I had to go to the lav & so I visited the Repat Unit RAP on my way back to the bivvy. There they gave me some dope which worked wonders and after a brief doze I awoke at 9.30am feeling much better. My complaint had been diagnosed as summer sickness & a touch of sunstroke. Fearing that Thursday might see me worse instead of better I suggested we start the return trip at once. Ray agreed & so after hurriedly packing we got away just before 10am. By then it was very hot & I soon felt bad again but I simply had to keep going in spite of frequent vomiting attacks. We followed the same route back as we went up & were again very lucky in pick-ups. The return journey took 8 hours, much slower than the up trip, but we had only 3 lifts which saved much changing vehicles and waiting on the roadside. It was another beautiful day, a scorcher, but I fear I far from enjoyed the journey for felt really rotten and I class it as about the most nightmarish trip I have ever had. As soon as I got back to camp I went to the RAP & upon ascertaining my temp to be 102.8º they immediately suspected malaria 7 all sorts of other dire illnesses. Altho I protested emphatically & stated I would be ok in the morning the MO insisted upon my evacuation to MDS & so here I am. On Thursday am my temp was normal & has kept normal ever since & I feel more or less ok. I am being kept here until diahorrea is cleaned up. It is just about ok & I may RTU (return to unit) tomorrow. Am feeling fine & no need whatever for any concern at all. Am having a real rest & grand holiday! Weather her continues to be perfect but somewhat too warm. Glorious sunny days, cloudless skies & only slight trace of a breeze. I have necessarily had to curtail my description of our holiday

but as in so many other cases a lot must wait until I can tell you about places visited & sights seen, in person.

12 Jun 1945You may wonder how I am so I hasten to reassure you that I am quite well again. Space was too limited in my AL from the MDS to say all I wanted to & in any case it was not easy to think clearly writing with such a pen. When I returned from Austria & was found with a high temp they whistled me away smartly to the 4 MDS so that tests could be carried out to see if I had malaria. These were all of negative result but they kept me there to treat for the diarrhoea & at the same time to keep me under observation. It was just a holiday but I soon tired of doing nothing & altho the diarrhoea was still troubling me a little I said it was ok & they allowed me to return yesterday. Upon returning got busy with cholera drops & altho had a rotten night last night feel much better today. Was delighted yesterday to receive 3 AL’s from you & one from Agnes. As there is no news much I shall concentrate on your mail. AL 17/5. Sorry to learn that Ma is again having trouble with her leg & I hope it is now much better. AL 19/5. Yes I am glad you got the bike for Ron & I hope it serves him well. By now you will have recd my letter containing my reply to your proposal in this regard. I hope attention will be paid to the remarks therein about care etc. AL 20/5. Glad to know parcels arrived but very sorry the bird arrived broken & hope it mends satisfactorily. Yes I thought you would like the cameos but you really do not seem greatly enthusiastic! Perhaps you will like the contents of the other parcels when they arrive as well. They are even more fragile than the bird so I hope they will be alright, & I will be anxious to know how they reach you. More stamps are enclosed with Ron’s wallet. I certainly spent money while in Rome but it was well worth it to know that the stuff bought has reached you safely & is acceptable & liked upon arrival. I think you will rather like some of the other things which I have since sent to you. Shall endeavour to send something for each of you but make no promises as cash is not unlimited.That seems to answer your letters so I will have to fill in the space in other ways, as I see I have only half used that available. The weather continues fine as usual & it is now very hot but I find it much cooler here by the sea than it was at MDS which is inland some distance. As you will have heard by BBC and press the Trieste situation has been settled & Tito is withdrawing his forces from this district so once again peace reigns hereabouts. I had mentioned in recent mail how the situation easing so perhaps you expected the latest news.If you should be phoning the office please tell Ag I shall answer her letter as soon as poss. In the meantime please thank her for writing. We are feeling pretty unsettled here in the Div at the present time. In the NZEF Times a week ago it was stated that all up to the 10 th Reinf will return home & this of course implies that 11 th & later will not go home. Presumably we are destined for the Far East, & it would seem we are to go straight there from ME. All other troops to go to that theatre are to have leave first - Tommies, Yanks, Canadians etc - but not the poor old Kiwi. Altogether the whole thing is very unfair & we can only hope the public opinion at home forces the Govt to reconsider its decision further. There are many other aspects. For instance. If those older than 35 (or is it 36) are not now required to leave NZ for overseas service why should those already overseas and over 35 (or 36) have to go East. Also the10 th included many chaps just 21 years of age 7 so now only 23. Getting home does not mean as much to these chaps as it does to men of say my own age & no regard seems to have been given to returning married men with kiddies before these young fellows. It seems absurd for single lads of 23 to be sent home prior to married men aged about 40 with two or three kiddies (the 11 th included quite a few such men) & yet this seems to be what is intended. And mind you the 10 th’s left only six months before the first of the 11th’s. Again, if the 10th’s return home after only 2 years overseas why should later reinforcements have to do their full 3 to 4 years. There are other aspects which shortage of space precludes mentioning. We are fighting for justice & it is to be hoped the fair mindedness of the public will insist on a fair deal to all.Fondest love to you both. Ever yours lovingly, Fred.

15 Jun 1945 TriesteHere it is Friday evening 7.30pm & a beautiful evening it is too - the sun is shining from a clear sky but it has lost its intense heat & it is now very pleasant. Had intended spending the evening in the boat but my tummy is still a bit out of order & I still have the runs slightly so thought it best not to go out. But it is simply glorious here of an evening & I do so wish that you could be here so that we could enjoy them together. Since I last wrote your AL’s 24/5 & 27/5 have come to hand & I shall answer them now. First a word of warning re the bike. J’ville & surrounding district are very hilly & you will have to exercise the utmost caution to ensure that Ron does not strain himself by riding up hills too steep for him. He is naturally not as robust as say Barry & seeing the latter riding up Ron will of course want to do likewise but harm may very easily result. I believe this was the cause of the hernia I suffered in my younger days. So over to you for the necessary action & safeguards. It is a difficult situation & requires careful handling.Glad to know J & N liked their stamps. Also pleased to know that the bird can be repaired satisfactorily. Lowden’s must be doing well to take these trips & I assume that bookies are doing pretty well these days as one

reads of record tote takings. Yes I hope that the parcel sent for 23/6 & 10/7 reaches you safely. Your winter weather is early in starting. I hope your expectations for a severe winter are not fulfilled. Altho my later AL’s have given more indication of the interest attached to this spot there is still much of interest to tell the boys when I get back. Your good report on Ron is welcome but I am disappointed to learn that his hearing is still far from good. Today I have been on duty & was kept pretty busy all day altho I did find time to write a short note to Ron which covered some postcards (views of Trieste) on which I have endorsed the usual comments.Yesterday am I spent in Trieste returning to Main Div for lunch which I had with Jack who I had not seen for a while. We had a good chinwag & I returned here about 3pm & spent the rest of the pm getting a parcel ready to send you. Went to bed early after tea, as tummy was not too good, & enjoyed quite a fair night. Wednesday I spent the whole day in Trieste. Went in in the am, leaving here at 9am, & spent the am shopping & generally looking around. At noon retired to the YMCA for a cup of tea (no eats available there yet) & met Alec Murray (HO Lands) & we spent an odd hour yarning & then to the pictures (“Assignment in Berlin”- very melodramatic & only fair) which got out at 4pm. While we were in the pictures it had rained heavily & it was looking bad again especially back along the road in this direction. Was fine when I left in the morning so I had no coat. however we set out on the return journey & secured a lift in an open jeep. It was not long before we ran into a severe thunderstorm with torrential rain. I was soaked to the skin by the time I got back here but managed to keep my purchases in my haversack dry. Got back just in time for tea at 5.30pm. Went to bed early this night also.There will be two parcels both in brown canvas wrapping. The first one is ready. It is a wooden box stitched up in the canvas & oh what a job sewing it up was. When you open it be careful to cut only the stitches & you will have a good piece of canvas (part of a Jerry tent). It contains the umbrella & some aircraft instruments but the latter are “off the record”. The second parcel yet to be finished is the more interesting as far as you are concerned. It is in a tin 7”x7”x7” which I intend to also stitch in canvas. It contains more aircraft instruments (Jerry) but also stamps for Ron, 3 very pretty silk scarves or table cloths, and a pure silk scarf similar to one posted to Molly yesterday. I think you will love these which are for disposal as you think fit. After much searching I obtained a small cameo for Molly (not a particularly good one I fear but the best available here) which I have sent enclosed with the silk scarf by air mail letter posted today. Hope it gets there ok & that she likes these small articles. If cameo does not meet requirements so not hesitate to let me know & I shall try & get another one when we go south.Space is running low so I must draw to a close. Am not quite 100% but as you can see from my activity it is nothing at all to worry about. Seasonal upset & only minor. Fondest love, ever yours, Fred.

19 Jun 1945To write this I am sitting in the shade of a tree just outside our wireless truck with the writing paper on a piece of cardboard on my knee. It is 10.30am & very hot altho here I am in the shade with only bathing shorts on. It is again a glorious day, not a cloud in the sky & only a light breeze. Such days are commonplace here & one comes to expect them as a matter of course. Weather such as this would cause much favourable comment back in NZ. The position is not the best for writing so please make the usual allowances. Your cable of 12/6 reached me on Sat the 16/6 - a remarkably quick time - & I thank you for sending it. You should receive mine in the course of next day or so. I sent it 13/6 I think it was. Yesterday I received two parcels comprising two cakes - one from you, for which many thanks - the other from the office. As yet I have opened neither. My tummy is still not quite ok & yesterday had a recurrence of diahorrea so I am going easy with my diet. There is a lot of this stomach trouble around at present & I am only one of many similarly affected. It is nothing serious just a seasonal illness not unusual at this season of the year. Lately mails have been coming in on Thursdays & Sundays but there was none either last Thursday or Sunday but I am hoping each day brings some mail to hand. Re parcels. In my last letter I mentioned sending two. These contain items which we are not supposed to send (ie enemy equipment - aircraft instruments) & as I hear that a pretty stringent check is at present being imposed at Base PO, I have thought it wise to hold them back meantime so do not worry if they fail to reach you in the usual period of about 3 months. Will try & remember to advise you when they go forward. Omitted to mention the inclusion of some yards of lace in one of them. Am no judge of lace but it looked quite pretty and the Itie shopkeeper assured me it was the best quality Italian lace. It is narrow width suitable for trimmings.An Italian Opera Company from the Milan Opera House is playing at a place called Gradisca some 15 miles from here. On Saturday night with two others from here we went to see the opera “Tosca”. the play was staged in the open air & it is remarkable how well it is done considering the difficulties & lack of facilities but open air opera is much indulged here in summer months & the Ities have the staging lighting etc arrangements down to a fine art indeed. It was quite as well done as the opera I saw in Rome when the performance was in the Royal Opera House. In my opinion the opera “Tosca” is much better than “Aida” & I enjoyed Saturday’s performance much better. The players are top raters in Italian opera & their acting & singing were simply wonderful. The

leading lady (Tosca) & her lover (Cavarradosi) took their parts extremely well & Tosca was the outstanding player. She has a lovely soprano voice. Altogether it was a memorable performance which I much enjoyed. They are playing other operas & I hope to go again but it is somewhat expensive (200lire = 10/-) so one cannot go too often. The charge is high (it was 350 lire in Rome) but the way they do these operas here in Italy they are very expensive to produce. The companies consist of 200-300 players, 50-60 in the orchestra, & staging on a grand scale.The sevenths left on the way back last Tuesday morning & the 8ths are expected to follow in about a month. I feel very blue when I see these chaps go. The 4 th 5th 6th & 7th have gone since I arrived & each time I have felt it keenly watching others start for home & having to stay behind myself. It touches a tender spot somewhere deep down. Am getting too soft aren’t I?Sunday was, as usual, a lovely day and I went in for several swims which I much enjoyed. The water in this bay is very deep & altho we have much hot weather the water is never really warm. It was very cold on Sunday & I am wondering if this was not the cause of the recurrence of the diahorrea which has troubled me lately.I am owing letters to U. Chas, Agnes, Office & so will have to put more time into letter writing than I have been doing lately. But really altho there is no shortage of time it is not easy to write an a/c of lack of facilities. Writing under these conditions Is far from easy & can be done only where one is writing to someone who will excuse bad writing. This is awful I know but without a table it is hard to do better. You will forgive me I know. This morning until 10am I spent doing my washing. Have got a bit behind with it lately & so had quite a bit to do. The line on which it is drying is full.We have no information as to how much longer we will be hereabouts. Very few reinf are coming in to replace the chaps going out & before long there will be too few left for the Div to continue on the operational roll. There are many rumours but these must as usual be treated with reserve.Well sweetheart I seem to have exhausted the news & space is running low so I shall draw to a close. As goes without my saying I continue to miss you terribly & just long to be back with you. At times I get very very homesick & this life of idleness and purposelessness does little to help one resist the moods of depression which are hard to fight off. All my love. Ever yours, Fred.Cake not from office but from Doris & her mother. Very many thanks. Will write as opportunity offers. Tobacco parcel from office just received (2pm 19/6). Much appreciated. Will write soon.

23 Jun 1945Today is the 2nd Anniversary Day we have had to spend separated. My most fervent wish as I write these lines is that it will be the last & that ere 23 June 1946 comes around we will be reunited never to have to be parted again. It is Saturday morning 9am and as soon as I awoke my first thought was of thirteen years ago. Throughout the day you will be constantly in my thoughts & especially so this evening. I do not want to write at length about how I feel or of the thoughts in my mind for as you might expect I am not in the happiest state of mind on account of our separation & if I let myself go I may become too morbid and one should be quite the opposite on an occasion such as this. But when I say that I miss you terribly & love you as much now as I did on our wedding day thirteen years ago you will know that those simple words convey a much greater wealth of meaning than their simple text might indicate. As the years pass by my love remains steadfast & true & it always will be so, of that I am confident. And so with the earnest hope that the duration of our separation will soon be ended I leave this subject to give what little news there is.Apparently there has been a serious delay in the transit of mails in this ………….as it is a full ten days & perhaps longer since we received any mail other than parcels. I am hoping that we may get some air letter mail later this morning. On Thursday Ray Foster & I went into Trieste. Leaving here immediately after lunch we arrived in town at 1.30pm & as most of the shops were closed (owing to the heat they close from noon until 4pm when most reopen until 8pm) we decided to go to the pictures & this we did going to see a picture featuring Bob Hope which we quite enjoyed. The show finished at 4pm & after a snack at the YMCA Canteen we strolled around town, returning to camp about 8pm. I bought some stamps for Ron & have posted these by surface mail. Was working all day Friday which was as usual another glorious day. Was not very busy & managed to get in several swims & some sun bathing. There was a dance at the Albergo in the evening & I went along for a while & had a couple of dances but did not enjoy them much as it was too warm & I find that I have rather lost the art of tripping the light fantastic. And so at 9pm I adjourned to see a picture which a mobile cinema unit was showing here in camp. The screen is propped up against a truck & we sit on the ground. It was a lovely evening but the picture was very poor - an English film called “The Half Way House” - and was hardly worth seeing. However it filled in the time which was a good thing as the evenings here do drag.Today is again a scorcher & as I sit here wearing only my bathing shorts the sweat is pouring from me and it becomes hotter every minute. The heat during the midday hours is pretty trying and I must hurry up & finish this & get in for a swim & then to seek the cool shade under the adjacent trees. I expect you are now having

rather poor weather & I only wish I could parcel up some of the local sunshine & warmth & send it to you. It is a marked feature of the Italian climate that even altho the winter is severe the summers richly earn this country’s reputation as Sunny Italy. The consistency of the fine weather here in summer time is truly remarkable & is something which people used to Wgtn’s fickle weather would have to experience to fully appreciate.It is rumoured that we may be leaving here about the end of the month for Southern Italy but we must await official confirmation before we can take this as definite. We will not get much opportunity to write when moving for it will be a long & arduous journey so this will a/c for any long break in my mail which may occur. We were to move yesterday to another area in the town but this move is in abeyance meantime altho we have not heard why. Its cancellation lends some colour to the rumour of an early start on return journey southwards. And so darling mine I must say farewell meantime. Poignant thoughts fill my mind but you can guess what they are. All my love, Fred.Saturday 2pm. Nothing for me in this mornings mail. Better luck tomorrow perhaps. Heres hoping!

