蜜芽传媒

On September 3rd, 1939 Prime Minister Menzies spoke over the radio.
鈥淚t is my melancholy duty to inform you officially, that Australia is at war.鈥�
The following year the war brought some relief to those dreary Sundays when Church Elders encouraged members to invite lonely servicemen into their homes.
I was fifteen when I began lessons at Gwen Mackay鈥檚 School of Ballet and the Ballet joined George Elliot鈥檚 Concert Party to entertain at Army camps, hospitals and the 鈥楥heer Up Hut鈥�. (A venue for servicemen on leave). At one of the many concerts, I was the solo vocalist for the ballet where Lady Mountbatten was the Guest of Honour. The song I sang on that occasion was, 鈥楧ream When You鈥檙e Feeling Blue鈥�. The other songs were, 鈥楢lexander鈥檚 Ragtime Band鈥�, 鈥楧arktown Strutters Ball鈥�, 鈥榊ankee Doodle Dandy鈥� and 鈥楲ovely Hula Hands鈥�. Ingenuity was needed to design the costumes using materials that were available without coupons, another work detail my mother slotted into her already busy schedule.
The Concert Party visited army camps in country towns, where we were billeted in huts and had to share the soldiers ablution block. I still needed my privacy and waited until the others were in bed before using the shower.
鈥楲oveday鈥� was an internment camp where non Australian citizens were detained for the duration of the war. Those we saw behind the barbed wire fence, were of Japanese, German and Italian origin. It was disconcerting to have these people in our country when hearing and reading of the atrocities our soldiers were subjected to in the P.O.W. camps of our enemies.
After the performances, we were entertained in grand style. A supper dance was held in the Officers鈥� Mess and it was here, at the tender age of fifteen, I was introduced to a drink of Gin and Tonic.
I will always remember its dreadful affects, weepy depression and nausea. I then acquired a taste for Advocaat and Cherry Brandy. Mother鈥檚 weak heart would have stopped pumping had she been aware of my errant ways on these weekend camps. However, she and the family were pleased with the supply of chocolate, canned fruit and other rationed goods, that I brought home after becoming friendly with the Sergeant in charge of supplies. By today鈥檚 standards, my behaviour was not extreme. I was merely beginning my adult education with personal experience.
We gave a concert at an army hospital, being warned beforehand, the soldiers there were being treated for Syphilis. I was led to believe it was contacted through sinful sexual behaviour and being ignorant of many of the 鈥榝acts of life鈥� I was aggrieved to see so many young soldiers being looked upon as 鈥榰ntouchable鈥�.
Australia was mainly untouched by the war. Scant information filtered through the media about the air raids on Darwin by the Japanese. Yet there were more details released about the submarine attacks on Sydney and Newcastle Harbours. It wasn鈥檛 until recent years we realised the impact and danger of those raids and especially the knowledge of how many lives were actually lost in the Darwin raids.
Mother agreed my sister Joyce and I could invite servicemen home for Sunday tea. The first such visit was arranged over the phone through a Church organisation called 鈥楾he Helping Hand鈥�. We arranged to meet two servicemen at our local bus stop.
As Joyce an I were walking towards them, I noticed one was much older that the other. I mentioned to Joyce.
鈥淵ou take the older one.鈥�
However, I had no choice, the younger of the two attached himself to her. This was the beginning of many of these evenings and even my staid grandparents, with whom we were living, began to look forward to the visitors.
Some of the servicemen we would only see for the one occasion, but with others who revisited, we formed firm friendships. When they were posted interstate or overseas, I corresponded with many of them. The 鈥榦ld鈥� soldier befriended me and we exchanged letters for the duration of the war. I still have them now dated 1942/43/44. When he was demobbed after the war, he came to Adelaide to say goodbye before returning to his home in Victoria. I never heard from him again.
American servicemen stationed in Adelaide, were very unpopular with the Australian men. Their uniforms were tailored, they had plenty of money and the girls were smitten with these brash young 鈥榊anks鈥�. Joyce an her friend Audrey became friendly with two Marines and on one occasion I was invited to go out with them. We went to the pictures where not long after the start of the film, a fellow sitting behind us, heckled repeatedly with taunts of,
鈥淏loody women going out with bloody Yanks.鈥�
We agreed it was wiser to leave before the situation worsened and we spent the remainder of the day at the beach.
Another American, Tony Romajko, who visited our home, would arrive in a U.S. Army Jeep causing gossip around the neighbourhood. He was not the typical boastful American and the entire family became very fond of him. He in return was grateful to be with a family as he was homesick. Tony visited often until the time he was posted overseas when he and I arranged to exchange letters. The last of the letters arrived (censored) advising me he was going into active service and didn鈥檛 know when he would be able to write again. I never did hear from him again and still regret never making enquiries through the Red Cross. Of the many letters I received from Tony, I only kept one, dated August 1942.
In August of 1943 Joyce鈥檚 fiance was granted compassionate leave from the army in New Guinea when his father was critically ill. While on leave, John was to celebrate his twenty first birthday. He also urged Joyce to marry him before he returned to the war zone. Mother encouraged the wedding as Joyce鈥檚 popularity with other boys, was a concern. She was convinced that when Joyce had a gold band on her finger, she would remain faithful to John. Mother had three days in which to make a Wedding Gown, two bridesmaids dresses and arrange and cater for the reception. On the day of the wedding, she also made the three floral bouquets. The cake which had been ordered for John鈥檚 twenty first, was then decorated as a wedding cake. Regardless of such short notice, it was a happy celebration and typical of the many such wartime weddings.
Peace came to Europe on May 7th 1945 and it became known as V.E. day. Joyce and I went into the city and joined the wild celebrations that continued into the early hours of the morning. The war was still being fought in the Pacific, but the movie houses were now showing graphic film of the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. No-one could have guessed the extent of the horror that was to unfold.
My Grandmother died the day the Atom Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and on August 15th, Japan鈥檚 total surrender was announced. Australian and New Zealanders forgot the wartime restraints and turned the cities and towns into places of spontaneous carnival. My cousin and I were asked to dance with the ballet on the balcony of a city hotel. We were in mourning for our Grandmother but our parents insisted we go. They couldn鈥檛 deny us the opportunity of joining this historical event. It was a memorable day, a social eruption that may never be witnessed again. The following month we both received a letter from the Lord Mayor of Adelaide, expressing appreciation for our assistance in connection with the V.P. (Victory in the Pacific) day celebrations.
I joined the Red Cross visiting military hospitals to comfort 鈥榮hell shocked鈥� victims. I paid regular visits to one soldier in particular and as I came to know him well, I took him home on weekend visits. He didn't know anybody in Adelaide. Mother befriended him and when he woke from a hellish nightmare, she would sit with him, not leaving his bedside until she was assured he was sleeping soundly.
April 27th 1946, I danced in the ballet for the last time. It was for the official closing of the 鈥楥heer Up Hut鈥�. It was attended by His Excellency the Governor Sir Willoughby and Lady Norrie and Lady Louis Mountbatten. The organisers and hostel workers formed a Guard of Honour for the V.I.P. guests who came to share an emotional evening. We ended by singing 鈥榃e鈥檒l Meet Again鈥�, The Maori Farewell鈥� and 鈥楢uld Lang Syne鈥�.
Many of the servicemen who had visited our home, looked up to mother as their second mum. She received many letters and Christmas cards for several years after the war. One Airman from Victoria remains a family friend to this day.

Nancy Angove.
Highbury South Australia.

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