September 1942

The German Afrika Korps are on the move again. One column of about 2000 tanks and transports are attacking in our southern section at Quatara using their old pincer movement in an endeavour to drive a wedge in our line, so the next few days should prove to be vital, meanwhile in the north our regiment as well as a regiment of New Zealanders made a Bayonet charge and brought back about 150 prisoners. I received another letter from home today but they just don’t seem to be long enough although my wife writes six or seven pages. When I start reading about my wife and son I just want to keep right on reading.

The first words I uttered this morning was “Many happy returns of the day to my darling wife.” I can remember two years ago, it was our last night together before we entrained and went to a concentration area and now I look back over those last two years of my life as a soldier. And ask myself if it has been worth it as I love my wife too much to suffer this separation. There are certain things a man can live without, he can live without the sound of the distant waves beating against rocks, the song of the birds in the trees and flowers made by the hands of God and nature in all its splendour but the human constitution cannot possibly exist without a heart and I am certainly not the possessor of my heart as it lies many many miles away with the mother of my son.
There was an air raid in the early hours of this morning in which 34 people wounded, 5 being fatal. Meanwhile a terrific battle is raging in the Quattara sector of our front line and I am sure the Germans will find their efforts fruitless and within the next few days will be forced to withdraw from their offensive.

Today is the third year of the war and since the king has asked it to be made a national day of prayer I went to mass at 7 o’clock this morning and afterwards called in at a barber to have a shave and haircut. Like everything else in Egypt you never get a thing in once and pay for what you get in one, for example one man prepares you in a chair, another cuts your hair with scissors another with clippers another puts oil on and combs the hair. Likewise when I had a shave, one put the soap on, another shaved me and a third washed me. That is not all for when you come to pay for the job instead of paying in a lump sum you pay each man for his specific work in the operation.
This afternoon another outing was arranged to the zoological gardens this time. We went by bus and on arriving there were entertained by a number of local women inhabitants; in an island tearoom inside the gardens surrounded by water in which were swans. At the table, which I occupied, were three other fellows and one of our hosts. She informed me she was half Russian and half Egyptian and her name was Louly Krautrer, although her English was very poor we managed to hold and carry on a very good conversation. There was a magician and once again I met my friend Renee Ravelly who sang for us and afterwards gave us another photograph of herself. I asked Louly to autograph the back of it for me to which she very kindly consented. It was well 5.30pm before we even attempted to see any of the animals, which I thought compared very favourably with our Johannesburg zoo. One spot in particular I thought was exceptionally pretty was a spot laid out to represent Japanese gardens, built of rock and laid out all in grotoer. After a very enjoyable afternoon we returned to camp feeling very tired.

Today was exceptionally quiet but the flies were extraordinary tormenting today and twice I attempted to write and twice I found it impossible and was compelled to abandon the idea. The German offensive here in Egypt seems to be drifting into our hands as not only have our forces repulsed all attacks made on them but they have actually compelled the enemy to withdraw westwards and the fight is still continuing. We must be accumulating a terrific American army here and each day that passes sees more and more American aircraft in the air. The star ensign on the fuselage of a plane is beginning to be quite a common sight these days. I was on the operating table again this morning. I wonder how much longer I shall have to go through with this.

I had a letter today from my L/Cpl. He seems to be quite contented but tries to impress me that they are missing me and asked me to hurry up back. Oh! If it were only in my power I am quite sure I would not stay here another minute. The eighth army is doing very well for its self in keeping up a steady pressure on the enemy and it is rumoured that the General of the 21st German Panzer Division has been killed in the recent fighting. General Von Bismarck is the gentleman’s name to be precise, but I can still remember it being rumoured that he was killed as far back as the days of the Knights Bridge Battle. Evidently this must be his ghost.

