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Dear Guy,
Got letters from you and Nell and many thanks for same* No cheerful news to give, have never been so sick & wild with anything as with the most damnable fooling about these scum of the British Navy are giving us. Both by sea and land they are chucking away chances with both fists and we are a laughing stock to the Shermans (sic) -- or should be. It would take too long to go into details. As an example:- one of our mobs of soldiers captured a plan of German encampment, got up to it & started shelling it; Germans show flag of truce, Governor (?) offers to surrender at our request (did you ever hear of a general requesting a beaten enemy to surrender before?) does so with full military honours at his leisure three or four days later & then says I have no authority over the Military they will go on fighting. In the meantime they have of course just walked off to a new position. Choice?
That´s a very fair sample. With us:- tho there are concealed harbours all over the spot we lay here a week before thinking of searching them. Then we condescended to visit one and got a Govt. Yacht. Haven´t yet searched the others, but sent out "Parramatta & submarine to patrol last Monday. Our orders "Scout to Southward & keep in touch with submarine." Submarine makes no suggestions so our Captain suggests a course and asks "do you concur?" Submarine, being Senior Officer, sort of puts his thumb to his nose, says nothing, but steers due East to Duke of York Island. We run back & forth to scout & try and keep in touch. See him last at 2.45pm close to D. of Y. Island -- where is a number of concealed harbours. On our return at sundown no submarine. Search all night & next day & "Yarra" strikes uncharted rock and damages propeller. This is only result. "Flag" "Melbourne" & "Sydney" leave for Sydney to convoy otf£ force Home as far as Aden, leaving "Encounter" "Montcalm"( an excellent target but otherwise useless) two and 1/2 destroyers, Protector and a submarine to defend Stores Troop & Hospital Ship against 5 good cruisers! Incidentally we have strong reason to suppose a small gunboat to have been lying in D of Y Island observing all our frantic dashing to & fro & probably she waited till submarine got quite close & then just biffed off at her & sunk her. Being pretty much inclined to believe in this they called us back & allowed a lieut off the "Fantome", who is up here as Harbour Master, to go out alone in a motor boat all up & down the coast searching inlets!! They just don´t give a dam for anything but peace & quietness & snubbing any junior who dares to offer a suggestion.
Old Johnny Glossop of "Sydney" was sent down to Palm Islands to bring up convoy. He anchored inside them all there, lay days & never put a look out on the hills, & and in at least one case a ship passed with all lights out & wouldn´t answer any signals. Johnny says "By Gad, that´s cool, jLf I * d been swung the other way I´d have sent a shot across her bows. I would indeed And