25 Jun 1945Tonight if poss I want to answer your AL’s of 30th May & 3rd June & Doris’ of 2nd June all of which I was very pleased to receive this am. After such a long period without mail that to had today was especially welcome. As I write a severe thunderstorm is raging only a few miles away with much thunder & lightning & here altho only 6pm it is quite dark the sky overhead being a mass of threatening black cloud. I think we will have some heavy rain at any moment altho the storm seems to be moving a little off to the east of us. These local thunderstorms are quite a characteristic of the local climate. It has been another glorious day and very hot & humid. Lost count of the number of times I went in for a swim - water lovely & warm today. Now onto your AL’s. Sorry to learn of the death of Miss Smith’s mother. In her last letter to me Agnes mentioned that her mother was failing rapidly but I did not anticipate her early passing & I find your news a sad shock. Will try & write her tomorrow but don’t say anything to her as it may not be poss. Our move to the south is imminent. Was fixed for a certain day but has been postponed but only for a few days I think. Referring to the ending of your writing 30/5. Yes sweetheart, I can guess. The inference is all too clear & how I wish it too! As for another honeymoon I wonder? Don’t use the hammock much these days - just lie on a g-sheet on the grass in the shade. It is easier to keep moving as the shade moves around. Note your cheery remarks re our going to the Far East. Hope you are right but not so optimistic myself altho I agree anything can happen & the end may come suddenly & at any time for Japan is in for a hellish time when the intensive bombing gets under way. Still I think it is terribly unfair the way it stands ( reasons briefly stated in recent AL) & I feel very deeply about it. Many young chaps of the crowd up to 10ths would be only too willing to stop on but it seems that they are not permitted to do so. When one sees how the young single men let themselves go here & it is quite evident that they feel fully entitled to go the limit in having a good time (this applies to majority altho of course some must be excepted) when married men for the sake of their wives & families have to keep themselves under great restraint well it shows just how little the govt understands the problem. Many married men have gone the easy way - all too many! - but for those who like myself have scruples about these things well to say the least we don’t derive much encouragement when this sort of thing is permitted. AND THE PUBLIC DOES NOTHING! If only they knew the facts (VD figures for the Div for instance) they would not be so blassé. This of course is strictly “off the record”. at times I feel like resolving to hell with it all and letting myself go absolutely. And I might. Even yet. These words are not used carelessly & I fear they are all too serious. But please do not discuss this with others, it is just between you & me. I know I should not write like this as it will only worry you & you have your own worries & difficulties enough as it is. But I do feel very deeply about this & well it does help to get it off my chest. You can rest assured that I will not give up too easily. That is a promise & I think you know me well enough to know it is worth something. Could go on writing for a long time on this subject but enough of such unpleasantness.Wonder if Colin is home yet. I hope so & also that he does not have to back. Sorry to learn of Edie’s illness but hope she continues to do well & that henceforth she enjoys better health. Your remarks re the comment by Ron’s teacher are interesting & afford me insight into the position. I fear I see signs of the development of an inferiority complex through his realisation as he gets older of his disability. No doubt only slight but there nevertheless. At all costs this must be avoided. Of course one cannot disguise his weakness from him but with wise handling I think you can avoid adding to his disability by allowing him to develop a complex. It will be difficult I know but I am confident that with careful handling it can be done & that you can & will do it. I suggest Dr Mac’s counsel might well be sought. As he grows older Ron will naturally reason more & he will require to be watched carefully, & handled judicially. A mother’s love (without coddling I must stress!) & wisdom will resolve difficulty. Dr Mac’s latest report read with interest. Reassuring up to a point but I would wish for more rapid progress. Arahuia seems to be well & truly in the doldrums these days. Now onto AL 2/6. Yes I am to envied as we are really having a grand time in this delightful place but in the state of mind all too prevalent these days one does not enjoy it to the full & quite frankly I must confess I am somewhat browned off

& notwithstanding that our departure will mark the start towards the unpleasant possibilities ahead it will be welcome in many ways. Here one has too much time for sane reasoning & it tends to excessive self-pity. All too apparent herein no doubt. The journey back will be long & arduous & altho we may see parts of Italy not seen previously the route will I expect follow ground all too familiar. It would be more tolerable with brighter prospects ahead. In fact travelling under army conditions is so unpleasant especially through the tropics that it is almost only tolerable when the future is bright. [why volunteer if you can’t put up with the life!] I know that on the way over I often thought I would be able to stand it because of being homeward bound. However I will be only one of many & if they can do it so can I. Yes I look forward to telling Ron & Barry more of this place. The next time you see Florrie I think you should have it out with her over the attitude she has adopted with Molly. If she is the sort of person to do such a thing she is not really worth bothering about but a few home truths would not be out of place. But perhaps I should not advise. It does not always “pay” to be fearless of our relations. But as I have said before none of you can know how cruelly Molly’s action, however well justified, must have hurt Arch. Bill Lasky is on phone 16-277. He is a grand chap. I suggest you ring him. Am glad to know that Clare is better. Don’t worry about me dear. I am as fit as one thing. My admission to MDS recently was a precautionary measure. They are always afraid of malaria & so whenever temp is up off you go for the routine tests which in my case proved negative as I knew they would. Diarrhoea was only slight altho it persisted for a while. [food poisoning - a good dose, Fred!] Many others similarly affected here lately. Yes I guess you feel it when yo see others reunited but always remember they had to wait, perhaps even longer then we may have to. Re our making up for lost time. Don’t expect too much my sweetheart. You may be disappointed. The “old man” is not growing younger you know & the years & present times are taking their toll no doubt both physically & in other ways.Now for a spot of news. I posted today the parcel containing the umbrella etc. Parcel with scarves, stamps etc, will follow shortly. Have just had supper. Your cake (Doris & Mrs C’s in reserve still) delicious. Undamaged & not mildew at all. Tante grazie (many thanks - Itie) pronounced “tarn-tea 12/9/23” - also for handkerchief & choc & PK’s all much appreciated & welcome. H’chiefs much stained by cake but will be ok after washing. Don’t get many colds these days, have not had one for months now believe it not & so have plenty of H’chiefs. Had a light shower a half hour ago & a thunderstorm has passed us by I think. Still heavily overcast tho. You will note that these AL’s are now postage free. Good thing!On Sat night felt pretty lonesome & so to cheer yee old spirit went to a dance at the Albergo. Too hot for dancing & only had one dance. As anticipated I did not enjoy it but it filled in the evening. To bed at 10.30pm. I find I am losing my linguistic ability & am now rather poor on the old Itie. Don’t natter to local population these days & this explains my retrograde progress. Knowing we would be leaving Italy fairly soon I have lost interest in studying the language & have not done anything on the ERS course since our sojourn at Matelica. Many of the people in Trieste speak good English & one can get around well there without speaking Italian.Yesterday I spent pottering around the camp here - swimming sunbathing reading mostly. Today likewise. I am a real gentleman these days but am becoming terribly lazy & wonder how I shall ever throw off my bad habits when I have to earn my living again. It is really a serious problem, for army life develops bad habits not easily discarded. Gee it is hot & sultry here tonight, sweat just pouring out of me after the hot cup of tea. At nights we must wear slacks & shirts to keep as much covered as possible - malaria precautions. Instead of dividing day into 3 shifts we now work one full day each on the set. A bit trying on the nerves but it has benefit in giving each of us two days off in three. On duty day one has “had it” by the end of the day. Last night (Sun) after tea Bob & I went into town for the evening. Bars were open & we sat in one sipping poco buono vino & watching the local population promenading in the evening air. They were out in force - many lovely signorinas but we left them severely alone. Returned to camp at 10.30 quite sober after a pleasant evening. The ride back on top of canopy of the truck in the beautiful moonlight night was not the least enjoyable part. Imagine doing this in NZ. Altho we were wearing only light cotton shirts & slacks it was quite warm even at 40mph. Quite an interesting contrast with the weather we are having at the present time! It is now 10pm so I must close & I do not feel like writing to Doris so my letter to her must wait.Poco buono = literally, little good, ie not so good. [rough red?]

29 Jun 1945This has been a very eventful few days since my last letter to but I fear my account will be very brief & sketchy for the reason that early tomorrow morning (5am) I leave for a week at what is called the Alpine Leave Centre. It is a most magnificent place, Italy’s most renowned Alpine Holiday Resort, away up in the Alps near the Swiss frontier. Ray Foster was up there a short time ago & his story clearly shows that I am in for a wonderful time, he regards it as the most pleasant holiday he has ever had. We stay at a hotel which in peace time catered for the rich tourists & the service & facilities today available are the same as they paid £5 a day for. We pay 500 lire (25/-) for 6 days there. Skiing, mountain climbing etc are all available so you see what a pleasing prospect lies

ahead of me for the next week. We leave here at 5.30am for the assembly point & leave there at 6am travelling all day to reach the hotel at 5500ft at 5pm. This hotel is the main point of stay but if one goes skiing, & I fully intend to, you go on to another hotel at 7500ft. This involves a journey in a jeep for half an hour & the rest of the distance is covered by foot - 2 hours tramp. And so today I have been busy doing my washing & generally preparing for my holiday. Started on my washing at 1.30pm to the accompaniment of a continuous rumble of thunder. By 2pm the storm was right over the camp & the rain was torrential - heavier than you ever get back at home except on rare occasions - & it was very windy with some strong gusts, in a matter of seconds it blew from every point of the compass. But I had to get the job done so in spite of the storm I carried on & was the cause of much amusement standing there in my boots (full of water) & bathing shorts doing my washing with thunder & lightning almost continuous & rain absolutely coming down in bucket fulls. After some minutes like this someone called out that my bivvy was being flooded & I tore over to find everything in a hell of a mess with water about 2” deep flowing through in a real torrent. Practice has made me expert at meeting this situation & I soon had things “jacked up” satisfactorily & so again onto my washing. By 3pm the storm was all over & the sun shining bright & warm once more & the strong wind (almost a gale) which has troubled us for the past day or two was abated to a calm. Quite a transformation in weather in a matter of 2 hours - really remarkable. And so out on the line goes my washing & wet bedding etc & when I felt it half an hour ago it was all almost perfectly dry. How often can you get you r washing dry from 3.30pm to 6.30pm. Sun still shining brightly here - it sets about 8.30pm. I spent yesterday working on the set. It was cloudy & gusty & like most others I missed my swims. During slack spells I just potted about doing odd jobs. Went to bed early last night (9pm) but was soon awakened & got out of bed by some of the boys just returned from a day out. They had molto vino (much wine) - delicious massala - & so we entered upon a session. It was 11.30 when I returned to bed - nuff said! We call going to bed at 9pm very early for it is then still very light, & actually night life does not commence here until after 9pm. On Wed I had a grand day. At tea on Tues I heard that a truck was leaving here for Venice early next am so I got in touch with the driver & ascertained he had an empty truck & would be happy to take me along with him. We did not leave until 8.30am (ie after breakfast) but we made a very fast trip & altho we had to do an official call which took half an hour at a Stores Depot we were in Venice by 11.30. You cannot take cars further in than the station which is at the end of the causeway on the outskirts of the city. Jeeps succeeded in getting into St. Marks Square but this was a history making feat as perhaps was reported in the NZ press. So parking the truck in the NZ garage (a building specially built for vehicle parking & most interesting in itself) we travelled by gondola up to St. Marks Square. Most of this journey is up the Grand Canal. Being very thirsty (I can hear you remarking “as men usually are”) we immediately adjourned to the NZ Forces bar where beer is served. We sat down & the Itie waiter soon came up whereupon I ordered drinks for three (we had been joined by another cobber). Imagine my astonishment when he returned with 30 glasses of beer which he set before us - the table was top was fully covered with glasses & it looked really funny. I had not been told that they each individual order is 10 glasses - they never serve fewer than 10 glasses. I believe the rule is followed to economise on labour. And so after sinking 10 apiece we adjourned to the NZ Forces Club for lunch. The Club occupies the Albergo Danielli one of Venice’s most posh hotels, in fact the most posh in peacetime, but I suppose you have read about it & seen pictures of it so I will not attempt to describe it to you. It is of course a marvellous place with wondrous service. It was taken over as a going concern & except for the inevitable curtailment of the menu the service is exactly the same as tourists enjoyed pre-war & incidentally paid rather more than we have to (6d for meals, 2/- for a days tariff with all service, ie beds made, waiters to light your cigarette for you, cloakroom attendance, orchestra, lounge, etc included in the days tariff). Meals are extra to the 2/-. Great isn’t it! Had just sat down to lunch when I spotted Jack Fowles at another table. My two pals had made arrangements for the pm (both had dates with signorinas) & so when I met Jack after lunch we decided to join company. At about 1.30 we set out to stroll around the city & this we did until 4pm (it rained a bit but not enough to worry about) when we had afternoon tea sitting at tables in the beautiful St. Marks Square. By now it was beautifully sunny & very warm. From 4.30 to 6pm we did some rapid sight seeing going first to the top of the 300ft tower (which is visible in photos of V sent to you some time ago & I hope now recd by you) where one obtains a marvellous panorama of the city & its surroundings. I could write for hours describing what we saw but content myself with bare statements & space & time are limited. Coming down from the tower we walked the few yards over to the famous St. Marco Cathedral where we met a Cooks guide who offered to show us over the place for a small fee (100 lire = 5/-), we accepted. The magnificence of this church overwhelms ones imagination & in some ways it is more impressive than even St. Peters. The mosaics (regarded as the finest in the world) are beyond description. The whole thing is very very wonderful & has to be seen to be believed. How I wish you could share with me the seeing of these sights! But I shall try & tell you all about them later but I warn you no words of mine could ever do them justice - my powers of description are too inadequate. 6-7pm we spent shopping. Venetian shops are stocked with the most magnificent things - wonderful glassware, lace, etc, everything, but prices are terrific. Would have loved to have bought many of the lovely things I saw for sale

but of course it was impossible. I bought two lovely cameos - small ones suitable for setting in rings or ear pendants £2 each! But made by a man recognised as one of the best in Venice. They are about the this size (8mm) and the heads are perfect in workmanship. I also bought a pretty necklace in Venetian glass which as you may know is world renowned. These I will send on in due course. Am spending far too much money these days but “to hell with the expense“. On such occasions one lives like millionaires so I spend likewise - as nearly as I can, but the pay book credit is not so good! And so the Club for dinner - a lovely meal again eaten like human beings. 7.30-8pm by gondola back to Station again on the Grand Canal for most of the way. There we met my original 2 mates & we got away at 8.15 to arrive back here 10.45 after another fast trip. Yes indeed a very enjoyable day! A story attaches to Jack Fowles & the manner of this trip to Venice & the advantage he gained by our meeting but space is too limited to give it here. Perhaps he will give it in writing to Jen. Have you seen her lately? Last Tues night I went to a dance at the Albergo & had quite a nice time much to my surprise. Another interesting tale but space too short now. Was going again tonight but have too much to do & must be up early in the morn. So you see the “old man” is still managing to live a full life. All my love. Sorry space has run out. Ever yours, Fred.

02 July 1945Here I am at what is called Rifugio di Tuckett (literally refuge of Tuckett) or as we Kiwis term it the Tuckett Hut. It is at an altitude of 2270m (7450ft) & believe me it is molto freddo (very cold) the hut here at the moment being enshrouded in heavy mist & it is raining slightly just enough to spoil the snow on the skiing ground about a mile away a little higher up the valley. We left the hotel at Campiglio at 9am & took 2 hours to climb the 2550ft up to here, the climb being pretty steep in places. We first had a welcome cup of tea & then drew alpine gear - skis, alpine clothing etc, then had lunch which we have just finished & here I am sitting in the dining room writing this waiting fro the weather to improve. It is a grand place right up here in the mountains. On either side & only a short distance away from the hut are rocky crags rising sheer up 1000ft above us & in the distance are many higher peaks with snow in the gullies - the mountains are too steep & the season too summery for there to be much snow about. I had got as far as the … when some of the boys decided to set out for the skiing ground & of course I was a starter - you can see from this how extremely fit I am. So a quick change into skiing clothes (I look the complete alpinist) & off we went. It was still misty but the rain had ceased. A walk of 1¼ miles - a pretty steep climb - & one reaches the foot of the glacier. The climb up this about 500ft is very difficult - surface bad with a number of crevasses - and I felt just about done when I reached the top where one finds the snow field which is the skiing ground. A tiring trudge through the snow to the top of the field & then the great adventure! Needless to say I was pretty poor & spent more time a…up in the snow than on my feet but it was great fun & considering it was my first attempt I did not do so badly. It is just like skating for the first except that the “bump” is softer - one can fall heavily without hurting but you must be careful as it is easy to injure legs & ankles. After about 1½ hours at this grand sport the weather packed up & it snowed, hailed & rained all at the same time. We were getting pretty wet so decided to return. Another tricky journey down the glacier face & so home where we arrived thoroughly soaked. I changed into dry clothing & have just finished a very welcome cuppa which went very well. Time now 4.45 & we are again enshrouded in mist. Now for some a/c of the trip through to Campiglio. Sat. Up at 5am. Made own breakfast & away to assembly point at 6am arriving there at 6.30am. We were due to leave there at 7am but some of the party had got lost & it was 8.30 before we got away. Our route took us thro Mestre (near Venice), Padua, Verona, & other places, the names of which I forget. Verona heavily damaged, gives the impression of having been a pretty place & shows evident signs of being a town of some importance in olden days - it must have an interesting history. A big wall surrounds the city which was heavily fortified - old Roman forts & castles. Passed through very pretty country & the scenery in parts was simply delightful, especially around a lake (Garda) the name of which I could not ascertain (will find out from maps upon my return) we reached our hotel at 8pm very tired & dusty. My eyes were terribly sore! After booking in & having a welcome wash we had dinner & a grand meal it was! The hotel is a lovely place & I cannot hope to describe it but some pictures I will send on will give you some idea. After dinner I listened to the orchestra until 10.30 & then to bed. Had a grand nights rest. Breakfast next morning was at 8am (cup of tea in bed at 7am!) & afterwards Laurie Berg & myself went for an 8 mile tramp up to Lake Lampino - very lovely. Lunch at 12.30 & in the pm we climbed Mt Spiniele 2093m (6870ft) (1870ft higher than hotel) this tramp taking us from 1pm to 5pm. A heavy mist obscured the fine view usually obtainable from this mountain. Much enjoyed dinner at 6pm & after a smoke in the lounge I had a bath (oh how lovely it was!) & then to bed to read until I fell asleep. Was awakened by the maid at 7.20 with our morning tea. Up at 8am B’fast at 8.15. Away at 9am.