I attended my usual early Sunday morning mass and was duly grateful on finding a letter from my wife on my return to my ward. I am more than ever relieved to read that both she and my son are very well in health. She also expresses her desired wish that I keep this diary up and under no circumstances let it elapse. I only hope that I am able to aquest (?) with her desires. Not pure and simply for my own sake but so that my daring wife and son and any other whosoever may by chance read these lines. The viewpoint of an ordinary individual. I do not try to make long dissertation of the causes, results and horrors (more so horrors) of international strife. More capable men than me have tried before me to no avail. To some nerveless creature it might be a thrilling episode during which one has the rare opportunity of becoming a hero but it is not an adventure I should care to endure a second time and I am sure if recruits were allowed one day of fighting before joining the army no country would be able to rise any troops. One thing war does do however, with the ever present threat of danger and death, is to forge a friendship between men unequalled in any period during peace. When I look back now over the months I sat in the trenches at Gazala front line with my section around me and only a pack of cards between us to keep our minds off what is going around us. We were pals in the very true sense of the word. I shall quote yet another example, for instance the upper and lower classes of Britain – to put it bluntly – chalk and cheese in normal times and yet today they are all mixed up in the same air raid shelter together, sleeping together, sharing what bit of food they have with one another and lending a helping hand wherever needed immaterial if the name be Rothchild or just plain Smith. You see the knowledge is gained that we are all made of the same stuff, rich and poor alike, and can all die of the same causes and all get the same reward when this life is over. What a pity if it is not wicked to think that it takes a war – a major disaster of the highest degree, to bring about that feeling of comradeship and realization.

Nothing out of the ordinary occurred today just the usual daily routine and that bores me to even try and think of it let alone mention it here so I shall refrain. A bioscope was held here in the hospital and although I had seen the show I think twice before I sat through it again. To give it a handle it was George formally in Spare a Copper. The air raid alarm sounded very early this evening and shortly afterwards the Cairo air defences went into action and I watched the search lights sweep over the skies and the shells bursting in the heavens in a mad endeavour to frighten the enemy airmen into withdrawal. They must have succeeded for unlike the usual singular thud of a bomb exploding as the airman finds his target, gives it a bomb and then looks for another target, I heard what sounded to me like a whole stick of 8 bombs all explode at once and then silence reigned for the rest of the night.

I read this morning that 3 planes were brought down in last night’s air raid and all told there were 15 enemy aircraft engaged in the raid. The rest of today was divided between playing cards and reading. The doctor told me this morning that I would be going into the theatre again on Friday and if everything goes off all right I should be going out early next week. Anyway I am holding thumbs for the best.

I had another letter today from my wife. Oh how I look forward to her letters and her descriptions of my son. They seem all I have left these days to look forward to but gosh it is hard to believe that he is boy now and no longer a baby. Running around and getting up to all sorts of mischief like tormenting the dog, pulling the flowers out and of course the old favourite of investigating the contents of the pantry. These are all the things I miss so terribly and among the latest my wife informs me is the scrap he had with his cousin who is 3 years his senior but managed to maintain the upper hand. That is what I like to think of my boy, not a coward and certainly not a bully. A boy who stands up for right when right is right. Who can go through life and shoulder what ever good or bad might befall him, to be honest, honourable and upright and hold his head high in the face of the world so that one day he may take a good decent woman of his choice and who known, perhaps even become a leader of mankind. Just as long as I, his father can say, with pride in my heart, “that is Walter Hawkins, and he is my son.” A credit to the good woman he has the honour to call mother.

I am to go into the theatre again tomorrow and then I shall know whether I am going out on Saturday or not. I see Madagascar is coming into the limelight again and we have been compelled to carry out further military operations. Why do these people continue to resist us? Have they not come to the realization yet that this is not a war but a crusade for the survival of mankind? Another thing, I see Wendle Wilkie has arrived in Turkey as Roosevelt’s representative. Why do we go running around these sideshow nations that have the audacity to call themselves a power. After all they are only a bunch of anti Christians and I suggest that if they are standing in our way of operations then walk in and take the place. Iran and Iraq likewise, fortunately we carried out this policy here but not soon enough. They have not got the right to govern themselves as they are nothing but a burden to the human race. Rich in oil, yes, but can they develop it? And one only has to see how they live or should I say exist – a couple of sacks sown together over a pole planted in the ground and that is home, sleeping beside a few pigs and goats, education I am afraid, very sadly neglected. I think the ratio is about 2% of the nation can read and write.

I went on the table this morning and the doctor tells me that I shall be able to go out tomorrow so I promptly asked him to recommend me for leave stating that I had not had a days leave in a year. He told me had given me 3 days excused duty but would see what he could do about getting me some leave. He was very outright with me and told me that I was not cured but was liable to have an attack at any time and if such should happen I am to come back in right away.

