Wellington, New Zealand

Took a group of the fellows up to the RAF headquarters for lunch and palaver – the outcome of which was the resolve on the part of the RNZAF’s commanding officers to destroy some of their most outlying and protecting airfields.

Finally got hold of Diana – she had been trying all morning to reach me – and made an appointment for five outside the post office. Right on the dot that beautiful and scintillating redhead hove into sight. We wandered down to the Hotel Waterloo’s cocktail lounge and fix Pendola and George Millikan up with dates – and then shoved off on our own hook for her house and dinner.

Very nice family, in fact A-1, and an excellent supper, and of course the gorgeous redhead, put me in the seventh heaven. Pop Brodie even went so far as the loan us his car for the evening, which, with gasoline selling for double its weight in gold, was truly a magnanimous gesture. Took in a movie, a little dancing at the Majestic, and then home to a midnight snack and a talk on the hearth before a very welcome fire. Was an hour and a half overdue getting back to the ship (12 p.m. deadline) so the doctor and I sneaked aboard the after gangway and spent the next 30 minutes stumbling around in the ship’s bowels trying to find a safe route to our cabins.