08 Jul 1945I returned last night at 5.30pm from my glorious holiday in the Alps to find a lot mail waiting for me. I had not

recd any for a while before I left so I was not altogether surprised to find mail waiting but I did not expect quite so much. Goodness only knows how I shall ever answer it all in detail & still write up the interesting story of my trip but I will try. Also I have a terrific number of other jobs to catch up on including about a full days washing & mending. Am on duty today Sunday but I got up early (6am) & after a good wash, shave etc here I am writing this while waiting for breakfast at 7.30. Mail received was as follows, 4 AL’s 4/6, 8/6, 13/6, 16/6, from you, also AL from Ron 11/6 (with your additions), Pat 17/6, Frank 17/6, Doreen 10/6. Many thanks all. I shall try & answer you as soon as I can.Now for some more urgent points before proceeding onto current news. I will post later today the parcel containing silk scarves, lace, stamps, etc, as not having received any of my other parcels back from Base PO, I assume the coast is now clear. Yes the other cholera drops arrived safely but not needing them at that time I just put the package into my kit where it remained for quite a while. I opened it about ten days ago & you can imagine my delight to find those two snaps, one of you & the other of Ron & Wendy. They are excellent & much appreciated. Ron’s tum reminds me of someone but who it is I cannot imagine. Yes he looks well & so does Wendy. I shall today also try & get a cable away for your birthday. I had been waiting until about ten days before the 10th but was unable to send it then on a/c of being whisked away on Alpine leave. And so my greetings will reach you somewhat late but it was unavoidable & I know you will make due allowance. We had expected to be moving back from here by now but for reasons unknown to us the move seems to have been put off & so we remain in the usual state of suspense not knowing what is to happen, how long we are to remain here, in fact all uncertain as to our future. I shall send on the parcel containing Venice necklace & cameos in due course. I am very mad with myself. The night before I left on my holiday I was packing these things taking great care with the cameos which I was wrapping in cotton wool. Imagine my annoyance when one slipped from my fingers (which were wet with perspiration) fell on the steel floor of the truck & broke. Just a small piece broke off the edge but it has completely spoilt the cameo. It is now of little use but I will send it on so when the parcel reaches you be very careful as the little wafer (very small) which broke off will be hard to find amongst the cotton wool. I am hoping to replace the broken cameo with another one before I send the parcel on. May be able to make another day trip to Venice myself or else get a chap going there on leave to fix it for me. Glad to know all Rome parcels arrived safely but sorry the horses were broken as I feel it may spoil their artistic appearance slightly. Do the joints in mending show much? Good to know Ron likes his stamps. Many more on the way. Yes I am becoming extravagant & possibly may have to ask you to send me some money but do not send any unless I ask for it. Will write separate letter describing my holiday - if time permits, but I have a hellish lot to do. Suffice it to say now that I had a marvellous time - best holiday ever! But I did so wish you had been with me you would have enjoyed it so and Ron too & it would have made the trip just perfect. Am wonderfully well & fit as you will see from the a/c of my doings in the mountains - climbing, skiing etc. All my love to you both darlings mine. Ever yours, Fred. Your AL 17/6 just to hand.

08 Jul 1945

This is my second AL to you today. This one to give some account of my leave & I have yet to comment on the numerous AL’s to hand. On going to the Orderly Room to post the other AL, parcel, and send your birthday cable I found waiting for me there your AL 17/6, ack by PS on back of other AL. my AL from Tuckett Hut covered my activities up to Monday 2 July. After tea it was still wet & misty & so Laurie & I spent the time exploring the area in the vicinity of the Hut. Had supper at 9.30pm & then to bed. Tuesday dawned fine & clear but rather chilly up at 7450ft. Had a wonderful view of the entire mountains - very impressive. B’fast at 8am & much enjoyed - meals consistently excellent here at Tuckett - just like home cooking. Left at 8.30 for skiing ground arrived there at 9. Snow still frozen hard & too tricky & dangerous for beginners & so until 9.30 the guides gave exhibitions to show how simple it really is - when you know how! At 9.30 the beginners had to do a run to let guides see how good we were. I was lucky & did a good run without falling & so went straight to the intermediate class. 9.45 to 10.30 coaching by the guides (fine chaps & great teachers). 10.30 - 11.00 go as you please & had great fun & some great tumbles but no harm. It is amazing how one can fall & get skies in all sort of tangle without coming to harm. 11 - 11.30 back to Tuckett where I had ½ hours rest before lunch. In the afternoon I climbed Castelletto Inferior my first rock climb & what a climb. You go straight up the vertical rock face to 8530ft. Was I scared when I looked down! Climb down just as bad but Bruno’s aid & confidence pulled me through. I am sending you a p/c of this peak 7 when you see it you will never believe that I succeeded in climbing this mountain it looks so impossible. But really it is not difficult once you get over the fear of such vertical climbing. You are roped to your guide & he knows the game backwards. Many (thousands in fact) have done this climb & Bruno alone done it over 300 times. So you see it was really no great feat on my part altho I do feel rather proud of my effort. A great experience indeed! Was down at 5pm & spent the next hour & a half until tea at 6.30 resting. After tea again up to ski field. In the cool of late evening the snow was hard & tricky

but I did not do too well - was too cocky & venturesome & came some awful croppers but had grand fun & much enjoyed myself. Back to Tuckett for supper at 9.30 & then to bed a very sore & weary FJC? Woke up early next morning feeling ok except for stiffness. After b’fast set out on a tramp round to the Brenta Hut which I reached at 10am & having time in hand I went on about another 2 miles. This is a fine walk taking one right up under the base of the Brenta Dolomites [Gruppo di Brenta] the peaks of which at 10000ft tower right above you for like most mountains in the Dolomites they rise in sheer vertical cliffs. Laurie had returned the previous day so I went on my own. The scenery was simply marvellous & beyond my descriptive power but p/c’s which I shall send may give you some idea altho it has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Had a very nasty experience crossing a small glacier - very steep & dangerous & had I fallen being on my own it would have been awkward. A forced march back to arrive just in time for lunch at 12.30. I had arranged to return to Campiglio for dinner on Wednesday. Most of the chaps going back that afternoon went back by the same route we went up but another chap & myself preferred to take a more circuitous route. So leaving Tuckett Hut at 1.30 we set out & following a track around the high peaks to the north of Tuckett (ie going in the opposite to my am hike) we reached Stoppani Hut at 3pm & this being at the top of the divide one gets a fine view of the mountains all around Campiglio & also those on other side of the Brenta range. The view from here was extremely fine. Altitude of Stoppani is 7875ft. And so down over Mt. Bloc (6500ft) & then thro very pretty forest down the Via Groste to the Golf Hotel & thence down a creek bed (instead of following the road leading from Golf Hotel to Campiglio) to our hotel at Campiglio where we arrived at 6pm. Just had time for a lovely hot bath before we had tea at 6.30pm. Afterwards sat in the lounge taking it quietly for I was feeling somewhat tired after my days excursions. And so to bed at 9pm where I read until I fell off to sleep. Had a restless night - over tired perhaps. On Thursday a trip to the Swiss frontier had been arranged & as this promised a view of new country I went on this. We left Campiglio at 9am & had lunch on the road. After travelling thro very pretty country all mountainous & really magnificent we reached the border at 2pm. The road is very winding & in places climbs quite high - one pass we went over was 6550ft high - up mountains & down into valleys all the way. We were not allowed to cross into Switzerland but I put my foot across the boundary line & so can say I have trodden Swiss soil. Spent a quarter hour at the border having photos taken & generally looking around & then we went back to Tirano looking around the shops. Bought a few postcards but saw little else worth buying. Tirano is only a smallish town & not at all impressive. Leaving there at 3pm we followed the same route back to Campiglio where we arrived at just in time for dinner at 6.45pm. Without writing for hours I cannot hope to adequately describe the beautiful scenery & other interesting points of this days journey. Like much else it must wait until I return. (About ½ hour ago I heard a loud explosion along the beach. Did not pay much attention to it, did not even get up from writing, as such occurrences are not infrequent as chaps often shoot, set off charges, explode Jerry ammo, demolition charges etc. But I have just heard that this occurrence was quite a serious accident. Some Itie civilians were playing with a Jerry shell which they hit in the wrong place - a little knowledge etc - with the result that it went off badly wounding four Ities including 3 youths & one adult male. They have just been brought into our RAP & the doc is busy patching them up now. Ities often come down here to bathe - today is an “at home” day & so there are quite a number about - so this may teach them to leave alone things they know little about). Onto story again. Thursday night there was a dance on at the hotel but I did not participate - floor too crowded & I was not feeling in the mood for dancing - & so altho I looked on for a while I spent most of the evening annotating some of the p/c’s I had bought. Still have much to do in this respect. Thursday ends with my retiring to bed at 11pm. Friday dawned another beautiful day for us to start the return journey. Leaving Campiglio at 9am we travelled all day thro mountainous country - very beautiful indeed - right in amongst the Dolomite Alps to reach a place called Pieve where we spent the night at local alberghi (no extra charge above 500 lire paid at Campiglio). Again I cannot hope to describe the scenery etc but it was simply marvellous. One pass we went over was 7350ft (road level) with rocky crags towering above us. We reached Pieve at 6pm so from the fact that our travelling time was 8 hours for 108 miles you can see the mountainous nature of our road. I only wish time & space enable me to give some a/c of this & Saturdays journey for it was most interesting & impressive. Had a good night at Pieve still in the mountains (height of Pieve 4500ft) & left at 9am Sat on the final stage. Until we reached Piani (about 20 ml N of Udine) the country was similar to that travelled thro the previous day - mountainous & very beautiful. The highest pass crossed on this stage - Mauria [?] Pass - was 4250ft. Much of interest to describe if space permitted. From Udine to here is all flat country of familiar aspect as I have been over the route several times. We got back here at 5.30pm just in time for tea having travelled 151 miles in 7 hours travelling time. Spent last evening reading welcome mail, tidying up my gear & generally settling back into the old routine. Today (as usual a perfect day & very hot - how I wish I could send you some of our surplus sunshine & heat to offset your awful weather) I have been working & so here I am this evening writing as you can see. Tomorrow I will have to give the day up to washing clothes which are filthy after exertions & travelling of recent days (roads very dusty!). Personal hygiene will also require attention. And so ends a unique chapter of this wonderful experience. Altho I may grumble at times I do realise I am very lucky

indeed to have the opportunity of seeing these places & enjoying these experiences (it would cost thousands of pounds in peace time). Yes I am lucky indeed it is the opportunity of a lifetime but I would willingly forego it all to be back with you & Ron. I know all too well my description is hopelessly inadequate & does all too little justice to the subject but in the circumstances it is difficult to be otherwise. Perhaps the p/c’s I will send may help you to get a better impression of things. In my next letter I will try & answer the points in your mail calling for comment. Again I am hopelessly behind with my mail. And so sweetheart my closing remark is - if only you had been there with me! Ever yours, Fred.

09 Jul 1945Today I recd your AML of 21/6 & also an AG from Tom. I am becoming worried on a/c of getting so far behind again with my correspondence & so altho I wrote to you only yesterday here I am again. Once I am up to date with you I can get onto answering others. Will get straight onto replying to your mail. Your 4/6 - 7/6. Glad to know Aunt Edy’s op successful & that she is making a good recovery. My best wishes for a rapid & complete restoration to good health. It seems much longer than 12 months ago since I received the news of about Dick. So much has happened since then that it seems much more than a year. Glad to have your news of Colin & to know he is managing to get some relief from th monotony of army life. Hope he is now home & for good. Glad to learn that wallet & stamps reached Ron safely & that he liked them. Thought he would do so. Your AL 8/6 - 11/6. Thanks Ma for shortbread which I shall ack in due course. These parcels usually come thro well & are always welcome. But you should not worry about sending these as you have enough to do without incurring the extra expense. Re our boat. It has given much trouble & we have had to go to a lot of trouble off & on repairing it. She has just been back on the water a week after extensive repairs to the hull (we hit a floating piece of wood at hi speed) & now the motor is giving trouble. Altho we have had a lot of fun out of her we are all getting rather browned off having to spend so much time on repairs that we almost decided to “maleesh” her. I today recd from Venice (where I had film developed) the photos taken around the cove here. They are quite good & include two of the boat. Will be sending them on shortly. Yes news of gratuity was welcome here. The amount is very generous especially when compared with what Tommies get. It will come in welcome for I guess we will make “whoopee” on our 2nd honeymoon - or should I say our 3rd? Ron’s AL 11/6. A good effort & much appreciated. Will reply as soon as poss. Your PS. Yes we are really having a great time these days - little work & much play - but oh to be home! Your AL 13/6 - 15/6. Very sorry to learn of Ag’s bereavement & Belle’s illness. In a recent letter Ag had mentioned that her mother was ailing but the sudden end must have been a sad shock. I should write but really impossible at present time. Hope her month’s leave from L&S has beneficial effect. Hope also Belle now ok. AL 16/6. (How unusual! One AL for one day’s news). Ref my extravagance. Yes I am spending my money pretty freely these days but I like to send you these things & may not be able to should we go East. Does not cost me much for my own requirements even when on leave & so I might as well spend my money in sending little things to you - gifts which are intended to show you something of my real feelings for you. Must desist - space too limited. Thanks for sending the tobacco which I shall ack when it comes to hand. Yes tobacco (& choc) are always acceptable. Let me know when Alfred leaves. Has the crowd you said he would be leaving with left yet? Yes or no. Interested to get news of his mishap in Canada & of how he is in army. We see quite a few “wings” men (ex Air Force) in the Div lately. Your AL 17/6 - 20/6. (Back to your old form!). Fancy twelve southerlies running! Yes you are having a hellish winter. And we here are having one perfect day after another & so it has been for weeks and very hot - today a real scorcher - day after day of glorious sunshine wish I could send you a parcel of it. Cholera drops & snifter recd ok - see recent letter in this connection. Yes cake came thro well but in future don’t pack other articles in with cakes & choose paper packing carefully as I notice your cakes seem slightly tainted - from packing I feel almost certain - toilet paper possibly is responsible. Interested to learn of Rene Beck’s new job. Hope she meets with success & likes the work. Your AML 21/6. Photos very very welcome indeed. Yes Ron does look well 7 is growing up in an amazing manner - also Judith & Wendy. One of your Pa & Ma especially good but I also like the ones of Ron on his own & with J & W. Ron looks well on his bike which seems from the photo to be a good one. Would like to make other comments re photos but space too short. Will conclude comments on this AML when tomorrow when writing for your birthday. All my love, Fred.

10 Jul 1945Here it is the evening of your birthday & you have been constantly in my thoughts throughout the day. I have been sending, telepathetically of course, all sorts of good wishes & loving thoughts so when I say “very many happy returns sweetheart” you will know that those words convey a much greater wealth of meaning than is apparent in their mere simplicity. I hope you have passed a happy day - how I wish I could be there to share it with you - and that the new year upon which you are commencing brings you the very best of good fortune &

continued good health. I hardly expect you have enjoyed such a perfect day as it has been here - lovely sunshine from an almost cloudless sky with practically no wind & extremely hot. As I sit here in the cool of the evening I cannot help but think how lovely it would be if you were here with me for it would be glorious to stroll around the bay together. I could then deliver in person the message which this letter so inadequately expresses and we could be happy in these surroundings.Now to complete my comments on your AML of 21 June. It is fine to know the air mail service is now available in this direction but the fee of 1/6 per oz is high. In the hope that you will write more by this means I enclose stamps to cover the cost of a few air mail letters. Our ALC’s are free (just as well for the number I have been writing lately eh!) so I can afford to contribute towards your postage. I do not expect or wish you to try & repay me for the few parcels I send you. I love sending you these things. Admittedly I have been a bit more extravagant lately but we must presume we will not be here much longer & so I have been buying while the chance offered. It now seems we may be here rather longer than appeared likely only a short time ago, & I will perhaps have to pull in my horns altho I can always ask you to send me money if I need it. It would tend to spoil the pleasure I derive from sending you these things if I knew you were worrying about trying to repay my small kindness. I don’t expect it & perhaps later the tide may have to run the other way. I only wish I could make the gifts to you in actual person - just to enjoy seeing & perhaps “feeling” in tangible form your own generous appreciation. No! please do not send woollens until we know more definitely what the future holds in store. In a parcel containing postcards of Campiglio trip which I sent off today I enclosed also the balaclava you had knitted for me. I have never yet had occasion to use it (army issues us with one) & so to save kit space I am returning it. Sorry to hear about Barry Cathcart’s illness & I hope he is alright again now. That’s all, so now for local news briefly. Yesterday am fully occupied doing my washing. In the pm wrote up p/c’s of M.di C. trip etc interspersing swims to cool off followed by sun bathing to dry myself. Glorious say but very hot. In evening wrote to you & at 9.30 went to pictures - YM mobile cinema in camp - to see Anne Sheridan in “Harvest Moon” which I thought fairly good. Programme ended at midnight & so to bed. Today has been another hot day & I have spent it very lazily swimming, sunbathing, reading & doing such odd jobs as rearranging & tidying my gear. A gentleman of luxury & leisure aren’t I? And so sweetheart I can use the remainder of this space to say those sweet nothings which lack of space so often compels exclusion from my letters.