I had a talk with my doctor this morning and he told me he had recommended me for seven days leave. Anyway I was finally discharged from hospital and was taken by transport to Helwan, which is our base. While travelling over the road to Helwan my thought went right back to the time I first went over that road on my way up to the line. 1st of January 1942 I think it was and I thought of how keen and exited we were then with our hearts crying out for action. Well action came our way in time and I think we got a little bit more that what we bargained for. Anyway, I don’t think the months that lay in between these two trips over this road hold what could be termed as dear memories in my thoughts or pleasant, just rottenness from then until now. I eventually arrived at the base camp and was surprised to see how many men of my original regiment (2nd Wit Rifles) have worked themselves good soft jobs. Men who were always talking about what they would do when they got into action yet it was here where they came to when they came up from the Union and it is here where they have stayed ever since and never seen a shot fired yet. I met a couple of them and they took me to a bioscope in the camp. My word, they live like lords here and they spent all night trying to impress me with the story about the German plane that dropped some bombs here about 6 months ago or something. “Poor devils” it is the only story they have to tell and actually I preferred to remain quiet about my experiences up at the front although they tried hard to get me to tell them what it was like in the front lines, my only reply was go and find out. To this reply they just winched. I must be getting soft as I spent a terrible night trying to sleep. I am not used to sleeping on a concrete floor after having a bed in hospital.

I appeared before a doctor of the camp this morning and has granted me seven days leave as from tomorrow. The rest of the morning I spent in the swimming baths and after lunch I read right through until 10 o’clock tonight, not even stopping for supper.

Ran around this morning fixing up one or two things and drawing some pay, I eventually took a taxi at about 10 o’clock to take me to the station of Helwan for which I had to pay 15 piastres. (3 shillings) The train journey to Cairo only took just over half an hour and I was in the city by 11.30am. I made straight for the Springbok Club as that is where I had arranged to meet a friend of mine from hospital should he be able to get leave but he was not there so off I went to try and find a hotel or somewhere to stay. I managed to get in at a place called Kent Palace Hotel. Not a bad joint just around the corner from the world famous Shepeord Hotel. In the afternoon I wrote a letter to my wife from the club and while I was there I met a fellow from my regiment who is down on leave so of course I got the low down and news concerning my unit. He tells me that in one week the whole 8th army took 180 odd prisoners of which, 56 of them were taken by the Botha regiment. Well Done! The two of us took a walk down to the English bridge over the Nile as he wanted to get a few photographs of it but every time he whipped his camera out an Egyptian policeman appeared on the scene and stopped us, much to our disgust. They seemed to come from nowhere as we would wait until there was not a soul in sight then out comes the camera and as sure as damn it up comes a policeman, so we took a long trudge back to the club and there I met my friend who was to spend his leave with me. He had been delayed at HQ and could not make it by midday. I am very pleased however as I was not looking forward to spending seven days on my pat. This evening we had dinner at the American Bar and then went and saw a floor show at the Pam-Pam Caber. On our way home we had to pass the ill famed Berkah street (Street of Brothels). The Egyptian government is trying to clean up on its morals and have put this place out of bounds until they can evacuate all the women in it, which they hope to do by the first of next month. I was very much amused at seeing the hundreds of soldiers at every entrance to the street waiting for the MP’s to turn their backs and then they would duck across into one of the buildings. All the prostitutes were out on the street trying to incite the soldiers to revolt against the police and also trying to encourage the men into their dens of rotten filth and dirt.

