Freetown – strict orders not to throw
coins to the diving boys below
from deck.
Capetown – ashore
family hospitality, – more
and more fruit and steaks, bathing delight,
up Table mountain, with the sight
of Drakensbergs’ range far off.
Sailing north, passing Aden,
baked red rock, first camel seen;
colder weather, moving further
along the Red Sea,
then, at last once more on land,
at Suez: the years begin of living with sand,
sand in the bed, and in the clothes, sandy supplies,
sandy sheets and desert flies
dangerous heat, dangerous cold.
El Tahag* camp, on the Sweet Water Canal;
El Amiriya, (near Alexandria for club-, cinema-going,
and sights of things ancient and old)
goats and hens on village housetops cause surprise;
short visit to Tel-el-Kebir, with trip to Cairo –
seeing the pyramids’ awesome size,
and climbing;
then travelling on through the desert,
miles, and miles, on, and on, until breasting
a rise, seeing beautiful Mersa Matruh nestling
at the edge of the Mediterranean,
white war-damaged houses, palm trees,
deep blue sea, and lagoon loveliness;
pleasant time of hard manual labour,
good unity of workers in the sheer
long-term grind, – they feel and find
themselves more useful: building, building, –
until, (when the enemy seemed to be getting near),
demolition.
Relaxation –
swimming, and, on the lagoon,
service boats, a yacht, pontoon,
canoes, – a 10’ home-made sailing tub,
which they could use – mainsail, rudder,
collapsible keel and jib:
one night they sailed right down the lake,
but they couldnt make headway on the turn
against the wind – the tub too heavy, wide –
– ignominious return!
they had to push it all the way back,
walking in shallow water, close to the lagoon-side.
Water rationing:
half a gallon a day for person and clothes;
furniture fashioning –
table, chair, and bed, instead
of bare planks.
Suddenly: evacuation
of stores,
camp to be abandoned,
intense work for 4 days.
Main unit moved out by midnight
train, orderly flight,
but he stays
– rear party carrying on
loading stores at harbour,
necessary chore –
but little accomplished before
further word to return at once to camp,
then, – “get to the square in 5 minutes
with all your personal kit”,
time to quit –
off to Alexandria (Amiriya) they go –
who will enjoy his carpenterial triumphs now?
‘enemies’ he’ll never meet, befriend and know?
*these seem to be military camp names at the time, though not all identifiable on present day maps
Comments
Silver Spun Sand | January 13, 2012 - 12:01
This is wonderful, Rhiannonw. Makes one think. Especially lines like these:-
"colder weather, moving further
along the Red Sea,
then, at last once more on land,
at Suez: the years begin of living with sand,
sand in the bed, and in the clothes, sandy supplies,
sandy sheets and desert flies
dangerous heat, dangerous cold."
A laudable tribute, indeed.
Tina
Rhiannonw | January 13, 2012 - 12:20
Thank you, Tina. I have was so thrilled to read my father's account, which, though fairly 'ordinary' was so straightforward of a young man (my own age, as I first read it) recounting his experiences. And as it is so long, and we can't keep re-reading it, I thought it would be good to try to encapture the main threads like this, for myself and my sister. But I am finding it quite a difficult project!
Rhiannon
andrea | January 13, 2012 - 23:23
Fabulous! I have similar accounts by my own father, who was a tail-gunner in the RAF during WW11 and was in many of the same places - Middle East, Italy, Jerusalem etc. He died 2 years ago aged 87 - so many stories lost, eh?
http://www.ukauthors.com
Rhiannonw | January 13, 2012 - 23:43
Mm! My father ended up in Burma, — I haven't got to that bit yet! it seems so easy to just find out about the 'big events', and not realise what it was like for ordinary folk — either at home, as has been highlighted in Foyle's war, or out as soldiers overseas. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Rhiannon