15 Jul 1945I am sitting on a wicker chair outside our truck in the shade of the trees, penning these lines. It is Sunday 8.30am. We have just come off morning parade & I getting this started before it gets too hot. Actually this morning is the coolest for some time - the sun is shining thro a very light haze, thus tempering its heat a little, and there is a light breeze blowing. And so it is very pleasant here altho not an especially good or comfortable position for writing. Have not had any mail from you since your AML 21 June but maybe today will bring one or more letters - we often get air letter mail in here on Sundays. I am hoping so as it is a week today since I last heard from you. Wrote to Doreen last night & in that letter gave news which I need not repeat here as undoubtedly you will see my letter to Doreen. Am once again getting up to date with my correspondence altho I want to write to Ron & Eddie if opportunity offers in the course of the next few days. It was his birthday earlier this month & I should have liked to write to him for the occasion. Which reminds me my own birthday is fast approaching - had hardly given it serious thought & it comes as rather a surprise to realise it is so close. Had just finished writing to Doreen last night when some of the boys came in & asked if I were going to the pictures (I was sitting in the truck but they were outside in the cool of the evening). I did not even know there were pictures on & so welcomed the opportunity of filling in the rest of the evening as sitting inside these hot nights one soon gets browned off with writing. Anti malarial precautions require our being fully dressed after 7.30pm & it is not long before ones clothing is saturated with perspiration. And so at about 9.30pm along I went to the pictures - mobile cinema - which were being screened as usual in the open only about 50yds from here. Arrived just as the screening commenced. The picture was “San Demetrio” of which no doubt you have heard & perhaps seen. It is a very good film - well acted & well done throughout (unusual for a British film) & I much enjoyed the show. The sun has broken through the haze & it is now very hot & muggy. A swim is called for ere long. The boys were busy on the boat last night & only a little work is needed now to finish the job. We expect to have her on the water this afternoon & as the sea is is dead calm - in fact looking up I see it is mirror smooth - we should have good fun. Aqua-planing is a popular sport hereabouts these days. I was working yesterday & so during the day did not do anything especially interesting. Had a pretty busy day on the set, more than a usual amount of traffic & conditions were bad - atmospherics. The weather here is conducive of thunderstorms and nearly always there is one or more and sometimes several in the area over which we are working (we work W/T ie morse & the station furtherest away is beyond Venice) & so conditions are sometimes pretty grim. For a while yesterday they became impossible - static blotting everything out completely. It is extremely trying on the nerves working under such conditions. 10.30am it became too hot & so I stripped off & went in for a dip. Here

I am again sitting now in bathing shorts which I would also discard were it not for the fact that there are a number of visitors about the camp including some nice maidens (I doubt whether they are virgins). Today is another Open Day, ie camp is open to visitors. The girls here are very broad minded & no consternation would be caused if they did see one in the nude, they would go on walking past in the usual way probably even bidding the usual “bon giorno”! seeing girls change into their bathing dress & men doing likewise both in mixed company is not uncommon & to do this is not considered in any way immodest. To comply with the requirements of convention it is usual to make some small play in the directi on of not making oneself too prominent such as sitting down when exchanging bathing shorts for pants (both sexes) but this is not essential & the girls who mostly wear two piece suits regard it as quite the thing to add the brassiere piece after everything has been discarded. Yes indeed! A most land this. With what I wrote in my letter to Doreen you will think I am becoming a naughty old man & so I hasten to assure you that it is only the effects of Continental ideas which are much more broadminded than those prevailing in NZ. In spite of the temptations (yee Gods! Very tempting on occasions) I remain true & faithful to you my only love. And so sweetheart on this note I will close. Hope remarks above do not offend but they provide you with a picture of a way of life strange to the average NZ’er but quite the thing here. All my love. Ever yours, Fred.

19 Jul 1945

A lovely lot of mail to hand since I last wrote - your ALC’s 22.25.&28 June & now (½ hour ago) your cable of 12 July. And so here I am sitting on my wicker seat to start on my reply. The heat today is terrific & altho I am here in the shade under the cool trees it was difficult to hold the pen and so I borrowed the office typewriter (the chap who usually does the typing is crook today) and once again here I am doing the two finger typing with occasional stops to search for the right letters on the keyboard. First to answer your mail. AL 22/6. The good news re Ron in this I find more than welcome - it is simply wonderful and when I say that it pleases me greatly that hopelessly inadequately expresses my feelings but you will know something of how I feel. I just offer up a silent prayer that the good progress will continue and that ere long the dear boy will be fully restored to health. Your addition on 23rd June expresses something of my own feelings and as you say from a passionate love we may have developed true love and affection but I really do think that for my part it was always there. Time alone will show whether the passionate love stage is past in spite of the toll of years! I trust that when you can again get busy with your SA which was not altogether result-less in the past, we may still prove our love of each other, in the union of passions. Your AL 25/6. I wonder if the Govt has yet given consideration to the future of the Div. We have been hoping for some official advice for the past 3 weeks as we all feel the original proposals contained so many anomalies & unfairnesses that elaboration and amendment would be necessary. But so far we have heard nothing and I am almost resigned into believing that the original plans will be adhered to in spite of their manifest unfair provisions. Am glad to learn that Doreen’s babe is home and getting on well. Have not myself seen “For Whom the Bell Tolls” but believe it very good and am pleased you had the opportunity to see it under such enjoyable circumstances. Such outings would do you good and provide welcome breaks from the usual routine and I am beholden to the Lowden’s for their kindness. Yes Colin is fortunate to be flying back instead of having the tedious and uncomfortable boat journey. I hope he enjoyed the trip and is now having a very pleasant leave - how I envy him! Now to AL 28/6. News of Selwyn interesting and welcome. Yes a tickle with those lovely cold fingers would be delightful & more so “what would follow” (your use of the word “would” is interesting - you feel pretty sure apparently). But why the “or would it“? I saw “Adventures of Tartu” in Bari I think it was some time ago. Rather fancy I expressed the opinion that that it was a bit overdone in melodrama. Am pleased to know Doc has looked you up again and interested to learn of his marriage. Wrote to him a while ago and am hoping for a reply shortly. Did you ring Bill Lasky as I suggested? The sun has moved round and so must I. That’s better. Very pleased to know that the parcel containing bracelet etc reached you safely & that you liked the contents as I thought you would. I was a bit worried about this parcel as I think I mentioned in a previous letter & so news of its receipt is specially welcome. I sent (28.5.45) a parcel containing another bracelet rather similar. If you like you can give the second one to someone but keep it yourself if you wish. Many thanks for cable. Guess tomorrow will be little different from any other day. However we will make amends in due course. And so you noticed the L/Cpl at the headings of my mail. I had wondered if you would and how long it might be before you noticed it. I was really lucky to get it as at the present time promotions are not being granted much pending reformation of the Div following so many chaps returning to NZ. Then too there are others who I think (and this is not modesty) were more entitled to it than I was - Ray Foster, Laurie Berg, & others - for they are better operators than I will ever be and they were Sgts at army school before coming overseas. Have not said anything to Albie or Bob and as they did not see the notification in RO’s the address on your letters when they come to hand will cause surprise. Hell it is hot! Must in for a swim soon. Our stay here is nearly ended. The flaps went down yesterday much to everyone’s surprise and this will

probably be the last letter I shall write in these surroundings. The big move back is to start early next week & we will proceed to a place called Arezzo or somewhere thereabouts if current rumour is to be believed. We do not know how long we will be there but most likely until we move on to Egypt. Am sorry to leave here as the new position can hardly be as good as we have here. We won’t be by the sea and so will miss our swimming. Had some good fun on the aqua-plane yesterday, water was delightfully warm & smooth. Went into Trieste this am to make some last minute purchases but there is a general strike on there and all shops and public services are closed and so we (Bob Madden & I) returned empty handed. From this you can see that the political atmosphere here is by no means calm and I fear trouble is in store before these temperamental people attain settled conditions - something which is possibly unattainable with so many irreconcilable factors at work. Am very fit and well and I trust you and Ron are likewise. Weather here simply perfect as usual. And so my sweetheart I must close before I reach the bottom of the page and become all wobbly (clips don’t work). With a big cuddle and loving kisses and …. (Oh! I forgot we are past the passionate stage). And so with a big big tickle I bid thee a fond cheerio. Take good care of yourself. Yours lovingly forever, Fred.

23 Jul 1945

Was very pleased when yesterday brought to hand your letter of 30th June which I shall answer at once at once as there is not a great deal of news to write about this time. Glad you like the bracelet so much and that others like it too. It is some time now since I bought those things and I am not too sure what I paid fro the elastic but think it was about 20 lire (1/-) per metre. Yes the parcel reached you at a very appropriate time & I hardly expected it would arrive so well as I was late in getting it away. It was exceptionally quick in transit as it was not posted until the middle of May. Have noted also the safe arrival of NZEF Times and Two Types Book and am glad Ron enjoyed reading them. How is he with his reading these days? Is he able to read without your assistance? Still no word as to Div’s future available here but it seems we are destined for the Far East and that without home leave first. Of all the forces going East the Kiwi Div will be the only one not to have home leave before entering the new battle zone. Sorry to think of you sitting over the fire on your own feeling so blue. I know only too well the awful feeling of loneliness but we must not let it get the best of us. You mention how difficult it is for you to get washing dry. Well this morning straight after breakfast before it became too hot I got busy and did my washing and looking at the things I washed including heavy towel, slacks etc I see that they are almost dry and the time is now only just after 10.30am. This will give you some idea of the extreme heat we are having at the present time. The Ities say it is unusually hot and on the radio last evening I noted reference to a heat wave in Vienna which is not so very far away so it seems that we are in the throes of a minor heat wave and judging by the temperatures we have had here during the last few days I should say there is not much doubt about it. The thermometer has been well up towards the 100 degrees mark and believe me when it is that high it is as much as one wants for the humidity here is high and the heat therefore much more trying even than that in Egypt. The past few days has been rather too much for all of us. It is hard under these climatic conditions to call up enough energy even for letter writing. Yesterday it was simply hellish working on the set. My hands were dripping wet and it was almost impossible to send as fingers kept slipping off the key. Sweat was literally pouring off me and it is no exaggeration to say that I could not have been more wet even had I stood under the shower. Even swims afforded very temporary relief only. Had well & truly “had it” when I finished for the day. Glad to know Colin is back and I hope he is enjoying his holiday although I expect the weather is rather against outdoor activities in NZ at present. I quite expected that my last Thursday’s letter would be my last from this position but for some reasons not known to us our move southwards has been postponed somewhat. First, we were supposed to leave yesterday, then it was put back to Tuesday, then to Thursday next, and now we hear it will probably be Friday so the situation is somewhat obscure but it is definite that we go soon. You will see in this a good illustration of the uncertainty of this army life - nothing is ever definite and even definite arrangements are subject to drastic alteration at any time. Also we are now to go to a place called Spoletto and not to Arezzo as was originally intended. The town of Spoletto is some 70 miles to the north of Rome and so I may get a chance to revisit that fine city altho I would prefer to visit Florence which I have not seen. When we reach the new area I expect my roving instincts will take charge once again & away to see new pastures Freddy will go. If you ever hear of me being in the “budgie cage” you should be able to guess the reasons for my being there! Last evening a Tommy mobile cinema was visiting a Tommy camp some distance around the coast about half a mile from here. About 9pm with a few chaps I know I walked round to there arriving in nice time for the start of the nights programme, which I enjoyed quite well without being too enthusiastic. It was a marvellous evening as almost always here, beautifully warm and still & glorious moonlight. The moon shining across the Adriatic, glass smooth to the horizon, looked wonderful. It was one of those nights that artists try so hard to describe but can never fully do justice to. Oh how I wish you could be with me here to enjoy this wonderful spot and of course to add that essential something to make my appreciation of it complete. Oh how often your

absence just spoils my full enjoyment of things over here! Sights and events and circumstances which together we would regard as delightful beyond our most cherished anticipations. But without you well while I enjoy and appreciate it it lacks that essential something, and it will always be a matter for my extreme regret that we can not share in the enjoyment. However perhaps some day fate may enable us to revisit these places together. One thing I am sure of & that is that I shall never settle to the vagaries of the NZ climate. Space is running low & so I must close. As you can guess I am wonderfully fit & I hope you & Ron are the same. I am as fit as the proverbial buck rat and as brown as a native - run around all day in the nude or in my bathing shorts. So fit in fact that perhaps it is just as well you are NOT here. All my love, Fred.

25 Jul 1945

Dear Ron, I saw these pictures of midget subs in an “Illustrated London News” recently & cut them out as they are exactly the same as the type to be seen here & I thought you might be interested. Have taken some photos of the ones here & they have turned out well, will send them on in due course. The notes on the back of the photo of me are self explanatory. Photos of the youngster with his Granny were amongst the effects of a Ted who lost his life for his country. These photos were all that remained on him - no identification, address, etc - so they cannot be sent on to his people. I buried the poor fellow in the slit trench near where he was lying. The other papers are copies of special orders & messages issued at the conclusion of the campaign here in Italy. We are very busy just now so I am unable to write a long letter. Came across these odds & ends when tidying up my kit preparatory to packing my gear this morning. We are due to start move southwards on Friday morning early. Fondest love & best wishes, Dad.

02 Aug 1945

In the final stages of our stay at Sistiana it became rather difficult to keep track of events and generally things became somewhat unsettled. I am therefore not too sure whether I have written since the last date recorded in my diary which is 23 July. I fear that it was as long ago as that since I wrote. As I am sure you will know lack of opportunity is all that has prevented my writing & perhaps an outline of our recent activity will enable you to see how much out of the question letter writing has been lately. The trip down was crammed with event some of it interesting, amusing and good fun but other of it not so good. We left the Trieste area at 8am last Friday & for a while everything went well & then our troubles started in the form of motor trouble. We had to slow down to 15mph & after a few miles at this to stop altogether. An hours wait by the roadside while the necessary spare parts were fetched. Then the job of fitting them to the hot motor getting dirty & hot in the process for it was real scorcher of a day. And so on our merry way once more but only for a short distance before more trouble. After quarter hour or so the light section of the LAD (Light Aid Detachment) picked us up & towed us to the Rec Post (Recovery Post) 5 to 6 miles further on. This took more than half an hour, towing being very slow. Here the trouble was attended to (I refrain from saying fixed) & once again away we go only to breakdown some 30 miles further on. Another unpleasant wait in the hot sun (we always had these mishaps on stretches of road where there were no trees & thus no shade!) for about an hour. And so we reached Mestre (near Venice) late in the afternoon long after the rest of the convoy. Managed to have o hot shower before tea & very welcome it was as I was filthy. After tea refuelled the truck & did routine maintenance & then went for a stroll with Jack F with whom I spent a pleasant evening, a bottle of gin which J produced adding to the convivial atmosphere. After such a day I was as dry as a wooden horse. Gin with squash is a grand drink. You see I am becoming a real soak. Sgts get a bottle of gin or whiskey each month (cost 7/- per bottle) & the Sgt in Jack’s orderly room is a non-drinker so Jack scores. And so to bed at 11.30pm, bed being my spring wire with bed roll laid out all under mosquito net in the open paddock. It was full moon & sleeping out under the stars under such weather is delightful. Next morning away again on the run to Bologna. We had two break downs on this stage & being an even hotter day than Friday it was pretty trying & being right at the tail of the convoy (because of our slow speed) we had long waits when we did break down. We were so far behind in fact that we had lost the rest of the convoy & so had to live on our emergency rations doing our own cooking. [Tough!] We reached Bologna in the evening & after a wash slipped into the city for a quick look round before dark. Bologna is quite a fair city with interesting aspects but we could not see in detail in the time available & so we just saw the exteriors of the more notable buildings etc. In places the city is much damaged by bombing & shelling. Returned to the staging area at 10.30pm & so to bed, again sleeping under the stars. Nights very hot & one awakes in morning feeling a wreck until freshened by a wash. Set out on Sunday before the rest of the convoy hoping that such a start would get us to Fabriano, the next stopping place (termed staging areas in army) about same time as the rest of the convoy. But we had gone only 10 miles when the truck broke down again. This time trouble was serious & could not be fixed except in a workshops. An hours wait on the roadside (8am & so cool for a change) & along

came our friends in the breakdown truck who by this time had come to regard us as their ….., yes you can guess. The rest of the distance to Fabriano we did on tow at a steady 10mph for the remaining 150mls arriving there at 10.30pm tired, filthy dirty & very fed up. On this stage we passed thro our old battle zone (Faenza, Forli, Rimini etc) & it was interesting to pass over the same ground again. In the spring offensive we were some distance east of the main road & between it & the coast. Time & nature are already healing the scars of war but a tremendous amount of reconstruction work will have to be done especially rebuilding in towns & in the country rebuilding railways, bridges, etc. The spring & summer growth hides the bomb & shell craters for much of the ground up that way, & especially a belt of fair width on either side of the line which separated the opposing forces during the winter months, remains uncultivated & unused on a/c of unlifted minefields. Thousands of acres useless & yet badly needed for growing food for these impoverished people who at best derive a bare living from their soil. It will be many years before the parts of this country over which the war raged can return to a resemblance of order. Italy must suffer severe privations yet! We stopped at Fano for a “brew up” at the same time cooling & cleansing ourselves by a brief swim in the Adriatic. Towards evening we got so fed up with monotonous slow travelling that we (Bob & I) sat up on the cab of our truck & with Jerry rifles & ammo we took pot shots at fowls & geese etc near the roadside. [!!] Being Sunday evening all the Ities were sitting out in front of their casas in the cool air taking their festa of the week & I understate when I say we caused some consternation & not a little terror in their midst as we passed along. Ye Gods it was funny to watch them & we had some good sport. Silly! Oh yes but one must be mad to be in the army & on occasion will do almost anything to relieve boredom. [Should have been court-martialled!] The first night at Fabriano we spent in the staging area but when the convoy left next morning we remained at the Recovery Post (they are situated at 30 mile intervals along route) to wait for a powerful tow truck to bring us over the hills to here, the country on this stage being very hilly & up to 2300ft road level. The field in which we camped had been stripped of its wheat crop, the soil was free & under the strong gale which blew for the duration of our stay there the air was full of dust. There was no shade whatever & the heat was extreme the wind being like the blast from a furnace. It was impossible to do anything, not even prepare meals, & the Ities all remained in their casas with sun shutters closed. It was hellish & as bad as anything I have suffered in the way of heat since being overseas. It was too hot even to sleep. Blankets were covered with dust which perspiration just turned to mud. We were supposed to stand by continually in case a tow truck came along free to take us on. However after standing by for a day & a half I decided to take a chance & I slipped into F [Faenza?] to see my friends there. They were delighted to see me & gave me a great welcome. I was sorry that I could stay only a couple of hours. During Tuesday/Wednesday night a tow truck did turn up & we did the final stage yesterday, leaving F after b’fast which we had just time to finish (fortunately we had everything else packed up) before a severe thunderstorm broke & so we moved off in torrential rain, the first the district has had for 5 months - ie since we left on return to the front. Altho it came too late to benefit their crops the people were greatly relieved indeed as the position was serious for them. The trip thro here to Div Workshops was uneventful but interesting as it is new ground to me. We are occupying what was an aircraft factory on the north shore of Lake Trasimeno & we may be here some while as major repairs are needed including installation of a new motor. We will RTU as soon as repairs completed. I hope to run out this evening to collect mail which I believe is waiting there for me. Good! Very fondest love, Fred.