I eventually managed to arouse myself from slumber but not before 10 o’clock this morning and had breakfast not many minutes afterwards then off to our hunting ground. My friend has never seen the Egyptian bazaars so I acted as official guide to him. We hired a cab to take us there and then walked the rest, I meanwhile found great delight in wandering down all the darkest ally ways imaginable with dark faced daygo’s looking at you out of the corner of their eyes from dark corners. I don’t know really why I should find such great delight in doing this but I feel some secret pleasure in it all as though there is some great hidden mystery behind all those old mud walls that overlap and keep the sun out of the narrow cobbled passageway. Walls that have stood the weather of centuries and each and every one a great tale to tell if only these walls could speak. I am sure they would speak of Christ and of the days when the Israelites lived in the land of the Pharaoh’s, it is a country living in the past and when I say past I mean 2 and 3000 years ago and when walking through these sections of the town one gets the sensation that one is about to receive a knife in the back at any minute. Very reluctantly we eventually left this centre and went and had lunch at a place called North’s in a little side street off soliman Pasha from the window of which I watched the passing show. First a peddler came up to me and tried to sell me razor blades or maybe flowers if I so desired, then a little girl with a hard luck story of how her mother and father were killed in air raids and having no one to support her, following her was a magician who insisted on pulling chickens out of my pickets but when he asked for a tip I showed him a trick I knew with a handkerchief and a match and told him to call it quits and be off with him. He was annoyed but came back later and asked me how I did my trick so to have a little peace I showed him and he went away satisfied. As beer is off the menu from 2.30 to 6 we went to a bioscope and saw Hellzapoppin, which I enjoyed immensely and came out just in time for supper and of course beer which seems to be the national drink here. In the evening we went to a night club called the Bosphaur where a man can get plenty of beer and at the same time watch a can-can ground show. An Egyptian woman came and tried to saddle up to me at the same time asking me to buy her a drink. I did so on the condition that she quit mauling me but when the drink came it turned out that she gets a percentage of the number of drinks she is able to get the customers to buy. All she has to do is be very nice and that’s her job so my friend told them to take the drinks back or we would wreck the joint and the last I saw of her was on some other soldiers lap and falling all over him and the mut was buying all the drink she wanted. Money in this country not only buys a woman’s body but her soul as well and pride and morals are a thing of the very distant past.

This morning I was even later in arising from my slumber as I only got up at 10.30 and my, what nasty faces greeted us for breakfast. Actually I don’t blame them as I suppose I would feel the same if I was running a hotel and my clients only arrived for 8 o’clock breakfast at 10.30. The rest of this morning we spent in wandering around the streets and went to our usual haunt for supper namely North’s Café. In the afternoon we went to a bioscope and got out just in time for the pubs to open where I am very sorry to admit we spent the rest of the evening. I got very friendly with a man from Tahiti, which is a little pacific island under the French government, who after the collapse of France joined in with General de Gaulle and are now fighting with the free French. He insisted on singing all his national songs to me, which put me in mind of all the pictures of Honolulu. All these people seem to sing most beautiful and quite natural.

After scouting around most of the day my friend left me to keep an appointment with a South African nurse from the hospital so this evening I landed up at the bar of the Metro Theatre where I met several fellows from my unit, also two officers. The one officer said he was glad to know that I was out of hospital and would see to it that Base have me returned to my unit the moment his leave was up. Unless you have someone pulling strings for you, you will die of old age at base camp before you can regain your unit. I eventually left them and came up here to the Springbok Club, where I am now writing up this diary and as soon as I am finished I am going straight home to bed, that is of course if I don’t bump into any more friends which I shall endeavour to avoid as an early night will do me good.

As we only took the room in the hotel for 4 days we either have to get out today or take it for another few days so we decided to go find another place as a change and anytime is as good as a holiday. We found a very nice place called Elysee House in Madabegh Street, which is very central and run on extremely handy lines by a French woman. The rest of today we spent in just roaming the town aimlessly. A very well dressed woman came running up to us once this afternoon and invited us up to her flat. She said, “I am very cheap only 50 piastres each”. We promptly sent her on her way and threatened to call the policeman who was standing nearby. I guess she must be doing a roaring trade as this place is chock and block with soldiers from every corner of the earth. No wonder they say that Rommel has not met our main force yet, - they are all in Cairo.

I took a long walk this morning through a low Arab centre with the purpose of taking photographs of which I think I got a few really good ones. All told we must have waked about 6 miles through dark streets and alleyways wading our way through thousands of Arabs and veiled ladies who I am sure, have lived in these quarters all their lives and have seldom if ever seen the sun. The roadways are about 6 feet wide with dilapidated mud buildings rising up on either side and just about touching one another across the street. The streets themselves, being inches thick with dirt and filth with a few goats and sheep laying here and there. My friend and myself I think, must have been the only white people in miles. We were eventually so deep into the interior of this centre that we found ourselves hopelessly lost and should never have got out again had we not engaged the labour of an Egyptian to escort us out. I think they must be trying to give the Egyptians Dutch courage or something because this afternoon I heard a terrific roar and I must include, for a moment quite terrifying and when I looked up what a massive sight met my eyes to the extent of no less than 100 of our Boston Bombers escorted by 60 fighters. A very impressive sight I thought and there is no disputing the fact that we do at least have air superiority here in the Middle East. Fortunately for me I met a friend of mine tonight who had just come in from a base camp and seen some letters from my wife for me laying out there so he brought them in an off chance of meeting me. I had to stand him a drink for that valuable service.

