LIFE IN MIDDLE EAST

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 21, 20 October 1941, Page 5

LIFE IN MIDDLE EAST

Wellington Officer’s Description

A graphic description of the life New Zealand soldiers are living in the Middle East is given in a letter from Second-Lieutenant J. C. Steel to his father, Mr. J. AV. Steel, Wellington. -Today is a corker,” he wrote on September 9. ‘iSand ; it is impossible at times to see 10 yards in front of one. We eat it, breathe it and curse it. To make matters worse, we just bad to work right through the afternoon, heat or no beat. We are working hard now, and some of these 40-liours-a-week cranks ought to be with us. Up at 6; work till 7; hour for breakfast; on to 12.30: start again 1.30, and knock olf any hour at all according to the job one is on. 'This goes on seven days a week, but still we will no doubt get overtime and special thanks from the Government when finished. ‘■This, however, is not a moan, far from it. Every man is going eyes-out, and no one ever thinks of growling. The men are absolutely grand, and give you a sandy, dirty, but cheerful grin every time you go near them. The secret probably is no union secretaries and a common bond of goodfellowship, which we did not know in civilian life. It has to be actually experienced to be appreciated. You might find it on the waterfront when they draw their 6/8 an hour. “Most of the boys missing on Crete are prisoners of war, I think, and will all be heard of in due course. •‘On Sunday we bad a most impressive church parade with a band in attendance. It was held out in the open with just the desert stretching for miles as a background. ... It sounded grand to hear about 700 men singing the old favourite hymns—- • Nearer My God To Thee,’ 'Lead, Kindly Light,’ and so on—with the band accompanying them. There were two regiments of artillery represented, and the chaps probably felt a little more serious about this service than usual. ‘We had a good show in the early hours of this morning turned on by the Nazis themselves. This was a very good raid about 20 miles away from our camp, though the planes all Hew over us during the course of their visit. It was cur best yet. They dropped a tremendous lot of parachute flares, which are better than anything we could afford on November The many searchlights and the Hash of ackack guns and tin- bursting of their shells, plus the red stream-of tracerbullets, make a grandstand show, provided one is in the grandstand. Have not yet heard , what damage, if any. was done, but guess I hat. as usual, it will be neglible.”