North African Campaign
Bells from North Africa, one made of shell and bullet
“My step-grandfather, Albert Guy Butler, was born in London and worked in the docks. The contributor says that they were told that Albert signed up before he was of age to serve. Albert served in the Desert Rats in North Africa, and carried the objects that the contributor has brought in back from the war. The drawing of Albert that the contributor has brought in was done by a fellow soldier.”
Shared by Karen Brown Bowman at University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh on 25 November 2023.
“Dad's fighting career was cut short just before the first Battle of El Alamein, when he was seriously wounded in an air attack on another Retna Box. He was driving an ambulance carrying several men suffering from "shell shock" (post traumatic stress disorder). The ambulance was parked in the very centre of the defensive box formation, with a large red cross painted on its roof, and also on its sides, to make it easily identifiable as an ambulance. My father's position, if attacked, was alongside the ambulance with his Bren gun. An enemy Stuka dive bomber peeled off from its incoming formation and dived directly for the ambulance. Dad lay on his back with his Bren gun pointing skywards. He could see his shells entering the oncoming aircraft, but to little apparent effect. He then saw an ominous black shape detach itself from the underside of the Stuka. Dad immediately started rolling as fast as he could away from the bomb's trajectory. It scored a direct hit on the ambulance, and Dad, who was still rolling for all he was worth, was hit in the back by flying shrapnel. At this point my father lost interest in what happened to the aircraft and what else was going on around him.”
“Several days later Dad awoke in a hospital bed in Cairo. He had just missed the first Battle of Alamein. It took several months for him to fully recover, and when he did, he was made a senior sergeant instructor of field mechanics in battlefield environments for new regiments arriving in the Middle East and European war zones. This lasted for the remainder of the war.”
Shared by David Goodin online via the Their Finest Hour project website.
“My Granddad's name was Stephen Robert Abbott, but he would be known as Bob or Robert. He shared stories personally with myself and my father, Granville. Here's one of his kind of memorial clocks, which was made by one of his comrades. There's only about five or six of these and listed on the clock is where he served.”
“When Bob was based in Egypt at the rest camp in Cairo, they set up a cycling team called the Buckshee Wheelers, which was still going until just recently, because the members are now passing away. We used to go to their reunions in Alcester, in the Midlands. They had cycling races around the pyramids! Grandad held a Welsh record for cycling on a fixed wheeler. So he was very into cycling. He swore that was the key to good health, cycling not running. They were based in an electrical shop in Cairo. So all the Buckshee Wheelers cups, history and documentation does go back to Cairo, and the owner of the shop who made friends with them. He supplied parts for the bikes with many of the bikes being handmade after many years.”
Shared by Anon at National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire on 17 February 2024.
“My Dad, Edward De Voy Glen ("Big Eddy Glen") joined the army originally in the Dorset Royal Artillery but moved to 154 Brigade as part of the 51st Highland Division after Dunkirk. [...] My Dad was shipped out to Egypt and arrived in August 1942 after a long sea voyage via Durban in South Africa.”
“Before the Battle of El Alamein, mass was given to the troops and a photo can be seen in the album. The Military Police worked with the Sappers going first into El Alamein, clearing the minefield and laying out a taped corridor for the Allied tanks to follow. He picked up a minor wound at El Alamein and was sent to Palestine to recover.”
Shared by James Glen at Great Missenden Library, Buckinghamshire on 30 September 2023.
