Previous chapter: On the RMS Andes, bound for North Africa
January 1941
When we left our camp by the canal we headed back toward the Pyramids, and then took the ‘desert’ road to Alexandria. It was toward the end of February and the short Egyptian winter had given way to glorious spring weather with clear air and blue sky from sunrise to sunset. We had packed away our greatcoats, and had been issued with lightweight ‘khaki drill’ (KD), trousers, shirts, and a weird kind of bush jacket.
Our standard kit now consisted of the following: – one battledress uniform, two woollen shirts (collarless), two vests, two pairs of underpants, two pairs of woollen socks, one cap comforter (a woollen scarf which doubled as a woolly hat for wear under a steel helmet), one pair of leather boots, one pair of gym shoes – lace up, one pair of woollen gloves, one pair of KD shorts, two KD shirts, one bush jacket, one pair of KD trousers, one greatcoat, one ground sheet (doubling as a poncho), three woollen blankets, a forage cap, a steel helmet, and later a khaki beret. We also had webbing equipment, which was belted round the waist and fastened by a quick release buckle. Webbing strips attached went over the shoulders and could take either ammunition pouches for .303 rounds, or two large pouches to hold Bren Gun magazines. A bayonet sling and a water bottle carrier were attached to the belt. We also had a large pack to wear on the back, and a small pack hung to the left-hand side. The large pack was to contain spare clothing and the greatcoat, when not being worn. The small pack held two metal ‘dixies’ to eat from, plus knife, fork and spoon. It also had room for a “housewife” or in Quartermaster’s parlance a “Hussif’, which was a cloth roll holding sewing materials, spare buttons, thread, wool, needles etc. for running repairs to clothing. We also carried boot cleaning brushes, a hairbrush and comb, and a clothes brush. A pint mug was carried, usually slung where convenient.
The soldier was responsible for the possession of all this, and regular kit inspections were held to make sure it was all still there. Replacements unaccountably missing were supposed to be paid for, but in the field this was rarely enforced. When all this kit was packed in the right places, and all the equipment was worn, we were said to be in “Full marching order”, and we had often to parade in this state, although on active service we usually left the big pack behind and were in “small pack only”.
I have forgotten to mention the gas mask, which was in a pack of its own and hung round the neck, lying on the chest, ready for instant use, although as everyone knows, gas was never used during the war.
Full marching order was often used as a punishment, and it was indeed a penance to have to parade two or three times a day with all this equipment correct and spotlessly clean. In general, very little marching was done, except for training purposes.
The Army was now completely mechanised and even the infantry, the traditional marching troops, were transported by lorry. In the Royal Engineers, we had the usual general transport lorries, but also a number of specialist vehicles, air compressor trucks, winch trucks, etc. We had about 70 vehicles all told, to share among 250 men. This gave us an advantage when carrying kit, since there was more storage space available, especially for the drivers. In practice, our spare clothing was kept in the kitbag. The big pack was used for the greatcoat and any clothing likely to be wanted quickly. The blankets were rolled and tied round the big pack and both kitbag and big pack stowed on the truck. For drivers, the small pack usually lived in the truck cab, together with the webbing equipment which, if properly arranged, could be whipped off in a trice and put on again in a few seconds.
I have forgotten to mention what the Army would have considered to be the most important part of our equipment – the weapons. Most of us were issued with rifles, a few were given Bren guns, and officers and motorcyclists were issued with revolvers instead. All vehicles had a rifle rack in the cab. Practically every day rifles were inspected, usually on the morning parade and roll call. We had Lee Enfield .303’s nearly all bearing a date around 1918. They were the very devil to keep clean, especially in the desert, where dust penetrated everywhere. Thinking back, I cannot remember any occasion when rifles were fired in anger. The Brens were used against aircraft, but not many felt optimistic enough to try to hit a plane with a rifle bullet; perhaps the thought of cleaning the barrel afterwards put most people off.
A lot of our gear was very old, not only the rifles, but it is fair to say that it was all quite serviceable, and the proof of this is shown when it is realised that equipped as I have described, we all lived and moved for months on end without a roof over our heads or a bed to sleep on, and without access to any of the facilities which might now be considered essential. You will note that we were not issued with sheets, or pillows, or pyjamas, and only the officers had camp beds. We became adept at making a warm bed with three blankets and a ground sheet, and often doing this in total darkness or pouring rain. We did it for nearly three years in Egypt, Syria, Libya, Sicily and Italy and again for a year or more in France, Belgium and Holland. In all that time we spent no more than a few months in covered accommodation.
Despite this, or perhaps because of it, our general health was good. We had to guard against malaria in parts of the Middle East. We picked up Sand Fly Fever, and Hepatitis (called Yellow Jaundice then) and sometimes diarrhoea and dysentery. In the desert we suffered from Vitamin C deficiency, although we had a daily issue of ‘C’ tablets. This brought on a tendency to come out in sores. Some suffered more than others, and the treatment consisted of painting the sore with ‘violet gentian’ to form an artificial scab. Some of us went round looking very peculiar indeed, with violet blotches all over. I was not too badly affected except on the wrists and knees. We never seemed to get ordinary coughs and colds, although I did get a severe attack of tonsillitis whilst in a Field Hospital being treated for dysentery.