I missed my church this morning as I don’t quite know where the Catholic Church is in Cairo and I would so liked to have gone as this is my last day of leave. Tonight I have to make my weary way back to base camp and back to been a soldier again. I met a friend of mine at midday at an appointed spot but unfortunately we were unable to celebrate in the manner which we should liked to have as by now my funds have completely exhausted themselves, all except for a few piatres which I have to keep to get home tonight – 7 to be precise, 4 for the train fare and 3 for a taxi the other side. However we roamed the town, I having a few last looks at it and then they eventually saw me off on the train at Bab El huk Station at 8 o’clock tonight. My landlady was very nice to me before I left and she has invited me to come and pay her a visit and have tea with her whenever I am passing. I showed her a photo of my wife and son with pride in my heart. I arrived at Helwan at 8.45pm and after a bit of a wait I managed to find a taxi to take me out to the camp but when I got in I found to my dismay and amazement 17 other soldiers also tried to get in, needless to say the did too, goodness knows how but they were on the roof, running board and anywhere they could hang on. Of course the driver did not mind as it meant 3 piastres each and besides that is quite a common sight in this part of the world. Sitting on one side of me was a soldier frightfully intoxicated who insisted on talking a lot of nonsense in between long drinks he took from a brandy bottle he had concealed inside his shirt, while on the other side of me sat a filthy mouthed individual who was intoxicated only by the exuberance of his own verbosity and who insisted on telling us all about the French woman he had met. I think I preferred the drunk soldier as he was at least clean in his mind. I dismissed the taxi at camp and after having the devils own job to try and find someone in the camp store to supply me with a few blankets, I eventually managed to obtain two and so laid myself down in my sandy desert bed to sleep.

By now I am well re-established back in the legion of the doomed as this afternoon I was made to walk or rather trudge three miles across the desert to inspect a new weapon we have with the most remarkable powers and possibilities and I was very impressed with its performance. I don’t think it is right that I should disclose its name or any features about is so I shall refrain from doing so but I must say I did not welcome the prospects of the long trudge. Meanwhile I spent this morning in looking up a few men I know from my old regiment and having a chat with this one and that one and so whiled away the time. There is a draft been warned to be ready to leave tomorrow morning to rejoin their regiments up the line but unfortunately my name was not among them so goodness knows how long I shall remain here yet. This evening I scrounged a candle and lay reading until well on midnight. The moon is very bright these nights and I expect it to be full in about three days time and then most probably an air raid or two.

I played squash, tennis and swam all morning but this afternoon I had to appear before the manpower board. This board is a new appointment and their duty is to interview every man passing through base camp, find out what his qualifications are, civilian job and what branch of the army he is in now. In other words they are responsible to see that every man is in his right job, more suited to him and the right distributions of the manpower. For instance there are men who were mechanics in civvy street and who are now in infantry so therefore is it not logic that that man would be doing a better job of work if he were in a tank repair shop etc. There are three officers sitting on this board and when they saw my qualifications as in instructor which I had obtained at military college, they recommended me for an instructional unit and what is more we don’t seem to have any say in the matter whatsoever. Of course I am not going to predict what will come of it, most probably nothing but I understand the results take about 3 days so time will tell. There was an air raid alarm tonight but I don’t know whether any bombs were dropped as I went to sleep and I never even heard the all clear sound. I suppose I shall be able to read about it in tomorrow’s newspaper.

I played tennis, squash and swam the entire day, that is one thing that can be said for base camp is they do provide plenty of sport amusement so I like to take advantage of the facilities while I can and what is more I could do with a bit of sport to try and make me fit again after all the time I spent in hospital. This evening I had one beer and then went to an open-air bioscope. It was full moon tonight so naturally we had two air raids before I went to bed but I don’t know what damage was done or whether there were any more alerts after I went to bed as I dropped right off to sleep.

