Diary of Garth Edward Sommerville Clabburn - 1942-1944 - Part 13

 

but found nothing of interest.
Many tanks have been going up the
road this day on trailers & our
army are pushing up Sth. of
Benghasi to clean up the stranded
enemy Division.
Our forces in Tunisia are advancing
at speed & news from the Far

East is good, so most of our
fronts are on the up & up &
all is going well. It has rained
heavily this evening & aerodromes
to the west may be W/S.
We are to stay here for a few
more days before moving to Maturba
P/O Leeds has to return to training
base because of crashing on landing.
He is to do more circuits & landing.
[*18th Nov.*] No job until 11 A.M. A six & a four
went off for a recco over enemy
dromes Sth of Benghasi & they destroyed
about five big A/C on one drome &
also one 109 which was just taking
off. The trip lasted 3¼ hrs. With
only 2 hrs of daylight left we took 

off at 1510 hrs to do the same aerodrome 

over. We went like the clappers with 

Danny leading. My engine threw oil 

& I could see little. We found several 

large A/C on the drome unloading

canned petrol at speed & also 

about 12 parked 109s. Came in low 

& fast & straffed setting fire to two 

J452 which exploded & sent up 

a tremendous sheet of flame & smoke. 
Danny went through a telephone 

line Allan had one set of rudder 

cables & his A.S. indicator shot away 

& Rex & another fellow had 

their A/C holed by ACK/ACK. I came 

back with Reghetti & led him on to

Tunis where he crash landed. 
[*Jepas Dan

from Crosby on 

Eden*] 

Met Dennis OBrien in the evening 

& he ate with us & stayed in 

the mess until 8P.M. He is now 

on P.R.W. Spits.

[*19th Nov.*] No job until about 12 A.M. The 

CO went off & had a look at Maturba

& returned at 3 P.M. to fly the 109 up. 
The convoy left at 3 P.M. & part

of it reached our new camp 

before 8P.M. John Hook & I flew 

up along the rugged coast together.

It was a wild stormy day & 

a heavy sea was running against 

the tremendous cliffs. We flew 

along below the cliff tops & just 

over the spray & it was a most 

exhilarating sight. Went up as far

as  the snow white town of Derna

& after a good look around there 

we pushed off across country & 

landed at  Maturba. The boys 

carried out a long 3 ¼hr recco 

sth of Benghasi but saw little of 

interest, but had  wonderful fun 

low flying over the heavy country 

& little farms on the way home. 
Several more vehicles have been 

blown up today by mines which 

are very thick and cleverly planted 

around the Derna Area. Many 

have been found right in the 

tarred surface of road - & it 

was one of these that killed 

Barny Terry Strachan the other Wing 

Signal Officer.

[*20th Nov.*] On the early morning recco the CO & 

his formation found the enemy to 

be on the coast road Sth of Antalet 

& they numbered 800 - 1200 vehicles &

sent up a packet of ACK/ACK.   This 

Southern Area was covered by heavy 

rain storms & a possibility of the 

enemy being bogged in was reported. 
Six of us took off at 2 P.M. for 

a patrol over our forward troops in 

the Antalet/Ajdabia Area. 
The royals Amoured cars are here 

The 4th Hussars are racing N.W.

 to occupy Benghasi & are only 

a few miles from the town. The 

7th Div (Armour) is at Masus 

& our troops have taken or

occupied Barce. The only place 

Jerry can hold now is Aghelia

& we are following up in 

such strength I think it will only 

be a matter of time before that falls. 
I admire the enemy for even

attempting to make a fight of it

after his terrific reverses during
the past 21 days. He has lost
75000 men in this last battle
for Egypt/ Syria. His losses in
armour & A/C have also been
exceptionally heavy - he had to

abandon many through lack of
fuel. 400 of his 500 tanks have
been destroyed whereas we have
700 tanks moving up right now.
Things are progressing favourably
around Tunis despite one or

two heavy clashes with enemy
patrols. The naval battle in
the Solomons has ended with
the score well in favour of the 
U.S.A. forces. The Aussies &

Americans are still advancing
in New Guinea & all goes well
on our other fronts.
News came that Sgt Borthwick

whom we had seen crash in
flames a few days ago is
alive & in a hospital in
Egypt. He must have had a remarkable
escape for he was shot down in flames,
taken prisoner, had multiple gunshot

wounds - must have been burnt, was
recaptured & is now safe even
though he must be pretty sick. P/0
Dent crashed badly after our recco 
this afternoon & did a complete

somersault on to his back. He was
trapped in the cockpit & was very
lucky the A/C did not burn. He 

is to follow the other two new pilots
back to Wing base for further training.
[*21st*] After a few hours of standby we
were released for the day. Norm
Cauldwell, Andy Taylor & I went

for a walk around the drome
during the afternoon & had a
look at the many E/A lying

about in various stages of 
destruction. During our walk a
JW88 came along out of the

cloud & bombed the road & also
the drome across the way. Every-

thing opened up at him & a

Kitty Hawk managed to get a burst

at him but he stouged off
again into heavy cloud. He was
a cool and good bomber pilot.
Have just read through the summary 
of our advance from El Alamein
containing many P.O.W. statements &

evidently their moral, health, &
general interest in the war
are very low, & I think their
Africa Corp has had it. Xx We 
do expect some good stiff resistance
from Agelia  but we will wait
until our Armour has caught
up with us (700 tanks) & then
give them a very heavy 

pounding (Bostons & all)
[*22nd Nov.*] 450 Sq have been out this
morning covering the fleet which is
off Derna returning from Malta
after having successfully seen
a convoy through to Malta There

