Air Letter No 1
30thJune ‘44
Dear Mum,
It’s ages since I wrote to you last but to-day we were told that we had been into Rome on leave so that gives me something to write about.
As yet we have only had one day leave in there but we are hoping to get a bit of leave organised which will extend over several days but at present there is to much work to permit anything of that sort. Things should quieten down a bit shortly.
The first day we were in there we spent more than half the day at St Peters Cathedral. I could never explain in writing just what it was like but it was the most magnificent & imposing building that I have ever seen. There are 33 chapels in the church & each one is as big as an ordinary church. The floor space will accommodate sixty thousand people.
On Sunday the wing padre arranged to say Mass in the Vatican Chapel for this Wing. Anyone could go whether they were Catholic or not so I went. After Mass we went into the Reception Room of the Vatican City & were blessed by the Pope.
The Pope gave each of us a set of Rosary beads & a photo. I bought three sets for Aunty Molly, Vivi & Maureen & got them blessed as well.
They are not very expensive beads but they are the best I could buy at the church. I will send them & the photos as soon as I parcel them up.
It will give you some idea of how elaborate the church is when I tell you that they started to build it two hundred years ago & they are still working on parts of the interior.
We met several Australian priests who are being ordained at the Vatican. They have been there for the last eight years & all seem anxious to get home again.
I spent the rest of that day just wandering around & having a look at the city. It is beautifully clean & rather modern & there is no sign of any bombing except at the railway yards.
The next day that I went in I went to the opera house & saw Irving Berlin in his show “This is the Army”. It was a very elaborate show but one that was well worth seeing. I believe that it will be going to Aussie when it has finished its tour over here.
The New Zealanders has taken over one of the biggest hotels in Rome for a club. It is a huge place containing six hundred bedrooms. It’s open to any Aussies that are in these parts. We met a Lt Col. From the A.C.F. & he said he was over here to fix up a club of our own.
I’m rather mixed up with my mail of late & do not know what I have answered & what I haven’t but letter No 130 & airgraph No 32 arrived a couple of days ago.
We had a visit from a R.A.R.E. Liaison Officer about a week ago & we had to fill in forms with details of our pre-war job, what we want after the war in employment, housing, education etc. I will send you one of the forms if I can get hold of one.
I suppose you feel a bit older now that you are a Granny. I’m anxious to hear a bit more about my young nephew.
No more room now so will close. Much love to Dad, Betty, Leo & Jr.
Lovingly Yours Frank
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