WAR ADVENTURES

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24141, 6 December 1941, Page 8

WAR ADVENTURES

CAMEKA IN DESERT WAR PHOTOGRAPHER A FORMER AUCKLANDER (N.Z.E.F. Official News Service) CAIRO, Dec. 3 Extraordinary adventures were experienced by Captain George Silk, formerly of Auckland, now Australian official war photographer, over a period of ten days from the commencement of the Libyan campaign. This period included four thrilling days with a North Island infantry battalion. Captain Silk was ready for a trip to Syria when the campaign opened and he moved into Libya with an armoured formation. After narrowly escaping capture at El Gobi, south of Tobruk, when the corps was surprised by the enemy, he travelled for two days, always meeting and avoiding enemy formations. At one stage a shell from an enemy tank exploded at the rear of his vehicle. "I did not know I could be so close to a shell burst and live," he said. Nearing the border the photographer joined a large convoy which safely negotiated the minefields south of Halfaya and the first New Zealand unit ho saw was the ambulance. "I have never been so glad to see New Zeaianders before," Captain Silk related. He was with a New Zealand brigade at Sidi Azzeiz and after the German armoured forces rolled over that place he moved slightly north, where a Wellington battalion straddled the Capuzzo road at Bir el Menister. For several days this battalion beat off German attacks until it was short of food, water and ammunition. The battalion, commanded by a Victoria Cross winner of the last war, then undertook a movement to Sidi Omar, where it joined other New Zealand forces. During this time Captain Silk forsook the camera for the shovel. He says a highlight was New Zealand Bren carriers rounding up Germans like dogs after sheep. Excellent photographs include New Zealand troops capturing German tanks and making the crews prisoners, and guns in action against the enemy. Captain Silk was appointed official war photographer almost two years ago and has seen action in Libya twice, Gr.eece, Crete, Syria, and with the Navy in the Mediterranean. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. Silk, reside at 28 Orakau Avenue, Epsom, Auckland.