The 8th Army in Egypt
El Alamein to Sollum Battlefield Tour

Our arrival at Terminal 5 was unspectacular. However, this was a first for both of us as we hadn't travelled from this terminal before. My father's (Capt Robert Day) amazement and bewilderment at the self check in and vast expanses of concourse, plus the much appreciated buggy ride through the underground tunnels , led my father to announce that had I not been with him, he would have headed straight back home as it was all too overwhelming.

The BA 747 was yet another cause for bewilderment. Cramped seating, televisions that have no knobs - in the back of seats what's more...earphones, all needed to be got to grips with. A gin and tonic settled things down and we had an excellent flight with us both talking to extremely interesting new acquaintances. One an Egyptian business man and the other an ancient astrologist. The latter was my companion for the 4½ trip and he described to me the things that have only recently been discovered about nomadic tribes that existed in the Western Desert, West of Abu Simbel, until climate change 3-4,000 years ago which forced them to alter their way of living and head towards the Nile Delta.

On our first day in Egypt we visited the Sphynx and the Pyramids. For me, much more impressive this time around (I had last visited over 25 years ago). For my father whose last visit was nearly 70 years ago, things had changed a great deal and he wasn't impressed by these changes. In the early 1940's the army barracks were positioned next to the Pyramids and in the evenings, the soldiers would clamber to the top of them and have a beer in the cool night air. There would probably only be around half a dozen people around. Now you are not allowed to climb on the pyramids and there are hawkers, camels, tourists and horses, not to mention the poor area of Giza right next door. Still none of this can detract from the awesome pyramids, standing as they have done - bar their original facades - for thousands of years.

Day 2 Alexandria

The Hotel Cecil in Alexandria, with its 150 year old lift was a hotel highlight. Along with its ancient façade and wonderful historical feeling - it was a lovely hotel with excellent food and nice rooms. Alexandria is a cosmopolitan and fascinating city which I really enjoyed vsiting. So in contrast with Cairo, that is so chaotic busy and smog filled. My father couldn't really remember this city very well, but he will now, as I found and bought him the most lovely antique walking stick - for all of £3.50. (Maybe it wasn't an antique!) Alexandria retains the vestiges of an elegant age - it shows in its buildings and the care that is taken of them. Apparently they re-paint them every 5 years.

The cemeteries play host to the dead from many faiths:- Jews, Muslims, Christians, and are all beautifully maintained. This we found surprising as we had only expected the war graves to be so well tended. The war cemetery we visited this morning was the final resting place for not only the fallen of WWII but also, the battles of a bygone age - now seen only in films. Napoleon fought battles along these shores and many dead from this time can be found in the graveyards. Whilst my father inspected the row upon row of pristine and highly respected graves of WWII I found myself very touched by a tomb dedicated to the family of one Daniel Frazer. The epitaph read:- Maggie Frazer died 1892 34 years. Also lie here her children Elizabeth died 1887 11 months, Isabella died 1891 6 years, Daniel died 1891 3 years."Sleep on loved ones and take your rest, I loved you well, but Jesus loved you best."

Other inscriptions I found touching included, "He does not die who lives on in the hearts of loved ones."

We both were wondering what these cities/ places must have been like in 1892.

Day 3

It is Saturday - the weekend -ostensibly Sunday here as Friday and Saturday are their weekend days. I wonder if anyone here questions or realises the warmth they feel on a daily basis. How wonderful it is to wear loose, cool clothing. The old adage - you can't have it all applies, because, I love the warmth as does my father, but this is more than offset by the poverty, squalor and dilapidation that surrounds you in Cairo. >From what I see though, people seem happy enough. The same things drive them as us, happiness, family, love, laughter, friendship..cars! The driving here has to be witnessed - there are often 5 lanes of traffic - unmarked, and the general form of communication/awareness is by horn. The more intense and amount of toots then the closer someone is or the more dangerous it is. People cross the road through 5 lines of traffic - and survive. There is an unwritten code of behaviour which if you watch carefully you can begin to understand. Whether one is brave enough to try is another matter.

Day 4

I was the only one to oversleep this morning. My 91 year old father, despite being one of the last to go to bed due to putting the world to rights in the bar the previous night, was up and breakfasted with everyone else and was wondering where I was. I blame my phone as the hour had gone back, realigned itself with Greenwich meantime which meant that so did my phone and Egypt was now GMT + 2. This was the day we visited the cemetery at El Alamein. A deeply powerful moment for my father as this is where he did serve in those terrible days. The poignant moments for all our group were different but no-one could not be affected by seeing several touching headstones - this is because these young men died together, and their remains cannot be separated, therefore they rest, as they died - together.

The El Alamein museum is nicely appointed. Not entirely 100% accurate according to our guide Steve Hamilton who really does know everything there is to know about this period of history. The museum also holds examples of all the different kinds of desert uniform; the Italians still managed to be the most stylish - even in war. We were told horrifying stories of POW ships and ships carrying the injured were sunk by friendly fire off the coast of North Africa. El Alamein train station itself is a wreck. What a pity as it could so easily be turned into a memorial which Steve attempted to achieve years ago.. We then visited the actual sites of the battles themselves. There are still thousands of uncleared mines - so it is a bit risky wandering off the beaten track. There are still active mine sweeping teams operating on a daily basis.

Days 5 & 6

One sight we do hope to recall in our minds is that of a herd of camels wandering through the desert with their herder. Apparently a man's wealth is measured by how many camels he has. It was lovely seeing them in their natural habitat as opposed to all dressed up for giving tourist rides. Lunch this day consisted of tahini and cold chips, cheese rolls, cucumber and a tomato with an unusual fruit drink as accompaniment. This was taken in the middle of the desert, perched on an extremely uncomfortable rock in 40 degrees heat. But this couldn't even begin to compare in discomfort to what my father and his generation must have borne. We didn't complain. We were beginning at this stage to desire some different kind of fayre for our meals but bore this also with fortitude when my father explained that his daily diet was corned beef and hard tack biscuits that the soliders had to crush with water in order to make them edible. He also said that he only got one pint of water a day, and he recalls that sometimes he had to give some of this to the cook.

At El Alamein Museum we saw a 3 ton truck that was exactly what my father and his fellow soldiers had made their home whilst in the desert. They would dig into the sand and drive their lorry in, covering themselves with a tarpaulin at night so as to be warm and not visible to the enemy. It was said with meaning that really the real enemy at this time was the desert. The soldiers would not always know where the enemy actually was. Although appearing flat, the desert is not at all, and has many ridges that can hide tanks and soldiers. Also, when Germans captured British vehicles they would sometimes use these in battles so it was not always possible to recognise the real enemy. We also visited the Italian and German war graves. Originally these graves had been together but the German cemetery has been moved and stands just off the shoreline. Both of these are also beautifully maintained monuments to all those young people who lost their lives in this terrible conflict.

Our trip to Egypt was a once in a lifetime experience. It was fascinating for my father to re-visit and for myself to experience just a very small part of what he, as a young man, must have endured, and maybe bringing just a small understanding of the effects this terrible war had on the lives of so many of his generation.

Ambie Desoutter

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