I played a few games of tennis this morning and as a friend of mine invited me to go to a swimming gala with him tonight or rather in a suburb of Cairo known as Gieza, I spent nearly the entire afternoon running around in an endeavour to try and obtain permission to go. What a battle I had but after a lot of trouble I eventually managed to get consent and so we left the camp at 7pm by truck for the gala travelling along the main Cairo road, which runs along side the Nile. Just after getting into the beginning of Cairo we turned off to the left and crossed over the Nile. From there the swimming bath where the gala was to be held was not far. Indecently the name of the bah was Loriette after some Italian but I understand it has since been changed. We arrived at the baths at 8pm only to find the place empty owing to the fact that the show was only due to commence at 9.30 so to while away the time we went into the club house. In the meantime before we came out of the club house from having a few drinks the bath had simply filled with people and consequently we could not get within 40 yards of the bath. No trouble to us, we say we are press reporters and the next thing we are pushed through the crowd and given two chairs and a table right on the water edge, much to the annoyance of two well dressed and prosperous looking Egyptians who had to give up their seats to the “Gentlemen of the press”. There was nothing startling among the swimmers but there was one exceptionally good Egyptian diver. A fellow by the name of Dr. Ramsey who I understand has toured the world. He is the pride of Egypt so naturally he had to be introduced to the press to whom he related his entire life history in which I, looking very industrious, made notes. I really enjoyed the joke and anyway it was worth the ringside seat we got.

At 12.30 this morning the polo match started between Egypt and the South Africans, the latter winning by 3 goals to 2. I know it does not seem right to play water polo at midnight but there you are, nothing is logic in this country. We eventually all came back to camp at 2am feeling very tired so consequently every spare moment I had to myself I spent in sleeping to make up for lost time, as a matter of fact I did not even go for my usual swim. There is a big draft leaving for the front line again tomorrow but again I am not on it. I wonder how much longer I have to remain at base here.

One o’clock this morning a second draft of names came out for the front and it so happens W.S Hawkins is on it this time, anyway so I was informed at 47.30 this morning and of course I had to do some hasty packing. We travelled by truck in convoy the whole day and by nightfall we arrived in Amayria, our fighters played around and flew overhead the whole way. We have not had a bite of food the whole day and from hunger I have got a sick feeling in my stomach. I think it is a poor show as the least they could have done is give each man a tin of bully beef or something or other but there you are some base wallah has got careless and slipped up on his job. They don’t mind as long as they have a good bed to sleep in, plenty of food to eat and never to hear the roar of guns in their ears. We have to starve for their carelessness, as it was up to them to see that food was put on the trucks.

We set out this morning at 9 o’clock still without having any food but I managed to ‘secure’ a tine of cheese which we devoured like a pack of wolves and somehow or other I don’t feel so hungry now. I think I am over starved so now it is beginning to work off. At about midday today we began to hear the distant rattle of shells and machine gun fire from the front line and after making no end of enquiries we located the regiments HQ at 5pm which is situated a few miles behind the line and there I have just finished my first square meal in two days. I am sleeping here tonight and then am rejoining my company tomorrow who indecently are being taken out of the front line tomorrow for 2 weeks rest.

I hung around all morning and eventually a truck came which took me to the commanding officer who interviews men rejoining his unit. He asked me how I was and said he was pleased to have us back and told me I could go and join my old company. When I got out of his tent I found my coy commander waiting for me and he too welcomed me back and took me to the platoon I was to be attached to which incidentally is not my old platoon but I did not say anything. Our unit was pulled out of the front line this morning for a supposed rest but we are only a mile or so behind the line and right in the dirt where as there is a lovely beach not three miles away but there you are that is the army for you. It is a really filthy day today and already I am covered with sand and dirt apart from which there was not much activity over the line today except for a “Stuka Parade” at about 6 o’clock tonight over which I think is the Jock lines.

It was a much better day today or at least the dust was not flying but the heat was just the same. I spent most of the morning trying to erect my self a bit of shade out of a piece of sail I had managed to scavenge and I at last succeeded not that it offered much shade though from the extreme heat. Out artillery did a lot of firing today and this afternoon our 25 lbs guns let go. I understand something like3000 shells at Jerry who only answered back with 18 the whole day. Our guns were barking right into the night and I eventually fell off to sleep with the constant exploding of shells in my ears. I think it was the beer ration of two tins, which we received tonight, which helped do the trick.

Our artillery was more than active this morning or rather it has been right through the night and kept on right until 9.30 this morning. It is 4 years today since I first met my wife. That night will live in my memory for all eternity. I fought in Johannesburg that night and afterwards attended a birthday party and was introduced to the woman who was to be my future wife, the woman who was to change my whole life and bring so much happiness to it. The woman who was to become the mother of my son and the woman that I love with my whole life, soul and being. My officer told me tonight that the sergeant would be going on leave tomorrow and that I would have to deputize in his place as from tomorrow.