Feb 162012
 

Courier Mail 20 February 1942
 
William George Busby
Seeing this Courier Mail headline 20th February 1942, you can imagine his Brisbane based wife Myrtle’s extreme worry for the husband that she had last seen 25th January 1941. She knew  he was with the 20th Platoon E Machine Gun Company 19th Battalion based in Parap, Darwin as he had been a regular correspondent.
I don’t know how long she had to wait to receive this letter.
Q70473
Pte WG Busby
20thPlatoon E (MG) Coy
19thBattalion Darwin
20thFebruary 1942
Dear Myrtle,
Just a few lines to let you know that I am still OK. I heard that the mail will be going any old way now so am writing to you tonight just in case it goes tomorrow. By the time you receive this you will know we have had an air raid and because of it the mail will not run to time. It may go tonight or it may not go for a week or two. I did not like to send a telegram, as when you received it, you would have taken about six fits and I didn’t want that. So I think a letter would be much better for everybody.
When the raid started we were out on a working party, we saw a lot of planes and before you could say ‘Jack Robinson’ we had disappeared and stayed hidden until all was over.
What with A.A guns firing, bombs dropping and planes roaring all over the sky, the noise was like fifty trains blowing off steam and blowing their whistles all at once.
After all the noise had gone and everything was quiet it was great fun talking about how we felt while the raid was on. Well, I for one had the wind up properly, but after it was over I was fine again but while it was on I hugged the ground pretty close.
Then after, we came back to camp had a wash, had tea, we were told there was a free picture show on at the church army hut so what started as a bad day finished up all OK and as the saying goes, all’s well that ends well. I cannot say more than I have already said as we are not allowed to tell any rumours because you cannot say too much or too little after things like that.
So Toots keep your chin up and do not believe any rumours down there. I and all my cobbers are all OK and still smiling. Above all don’t believe too much of what you read in the papers, because they have to sell their papers and they will print anything in them. 
Remember I am thinking of you as much as you are thinking of me. Cheerio darling until I write again and that will be as soon as possible.
Hoping this finds you in the best of health as it finds me at the top at present.
With lots of love from your loving husband Bill. xxxxxxxxxxxx
PS. Give my love to Pansy and family xxxxx
For Tuppence xxxxxx
My Grandmother had had heart troubles which is one reason he was worried about the telegram as receiving a telegram in war time was a traumatic event. 
I am very lucky in that I inherited about 200 letters from my Grandfather written to my Grandmother during WW2. He was based in Darwin then New Guinea then Borneo. The censor was very active and a number of William’s letters have been carefully excised of information. A couple have had whole paragraphs removed. Information was scarce for the people involved in the action as well as the people at home. All news released to the newspapers had to be cleared by the censors.
The bombing on the 19th was the start of over 60 attacks on Darwin (other areas in the North were also attacked) over 21 months. The actual casualty figures from the bombing were not released for quite a while (initially it was stated that only 17 people died) and even today there is discussion about what the total really was. 
Officially today 243 people were killed while some historians have estimated between 500-1000. My Grandfather always said many more people were killed than were officially reported.
We are lucky today in our research as a lot more information is available to us. I have William’s service records, not that they give any detail of the bombing. 
I have downloaded the units diaries which are available online from the Australian War Memorial as PDF files, the below is the detail from the War Diary for the Unit for the 19th February.
 
From AWM Item Num 8/3/58 19 February 1942

2012 is the 70th Anniversary  of the bombing and there is a lot going on. http://www.frontlineaustralia.com.au/  gives information about events and links to further information.  

 A book has been published: ‘An Awkward Truth. The bombing of Darwin, Febuary 1942’ by Peter Grose gives a lot of detail particularly about the political decisions at the time.
Jan 182012
 

My Grandfather, William George Busby, served in World War 2 and was based in Darwin at the time it was bombed in 1942. The bombing continued from 19 February 1942 to November 1943. Darwin was bombed 64 times during this period. 

Other areas also bombed were Townsville, Katherine, Wyndham, Derby, Broome and Port Hedland.

William is the only son of George Howard Busby and had a long interest in the military. He had joined the militia between the wars. I was able to access his between the wars service record online at the National Archives of Australia NAA: B4747, BUSBY/WILLIAM GEORGE

Militia Form obtained from Australian National Archives

I  have his WW2 service records although these are not available online. William also served in New Guinea and Borneo. 
William wrote regular letters to his wife Myrtle and I am lucky enough to have inherited many of these letters (over 200). The plan, when I have time, is to transcribe the letters. 
William’s handwriting was not the most legible and my experience in reading Doctors’ handwriting over many years will be very useful!
This is one of the letters dated 1 August 1942 and this one has been very lightly censored in comparison to some of the others! William may not have thought too much about the phrase ‘Loose Lips Sink Ships”
I suspect this may be an even longer job than I had first thought!
Q70473 Mr W Busby
21 Platoon E( ?)Coy
19 Aust Inf Bn
Australia 1 Aug 1942
Dear Myrtle,
Just a few lines to let you know that I received your welcome letter  last night. I have a spare moment so I am writing this.
Well, Toots, we are back from another walkabout.
This time we went to […..] and had a bit of excitement.  We left here on Wednesday afternoon by truck arrived in the [….. ] about tea time.
After tea, we bunked down for the night about half past four on Thursday morning , the Japs came over and we watched them bomb the […..].
After it was all over we rolled over and went back to sleep. We got up at six o’clock, stand to till seven then had breakfast. About twelve o’clock we started to attack […..] so off we went. Our first target was the […..] we took it, we just got past it and the place was bombed again, nobody was hurt. So the game went on we mounted our guns and stayed where we were. About a quarter past three on Friday morning we left there and off we went to [……], took the town had breakfast and watched for the trucks to come and take us back to camp.
Now there is another watch about coming off now, and oh boy is she going to be a long one. I’ll say it fast I may not be able to write next week. The arm goes to sleep, ?? I carry the rifle that side, it is Ok otherwise. I seem to be in the news as everybody is asking after me.
So poor old grammie (?) is just about to go, well the poor old soul has had a hard life. I don’t see the old man taking that job as he likes his bed.
What unit are they in as I cannot place the names.
Well Toot I will have to close now, as I have run out of news.
Hoping this finds you in the best of health as it leaves me at the top at present. With lots of love from your loving husband, Bill xxxx xxxxxxxx  To Tuppence xxxxx
PS Give my love to ??? and family Bill xxxx
(Toots is William’s name for his wife and Tuppence is his daughter, 17 months old at this time)

Dec 252011
 
Merry
Christmas
The above card is from the early 1900s and was sent from Mary Christensen in the USA to her parents in Brisbane Australia. It is very colourful and pretty.

Another pretty card is this one  from Lucy Rollason’s niece in London again from the early 1900s.
Christmas is a time for families, for friends near and far away and for thinking of a better world.

It is also a time to think and pray for our servicemen and servicewomen especially those who are far away from home and their loved ones. So below is the postcard sent as a Christmas Card sent from Darwin by my Grandfather William George Busby to his wife Myrtle Christmas 1941.