07 Aug 1945, Sunday.

At last I have caught up with my mail & what a grand lot it was! I fear there is little prospect of my replying to you all as soon as I would like to, but with the departure of the 8 th to Adv. Base imminent, the chaotic conditions etc following the move, the extra work now evolves upon me, it is increasingly difficult to find time to write. Moreover, here there are no facilities for letter writing & for a while all correspondence will be written as this one is being written, ie sitting on my bed which is only 6” off the ground with pad on knees. Not a good position for quick & neat letter writing! [Tough!] You see, in this area, the car park, where all the trucks are, is quite some distance from the bivouac area. On Monday we start on a training programme (what a hellish prospect eh?) & I hear reveille is to be at 5am & we will be kept busy all day. And so you see “real war” has its compensations & I am inclined to think that the idea behind all training programmes is to make one like the real thing when one does get into it. Letters received were as follows, 5 from you covering period 3 rd to 15th July, 1 from Molly 8/7/45, 1 from Frank 14/7/45, and 1 from Eddy 17/7/45. Very many thanks to you all. I shall reply as opportunity occurs but in the meantime please convey my thanks to any of those concerned you may meet. Franks letter contains the information that their No.4 [Alan] is due to arrive early in the New Year. Did you know? Eddy’s letter greatly appreciated & its news re staff matters I found very interesting. Thanks Molly for your letter. Am glad you liked the small gift. Yes I thought sending it that way would surprise you. And this reminds me. Re cameo brooch for you mother. I will do my best to get her one but am in doubt whether to get her one already set (Italian settings are usually poor) or an unset cameo which she could have made into a brooch

of her own design. Gold is of course unprocurable here. In case I have not succeeded in getting one and in case we are still here please let me know in your first letter after you receive this. And at the same time let me know your size for stockings & gloves (continental measure if possible). Also how many yards of dress material you require for a frock. Please don’t think I am planning an orgy of buying but this information will always be handy & often I have wished I had it available. You could send full details of anything you think might help me when purchasing gifts such as brassiere size, size for undies, etc. But I fear it will arrive too late to be of much use, here anyway. Albie is still at Div Workshops with the truck which is not yet fixed. He is to return to Div HQ but only to stand by as driver in case required. Bob is here with me as an 8 th he will be away very soon. I have been put i/c of B2 (ie the number of the truck) which is the 3 tonner UCV (Unarmoured Command Vehicle) which Ray Foster has been driving lately. B2 was towed all the way from Mestre & is in the workshops at the present time. All the outsections of Div Sigs (ie detachments serving specific units with wireless communication) have been called in & for the first time for a long time all Div Sigs (except Brigade & Artillery groups) are together as a complete unit. We are encamped in the fields about 1½ miles in from the north shores of Lake Trasimeno & about 2miles further along the road than when I last wrote from workshops. We are camped in amongst grapevines but the crop is extremely poor as result of the drought which has prevailed here for 4-5 months (no rain at all). The ground is baked like a brick & just as dry. It is really a pretty spot but the parched fields are a sorry sight. The cypress trees lining the road some 100yds away look fine (they remain beautifully green in spite of the drought) & the lake beyond them, with the 3 islands dotted over it, all make up a grand scene. We are high enough here to look out across the lake. The camp amongst the vines, the golden fields, the fine distant vista. Yes it is indeed a fine sight. It is hot here during the day but still cooler Sistiana - much cooler the past few days which however the Ities say is a “cold” spell. Nights rather too cold for my liking. Am using 3 blankets but still cold. Please excuse lack of comment on your letters. Thought you might prefer it this style. Will write in direct reply if I can manage to do so. Your good a/c of Ron’s progress welcome beyond words. It is most heartening. Keep it up both of you! And so I must close as space is exhausted. All my love, best wishes & loving thoughts, Fred.

07 Aug 1945

Within a few minutes of my posting my ALC of 5/8 to you I received your two ALC’s 16-18 & 20 July for which many thanks. I also recd one from Doris written 22/7. Goodness knows how I shall ever be able to overtake accumulating arrears of correspondence. So that I may destroy such of you r letters as are unanswered I propose to devote this one to replying to all you recent mail. It will take quite a while to even read them again (there are 7 of them!) to see what calls for reply. ALC 3/7. Glad you had such a pleasant afternoon at Institute. Such outings & events must help relieve the monotony of your daily existence. Yes, I too hope Ron’s school report proves more satisfactory than Barry’s seems to have been. While Ron may seem to be as strong as Barry the effects of his illness may still be there & you cannot be too careful but again I say be careful not to develop any inferiority or pet lamb complex. See Jack Fowles each day now. We are together. Molly’s letter to me makes it plain that she liked my gift. Good! Did you like the scarf? Others on way for you. My tummy now behaving well but have had many calls for cholera drops from others. Better send more in next parcel if I am to be with Div much longer. ALC 10/7. Next year I must try & send Ron some extra pocket money so that he can buy you something more worthy of the occasion. You certainly did well in was of gifts & I am very glad. You deserve it all. Yes I am afraid I did let myself go too much in those letters & I regret having caused you concern. Must restrain those moods in future. Rest assured dearest I will not give up too easily but at times it is hellish beyond endurance almost. The knowledge that you remain staunch & true & are keeping your end up in great style is immeasurable help. Hope you get in touch with Bill Lasky soon. He is a fine chap & I am sure you will like him. ALC 7/7. (out of order!) Am glad all liked gift to Wendy. Sorry Colin must run but hope it will not be for long. Fancy end may come soon & suddenly there. Wishful thinking eh? So Staff Chorley is back to camp life again. I rather think he would have a great time & jolly good fun amongst his fellow “boys”. Plenty of old soldier yarns I guess. The next time I see something nice in the way of cameo brooches I will see what can be done re one for Ma. I find I can live pretty cheaply & so can afford it without financial embarrassment. I get 6d a day extra now! Yes I have thought of all the anomalies, many inevitable I know but nevertheless well you know how I feel. Still I must not complain. I have been extremely lucky to date. Hope Gran’s stay at Betty works out to satisfaction of all. ALC 11/7. Position re lack of ref to promotion covered in previous mail. No complaints these days re shortage of mail - quite the contrary as I am worried over difficulty in replying - thanks dear. Bu ti still think I am a bit in lead? Yes I felt much benefit from these holidays & spirits much better lately. Still very homesick though! Ron’s query re tumble on skis covered in previous mail. I see so much I fear I shall never be able to remember it all to tell you at a later date. Not to do full justice to the subjects I fear. Maybe reference to old letters will help me to recall events which would otherwise be forgotten. My stress of the happy

side of this life & my intentional omission of the other aspects may give an unbalanced picture. I have often thought this might be so but I prefer to leave the grimmer incidents unrecorded & I think you would prefer it so. Don’t worry dear I have all I need & my enjoyment is buying things to send you (for yourself & to give to others). Will have to leave other three for later. Was up at 3am this morning & it is now 10.30pm so must away to bed as feel somewhat tired. Bob Madden & other friends left early this morning. Am back at workshops to collect B2 which is nearly finished. Got here 5pm in heavy rain which has since cleared. Am very fit & quite like new surroundings which however are a come down after Sistiana (near Trieste). Love to Ron & your own dear self. Ever yours, Fred.

Yes Ted Gambrill was Steves’s son. He has now lost both his sons in the war. Very sad. I wrote to him as soon as I learned the sad news. I started Ted off in the Fleet Air Arm. Tried to keep him back for his Dad’s sake (Jack was then dead) but altho succeeded in delaying entry for a while it was to no avail. Ted was insistent on being enlisted & eventually I had to post him. Feel terribly sorry for Steve. He is a very fine gentleman & deserved better from the hand of fate.

09 Aug 1945

Here I am still at workshops. They thought the truck would be ready yesterday but after a road test several things were found to require repair and adjustment so I remain here to take her away as soon as she is finished. I am making good use of the spare time to answer mail while I am able to use the truck for an office. Wrote to Eddie this am & am now onto replying to the remaining three of your outstanding ALC’s which when answered I can destroy & so get out of the way. Kit space does not allow me to keep your letters much as I would like to do so. Your ALC 13/7. This gives the excellent a/c of Ron’s progress which I found so welcome. News of this kind is the best possible. I would like to know though how his hearing is & also his progress with talking. Does he hear better now than when I was home & does he talk normally? Yes you folk back home are indeed having a severe winter & the NZEF Times has given us quite a few pictures & details. Wish I were there to be your “hottie” & to feel those lovely cool hands tickling me. Since we have been here we have had some cooler weather - still plenty hot at times though - & today the sun is obscured by a haze & there is a strong wind blowing. The lake is whipped up into quite a chop & looks quite angry with threatening clouds down on the hills across the other side. Inside here it is rather muggy but outside in the wind it is nice & fresh. ALC 16/7. Glad to know you recd my cable safely & not too far past your birthday. Sorry to hear about Herbie Neal & hope fears are not realised. Also sorry to know Ma is not too good & I hope that by the time this reaches you the position has improved & that she is enjoying much better health. No doubt the severe winter is proving a trial to you all. I suppose Colin is now on his way back to Suva. Hope not for too long. That new atomic bomb (amazing weapon in an age of marvels!) may bring Japan to a sensible point of view in the near future. I answered your ref to Ted Gambrill’s death in a former AL. Yes very sad! Poor Steve lost both his sons in the war. Jack was killed whilst POW & repatriated POW’s say he was shot. He was protected personnel (medical corps & thus protected under International Red Cross agreement) & so if reports are true it looks like more of Heinie’s dirty work. We still lack definite word as to our future but it seems pretty clear that if the war lasts long enough I shall be able to sample the pleasures for which geisha girls are so renowned - that is if any Japanese live thro the bombing in store for Japan if she is foolish enough to persist in the continuance of the war. ALC 19/7. Pleased to know Walker’s made such a good job of repair to horses. The colours in your umbrella sound to be pretty & very loyal to Div Sigs. The umbrella I sent the other day is also of tartan pattern (red predominates). Quite a coincidence eh? The cover is I think much better quality than the one sent earlier otherwise they are the same. Hope you like them. You will hardly need two so you can give one to whoever you like as a gift. Couldn’t see anything else worth buying an my final visit to Trieste. The Udine one cost 750, the Trieste one 1450 so you can see the difference which however is partly on a/c of prices being raised against troops all the time. Your news re 16ths & 17ths very interesting - and not encouraging! Thanks sweetheart for your birthday greetings. Ron also. Space always too short. Fondest love. My thoughts always with you. Fred.

12 Aug 1945 Letter

A friend who has just returned from Florence leave has just handed me these photos which had to be taken to Florence to have prints taken from the negatives. I thought you might like to have them quickly & so am sending them by air mail. Wrote you an ALC earlier this am. Am sending photos taken at Venice & Campiglio by ordinary surface mail & their inclusion in this envelope would exceed the weight limitation. Let me know what you think of these snaps.

12 Aug 1945 SundayYesterday brought to hand your ALC 25/7 to 27/7 which was most welcome. With ref to mail prev to 10/7 there are four unaccounted for. You have already ack my ALC of 29.6.45. After it I wrote on 2/7. 8/7 (two on this date), and 9/7 & then 10/7 which you have ack in this latest ALC. Hope the missing mail turned up as 2/7 & 8/7 ones give full a/c of alpine trip. Well I expect the past two days have seen great happenings in the old home town. Events have moved rapidly indeed & I say that never before in history have so many resounding events occurred in such a short space of time. For some time I have thought that it needed only one big event to overbalance toppling Japan & my guess was that at the Potsdam Conference Russia would call upon Japan to ask for peace or else she (Russia) would enter te war against her. It did not quite work out that way possibly Russia felt she could not so act on a/c of what it now transpires had happened previously ie Japan had already asked Russia to act as intermediary with a view to ending the war. I felt that in the face of such a call on Russia’s part Japan would immediately sue for peace. As events turned out it required Russia to enter the war & this fact combined with terror of the new atomic bomb (a ghastly weapon!) spelt the end & left Japan with no option but to sue for peace unconditionally. It must be remembered tho that Japan had already recognised her defeat as is shown from the fact that she sought Russian assistance to end the war in late July which was before Russia had declared war against her & before the first atomic bombing attack. Also to be fair I think we should recognise that we have to thank our American allies for this grand victory against Japan. The USA is justly entitled to almost all the credit. They did wonderful work in Europe also. I have no doubt the official pronouncement of the cessation of hostilities will be made within the next few hours. The news here was received in much the same way as was the news of the German surrender. As first reports came thro there was a certain amount of excitement & tenseness but it showed little. By Friday evening it was evident that the end was near & in company with Jack Fowles (who was on duty in the Orderly Room & so could not stay long) Ray Foster & several others I adjourned to the wet canteen (we have just got it going here) & I am sorry to confess I got most ingloriously drunk & yesterday I was suffering a severe hangover & had it not been for such well deserved punishment this letter would have been written yesterday evening instead of this am. As you will have gathered I have left workshops & am back at unit. B2 was finished Friday am. Did test run to Perugia & then came on here arriving just after lunch. Spent afternoon settling in & generally checking the truck over (refuelling etc). Evening spent as already stated. Yesterday I was on fatigues all day & in the evening I spent a while with Jack yarning & then to bed fairly early. Ray & Laurie Berg have all the week been on a course for prospective NCO’s - finished yesterday much to their relief. General training for the Div is in abeyance for obvious reasons. Am wonderfully fit & well & enjoying life well. Weather continues fine & hot with often one heavy shower late in afternoon. More wind here than at Trieste. Answering enquiry in ALC just recd. Yes ALC’s much cheaper so use in preference. Guess we will now be home from here - soon & for Xmas we hope! Fondest love, ever yours, Fred.

Tuesday 14 Aug 1945

Left camp at 0915 in wealth of rumours re VJ Day. Many conflicting reports but Jap reply to Allied note not yet to hand. Arrived at cross-roads (assembly point) at 0945. Transport arrived at 1000 & we left at once. Route, Tuoro, Cartona, Arezzo (where we had morning tea at NAAFI leaving again at 1100), Mongtevarchi, S.Giovanni, Valdarno, Incisa, Rignano, Pontassieve, & so to Florence. Heavy rain shows between Arezzo & SGV but aotherwise trip uneventful. Scenery typical - intense cultivation, olive groves, grapes, gardens, etc. Scars of war still very evident in places & railway severely damaged. Road bridges mostly all renewed. Slight signs of war damage in towns (some heavily damaged in parts) being cleared & tidied up. Arrived at Florence 1330 - allocated Bedroom 88 on 2nd floor - a nice room with attached lavatory & bathroom & good view out across Piazza d’Italia towards station. Washed & then down to lunch which proved to be a nice meal well served in sumptuous surroundings. Albergo Baglioni is one of the best if not the best in Florence. At 1430 left with Jack for a general look at Florence. Shops are very attractive & well stocked but very expensive! Had a look at the Cathedral which from outside presents a very fine sight (Gothic style) but the inside proves most disappointing - bare & unadorned. Baptistery not open to public. Climbed the Campanile (stiff climb!) & from top obtained a very fine view of Florence & its surroundings, all the more notable buildings being prominent. So down & thro Via Calzaioli to Piazza della Signoria from where one obtains a good view of Palazzo Vecchio. Thro statue lined Uffizi R (some masterly sculpture work in these) to banks of Arno to see Ponte Vecchio some 300 yds downstream. PV not especially impressive but unusual & antique. And so down along banks of Arno to PV which we walked across looking in all the jewellers shops (all shops on PV are jewellers!). Here bought a wristlet watch for 7500 lire. Most extravagant but the occasion justifies it! Nigh Victory Day in one of Italy’s most noted cities! And so returning to the club by sundry streets & looking in shops along the route we got back at 1625 just in time for afternoon tea which we enjoyed in the lounge. At 1700 went upstairs & had a most

enjoyable bath, & at 1800 returned to lounge for half hours beer drinking before dinner. Free beer as luck had it. 1830-1900 dinner, and another nice meal. Left at 1915 for Apollo Theatre to see a stage show put on by ARC (American Red Cross) - quite enjoyable but small company (7 only) & music & humour typically American. At 2130 back in club again & rested in lounge till 2200 when supper came on. Have just finished supper & here I am! No definite word re peace (wireless has just announced that Swiss report that Japan’s reply is now in course of retransmission to Allied powers). Tenseness & keen interest in developments prevails but no boisterous demonstrations. We all feel the end is nigh but we keep our hopes restrained for fear of disappointment. My own conviction is that Japan realises she is beaten & is prepared to accept any terms. I have witnessed the destructive power of modern war & with the A-bomb added she is in an impossible position to continue. Months of defeat & setback, almost completely blockaded, increasingly severe air & naval attacks, invasion imminent, the world against her, atomic bombs, etc. yes indeed she is “out the monk”. and so to bed - pyjamas & sheets! So warm of a night here that sheets only comprise ones bedding.

