My father, Ken Gambrill, never talked at home about his seven years of WW-2 military service.

In contrast, his photo album, c1950, has several pages of WW-2 photos, and memorabilia.

The album page alongside is typical - the backdrop is a map of the Arabian Desert. 

I have placed this as the 8th Army crossing  Iraq in late 1942 - early 1943.

Decades later, at Ken’s 70th birthday party, conversation somehow drifted to “water conservation”. Ken immediately held centre stage and described his WW-2 water rationing experiences in the Sahara Desert, as if it had happened yesterday.

“Water and ammunition were the most important resources in desert warfare. Drinking water was rationed, and issued regularly during the day. For personal hygiene and laundry, each soldier received a daily allowance of a single mug of water.  Guard duty of the drinking water supply almost took priority over defeating the enemy, as no drinking water meant certain death!

Sept 1939:    Britain declares war on Germany. Ken reports for duty and undergoes Basic Training - “Boot Camp”.

17 Feb 1940:  Ken is assigned to the British General Hospital at Camiers, on the north coast of France, as part of the British Expeditionary Force sent to aid in the defense of France against German invasion. Camiers Hospital treated the seriously wounded troops evacuated from the front lines.

10 May 1940: The German invasion of Luxembourg, Belgium and France begins. In the next 2 weeks German forces advance rapidly and Allied Forces retreat to the north coast of France.

 

21 Mar 1942: Ken marries Dorothy Taylor at Church-in-the-Woods, Hastings, Sussex. There was a surge of war-time marriages in early 1942 ,,,, the word was out that troops were soon going overseas.

Jul 1942:  Ken receives mobilization orders with the 56th London Division for Services Overseas (destination unknown).

Leave time is granted, for troops to say their farewells to family and friends.

I can’t imagine the emotions of that day ...

will Ken survive the war ... do either of them know that Dorothy is pregnant (I was born almost 9months later).

Ken reports-in for overseas duties, close to Liverpool docks. For reasons of security, the troops are still not privy to when or where they are going.

Use the map alongside to follow Ken’s movements.

Aug 1942: Ken embarks from Liverpool docks for overseas duties. Convoy heads NW into Atlantic Ocean to clear clear the range of German submarines, then head south towards the west coast of Africa...destination still not revealed. 

Sep 1942: Ken in Cape Town, South  Africa for supples and brief shore leave.  Ken’s papers have reference to secret briefing sessions for the officer ranks. Troops are kitted out with hot climate army fatigues, and this started a flurry of destination guesses.

Oct 1942: Ken in Bombay, India, but only for supplies and briefing on upcoming desert warfare.

Nov 1942:  56 London Division disembarks at Basrah in Iraq, and prepare for warfare as they cross the deserts of Arabia.

The troops now know that they are en-route to join Field Marshall Montgomery’s 8th Army in warfare against German & Italian Forces, to gain control of the Western Desert of North Africa.

”What is so important about control of North Africa?” and “Why have we travelled so far away from Europe, where the war rages on?”  These were thoughts that must have gone through the minds of many soldiers as they crossed the desert.

Nov 1942 - Jan 1943:  The 56th London Division convoys 1000 miles across the Arabian Desert to protect Palestine. Hitler’s target was to eliminate the Jewish state, population included. The 56th London troops reached Palestine in December, and Ken’s album includes a Christmas note he sent to

his mother from Bethlehem. 

As an officer, Ken had access to a camera, and he took these photos as they crossed the desert.

Months later, in Cairo, Ken had the film processed and added some hand written comments on the back of some photos, which were then dispatched to family in England. These photos are the only record I have of Ken’s unique style of handwriting. As a child, I was fascinated by his handwriting style (individual letters, generated at high speed, much as a typewriter would). His style was certainly contrary to the school dictum of teaching “proper handwriting”. Ken, I imagine, was severely reprimanded at school for this non-compliance , and this stress in fact resulted in a lifelong speech stutter impediment.

En route, troops learn how to survive

the ever changing conditions of the desert.

Winter nights in the desert were bitterly cold. The wind was relentless for days on end. I remember Ken recalling years later “sand got into every nook and cranny of your body... you ate, drank and shi**ed sand”.

By chance, by Christmas time 1942 the troops had reached Bethlehem, and Ken noted this on the back of one his photos, as his mother had strong Christian beliefs.

Jan-Jun 1943:  Served with 8th Army, under the command of Field Marshal Montgomery. Served in several desert campaigns against Italian and German air and ground forces. The campaign to take Tobruk featured heavily in Ken’s memorabilia. This was head-on warfare against elite German air and ground forces. Field Marshal Montgomery was the victor - a war hero to Ken - he felt honored to have served under Montgomery’s command.

Apr 1943: A telegram is sent to Ken from family in England announcing birth of a son - (me). Notice that an Army censor has cut out, with scissors, all location information, in case the telegram fell into enemy hands.

In April, Ken was somewhere in the desert, engaged in warfare. The telegrams were held in Cairo, so the news of my birth did not reach Ken until his return to Cairo in June 1943.

So, for 3 months I’m sure my poor mother was distraught as she had no idea if her husband was alive or dead.

May 1943: Axis forces surrender to Allied forces on 13 May 1943, yielding 275,000 German & Italian prisoners of war. 

Jun-Aug 1943:  The victorious 8th Army returns to Cairo for much needed rest from desert warfare. British troops now prepare for the anticipated invasion of Italy (next story).