DESERT PATROLS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24141, 6 December 1941, Page 10

DESERT PATROLS

GENERAL'S INSPECTION VALUABLE WORK DONE BRINGING BACK NEWS (N.Z.E.F. Official News Service) >1 CAIRO, .Nov. a - J!! "I want to say, between ourselves, 'tP that what you do and have been doing :■! is recognised," said General Sir Claude Auchinleck, Commander -in - Chief, | Middle East, addressing a New "2 land patrol of the Long Range -Desert Group after having inspected both them and their equipment at their base head- lf| quarters. It was early, on an aatumn fl morning and the long row of stockily- : i built trucks with the men standing smartly at post made an impressive • sight. Having expressed his pleasure at the 3 bearing of the men, the General went on to say:, "I have heard a lot about you, and I am sure that I shall hear a lot more. I know the value of the • work you are doing. In fact, we could not get on without you. I know that your work has been lonely and dangerous. At the same time, it is on the whole a man's job. Mote Work Ahead "There will be plenty more of it ahead. I am sure that we can rely, on you to bring back the kind of news that we want, as you have done in the past. This winter the people that are behind now will be able to get on a bit, too; and as they move you will be going on ahead of them. I want to. thank you for what you-have done, and I know that you will do just as ' well in the future." The patrol which was inspected was one which had taken part in mafty long and adventurous journeys, mostly right into the heart of hostile territory. Their task had been mainly of a reconnaissance nature, but there were times when they had to be prepared.for and-.. den action. Many of them had been with the desert group in the days be- ' fore and duriing the last big Libyan push, when the Imperial troops had brought their victorious advance to the centre of Benghazi. Included among £ them was Trooper 11. J. Moore, who by a heroic tramp over 210 miles of desert had saved the lives of his companions as well as his own and had as a result won the Distinguished Conduct Medal. • ' • ,y ' i Praise for Trooper Moore Stopping and speaking to every maa in turn, the general made personal inquiries as to their length of service with the patrol and how they were liking the work. He was particnlarly interested in Trooper Moore's exploit and asked him several questions concerning it. - Ready for instant action, the men looked bronzed and fit. Some of them were wearing their desert headgefir and sandals, which gave them a wild, Arab appearance. Their trucks, too, were ready for the desert road at a moment's notice. Well armed against attack from ** the air or from land, they had an air about them of mobile .security. Veteran vehicles of rolling wastelands, they had proved their suitability, as had-those who rode in them, for the tough job they had to do. ' > .is.- ■: BUILDING RAILWAY - • ARMY'S VITAL ARTERY RAPID PROGRESS MADE (N.Z.E.F. Official News Service) # CAIRO, Dec. 3 Doing the specialised work for which they were sent overseas., the New Zealand railway construction companies, assisted by Indian railroad laboureri, are working with drill-like precision on the vital artery of the Western Desert army's line of communication. It is reminiscent of scenes epic American films as the great team of railbuilders push the track forward over monotonous wastesvof sandstone and scrub straighter thair a crow can fly. : • vVWith the bare essentials of food and water, they build the railway at the rate of several miles a day. To establish this record they have to lay 5000 sleepers, set' 650 rails, bore 2000 hples, drive 20,000 dogspikes and turn'.l3oo bolts. Nine hundred tons of % material have to be unloaded on to the location. Tractors, trucks, excavating plant and locomotives work . unceasingly through the diminishing hours of Egyptian daylight, and the tent town goes forward as the work progresses. Significant is the co-operation between the Imperial and Dominion troops.' All trained soldiers, they are prepared to lay aside the crowbar and hammen and take up the machine-gun and rifle. Their nights are often disturbed by-air raids and their days are often marked by sandstorms, but in spite of danger and discomfort the work must go on. Beyond the railroad, surveyors guids the excavators who prepare the railbed for the gang laying the sleepers. Willing Indians lay the rails on the sleepers and skilled New Zealanders lace the fishplates and drive the dogspikes. Th« •officers—railway engineers; in Civilian life—say that by using drill methods the maximum speed and efficiency ( can be obtained without straining the men.