Two Whangarei Boys Fight With Long Range Desert Group

Northern Advocate, 17 March 1941, Page 6

Two Whangarei Boys Fight With Long Range Desert Group

Two Whangarei beys, Lance-Corporal Dudley Adams and Private Ken Campbell, are fighting with the Long Range Desert Group which has been performing such sterling feats against Italians in the Middle East.

Private Ken Campbell was, before enlistment, employed by the Whangarei Dairy Company, and LanceCorporal Adams was on the Whangarei staff of the Bank of New Zealand.

“If you happen to see the newsreel of the taking of Sidi Barrani it will give you an idea of what the sandstorms are like,” wrote Pte. Campbell.

“We get them about every four o.r five days and the whole desert seems to move. Visibility is sometimes only up to fifty yards and we even have had to cut out our midday meal and eat it later.

Nobody Worries

“Somehow it doesn’t worry the boys much —another day tomorrow and we will shake everything out and start again.

“In the three and a half weeks we have been out this time, the weather has been gradually warming up, but a remarkable thing is that for at least ten days we have had a frost every morning.

“Upcn our awakening, the dew, which is always heavy in the desert, is frozen.

“We have a sheepskin coat each, which also makes a good mattress on the sand.

“I don’t know if you can imagine the extent of the desert we travelled over to get to where we are now. “We travelled flat out for over a week across rocks and gravel, and for almost a month we haven’t seen a bird, tree, fly or a woman, or passed a house or road.

“We never worry about the time, date or day. “It is a great care-free life and we all enjoy it. Hardships Turn to Fun

“Hardships turn to fun and when we return to our unit, which we will be doing shortly, all will miss these days.

“We have been away from our unit six months now.

“So far the Aussies are getting all the big jobs and credit, but, why werry, our turn will come soon. “We are out here on patrol duty well south of Bardia and Tobruk, actually doing our bit in starving out an Italian garrison in an oasis, and so far have been pretty successful. Interrupted Convoy

“A few days ago we intercepted a large convoy moving across the desert. We captured it and burnt everything, which included about 150 tons of food and ammunition, also £ight 25-ton tractors, each pulling tnree loaded trailers.

“They work with the Westinghouse brake system.

“The trailers, I should say, would be worth about £SOO each and the tractors sell in New Zealand for about £I7OO.

“It gave us great pleasure in having one small smack at Musso this way.

“We visited the place a few days later and everything was burnt or ruined.

Thirty Effective New Zealanders

“There are only 30 of us in this patrol, but we are pretty effective. So far, we are the only New Zealanders to have been in action and are sad to have lost one of our chaps. “A few days ago we made a mock attack on the garrison, mainly to draw fire and waste their ammunition, and we sure did, too.

“We were having a nice look from a neighbouring hill when over it came.

“The first went well over our heads, but they soon got our range, and did I hit the dust and long for my tin hat to be ten times larger—also the hole I was in.

“During the shooting we laughed and grinned at one another and after 10 minutes went for our lives.

“The Italians certainly could shoot. Still we ( all came out safe and treated it as a joke and a new experience.

“Somehow it doesn’t worry one as much as perhaps an onlooker would imagine.’’

'Change Values Firm,

Business Restricted

[Special to “Northern Advocate ”] AUCKLAND, This Day.

Values were firm on closing rates but business was restricted when the Auckland Stock Exchange re-opened today. Shares to be quoted ex-dividend included Cox Bros., Hume Pipes, Arahuras and Rawang tins. Supplies cf some market favourites, including front rank industrials, were very scarce. In Government loans the market was bare of sellers.

Sales completed at the noon call today were: Broken Hill Pty. (rights), 17/3; Northern Roller, £l/1/9.