February 1942

I took a trip into Mersa Matruh and spent the day with Dave. I developed my spool and came back to my dugout and tried to fix my watch. I am on duty tonight and it is a full moon.

Another sandstorm blowing all day today. Jerry dropped a few timed bombs right next to my dugout. I gave a lecture on machine guns. Jerry’s bombs exploded while I was sitting in my dugout and set my watch going which had stopped a few days before.

The sandstorm is still blowing. It set off a lot of grenades today and mines are exploding all day.

The sandstorm is still blowing. I could not sleep too much as there was a big naval battle raging all night. Tonight the whole sky is lit up. Ted came and saw me and I gave another machine gun lecture.

The sandstorm finally stopped but it is still windy. One of our planes came down today in a minefield and of course went up with a big bang. There has been no post from home yet for over a week.

I saw what damage a S.T. grenade can do to a tank. Jerry came over but only dropped one stick of bombs. There are still no letters from home except one from mother.

Jerry came over in the early hours of the morning but soon cleared out. He nearly caught us when he came over again at 11 o’clock and dive-bombed us. His aim was a bit out and I think he did a bit of damage today. He cleared when our Ack-Ack opened on him but then he came back again. So some of our fighters chased him out to sea and then they came back about 10 minutes later and gave us a victory roll.
I am feeling very depressed today. Had a letter from home and also had a good cry. Oh! If only I were only home with my darling wife and son. There, Jerry is back now.

They had a church parade today under the palm trees in the desert Oasis, during which Jerry came over and dropped a few bombs, he then ducked into the clouds as two of our fighters came along and as soon as they passed out he came and dropped some more bombs but our fighters spotted him and the last I could see of them was our fighters shooting him down into the sea. Meantime the parson was the first one to duck and we all thought it was a great joke.

Jerry came over us five times today. Gee it was close and terrible but we are getting used to it now although some of our fellows are quite bomb happy. As far as I know he blew one man to bits. I don’t know how many more.

I did nothing all day as we are waiting to move into a new position. Jerry over today again but only two bombs were dropped. We shifted to our new position at 5pm. I am now in a pillbox. There has been a sandstorm all night.

Sandstorm all day. I did not have an alarm today. I had to guard battalion headquarters tonight.

We went back to our position on Smugglers Grove. Jerry came this morning and I watched him dive bomb our company headquarters, but missed it by 200 yards, but gee! What a crater. It was 15 foot wide by 10 foot deep, and everybody at the company headquarters got quite a fright. I watched the bomb leave the plane, and heard it come whistling through the air. I am what you call “browned off” now and getting used to their air attacks.

It is a lovely day today and there was only one alarm but no bombs were dropped. Apart from that there is nothing important. Tomorrow we have got to shift to a new position not to far away and also I am to be a witness at a court marshal.

I was at a court marshal all day and was not allowed to mix with any of the other witnesses. Jerry came today and dropped a few bombs. Bob arrived back from Cairo and we shifted to a new position.

I spent the day digging in. Wrote some letters. My section is on guard tonight. I was told by an officer to expect German parachute troop invasion from either Libya or Crete. I sat up all night. Jerry did not come over during the day today but was over during the early hours of this morning and dropped a torpedo but there was no damage.

I was on duty all day today but nothing happened. There was one air raid alarm but no bombs were dropped. Another torpedo landed on the beach in the bay. They say a Jerry submarine came right into the harbour last night and let go.

Nothing much during today. We had an alarm but no bombs went off. I went to a bit of a concert, they had at the Toc H and also saw the Jerry torpedo. It is 31 feet long. I saw Dave Owens again today.

I went to hear the results of the court marshal. Officer Cook got 150 days DB. Later when he was in his dugout packing his things to go to DB he picked up a rifle and shot himself through the foot. Pity it was not his head as he has caused us a lot of trouble.
I am on patrol tonight. It actually rained today.

It was a miserable day today, and we had a bit of rain and then the dust and the sand blew all day. Jerry was over once and dropped a few bombs.

Another sandstorm blew all day. We did a manoeuvre today. Were paid and of course laid into a store of beer and just drank away our sorrows.

Raining a bit this morning but no sandstorm. I had a party in my dugout, the officers came to eat. Gee! We have put away some beer in the last two days. Jerry was over at 10 o clock tonight. I am on patrol again tonight.

I did not do much all day today. Jerry was over a couple of times. Found about 16 gallons of petrol so I dry-cleaned all my clothes with it. What would the people in the union give now for a little bit of all the petrol that we waste here.

The sand is starting to blow again and I am just about buried. My son is 8 months old today so I wrote him a letter. Oh! To be home again. It seems ages since I saw my darling wife and son. I often wonder if I shall ever see South Africa again. They should leave Egypt for the Egyptians.

What a day! Sand dust and dirt. No water to drink never mind wash. I am filthy and my beard is long and yet we have plenty of petrol. I am on patrol tonight. Jerry dropped his eggs all over us at exactly midnight.

Spent all morning cleaning and getting out hand grenades and making them ready for action. The moon is getting fuller each night.

I did not do too much all day. The moon is quite full tonight. We went out on a campus scheme tonight. Jerry attacked us at 8pm, what a sight! The whole sky and earth was alight with bursting shells and bombs and in between flashes you could see men dashing across the desert. Their next attacks came at 9pm, 9.30pm, 10pm and the last attack came just before 11 o’clock. But each one we beat off although shrapnel was falling all around us I am not afraid anymore, but stand and laugh at them now.

I rested this morning after last night’s affair. Jerry has just made another attack on us, and as I write now I can still hear the explosions of the last shells bursting in my ears. The whole sky was on fire and the earth shook, but all is quiet now. I am on patrol tonight.

Jerry came at 2am this morning. He came, he saw and he copted. He came again at 10 o’clock this morning and he scored a direct hit on our signalling joint and when I looked again the whole building was in the air. He flew out to sea and within a quarter of an hour he was back again. He released his bombs when he was directly over my head and I saw them coming down. I counted them there was four of them. Four colossal bombs of death and destruction. I watched them coming down to earth. The next thing a big building was thrown into the air. Our anti aircraft guns went into action not 100 yards from me. The earth shook and trembled. One shell seemed as though it got him. It burst right on his tail. The whole plane seemed to jump and limp as he made his way out to sea back to Crete I assume. When all of a sudden two of our fighters came out of the clouds and were soon on his tail. Oh! What a wonderful feeling, we all shouted with joy “Give him hell Pal!” Ten minutes later the fighters came back very cockey, full of beans and gave us the victory roll which means that there is one more German plane and its rotten crew at the bottom of the Mediterranean sea.
The moon is very high and full tonight and there is another sandstorm starting to blow. It is now 8.45pm and up to time of writing Jerry has not come tonight yet. So here is hoping.
Three months today since we got on the boat at Durban.