Wednesday 15 Aug 1945 VJ Day!Awoke at 7am & rose at 0730. After wash & shave & dressing went down to b’fast at 8am. Before going to dining room I went top front entrance of hotel to see if any newspapers were on sale. Only those printed in Italian were available but the big headlines on these told me all I wanted to know, “I Japonese ha deposito i armi” (The Japanese have finished the armies) and “Presidente Truman orcline il fuoco” (President Truman orders cease fire). And so it is all over at last! Much enjoyed breakfast. At 9am listened to radio & heard first official news of the finish of the war. About 100 Kiwis listening - no cheering or slightest sign of excitement was shown at all. At 0930 left for Fiesole by bus. Fiesole is a suburb of Florence about 5 miles away on the hills & from there one obtains a fine view of the city. Visited Convent of San Francesco (Benedict monks) & the museum (collected by missionary monks - mostly from China). Quite interesting. Mass was in progress & male singing by concealed choir very fine. Thence to the remains of Roman amphitheatre & the museum where one sees a collection illustrating the early Tuscan civilisation. Well worth seeing. And so back to club for lunch which we much enjoyed. We had intended shopping this day but all shops are closed - festa day (Church festival Assumption St. Mary) & Peace Day too. And so at 2pm we went to the Savoia Theatre to see a picture called “2000 Women”, which we voted very fair altho plot was rather impossible. And so back to club at 1630 in nice time for afternoon tea. Sat yarning in lounge (met Lauri Fannin there - haven’t met since Rhys days) till 1700 when went upstairs & had bath - grand! Lazed on bed naked till tea time - what a grand climate it is here for holidaying altho perhaps too warm for comfort to live and work here. 1830-1900 at dinner & this we much enjoyed - these Ities know how to cook & serve a meal to best advantage. Using the usual army rations the meal is truly Ritz standard. After dinner strolled thro streets until 1930 then to Garrison Theatre to see “Ladies in Retirement” performed by an English company by arrangement with ENSA. This was a 3 act murder mystery stage show & was excellent & much enjoyed. The 1 actor & 6 actresses gave outstanding performances. And so back to club at 1030pm for supper in the lounge to accompaniment of the orchestra, which however is only poco buono & not as good as in Rome club. And so to bed. An excellent day.War being over we pray (yes even in spite of opportunities for holidays such as this) for an early return HOME.

Thursday 16 Aug 1945Rose at 0730 after a good night - even with only a sheet for bed cover it was rather too warm. Washed, shave & dressed & down to breakfasts at 0830 - meal grand as usual. At 0915 left by bus for Pisa (50mls) & arrived there at 1130. Spent 1½ hours viewing Cathedral, Baptistery & the famous tower & then had a roadside snack (we had brought sandwiches & we made Benghasi tea). Left at 1330 on return journey & via the wonderful autobahn route reached Florence at 1600. These autobahn roads are great - wide straight roads with all crossings built over & thus no intersections. 1600 -1630 having afternoon tea in lounge. Notes on Pisa: A large part of town near station & industrial plants very heavily damaged - war (similarly many small towns along route from Florence - bombed to collapse buildings across road & so impede Ted’s retreat). Cathedral: A very ornate church, inside & outside, in white marble. Interior typical of these Italian churches. Contains fine altars & some fine art - mosaics, painting, frescos, statuary, etc. Baptistery - similar to Church. Marble work around font very fine. Tower: A remarkable structure indeed. I climbed to the very top & experienced peculiar feeling upon looking down the sloping sides. Lean is very pronounced both from outside & when inside. From top a fine view of Pisa & the surrounding country is obtained. At 1700 had my daily bath - must make the most of this enjoyable luxury! And afterwards lazed on my bed till dinner-time at 1830. Shops still today & so unable to do any shopping. Dinner 1830-1900 & again very nice. At 1900 left club & taking a long way round arrived at Apollo to see ENSA variety stage show with English cast. Performance was lamentable beyond words but we sat & endured it for an hour when we could stand it no longer. It was called “Just for Fun” but it belied its title. Strolled the streets for an hour - many a come hither look from girls in red dresses which seem to imply a special

significance here - & then returned to club where after a yarn over supper in the lounge we retired to bed.

In Trieste many real beautiful girls were to be seen day & night & all young women there were smartly dressed (they displayed truly outstanding taste in frocking) but here in Florence the signorinas are much plainer - features not so fine or clear cut, complexions poorer, figures rather too buxom (in Trieste girls had remarkable figures even the plain ones) and here also the standard of dress is poor by comparison.Friday 17 Aug 1945Gloriously fine as usual! Rose at 0700 & followed usual routine up to 9am when after hearing news from BBC Jack & self set out on a shopping tour. Bought stamps for Ron. For Ri, alabaster powder bowl & 3 cameos, one of which is for Ma & other two for Ri to dispose of as she wishes. One of cameos is unset & is unusually good. The settings of other teo are as usual only “poco buono”. Also bought guide book & scenes of Florence. Spent a lot of money & am broke once more but think folks back home will enjoy these presents. Arrived back at club at midday & at 1230 had lunch. From 1-2pm lounged in lounge, & at 1400 left on tour of Pitti Palace. The grandeur and splendour of this surpasses description - it is truly marvellous & was once the residence of the Medici family renowned throughout Italy as one of the most powerful & influential. Rooms are used now to display famous paintings & all the old masters & many less famed are represented. Mosaic tables of which there are many & mosaic cabinets with carved ivory are amazing in their artistry. Saw Empress Josephine’s bed (Napolean’s brother having lived in Florence many Napoleanic relics found their way there upon Napolean’s death) & thro Royal Apartments (brocade lined walls). The grounds are wonderfully laid out in gardens which are very fine - these are the ….. Gardens, famed throughout Italy. And so back to club at 4.30pm & after cup of tea & an interesting ½ hours chat with Anna Maria (our guide to Pitti Palace) had usual bath & afterward lazed on bed until 6pm when we went down to bar for refreshments before tea. 1845-1915 at dinner which as usual was most enjoyable. I am pleased to find my appetite is good when meals are good & served under civilised conditions. In camp I have always to force myself to eat. After dinner left to see film entitled “The Conquering Hero”. Typically yank & rather ridiculous but humorous & quite enjoyable. Returned to club at 2200 & after supper in lounge retired to bed. Packed my gear first as we return camp immediately after breakfast in morning - hellish thought but all good things must come to an end & this life is luxury indeed & we have lived like lords the past few days.

Saturday 18 Aug 1945Had good night in really comfy bed (Maria the maid agrees!) to awake at 7am to another perfect day as regards weather which has been perfect thro’out our stay & which I gather is accepted as quite the normal thing for months on end. Oh for such a climate in NZ! The consistency of it must be experienced to be fully appreciated - you make arrangements months ahead in the certain knowledge that they will not be spoilt by adverse weather. It was perhaps a little too warm (max temp 90º approx in shade which is pretty enervating as the humidity is fairly high) but I love it altho I find I cannot stand up to heat as well as I once was able to. At 9am left on return trip following same route as on previous journey. Has a speed fiend at wheel so trip was not without its thrills & at one stage I felt carsick which is most unusual for me as usually I can stand it pretty well. Arrived back at camp at noon just in time for lunch. Oh what a contrast in meals! Spent afternoon rearranging my gear - we are now in RD tents in different position from our bivvy lines - & reading mail received while away on leave - AML 27.7.45 with cuttings. ALC 31.7.45.

19 Aug 1945 Quite a lot has happened since my last ALC to you a week ago. Late on Monday a chap who had Florence leave decided not to go & the vacancy was allotted to B Section. It was balloted & I was the fortunate winner. This was a stroke of real luck as it enabled Jack Fowles & I to enjoy Florence leave together, Jack having been already granted the allocation from his section. I have written up the story of our doings on leave in detail on separate sheets in diary form & these I am sending by air mail. So I shall not need to repeat it here & can devote all this space to acknowledging receipt of mail. I am under the impression that I ack’d your ALC of 25/7 in my last letter. A day or two later your ALC 22/7 came to hand. Very sad about June Sheerin! Cancer in such a young child is very rare & unusual. Herbie Neal’s symptoms seem clearly to indicate malaria. You know it can remain suppressed under the effect of the dope we have to take for a long time after the infection. Yes I guess Colin finds the severe winter pretty trying. Congratulate the Watt family on my behalf on John’s award of DFC. News of Reithmuller family & Dudley is welcome, as is also news of settlement of the trouble with Pritchards.Now onto your AML 27/7. Yes I remembered this day as my mother’s birthday. Your new dress material looks quite nice but I would prefer something brighter. Girls here wear brighter colours & they look very charming their frocks being cut & worn in a way which makes NZ’s fashions seem very drab. I was on piquet duty last night at 1am, my mate raised this very subject & so we spent quite some time in the cool of the lovely night

exchanging views. It is generally agreed & often remarked upon how much smarter the girls are here than is usual in NZ. They seem to get more out of their frocks in some way - patterns to suit personality, cuts to show the better aspects to best advantage, & generally they set a standard which women in NZ would do well to copy. It is shown too that cost is only a secondary consideration for clothes here are frightfully expensive & even with poor folk (peasants daughters etc) one sees exactly the same fine tastes. The details in your letter re Jean are fuller than Frank told me & I find them interesting. Thanks for cuttings which I find interesting reading. HG jokes are amusing. I wonder will the PSC look after us quite as well as the report would indicate. Still it is good to know that they are aware of the problems ahead in our regard. The Digest article is sound but helps one little in trying to throw off the psychologically unsettling effects of this war. Hope snap of you turns out well. I love your “chatty” remarks contained in this & other of our letters. You say, “to feel you there alongside me …” Lets alter “along” to “in” eh? Oh darling mine I do so yearn for you too! Tis good to know that NZ can still turn on an occasional fine day now & then. So Herbie Neal has malaria. I felt sure it was that - those symptoms are unmistakeable. Sorry have no photo of me in snow suit but photos of Ray & others so dressed (they are on the way) will give you some idea of how I looked. Yes sniffers arrived ok. Have so few colds now that I never use them these days - nose always perfectly clear. Now onto ALC 31/7. Eric’s sob story to Uncle Chas was referred to in letters ALC to me. Pity he did not see some real war. In what way does his old job help in war effort? Agree with you re Churchill but think a Socialist Govt in GB will be a good thing. The whole of Europe is socialist these days. People in NZ may find Labour’s admin irksome but one wonders what it would have been like under a National Govt. That it would be better is open to doubt. News of Ron’s recovery from the flu most welcome. Hope he is 100% again now. Had your two letters come separately I would have been anxious. Did Colin leave NZ before Japan capitulated? Hope not. I don’t know about our deserving all these good times but I say again oh to be home or else to have you & Ron here too. Well sweetheart mine - loving thoughts (you know what that implies) & best wishes. Ever yours, Fred.

23 Aug 1945I received your two ALC’s 1/8 & 7/8 late yesterday evening & of course was terribly upset to learn the bad news of Ron. Knowing so well the history of his previous illnesses I have feared that this might happen but I have always hoped most fervently that it would not happen & the good progress he has made during the past 18 months had raised my hopes that his future well being was assured. It is terribly disappointing & while I note your injunction not to worry you cannot know what it is like here so far away & absolutely unable to do a damn thing. I worry that you are on your own there to face all the anxiety almost as much as I do about Ron. I am anxiously awaiting your next mail for later news but in the meantime I have cabled you asking you to let me know how he is. I have also sent Ron a cable - addressed to Children’s Med. Ward - conveying my best wishes. I thank you for your full & frank report on the situation & I trust you will continue in such strain - I must know the full truth however alarming it may be. If the circumstances seem to justify it I will apply for compassionate leave home by the first available boat but I do not want to do this except as a last resort & in this connection I must be guided by your reports. You are on the spot. If you feel that it is at all necessary either in Ron’s interests or on your own send me a cable at once & I will initiate action immediately. In this event of course, I pray it won’t be necessary, you will have to initiate corresponding action at your end. Knowing you as I do I am confident you will face the trial bravely but I feel it terribly that you must face it alone. As for Ron, I say never mind old pal, perhaps this will be the last attack & future days will bring the good health & the good fortune which should be yours. We know from previous experience that you will face the situation gamely & will bravely endure whatever treatment may be prescribed. I pray that you respond as before to the treatment which proved so successful & that your stay in hospital is pleasant and not too long. You are older now & I think you may settle down contentedly rather quicker than on previous occasions. I wish you the very very best in every possible way, & my thoughts are with you always. I think Ri, you will know many of the multitude of thoughts which fill my mind & remain unsaid as I change from this subject. Time & space are limited & I have a lot yet to say. We are terribly busy here just now. Our numbers are much reduced by the departure of the 8 th & with so many away on leave a heavy burden falls on those of us who remain. All equipment is being checked & overhauled preparatory to its being handed in & this is a big job. Excluding those on full time duty on wireless links our section now comprises only 16 men & on the average 4 to 5 are on leave at any one time. Thus there are only 11-12 to do the work - less than in fact because 3 men (1 in Orderly Room, 1 on battery charging, & 1 batman) are not available for general duties. It works out this way, tomorrow I am on vehicle park piquet from 8am - 2hrs on & 4hrs off for 24 hrs until 8am Sat. Sat I shall be on general duties. Sunday at 8am fatigues or piquet for 24 hrs again & so on. At the present time we are overhauling & painting the section’s transport (14 vehicles in all). This is a big job. After everything is mechanically ok we drive down to the lake & wash the truck down (mine, B2, is a big truck & it is like washing & painting an elephant!) & she is then ready for

painting. Then comes oiling & greasing. Also I am in charge of the canteen for sale of cigs & tobacco etc & this & keeping the accounts takes up much of my spare time. And so with the inevitable odd job I find these days very full indeed. I mention this to explain my fewer letters these days. However you can rest assured I will write as often as I can for I well know just what my letters mean to you under present circumstances. Yesterday I packed the things I bought in Florence & today I started on a wooden box to contain the cardboard one in which they are packed. I hope to complete the parcel & get it away in the course of next few days. To save kit space I am including a few sundries, Dad’s prismatic compass, books, old pipes etc. For thank God we can now anticipate the happy day when we will be packing for homeward voyage. The great news of the past week or so must have helped you a lot. It would be a good antidote for the upset you must have suffered with Ron. We were pleased indeed to hear in the NZ Newsletter put over by the BBC last Tuesday that the Govt is endeavouring to arrange for the Div’s early return home. We are all fed up with it here - properly browned off in fact - & only two things are make it tolerable (1) the hope of being on our way home soon, and (2) fairly liberal leave arrangements. All NZ Forces Clubs (Rome, Florence, Venice, Alpine Centre) continue to function & with so many gone from the Div & not replaced leave comes around pretty quickly these days. But it is very monotonous here even in spite of being busy & unsettled in spirits as we are, we are living for the time when we are really on our homeward way. Light is failing so please excuse me if writing becomes bad. The grape crop is now fully ripe & so of course we want not for this delicious fruit. Our camp is like this: [sketch] . So you see all we have to do is to take one step out of the back of the tent pick a bunch of grapes & gorge to our hearts content. Doesn’t it make your mouth water?! We are doing it rather too frequently & my cholera drops are coming in useful. Weather continues perfect - still very hot & no rain to speak of but the nights & evenings are becoming cooler. Owing to the drought the grapes are much smaller than usual but they are deliciously flavoured nevertheless. Contents of parcel are: alabaster powder bowl, 3 brooch cameos, 150 assorted stamps for Ron, old pipes - one Frank gave me for my 21st, Dad’s prismatic compass, dividers, books, photos of Florence, few Wog & Itie coins, green stone from Rome, 2 cheap Florence crests. The unset cameo I would like you to keep until I return when I can compare it with others & see which is best to have set. Of the two set ones (poor settings but this is frequently the case in here in Italy) one is for Ma & the other for you to do what you like with. To keep or give as a gift as you wish. Ma can choose which of the two she prefers. They are quite nice cameos - at least I think so. Too dark now to continue. Lots & lots of health germs to Ron & of course every good wish & loving thoughts. To your good self fondest love. Ever yours, Fred.

27 Aug 1945Since I last wrote to you I have received your air mail letter 8 th Aug & also cable from Ron dated 17 th Aug both being very welcome. There is little in the way of news to write about so I shall have to use most of this space in replying to your mail. First your AML 8/8. Yes I well know how you must miss Ron about the house & I can only trust that it is not long before he is back again. I am impatient for more definite news as to his progress & what the Drs plan to do this time & how they regard the recurrence of the disease. The 9 th are due to go at any time now & I am wondering if I should apply to return with them as I feel most anxious about you both. Ron’s school report is quite good & considering the full circumstances is most satisfactory. I hope his present illness will not set him back too much. It is disappointing indeed that just as he was getting back to a normal state in schooling & general welfare he should have another setback like this. It upsets me beyond words. Please tell Ron I was very pleased indeed with his progress & thank him for his fine effort of which he may well be proud for with his handicaps it could not have been easy to attain such a standard in so short a time. You too should feel pleased with yourself for it shows ample reward for your efforts while he was on Correspondence schooling. Point re our southward move & seeing friends at Fabriano I have already covered in former mail. Yes I have not the slightest doubt that the right thing has been done in sending Ron to hospital right at the beginning of his illness. I know how you must feel the position but I have full confidence in your ability to handle the situation. Still I do feel very much for you & wish I could be with you to share the responsibility & perhaps afford some sympathetic comfort. Which surface letter was it that Ron received? That of 29/3 or that dated 20/4? Glad he liked the German sets as I felt sure he would. I would not allow him to have his good album at hospital. Some of the others there may extract some of the rarer stamps & spoil his sets. I have paid quite a sum for some of these stamps & would not like to see the collection spoilt in this way. It would be impossible to keep track of every stamp in the collection & even if some went astray you could do nothing about it. It seems that the Drs again are puzzled over the lack of visible infection in Ron’s case. As usual! I find this far from reassuring. Ron’s cable 17/8 much appreciated. I hope for a reply to my cables within the next ten days or so. That completes comment on your mail. Please excuse poor writing of this letter which I am writing sitting on my bed in my tent holding the paper on a book. As usual it is a lovely day & very warm. As I write there is a great commotion going on outside - the Ities are picking the grape crop (worst luck!) & in their usual happy way they are laughing & chattering amongst themselves & joking with the boys about the lines. They are very fond of

sweets & chocolate - the signorinas (lasses) especially - much of their banter is directed towards coaxing these delicacies from us. We get on very well with the local people, who are of the typical peasant type (contadini = peasants) - friendly & hospitable but poor & uneducated. The future population is assured for the number of children per family averages about 5 or 6. Mussolini may have been the rogue they would have us believe but nevertheless he did wonderful things for this country & I very much doubt whether it will ever prosper except under an authoritarian government - the people are too inherently lazy & easy-going. I continue to keep well but am losing my suntan as here we do not sunbathe as up Trieste way altho we still wear only shorts during the day except when on duty when we must be properly dressed of course. One notices that the nights are becoming cooler & on piquet one now must now wear a greatcoat at nights and on two or three occasions lately I have had to get under two thicknesses of blankets. I very much hope we are not here for the winter again. Would prefer to spend the winter months in ME if we are unfortunate enough not to be home or on the way by then. Posted the parcel two days ago. It is a wood box & fairly strong so I hope it reaches you safely as it contains some nice things. Was up at Perugia the other day & bought you one of those semi-transparent rubber coats (lemon or more accurately a pretty shade of yellow or primrose) which is included in parcel. Hope size is ok. Do you know them? Jack sent Jen one a while ago. They are rather nice. Must close now as space exhausted. Fondest love, ever yours, Fred.

