The South Notts Hussars The Western Desert, 1940-1942 (Voices from the Front) by Peter Hart

Author:Peter Hart
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2011-03-30T21:00:00+00:00

Ken Tew beside the grave of Flying Officer Lamb the last RAF pilot in Tobruk. Lamb took on three Me110s and their combined fire power proved too much. The SNH lads could only look on with heavy hearts as the Hurricane ripped into the desert.

One early afternoon there were three 110s, twin engined Messerschmitts, and this Hurricane dived on them from a patchy faint wisp of cloud. You could see the tracer from these three straight on him. He kept coming all the way, his dive continued almost vertical, straight into the ground, Oooh Dear! By the time I went to look they’d put a rough wooden cross with his name and dogtags, Flying Officer Lamb. All that was left was a big smoking hole nearby where the Hurricane had gone deep into the ground.

Lance Bombardier Signaller Ted Whittaker, 425 Bty

The gunners had appreciated the efforts of the RAF pilots and some were roused to fury at their fate.

We saw a German pilot shot down and he took off in his parachute and started to come down apparently very near to us. We were feeling very cross after Lamb had been shot down and we said, “Let’s jump in a vehicle and go over there and get him!” And we intended to shoot him! He landed rather further away than we thought and as we tore over the desert one calmed down a bit and we thought, “This is not a good idea” But that is the kind of feeling that you can get – I can understand atrocities committed in hot blood – in anger.

Lance Sergeant Dennis Middleton, 425 Bty

As the raids proliferated it was essential to hide the regiment’s position. One particular problem that had to be overcome was the fact that from the air any tracks in the desert ‘shone’ out like beacons. In an effort to reduce this effect strict discipline was imposed on the drivers.

We would have a track plan so that any vehicle coming on to that site must follow the diversion from a main track going round in an arc and rejoining that track rather than being just a diversion from a main road finishing like a ‘T’ junction which is obviously going to be a position of some sort.

Sergeant George Pearson, 425 Bty

Nevertheless it remained almost impossible to hide a battery position from serious air reconnaissance. They brought us these reconnaissance photos taken by a high flying Hurricane. There were our positions beautifully visible. Four little black dots, white lines leading to the command post which wasn’t quite as visible, lines leading up to the latrines. It stood out like a sore thumb. We went to work with bits of scrub thorn and tried to obliterate the tracks and the pattern.

Lance Bombardier Ted Whittaker, 425 Bty

Such efforts were still unsatisfactory.

That part of the desert is dotted by a little tiny shrub called camel thorn about 18 inches high, a scrubby thorny thing. With the trucks continually bringing things onto the position and

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