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In June 1942, the 1st Battalion South Wales Borderers were dug into defensive positions at Bel Hamed about twenty miles south of Tobruk. Between the middle of May and the 6th June, they had travelled 1,600 miles overland from Iraq to reinforce the Eighth Army which was fighting a combined German and Italian offensive. The Borderers were part of 20th Indian Infantry Brigade, 10th Indian Division, alongside the 1st/6th Rajputana Rifles at Sidi Rezegh and the 3rd/18th Royal Garhwal Rifles at El Dudah. My father, Cpl. Alfred Davies (1st SWB) was in charge of a 2-pounder anti-tank gun.

On 16th June, in expectation of an enemy attack, the battalion was ordered to hold its positions to the last man. Early in the morning, Bel Hamed came under mortar and machine gun fire as the enemy probed the defences. At midday, German infantry were spotted and engaged by the battalion's gunners. Intermittent shelling from both sides continued throughout the afternoon. The RAF provided support, attacking enemy troop carriers and ammunition lorries. From around 5.30 p.m. Sidi Rezegh was heavily shelled. The attack continued into the night with the Rajput positions being eventually overrun. Many of the Indians were taken prisoner. Others withdrew into the Bel Hamed defences.

Throughout the following day the battalion came under sporadic shellfire but fortunately no casualties were reported. At 7.30 p.m. the Commanding Officer, Lt. Colonel Matthews, unexpectedly received orders to pull back to Sollum, seventy miles to the east. After a hastily organised withdrawal, under the cover of darkness, most of the troops had to march back over ten miles to find their trucks. The Intelligence Officer, sent to reconnoitre the route and find the transport, was captured by a German patrol before he could make his report. It was 3.30 a.m. on the 18th before the troops found their vehicles.

About an hour later, the leading vehicles discovered that about twenty German tanks had overtaken them and were blocking their route. With no hope of moving forward, and coming under heavy mortar and machine gun fire from the rear, the troops had no option but to leave the road and to drive south and east into the desert to try to outflank the enemy. For several hours they ran the gauntlet of continuous fire from all sides. Many vehicles were hit and the battalion lost over five hundred officers and men, many of whom were taken prisoner.

My father and a number of his close comrades had to fight their way out of a tight situation when they were surrounded by the enemy. His determination in leading around twenty men through enemy forces earned him the Military Medal, awarded for 鈥淏ravery in the Field.鈥� The citation reads:

Gambut Area 18th June 1942. 鈥淭his NCO was in charge of 2-pounder portee. He displayed exceptional powers of leadership and courage in navigating two portees and one truck through an enemy armoured regiment. His own gun knocked out one enemy motor cyclist, one armoured car and one troop carrier at less than 100 yards range while moving at 40 m.p.h. Cpl Davies himself stood up to direct the fire of the gun and guide the party through the enemy. He is also said to have accounted for several enemy infantry with a tommy gun and engaged low flying aircraft which machine gunned his vehicle.鈥�

Eventually, four officers and about a hundred men got through to the coast after seven hours driving behind or parallel to enemy forward forces.

I am looking for personal memories of other men who served in the battalion from 1937 - 1942. In particular, is there anyone who took part in the above action? Is there anyone who served with Alfred Davies able to add to the story with anecdotes, eye-witness accounts, etc?

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