31 Aug 1945How the days slip by! Tomorrow sees the beginning of another month & in a few days time, it will be six years since the war commenced. In some ways it seems ages since those anxious days at Volga St, when Ron so ill, we watched by means of the radio the developments which led up to the declaration of war. And yet the memory of those events & so much of what has happened since is so vivid that one is rather amazed to realise that time has passed so quickly. I have had no mail since I last wrote on 27 th so will have to try & fill in this space with general news. As you will realise every day & all day long my thoughts are with you & Ron & I am desperately anxious for further news as to Ron’s progress. I pray he is now on the mend & that it will not be long before he is back home again making a rapid & full recovery from this latest set back. All the best lad dear! On Tuesday I was fatigues all day but in the evening I went with Jack to the pictures at Magione which is a village some 12 miles from our camp. Whenever there are pictures there they run a truck from camp. The picture was extremely poor & it was a trial to sit it out & the evening was really wasted. On the trip back our lights failed & the journey was not without excitement for it was very dark except for the last mile or so when the almost full moon came up to light up the countryside. Jack produced a welcome nightcap in the form of a bottle of whiskey & we sat for half an hour or so at a table outside his tent in glorious moonlight - the evenings here are simply perfect, mild & absolutely calm & with a full moon shining they surpass description - settling down our nerves ere going to bed. On Wednesday I was sent out to one of the outstations which are working, to relieve the two operators, both of whom have applied for jobs with ERS & were required for interview at main ERS HQ. Instructions had just been received that we should work to Fano (on Adriatic coast) & as the then existing aerial was insufficient to work that distance I spent a busy day erecting a bigger aerial system which I am pleased to say is working very satisfactorily. Wed was terrifically hot, the hottest we have had I think, & I was relieved when the cool of evening came round. I feel the heat here far worse than in ME! Returned to Div late in evening & feeling rather tired went to bed early - about 9pm. Yesterday morning I was up at the usual time -7.15am- & was leisurely getting dressed etc when Lt. Harris (the o/c of our section) came in & said that immediately after breakfast I was to pack up & go to relieve one of the outstation operators who is required for a special job. One becomes accustomed to these sudden flaps & so it did not take me long to get under way. And so here I am again at incidentally at the same station as I was on Wed. I expect to be here only four or five days but these days everything is topsy-turvey & anything can happen & I may be here longer as we are in dire straights to carry on the work of the section with so many of our number gone or going. And so here I am writing this on Friday am whilst maintaining watch on the set. Very little traffic is passing at present altho later in the am I expect it may be busier. It is a pretty spot here. We are occupying the grounds of a villa on the eastern shores of Lake Tresimeno. I should say the villa belongs to some well to do Italian for it has been a nice place with well laid out grounds. There is a nice rose garden but the roses are showing the effects of the hot weather & drought but their perfume is truly delightful. Such rose gardens are rare in Italy. The shrubs & trees are also quite nice & my bivouac is pitched under the shade of a belt of trees - an ideal spot these hot days. The lake is alright for swimming but as yet I have not been in. Yes there is no doubt it is a very pretty spot here & the view across the lake is grand especially in the evening when with the sun setting directly across from us & the beautiful colouring reflected in the mirror calm waters of the lake it is really glorious & far beyond my powers to adequately describe. This is indeed a beautiful country with a delightful summer climate - rather too hot perhaps but wonderfully consistent - & in different circumstances one could be very happy & contented in these surroundings. As it is ones appreciation & enjoyment of it is spoilt by the military atmosphere & our

general unsettled feeling. We are all pretty much browned off & will be much relieved when we learn more definite news as to our future now that the Jap war is finished. This waiting around not knowing when we will be on our way home is extremely demoralising & unsettling. Sigs are more fortunate than others though as we still have a job of sorts to do. Am very fit & well & pray you & Ron are the same. Oh my darling girl how I yearn for you! Lovingly, yours, Fred.01 Sep 1945It is quite a while since I have been able to write you on consecutive days & I am making the most of the present opportunity as I know only too well that with Ron possibly still away you will more than ever appreciate frequent mail. I am sorry that during the past few weeks circumstances have precluded writing to you to the extent I would have liked but I know you will appreciate the position & make allowances accordingly. I am all too conscious that I am hopelessly in arrears with correspondence & I can only trust that those to whom I am owing letters will not think too harshly of me for my recent laxity in writing. Apart altogether from the fact that opportunities for writing have been all too scarce & the facilities for letter writing are almost non-existent the weather here has lately been extremely enervating & when not working one feels too exhausted to contend with the difficulties which letter writing here involves. To give you some idea of the conditions under which my letters from here are written, I am sitting now in the wireless truck with the set on, maintaining watch with phones on. Other stations are working & I have to pay attention, writing at the same time, in case any of the traffic should concern us. The wireless set is on a low bench & for easy access to the controls the seat is low, almost on the floor, & it is not possible to write with pad on knees as the pen is then at too acute angle on the paper. And so I am turned sideways with my back against one wall & my feet up against the cupboards on the other wall & in this position I find it possible to write reasonably well holding the paper on the wireless logbook on my lap. You put yourself in front of the fire with your feet upon the mantelpiece & try writing and you will get some idea of the difficulties. It is cooler today than for quite a while & usually at this time of day - 1pm - it is almost unbearable here in the truck. It is dull & overcast & the Ities predict rain either today or tomorrow & of course they are pleased at the prospect for the drought is serious still altho rain now would be too late to do much good, all crops having been gathered, poor tho they were. The sun when it breaks thro the cloud, as it does at odd times, is very hot, but is not out long. The wind is quite strong & the lake presents an unusual sight of a choppy sea. The weeping willows along the lake edge (just a few feet away from the truck) are waving like ladies frocks in the wind & the rushes growing in the shallow water are bobbing about in great style. A notable feature about Italy is the scarcity of bird life but last night droves of swallows were to be seen sporting around the lake. In a few hours I saw more bird life than during the whole of my previous time in Italy. It is spitting with rain now! Did nothing of interest yesterday. Jack Eddy the other chap on the set wanted to go round the lake to see a cobber of his at 21 Btn & so I did the full day on the set. We closed down at 9pm & I then made a cup of tea & after drinking this I went to bed. Had a good nights rest & was up at 8am (!!) just in time for breakfast. Spent the morning on odd jobs such as cleaning batteries, doing slight adjustments to the chore horse (small ¼ hp motor for battery charging) tidying & rearranging personal gear, etc. it is now just past 4pm. I had to break off to take several messages & since then have been sending replies to the enquiries. The sun is shining brightly again but it is still windy & the sky is cloudy. We had only a light shower lasting about two minutes. Rumour has it that Gen Freyberg will return from his visit to UK in the course of the next week or so & naturally we are all wondering the result of his negotiations with the Imperial Govt & whether it will result in the Div’s return to NZ being expedited. We all very much hope so & also that we may know something definite soon. We find the uncertainty of the future very unsettling & combined with all the other factors such as the trying nature of the local climate & poorness of the area (altho it is pretty from a scenic viewpoint it becomes very monotonous especially in our present state of mind) and altho great efforts are being made to expand the ERS & recreation activities I personally think that these will have little success as we are all too preoccupied with one thing only - to get home - and smartly. Our job is over & all we want now is to get home & to try to settle down to a normal way of life. The longer this extremely unnatural existence goes on - we cannot feel we are doing anything worth while or serving any useful purpose now - the harder it will be. It is the most demoralising stage of ones army career & the sooner it is over the better for all. I hate it & ….well you know how I feel. And so with loving embrace…ever yours, Fred.

06 Sep 1945Words cannot adequately express my relief upon receipt of your cable (undated but sent either 30 th or 31st Aug I think) giving the news of Ron’s good progress. I received it on Monday evening so if it was sent when I expect it was it was very quick in transit. I sincerely hope his good progress continues & that he is very soon well enough to return home. By the way I bought him some more stamps a few days ago & these I have posted by air mail. They should be to hand by the time you receive this. Sent it care of you just in case he is back from hospital. Since I last wrote about 4 days ago I have also received your ALC’s of 10/8 & 13/8 which I shall

answer right away. ALC 10/8. Glad to know oil gauges arrived home safely. They may come in handy later altho not of much value really. Sorry to note from the tone of this AL that you seem rather downhearted. This of course is quite natural & understandable but I do hope that you now feel in better spirits & have cheered up as I don’t like to think of you so upset. No doubt the progress Ron is showing has done much to cheer you up. Don’t worry sweetheart everything is going to be ok & perhaps sooner than you expect events will brighten the outlook. Glad to know you have contacted Bill Lacky. A nice fellow isn’t he! How did his snaps taken at Forli turn out? Glad too that Ron liked the stamps & badges. I felt sure he would. ALC 13/8. Yes no doubt Ron would have greatly enjoyed the Maori Concert & it was a pity he had to miss it. However there will be plenty more opportunities. I am pleased to know you enjoyed it. The outing would do you good & help you to overcome the depression following recent events. The news in this letter re puzzlement of Drs was worrying me greatly (I had more or less expected it nevertheless) until I recd your cable. Pleased to know that two further parcels have reached you. How did you like contents & did Ron like the Ted caps? I expect you will say in your next letter. Yes I feared that your worries over Ron would do much to spoil your delight over Japan’s capitulation. Really bad luck that & I am “molto dispiace”. Never mind dear we will make amends when I return.Now for the news. First I must ask you to excuse writing etc. I jammed the middle finger of my right hand between two heavy stones a day or two ago & this has bruised it slightly & being the finger with the wart on it it is just sore enough to make writing a bit troublesome. This letter is being written many miles, over 400, from where I was when I last wrote & I am in fact back in familiar surroundings of Adv Base. One of our chaps pinched a jeep when drunk & had a smash in it. Altho only slightly injured himself the jeep was a complete write-off. This was at Sistiana over three months ago. He was court martialled the other day & sentenced to 4 months detention. Another chap & I had to act as escorts to bring him down to the FPC (Field Punishment Centre) which is here. We left the Trasimeno area early Tuesday am & took two days en route. Stopped 1st night at Termoli & arrived here at 3.30pm yesterday after a tiring journey the road being very bumpy & dusty in places. However much of the ground covered was new to me (down as far as Foggia) & I rather enjoyed the trip. Very pretty really altho country is parched & road mostly follows Adriatic coastline. Don’t know when I start the return journey but will write again as soon as possible. In meantime my very fondest love - I am thinking of you & Ron always. Ever yours, Fred.

08 Sep 1945Here I am still at Adv Base but according to what I have just been told I am to start on the return trip later today. And so altho time is limited I am writing this as it may be some days before I am able to write again as it seems likely that we may take some days on the journey. I have to be on call all the time & so am unable to get out of camp. Not that it would have been possible yesterday as it was wet all day - quite a strange experience after such a long spell of marvellously fine weather. On Wed night I was sitting here In the Lowrie Hut writing to Uncle Charlie when who should sit down beside me but Haye. I received a tremendous surprise for I have not seen him since Cairo over a year ago & I had often wondered what had become of him. I had made numerous enquiries for him without being able to trace him & so had concluded he had not come up to the Div but had either stayed in ME on base work or returned home on medical grounds. It appears he went up to the Div in July 44 (perhaps Aug) in the infantry. He injured his ankle just before the Faenza show & was quite a while in GH (General Hospital). He was assessed unfit for combat duty & for the past several months has been attached to a Tommy detachment in Leghorn on work in connection with the repatriation of POW’s. he looks & seems very fit & is hoping for early return to NZ (with his Pacific service taken into a/c he is classified as 10 th

reinforcement) & hopes he will return in time for Xmas altho on present indications he is not too optimistic. We had a long natter together & it was good to meet again. Wendy is no longer in Wgtn being now at Ardmore Air Force Station - or rather she was still there when Haye last heard altho I noticed in last weeks NZEF Times that this station is one of those scheduled for early disbandment. Most of my time here has been spent renewing acquaintances with chaps of the 8ths who are still here awaiting embarkation on return to NZ. When I said goodbye to these chaps about a month ago I hardly thought I would meet up with them again in this way. Some of the 8ths (all married men & some of the single ones) have already left & we hear that they are now en route on the final stage having left ME a few days ago fro NZ. Bob Madden went with these & so he is not here. No other news!I am hoping for mail soon especially to get the latest news of Ron & I hope to find you rather brighter than you appeared in your last two letters. However your cable relieves anxiety about Ron as it will be later than any mail I will get for a while. I trust his good progress continues. Now that he has taken a turn for the better I feel sure he will soon be quite ok once again. You can tell him that a very pleasant surprise is in store for his birthday - more I will not say. And so sweetheart once more I must say cheerio as space runs low. I hope you are well & happy (I am) & not worrying too much. All my love. Ever yours, Fred.

13 Sep 1945Here I am back again amidst the old familiar scene which is just the same as when I left for Advanced Base. I had hoped that I might find a fair batch of mail awaiting me but I received only three as follows, your ALC of 16 Aug, one from Steve Gambrill dated 17 Aug acknowledging my letter of sympathy for Ted’s death, and one dated 18 Aug from Frank. Of course these were very welcome but I had hoped for others more recent from you. The explanation is of course my recent movements. When I went out relieving, the orderly room Sgt at Supply Coy (a rather too conscientious fellow) insisted on marching me into that unit a practice not unusual when one is attached on relieving duty only. Thus I appeared on RO’s (Routine Orders) as posted to Supply Coy & upon receipt of a copy of RO’s in Base Post Office my address card would be altered & mail then sent to me at Supply Coy, altho I was there only for 4 days. Similarly when I went from Supply to Adv Base my marching out would go thro RO’s & on receipt of this notification in APO my mail would then be directed there. And so there is mail perhaps in course of transit & on a/c of the confusion it may be a while in coming to hand especially if as often happens the orderly rooms hang on to it a while before returning it to the APO. As soon as I have completed this I intend writing to APO advising them I am now back here. Now to answer your AL before going onto news items. Am pleased you liked the contents of the parcel. Prego! Yes it was ok to give one of the cloths to Doreen & I am glad you did so. In sending you these parcels it is always in my mind that you may give some of the contents to others. Glad Ron liked caps. I too washed them before sending them so they should be well disinfected! Your news of VJ Day activities makes interesting reading. My a/c of my Florence leave written in diary form would afford you a fair idea of how we took the news. Yes it is grand to know that we do not have to go to FE (Far East) & that our voyage will take us HOME! You news that Ron seemed to be picking up was grand indeed especially when read in conjunction with the later cable. I hope this improvement marked the beginning of complete & rapid recovery & soon I hope to learn that he is back at home with you. No news could be more welcome than that. Now for a spot of news ere space runs out. If memory serves me correctly I last wrote on Sat just before I left Adv Base. Well we got away from there at about 4pm but were unable to get far as on arrival at Taranto we discovered that the batch of prisoners we were to carry would not be ready until next day. So we bunked down for the night. We left T at 6 o’clock on Sun & after an uneventful trip we arrived here yesterday or more correctly today for it was 3am this morning when we pulled in here. Saw much of interest on the trip including some of the Div’s most notable battlegrounds but space is too limited to describe it here. Slept in late this am & got up at 10am & had shower (cold) & badly needed it as I was filthy. This afternoon I spent the time washing clothes which were also filthy having been worn for over a week. I am very well & I trust that you are likewise & that Ron’s good progress continues. All my love. Ever yours, Fred.