Key found a JW88 at about
7000’ above the ships & set
one of his engines on fire &
shot his W/C away. He ½ rolled at

2000’ & disappeared into
a rain squall - so they could not 
see him definitely hit the sea, but
they think he did. Another JW88
recco A/C has just flown over the
drome at great height & the Ack/ack
had a bang at him. We now
have a standing patrol up looking

for any more that might happen along.
The general intention now is to
build up the strength of the forces

together with ample supplies so

that when we do push at Agelia
there will be no half measures &
we will be able to carry straight
through to Tripoli. This being the

case we will stay here & for a 
few more days until new
aerodromes & supplies are fixed
up for us down Antelot way.
[*23rd.*] There has been no flying for our

Squadron this day. The C.O. Had to 
parade before the A.O.C. & answer
for the eight landing crashes we

have unfortunately had since the 

beginning of the push. It has been

attributed to inexperience of the 

new pilots we received from Australia.
They have not had varied experience

at landing on small & irregular 

dromes & also have it firmly
fixed in their heads that these A/C 
must be landed fast. If they would
land them at 100M.P.H. instead of
about 120-30 M.P.H. many of the 

crashes would be obviated. They
are now to receive further landing

training. The squadron together
with 450 has been granted 5 days
leave in Alexandria i.e. the pilots.
We are to be flown down by 

Lockheed in batches. Everyone
is very happy about this very welcome
break. Serviceability will be
brought up by the ground crews
& supplies built up & the 

aircrew rested & everything will

be ready for a big push in
about 14 days time.
[*24th 

to 

29th*] 

Nine of our pilots are leaving for 

Alexandrie today & the rest will push

off tomorrow.
These past four days we have
spent in Alexandrie on leave. News
came quite unexpectedly on the 24^th
that all pilots were to take four 
days & they were to be flown to
Alex or Cairo by bomber. Our Squadron 
went down in Baltimores & Lockheeds

& John Bray & I stayed at the
Hotel Le Roy & enjoyed a very
expensive time. All in all I
spent £30 Egyptian but have
a watch, pipe shirt & fountain pen

& a few photographs to show for
it.
During the past few days Touloun
has fallen into French hands 
German hands & the French
fleet has scuttled itself. Things
have been very quiet on our front

& there will not much doing 
for a week or so.
An E.F.M. today from June Adams.

[*30th*] We are not working for a few 
days yet. Half the pilots are away.
Serviceability is being tuned 
up and supplies are coming forward.
Even though we have no duty
here we must hang around & 
sit about & are not allowed 
to go off & have a look at 

the country. Transport is coveted
by the few in authority & even

though a pilot is trusted to

fly & fight in a £20000 aircraft

he is not trusted to take

care of a M/T vehicle valued 

at about £200 & is given 

less freedom of action & 

speech than any AGI in the

squadron. Cooperation between

pilots & general team work

in this squadron today is

not good - in fact there

is no love lost between

many members & many a 

mumbled threat against rules

& decisions are in the air.

[*3 1st Dec.*] We are released today but must

hang about. Many of the stewards

have been collecting loot - using

tea & now have fine cameras

guns & glasses.

We now have 13 A/C & the 109G

is to go to Cairo. 

The weather is beautiful this day.

The air is clear & there are high

winds up top with fine carriers travelling

at speed. All the country is fresh 

after the rains & green grass & wild

flowers are growing in great profusion,

& all together this country is far

more pleasant to us than those

two which we have just left 

behind. The fellows who went to Cairo

on leave returned by Lockheed this 

afternoon & all said they had enjoyed

a good time & had spent all their

money.

[*2nd Dec.*] No flying for us again this day.

At dawn a JW88 came along & 

dropped a few bombs down on 

the road & also on the next

drome. F/L Joyce hurridly took

off from our drome (No4) & shot

the E/A down in flames. They

managed to crash land the A/C & 

three of the crew were taken

prisoner. One of these three was

injured & taken to hospital. 

The fourth member has not as

yet been caught. Huck Finlason

& I went to picturesque Derna

in a waggon after luncheon.

The road showed signs of having

been heavily mined & later in

the day we met & talked

with the English sappes who

had deloused the gaps at

El Alamein & also this

stretch of road. The amount 

of wrecks on Derna drome

was amazing & by far the 

larges dump I have yet

seen. From the top of the

1200' escarpment to the little

white town & far out over

the mediterranean was one of

the finest views I have ever

witnessed in all my travels.

