| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | AWM2019.22.14 |
| Collection number | PR06082 |
| Collection type | Digitised Collection |
| Record type | File |
| Item count | 1 |
| Object type | Letter |
| Physical description | 156 Image/s captured |
| Maker |
Keshan, Dorothy Ann Keshan, Malcolm "Mac" William |
| Place made | Australia: New South Wales, Sydney, Bexley, British Mandate of Palestine: Palestine, Egypt, Germany, Libya |
| Date made | 1941 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copying Provisions | Digital format and content protected by copyright. |
| Source credit to | This item has been digitised with funding provided by Commonwealth Government. |
Letters between Malcolm William Keshan and Dorothy Williams, 1941
Description
Letters relating to the Second World War service of NX11067 Malcolm “Mac” William Keshan, 2/4th Australian Infantry Battalion. Malcolm William Keshan and his girlfriend Dorothy Anne Williams wrote to each other regularly throughout his service in the Second World War.
In Malcolm’s 1941 letters to Dorothy, he tells her about his study, a weekend sightseeing trip to Haifa, and re-joining his battalion in Egypt and Libya. He shares his impressions of Tobruk, and describes the dust storms and German air raids. He then went for leave in Cairo. In April 1941, there is a break in his letters home, as he went to serve in Greece and became a prisoner of war. When his letters resume, he is not able to discuss much about the camps, but does tell her how much he appreciates her letters.
In Dorothy’s 1941 letters to Malcolm, she tells him of her day-to-day activities at home in Sydney, including work, sports, dancing, and going to the picture theatre. She also describes an Anzac Day parade in which veterans of the First World War marched, a large recruiting drive, the push to buy war savings certificates, and censorship. In her letters, she tells Malcolm that she often wonders where he is and that she misses him. Many letters written by Dorothy to Malcolm from March to June 1941 were returned to sender. However, she kept them for him to read when he returned home.
Malcolm and Dorothy married after the war, in 1946.
This file contains:
Letter from Malcolm William Keshan to Dorothy Williams, Palestine, 4 January 1941, [includes envelope]
Letter from Malcolm William Keshan to Dorothy Williams, Palestine, 14 January 1941, [includes envelope]
Letter from Malcolm William Keshan to Dorothy Williams, Palestine, 20 January 1941, [includes envelope]
Letter from Malcolm William Keshan to Dorothy Williams, Palestine, 27 January 1941, [includes envelope]
Letter from Malcolm William Keshan to Dorothy Williams, Palestine, 4 February 1940 [1941], [includes envelope]
Letter from Malcolm William Keshan to Dorothy Williams, Middle East, 24 February 1941, [includes envelope]
Letter from Malcolm William Keshan to Dorothy Williams, Libya, 10 March 1941, [includes envelope]
Letter from Dorothy Williams to Malcolm William Keshan, Bexley, 12 March 1941, [includes censor note and envelope], [returned undelivered]
Letter from Malcolm William Keshan to Dorothy Williams, Middle East, 16 March 1941, [includes envelope]
Letter from Dorothy Williams to Malcolm William Keshan, Bexley, 17 March 1941, [includes envelope], [returned undelivered]
Letter from Malcolm William Keshan to Dorothy Williams, Egypt, 18 March 1941, [includes envelope]
Letter from Dorothy Williams to Malcolm William Keshan, Bexley, 31 March 1941, [includes envelope], [returned undelivered]
Letter from Malcolm William Keshan to Dorothy Williams, at sea, 2 April 1941, [includes envelope]
Letter from Dorothy Williams to Malcolm William Keshan, Bexley, 7 April 1941, [includes envelope], [returned undelivered]
Letter from Dorothy Williams to Malcolm William Keshan, Bexley, 26 April 1941, [includes envelope], [returned undelivered]
Letter from Dorothy Williams to Malcolm William Keshan, Bexley, 30 April 1941, [includes envelope], [returned undelivered]
Telegram from the Minister for the Army to John Keshan, Sydney, 5 May 1941
Letter from Dorothy Williams to Malcolm William Keshan, Bexley, 22 May 1941, [includes envelope], [returned undelivered]
Letter from Dorothy Williams to Malcolm William Keshan, Bexley, 29 May 1941, [includes envelope], [returned undelivered]
Three return envelopes addressed to Dorothy Williams, 29, 30, and 31 October 1941
Letter from Lieutenant R.R. Roche to Mr. J. Keshan, Sydney, [date unknown]
Telegram from Mrs. B. Keshan to Miss D. Williams, Ashfield, 19 July 1941, [includes envelope]
Postcard from Malcolm William Kehsan to Dorothy Williams, Stalag 306, 30 August 1941
Letter from Dorothy Williams to Malcolm William Keshan, Bexley, 23 September 1941, [includes envelope]
Letter from Malcolm William Keshan to Dorothy Williams, Stalag 306, 28 September 1941
Postcard from Malcolm William Keshan to Dorothy Williams, Stalag 306, 9 November 1941
Letter from Dorothy Williams to Malcolm William Keshan, Bexley, 18 November 1941
Letter from Malcolm William Keshan to Dorothy Williams, Stalag 306, 14 December 1941
Letter from Dorothy Williams to Malcolm William Keshan, Bexley, 25 December 1941