17 Sep 1945I was delighted yesterday to receives a lovely lot of mail in the form of your three ALC’s, 18/8, 20/8, & 23/8 & two parcels (cakes) one from Molly posted 28/4 & the other from Aunt Gwen. The delay in my mail did not prove as long as I thought it might be. Please convey my thanks to Molly & Aunt Gwen for their cakes which arrived in first class condition. I have not sampled Aunt Gwen’s but Molly’s is delicious. Their kindness is much appreciated & I shall write to them in due course. Except for a bit of an outing which I enjoyed on Fri I have not been out of camp since I wrote on Thurs & so there is not much in the way of news. I will therefore answer your mail first & then tell of my visit to Oriac. Your ALC 18/8. The news of the Jap plane over Wgtn & Auck was interesting. Had not heard of it previously. I fear that there is little hope of my ever seeing the folks in UK but one never knows. A rumour is about that a leave scheme may be arranged to there if Div’s return to NZ is long delayed. But the rumour is not founded on anything definite & I doubt its reliability. The GOC’s visit to UK (he has now returned) has given rise to all sorts of fanciful rumours including that he arranged for additional shipping & nearly all the Div will be home by Xmas. Very doubtful indeed I think. The news of the General’s appointment as our next G-G was well received here. Glad Ron liked contents of letter I sent to him. ALC 20/8. Pleased to know Rome books & views of Venice arrived safely. I hope we equally lucky with parcels posted later as they contained some nice items for you. Comments re Ron being reserved for later. ALC 24/8. Sorry to learn of Molly’s flu which I hope was only a mild attack & that she is now quite well. What do you mean when you say “there is no wishful thinking in saying it won’t be long before you are home again….” If you have heard anything to raise such high hopes I am anxious to know of it for the general feeling in the Div is the Govt will be hard pressed to even fulfil its promise to have the 10ths home by Xmas. Still have plenty of cholera drops on hand so further supply is hardly necessary. Your glowing a/c at the end of your letter about Ron’s good progress makes inspiring reading & cheers me up tremendously. Yes I too feel that the penicillin is the answer. I vividly recall an incident which happened two years ago. We had read of this new drug in a Digest & as Dr Aitken was leaving after one of his visits to see Ron we mentioned it to him & he answered “yes if only we could get it (it was then newly discovered & available only in minute quantities for urgent military needs) it

would be just the thing”. I have often thought of that incident as whilst on the ADMS wireless group I had good reason to appreciate the marvel of this discovery. Many a poor fellow has been saved terrible agony & thousands owe their lives to it. It is strange therefore that even when I first learnt of Ron having a recurrence of his illness it did not occur to me that they would have recourse to Penicillin. I suppose it was because I naturally thought that they would use the treatment which was so effective before. But knowing as I do so well the miracles this drug can effect & realising that Ron’s is just the sort of case in which it shows its worth it is remarkable that the thought did not occur to me & it was only when I read your letters that I associated its use with Ron’s case. I feel sure that you in seeing its wonder in Ron’s case will realise (I have often had cause to) the truly remarkable nature of this great discovery. Yes he will be ok now of that I am sure, & I anxiously await your next few letters for confirmation of my optimism. The next good news I hope for, is to learn that he is well enough to return home, for it worries me to think of you there alone - I know how lonely you must find it apart from the fact that it will lighten your burden of worry when he is able to return home, & mine! Now for a little news before I close altho I am afraid I shall not be able to finish 3 full pages as tea-time draws nigh. I have been leading a quiet existence lately. The weather is too hot to encourage much in the way if activity but on Friday I stirred my energies sufficiently to visit a large sized town called Oriac [CAIRO]! [was actually at Maadi transit camp!] some miles away. I was lucky to obtain a hitch-hike & reached there about 2pm (I set out after lunch). Most of the shops were shut until 3.30pm for siesta so I adjourned to the Forces Club & there partook of light refreshments until the shops reopened when I had a look around in the hope of finding something suitable for presents for you & others. The shops were well stocked but things were too dear altogether so I returned without buying anything. This town is a very interesting place containing a great deal of historical interest altho in the time at my disposal I was unable to do more than have a cursory look around. However I hope to go there again before we leave here.On Sat evening the mobile cinema visited here to show a film entitled “Old Acquaintances” & not having anything else to do I went along. It was a fair show & unusual & altho those I went with voted it poor & some even walked out halfway thro, I considered it as quite entertaining. The plot was unusual & really more suited for stage show (drama) but the acting was good & as I say I quite enjoyed it. At the moment we are having a very much easier time than was the case a short time ago & I certainly cannot complain of overwork altho of course there are certain routine matters which demand attention. I believe I am to be given some further leave soon but details are indefinite at the moment. As goes without saying I am very well & there is certainly no need for concern in this respect. The hot weather with plenty of sunshine & fresh air undoubtedly agrees with me & I do not relish the prospect of winter - unfortunately there are many manifestations of the onset of autumn here already. And so my darling I must prepare for our evening meal which is due in approx 10 minutes. Ever yours, Fred.

16-18 Sep 1945 Transit Depot Maadi Camp MEFOne of my sustaining thoughts for the past one & half years has been the anticipation of the day when I could say this would mark the conclusion of my letters to you - for ever I hope as I pray that the necessity never again arises. Well that happy time is here for I am about to leave on the final stage of the long voyage home. Great isn’t it for with reasonable luck I shall be home within a month from present date. I hasten to assure you that all is well with me. All I am told is that I am being returned to NZ in accordance with army instructions & as far as I can ascertain I have been recalled by the Govt (presumably L&S Dept) to undertake work in connection with the rehabilitation of personnel returning from active service. I assume in a civilian capacity. It has all happened so suddenly & with such a rush that I have hardly had time to think. It happened like this: I was due to return to Main Div Sigs on Tues 4 Sept after relieving the operator at Supply Coy who went away on leave. We were working hourly skeds & at 5 to 7 just when I was in the middle of the ¼ to 7 call, a truck from Main DS pulled up beside the wireless truck. I called to them to wait until I finished the traffic I had on hand, & at 5 past 7 when I had finished I went out thinking they had made a mistake & called for me a day too early. They told me to get cracking & get packed up, still not saying why. We stood barracking for a few minutes before they told me I was leaving at once for Bari on 1st stage of my trip home. I nearly died of fright on the spot (felt ill) for I at once thought Ron must have become worse & possibly critically (I feared even worse) but thank God Jack had with him your cable of 30 Aug giving good news as to his progress & furthermore Jack knew from what he had heard as orderly room clerk that it was not compassionate leave but as already stated. When I got over my fright I got busy & within the half hour we were on our way to the point where the convoy was to leave from early next am & this we reached at 10pm whereupon I settled down to a restless night sleeping on truck floor (steel) for we had to be up at 5am. Jack had come out to say farewell as time did not permit my returning to Main DS to say farewell to the boys or even to recover articles of gear I left there when I went out (temporarily I thought) to Supply Coy. I was very sorry about this as I hated leaving without a farewell to other fine lads who I have grown to like so well. Moreover I had to abandon thro this hurried & unexpected development some fine items I

had intended to bring back with me. My letters describe trip to Adv Base & subsequent happenings altho they are purposely somewhat misleading but if you reread them with the knowledge herein contained you will see that the lies are “only little ones” & therefore I hope forgivable. When I spoke of “the return trip” you were intended to think of it as from Bari to Div but of course it has another meaning. Oriac . Try spelling it reversed. [Cairo]. Old battlefields - Greece & Crete which we saw clearly. And many others. I hope you will excuse the deception.And so my sweetheart within a short while - possibly about a week of your receiving this we will be together again & the memories of the trials of our separation can fade behind us. Isn’t it wonderful! Please forgive my not telling you sooner but I could not see that any good would be gained. Long delays can occur on a/c of having to wait for shipping to NZ & I thought it better to wait until we were on the final stage when the time between the grand surprise & its culmination would be only short & would quickly pass. Hope I still have left you with time to ask the Yank to leave! Two requests, (1) No fuss, & I prefer not a crowd at wharf - only you! (2) Unless constrained to do so by force of circumstances please do not notify HO L&S. I am not too sure I shall take the job (I assume it is on their request I am being returned). Now may be my best opportunity to re-establish in more congenial & more suitable (health) employment under Rehab Scheme but careful consideration is required to very many aspects including your own views. If office is unaware of my return (without feeling they have been deceived) I will not be rushed into hasty decision & maybe I can make some discreet enquiries about matters ere I see the heads. The next few weeks cannot pas too quickly! Fondest love, soon in person, Fred.We leave here (Maadi) this evening. Leave Tewfik (Suez) tomorrow, 19.9.45. Last edition of the Epistles of Frederico.

Aboard SS Fort McLoughlin, Red Sea. 22 Sep 1945 (Aden 30 Sep 1945)I am writing this in the hope that it will be possible to post it at Aden & that it will go forward from there to reach you soon after my last letter from Maadi saying I was on my way. We left Maadi at 4.30am last Wednesday & proceeded by truck to Tewfick where after the usual messing around we embarked at 11am. Spent a very busy 2 hours making our quarters fit for human habitation & then had lunch. We were due to leave at 3pm but did not get away until 8pm owing to engine trouble. 24 hours steaming brought us here, a very small & barren port on the Red Sea, where we are loading superphosphates. The first night we lay about ½ mile off shore as it was too late to moor up to the bins. We were in the course of berthing yesterday am when word was received that a tanker was due at 9am & we would have to wait until she finished refuelling the shore installations before we could start to load. We spent a very hot & monotonous day yesterday admiring the local scenery - which is utter desolation! We moored at 11pm & loading started soon afterwards & goes on continuously with much noise & the air filled with surplus dust. We think we may leave here by Monday night& it is then 4 days run to Aden where we will spend one or perhaps two full days loading coal & water. The run from Aden to Melbourne (we may have to refuel at Fremantle) will take about 5 weeks!! & from M we believe we proceed overland to Sydney & there wait for a boat to NZ. Even as an optimistic estimate I should say we are unlikely to arrive before the 1st or 2nd week in November altho I very much hope to be home in time for Ron’s birthday. [13] And so you see sweetheart things have NOT worked out quite as well as one might have hoped. However we are consoled by the thought that every mile however slowly travelled is so much nearer home. Incidentally there are only 23 of us on board this tub, which is a dirty coal burning freighter of about 8000 tons & flat out she can do 9 to 10 knots in favourable conditions. And so we come rolling home on a ? and prayer. It’s a wonder that they have not sent the old Kaitoa for us but possibly they are reserving her for the stage Aust - NZ so that we do the final stage in real luxury! The food aboard is good so thank God for something. As you can guess it is terrifically hot here in the Red Sea & I expect it will be even worse thro the tropics (sun is on equator today). Am fit & well & have settled down well to life on the ocean wave & am gradually resigning myself to the long tedious voyage home on this fine vessel. Am considering taking up the sea as my new career - until we run into bad weather! Hope Ron is doing fine now. Rotten not hearing of him for so long. All my love, Fred.

31 Oct 1945 Aboard SS “Fort McLoughlin”

My Darling Ri, if, as is quite possible, we have to wait in Aust for a ship to NZ it may be a fortnight or so before we are home & this note should reach you before then, & it will serve to let you know how I am faring. How I wish for news of you and Ron! I feel really anxious about Ron, & every night as I lie in my bunk trying to get to sleep my thoughts are of him.At the moment of writing we are just passing Wilson’s Promontory & have turned NE for the run up the E coast of Aust. It is 9am on Wed - our 42 day out from Tewfik. We will arrive at Port Kembla our destination at

daylight on Friday. What happens then we do not know but we expect to proceed almost immediately to Sydney & there await a ship to NZ. After we left Aden we expected we might call at Fremantle but when two days out from there we received instructions by wireless to proceed straight thro’ to P.K. & so we also pass by Melbourne which we passed some few hours ago. 4½ weeks at sea without a break! It has been a rotten trip in every way & I hope I never have another like it! For the first week out from Aden the weather was good altho’ terrifically hot but after crossing the equator we ran into bad weather which has been with us ever since & for the past 3 weeks we have barely been able to get on deck. Felt seedy for a day or two but was not sick & the rough sea did not upset me. We ran into calmer sea during last night & it should be alright for the rest of the voyage as we are close inshore & thus in sheltered water. This travelling the wide oceans in a dirty old tramp at 8 knots is no joke! However the ship’s company have been extremely good to us & their kindness has done much to relieve the monotony. I fancy I have lost my suntan & some weight but otherwise am fit & well. We all are hoping for a lucky break (I am sure we have earned it) when we reach Sydney & we trust we will soon get away on the last stage. I shall leave some space in case I get a chance to add a few lines after we reach Aust when perhaps our further movements will become more definitely known. And so for the present sweetheart. All the best to you both, & lots of love.Noon 31/10. Latest estimate of our arrival at P.K. is 8pm tomorrow night. With better weather our speed improves. 10.30pm 1/11 arrived at P.K.

Sydney 2nd Nov 1945. We disembarked at 8am this morning & arrived here by train at 11.45am. To the NZ army Liaison Officer we came as a complete surprise & we had to wait on the stn. till 2pm before they caught up with themselves following our SM ringing to enquire what we should do. We are living in the Show Grounds camp & conditions there are not so good - in bldgs but pretty dilapidated & we sleep on the floor - but in keeping with what we are used to so have no complaints. We are just here for accommodation & come & go as we like - at any time of day or night & no pass needed. Centre of town is 10 mins away by tram. It appears that we are just a few more to add to the KIWIS (I hear the figure is 300-400) stranded here & we are told that there is no immed prospect of a ship to NZ. We may be here only a few days but it may just as easily be weeks - some here have been waiting 7 weeks. Pretty grim isn’t it?Fondest love sweetheart also to Ron. Am cabling you tomorrow. Yours for ever, Fred

07 Nov 1945 C/o GPO, Sydney

My Darling Ri, today is my sixth day here in Sydney & this is the first serious attempt I have made to write to you. I do not regard the few lines added to the ALC [Air Letter Card] written on the boat as worthy of mention. This is a poor show indeed & I ask you to excuse me. I have no excuse only to say that I have not had the heart to settle down to it.I was more than delighted to receive your cable advising that Ron is doing well. I called at the GPO late on Mon pm just in case but of course it was too soon because I believe my cable would not have reached you until Mon morning. I went in again yesterday morning & after so long without word from you (over two months!) it was a great thrill to get this cable. To say I was relieved to know Ron is doing well far too inadequately expresses my feelings for I was very anxious about him. For some strange reason I had an uneasy feeling that all was not well. Thank goodness this has proved unfounded. I now eagerly await your letter. I presume you will write c/o GPO & I shall call there each day. It would however be better to address mail to me c/o NZ Services Liaison Officer, 1 Bent St. Sydney as one of us is there every day and sometimes oftener. So in your future mail would you please use this address. When you get this write once more to the GPO and state in that letter that all subsequent mail will be sent to the Liaison Officer. In this way I shall know when to stop calling at the PO for mail.There is still no word of our forward on from here & it seems possible we may be here for some time yet. I fear that my “pleasant surprise for Ron‘s birthday” will not come off after all, but at the time I mentioned it in my ALC from Italy I think I never expected such a lengthy journey as this is proving. As soon as I know when we are leaving I will cable you.The messing about and confusion here in regard to our return is unbelievable & we all feel absolutely disgusted - & that puts it mildly. Kiwis are scattered all over the place around Sydney & so we cannot organise concerted action - which perhaps is just as well. As far as I can gather there are about 200 Army personnel, about 300 Navy men, about 100 Air Force gentlemen, and various odd civilians (POW’s next of kin, civilian repatriates, etc) stranded here & from what we can see no one cares a damn if we ever get back to NZ. It is a disgrace & the Govt is coming in for strong criticism. I wonder if they know the position. Possibly not. It is the usual services mismanagement & of course to hide their inefficiency they will misrepresent the position to their Govt. The Col in charge of the Liaison Office is a poor type totally unsuited to the job required of him. If anyone expects me to

be a conscientious public servant after this they will be sadly disappointed.After our unexpected arrival here in Sydney we “dumped” in pretty poor accommodation here in the Showgrounds & since then we have been left entirely to our resources - it seems the NZ army authorities here simply regard us as a mob of cattle for shipment on to NZ when & if a ship with the necessary accommodation should turn up. If we choose to take the chance of missing a boat we can roam Australia & if by this time next week there is still no word of our departure I propose to go down to for a visit to Melbourne & perhaps Adelaide. I am pretty good now at “bumming” my way around the world! Actually in spite of it all we are really having a pretty good time. Sydney is a big place & it offers plenty in the way of amusement & interest. The shops here are wonderful with some very big stores all well stocked. I have seen much I would like to buy for you but unfortunately lack of finance & coupons precludes my doing so. The people here dress very smartly & are right up to the minute in the fashions of the day. The young women especially set a very high standard & the girls here are I think rather prettier than their NZ sisters. It was the same in Perth & I conclude that in the matter of looks NZ girls must give way to the Aussies. They have too a very nice manner altho’ much more outspoken & far less modest than you in NZ are accustomed to. One can talk to them in a manner & about subjects which would be quite tabu in NZ. For instance on Sat evening I was speaking with a girl of I should say 20-22 & I mentioned that I considered Rome a very immoral city. She insisted that I elaborate & so I told of some of the things I had seen there. Quite without embarrassment she discussed the demoralising effects of war on people & it is clear that to her it was quite a normal subject of conversation. Some of her remarks astounded even me & I thought I was pretty broadminded. The people generally are very hospitable & one is often stopped in the street & some kindness shown even to the extent of being invited to their homes. I have quite a few addresses & if here long enough may avail myself of their invitations altho’ at the moment I prefer lighter amusement. My drawing room manners have fallen into a sad state I fear! Most of the time so far I have spent looking around this large city & I now know my way around pretty well. As for the evenings well we have been here 5 & this is how they have been spent: pictures twice; dance 1; public library 1; GUOOF meeting 1; so you can see my amusements are varied. I have still much to see - zoo, museum, aerodrome, etc so have plenty to fill in time for next week.The weather has been good so far altho’ today is dull & rain threatens. It did rain heavily for a short time early this am. It has been very hot especially last Sat when temp reached 95F.Today I am spending quietly. Bought a pair of shoes on Sat (35/-) & breaking these in has made my feet sore so I am compelled to reduce walking. However this afternoon I will trip out to some place I have not yet seen.I shall either write or cable Ron for the 13th - probably cable as somehow I can’t settle down to writing being too restless & unsettled.All my love sweetheart mine. And the same to Ron who I hope is 100% by the time I get home.