WITH THE TROOPS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 190, 24 July 1940, Page 7

WITH THE TROOPS

VISITING THE WESTERN AREA (N.Z.E.F. Official News Service). EGYPT, June 28. A car was going through towards the Libyan border —not all the way, only a few hundred miles. We were able to arrange to accompany the officer who was off to see one of the units under his command. At midnight, with the moon half waning, but still beautiful,, rising above the low mists and the stars beaming happily, we saw a small convoy t>f motor cars and despatch riders away and then we drove ahead. The speed of the convoy was regulated but we Avere in a hurry for there Avas no time to spare. We Avere soon into and out of Cairo and speeding towards the Pyramids of Gizeh, for behind them lay the road to Alexandria. There Avas little Avind and all augured Avell for a perfect drive through the night. Then the unexpected (so usual here) happened, and a sharp puff of Avind and a cloud of dust SAvept before us. At once the stars disappeared and we ran into a dense cloud of soft dust and stone pellets. Round the twists and corners of the road past the Pyramids and on the higlnvay Ave crawled. Noav and then avc stopped altogether for it Is not really sensible to moA r c forward When the road is covered Avith a mov ing torrent of sand and the radiator is the most distant object discernible. A Needle in a Haystack. Fitfully and slowly Ave progressed and avc were in such a hurry! After some fifty miles of this the sand storm abated though it still bIeAV hard. So avc made better time. At the end of the next' fifty miles we could speed up and Ave did. We drove on into the dajwn and travelling hard till about nine o'clock avc pulled up at our first call Across the desert Ave drove. The wind Avas still high and great eliouds of dust were sweeping across. As we ran into a soft patch the dus! would rise in.a great cloud and com pletelv envelope the car. It was roasting hot but the Avindows had to be closed. Still some dust got in! It Avas rather like looking for a needle in a haystack trying to find the unit in question. There were limitless miles of sand, there were gullies or "wadis'* as avc call them here. There AA r cre hillocks and stoney patches, indeed there Avas just a area of Avaste sand being SAvept continuously by dust clouds. At last avc found the unit, wci". dispersed. It Avas a transport ui.ii and had just returned from a -trip into "somCAvhere" in the desert, They had been on an important job; there had been neither time nor opportunity to Avash, to say nothing o! shaA'C. The sands of the desert had descended heavily on man and machine. In their ears, hair and through their clothes the poAvdercd sand had gone. The healthy cheekswere submerged under the dusty pallor. All in the Day's Work. For several long days and nights tiie conA'oy had entered right into that desert somcAvhe're. As they returned they shook the dust oil thei; clothes and tried Avith dusty hank, to wipe their faces clean. These young soldiers AA*ere tired and cheerful as they clambered from their transport. The unit cookhouse, consisted of some bars of raised iron and a lew wooden boxes, Avith one line of hessian to break the fiendish wind. The fires Avere burning fiercely and the cook Avould have the stew and potatoes ready for them in al' e\\ minutes. After that plenty of brea< and butter and, it must be admitted, sand; and always the bowl o! tea. As I Avas .talking to one officer J saw a despatch rider, a young motoi cyclist, suddenly hurry out of : wagon—the moA r ing orderly roomand run to his cycle. A kick on th< starter, the engine roared, and hi shot away. The next moment ; cloud of dust enA-elolped him and la er on, and it seemed minutes, h< was seen coming out of his owi dust. As the great Avaggons lumber ed along Avaves of dust rose am poured down on them. Yet as one young man slandin: by asid to me: "It's tough but it i all in the day's Avork," and he grin ned out of his dusty covering. "Snakes and scorpions"—well yo knoAY Avhat rumours are. We hear about, them in that camp, and as ay drove away we chased a snake Avit the ear and nearly got it. And thr i:: no rumour!

By the Blue Sea. We next visited a large group ol " soldiers who had been earning the right to be eaU'.ed by Hie name oi their predecessors in the Great. War —Diggers. A lew days ago a high officer saw their work and said he had no idea so much good work could possibly have been done in so short a time. Making a special trip to the site of their digging we could easily understand the GeneraTs surprise and it will be nothing to the surprise the gentlemen in Libya will get if they ever penetrate so far. These large units are near, very near, the sea. After five or six months on the sanrl.s of the desert, to sit and watch the breakers was a tonic; to hear them, it was music. The sea was blue as never sea was before. W T e said goodbye to the officer commanding all the troops and as we passed out of the lines the sentry saluted as il he were on the parade ground and not, as he was, far away in the Western Desert. Matruh next claimed our attention and we sped to that town which according to the various reports from the "Iti" broadcasts was reduced to ruins by their well directed bombing. At Matruh. Matruli is a licautiful little watering place. We readied it from the main highroad, turned towards the sea and in a few moments were look ing dcAvn on a snug little town. The main road of Matruh runs straight through the centre. The railway station with an engine busily backing and filling were below us, then a cross road and down the main street Ave drove. There was no sign of destruction. Not a hit had been scored making damage worth recording. There was a rumour {hat a disused hut had been hit but try as we did we coult? not find it. The trouble with the Italians is that they fly too high, they don't aim, and they trust in Mussolini; but they can ily fast on the home stretch. Matruh is commonly known as Mersa Matruh but the former word merely means "anchorage" and. there arc a dozen Mersa's along the coast. There arc no civilians at present in this town so it certainly seems to lack some bombing attractions judging from our enemies' past performances. However, one may nail one more lie to the already large collection we have against the It"u% by affirming Lhat M.Uruh is unharmed by enemy gun or bomb fire. May it long be so.