Hill, George Raymond (Private, b.1918 - d.1942)

Collection relating to the Second World War service of NX137798 Private George Raymond Hill, 55/53 Battalion, Papua and New Guinea, 1942-1943.

Wallet 1 of 1 - consists of two telegrams and a typed transcript of two letters that Hill wrote to his brother Bill of the fighting at Kokoda, Buna and around Milne Bay. He writes in graphic detail of the diseases that plague the troops in Papua and New Guinea, of the incessant and unchallenged Japanese air raids, of the nerve-racking nature of bombings, of the sinking of the MV Macdhui, and of the beauty of Milne Bay and befriending the local peoples there. He also describes the difficulty of climbing the Kokoda track over the Owen Stanley Range, remarks on the skill of the Japanese in jungle warfare, and mentions rumours of cannibalism by the Japanese. Hill was killed in action on 7 December 1942; the two telegrams in the collection were sent to Hill's mother, informing her of her son's death.