大象传媒

In May 1941 my father sailed from Glasgow with his unit to Egypt, and from there on to Tunisia. It took seven weeks to get there, as they couldn鈥檛 go through the Mediterranean, but instead had to go via South Africa. Life on board was cramped so they used hammocks to sleep in, and in order to avoid any armed confrontations, their rifles were taken away until the end of the journey. My father worked in the kitchens serving food, so his daily routine revolved around his duties there. Nevertheless, there was more free time than usual as there were no marches or parades; many people occupied this time by playing cards.

After Crete fell it was expected that Cyprus would be attacked, so his unit was sent on there, sailing on the New Zealand cruiser 鈥淣apier鈥�. However, nothing happened on Cyprus, so after about three months they were sent back to Egypt and dug in at Gazala. The Germans eventually broke through the lines at Gazala and drove them back to El Alamein. The British then lauched the attack at Alamein in October 1942.

The food was adequate there as it was in the interests of the government to keep the men healthy, but there were no fresh vegetables in the desert, of course, so the men were given vitamins to prevent scurvy. There was no fresh meat either, although there were plenty of eggs. The stealing of food did occur, especially by the cooks, who were in a better position to do so than the ordinary soldier, but in general crime was deterred by strict army discipline. The main problem was the lack of water; my father was given one pint of water a day, for both drinking and shaving etc.; this was supplied from portable water tankers on lorries. The natural water source had often been contaminated by adding salt to the water, a practice that occurred on both sides. This made washing a difficult process, sometimes waiting for weeks before you could wash your uniform completely.

The highest amount of pay he received in the army was six shillings and threepence, which he received while stationed in Egypt; some of this was paid by the Egyptian government. Their pay did accumulate in the desert because there was nothing to spend it on 鈥� food, supplies and accommodation was provided 鈥� so although the pay was low, he thought it was adequate. The army provided all clothing, a kit bag (one big and one small pack), as well as the basic necessities such as soap, toothpaste and shaving cream. Sometimes the army provided a few non-necessities like beer and entertainment to keep up the morale of the men and make a change from the daily routine - my father remembers a concert party in the desert in 1941. All mail sent home to friends and family was read and censored for obvious reasons; sometimes cards were made up and issued to soldiers, where all they had to do was cross out words and sentences that didn鈥檛 apply to them. Although the mail took a long time, it did normally reach its destination; the length of time it took depended on how often a unit moved around and where they were stationed.

The movement of troops in the desert was very fluid to avoid huge losses. This was mainly due to the terrain with no ground cover such as towns, and to compensate for the lack of buildings, men and supplies were never congregated together at night or day in case of bombing attacks. They either had to sleep in a wagon, or dig a hole in the sand and put up a bivouac. Alcohol was difficult to get hold of, although I remember him telling me that he and a group of friends were given a week鈥檚 leave, which they spent enjoying themselves in a hotel in Cairo. Apparently they were saved from being murdered by a group of Aussies in a nightclub by some friendly Kiwis! (he told me this as I was preparing to emigrate to New Zealand . . . he said he was glad it was to NZ and not Australia :) )

The only medal my father received during the war was the Africa Star, received at El Alamein, ironically the only time he was on the winning side of a battle! One of the lasting impressions for both sides at El Alamein seems to be above all the immense noise and vibrations the battle caused. Even though my father was three miles from the front, he remembers the ground shaking and the intense noise of battle. It must have been very difficult to hold any position where there were no towns, only miles of flat ground. The battle of El Alamein was seen as a great victory for Field Marshall Viscount Montgomery, the overall commander of the 8th army, against Lieutenant General Rommel. According to Montgomery it was a turning point in the war in Africa.

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