The town itself was very quaint

old & greatly damaged. Here &

there were fine market gardens

which had evidently been producing

vegetables since roman times B.C.

so old were the surrounding

walls & irrigation channels.

The whole town is surrounded by

a high stone wall evidently 

built before the Italians took over

after the last war for the new

roads, definitely built by Italian

labour cut right through the

fine example of solid stone masonry.
The pass down from the escarpment

which is a fine engineering piece

had been blown in by the retreating

enemy & our engineers had nearly

completed its mending after a

very busy 14 days. The fine

main streets, white tall clean

homes & marble park benches

all spoke of the fine work

the Italian Colonists had put into

this new land of theirs. What a great

mistake Italy's leader made when he

pushed her into war against us

for now they have lost their colonies

& will lose all before we are done.

They are a fine nation of good

builders & are a clean & well

cultured race in peace time - they

should have remained that way

for war does not suit any

thing in their make up. The

natives for the most part were

wearing some part of Axis 

uniforms - top boots or great

coats & many of them cut a

comical figure. The 'Buzee' did

not stink like the usual wog

village but it was dirty just

the same. The native women

all wore very fancy red or

yellow leather boots embroided 

with bright cottons & many

of the young girls wrists &

ankles were weighed down

with great silver slave braclets.

The Senusi would trade loot for

tea & sugar only & if one only

had 5lbs of tea a £40 miniature

camera was xx his. Needless to

say we had xx not a pinch of the

stuff, but several members of

the squadron have made bargains.

The town had been fairly heavily

bombed but dozens of fine homes

can be used again & all that

has gone is the furniture & fittings.

The C.O. flew the 109 away today

& we stayed late in the mess

talking & drinking. I was

not very well this night.

[*3rd December*] It has rained & been very dull this

morning. During luncheon we decided

that we would go off & bargain

with the Bedouins for a sheep. Dave 

Ritchie was to be chief buyer because

of his wide knowledge of the sheep

world & besides he held the little

Arabic / English translation book.

We drove for miles on the opps

truck across the hills & dales & finally

found a camp of about six tents.

We talked with the Chief & he said

the usual "Boucra" or come back 

tomorrow. We finally persuaded him

to ride on the truck to where the

sheep were - about another five

miles. Dave picked out a nice fat

lamb, then bargained for 1 hour. The

outcome was that the sheep was

ours for 3lbs of sugar - but we

had none with us & had to

bring the Chief, his shepherd, the

lamb & a few others right back

to the camp where we bargained

for another hour in the pouring rain.

The little animal was ours in

the end for about 4lbs of sugar & 

10/- Egyptian:- evidently we had 

misunderstood the Chiefs Arabic.

David & Gordon Jones slaughtered

& dressed the animal & I was 

one of the interested spectators.

The meat will be good for

it is some time since we have had

any fresh stuff.

[*4th Dec.*] Flew for an 1hr 20 on a practice

flight this beautiful morning. After a

few turns & turnabouts we went

to Appollonia & Cyrenea & there

flew low around the great Roman

ruins - the remains of a city built

about 500 B.C.  This area was delight-

fully green & most picturesque from

the air & I would very much

like to tour through this part

when we advance again. The

author of "They Flew Through Sand" 

says that Cyrenea is the really 

only beautiful place in all the

land West of the Nile - & I agree

to date. F/L Watt flew very close

formation on me this A.M. & frightened

me for I had not had another A/C

so close to me since my O.T.W.  -

but this bird can fly & I should

not have worried.

Walked to the Wing pictures at 7 P.M. &

had a laugh with the others at

Clarke Gable & Joan Crawford. We

all got lost on the way back in

the dark - as usual & ate bags

of sardines & tomato juice for supper.

Huck was in fine fettle drinking

free Italian vermouth - it was free

because the bar had decided it was

a hopless bottle after having it in 

stock for over a month & selling

none at all. It burnt like spirit &

tasted like gin & arsnic & had a 

kick like a mule. 

[*5th Dec.*] It has rained & we have not flown

But the rain has brought up bags of

mushrooms & George Barton Donk Huck

& I collected about 2½lbs during our

walk over the hills this afternoon. Donk

was very funny & kept up a running 

story of all his different & varied

seductions during our 2hr ramble.

With Nick Watson we all retired to

Georges garry at about 7:30 P.M. &

there cooked a great feed of

mushrooms which we enjoyed with

bread & butter & a can of beer.

We all stretched out after & listened

to the new radio given by the Comfort

Fund & reception from the B.B.C. was good.

A few of the boys arrived back - 

the last of them from leave in 

Alexandrie & they had to come from

Gazala by truck because our drome was

so wet.

[*6th Dec.*] A couple of days ago the C.O's armourer

who had gone ahead with the first

party was killed. He evidently was

mucking about with a captured gun.

Today we collected mushrooms in the

early morning. It has rained again but

turned out to be a truly beautiful

afternoon. Gordon Jones Huck & I walked

many miles this afternoon down a great

river canyon in which there was no river.

We found bags of ancient fossils - 

older than the great rocks themselves &

had been rock rolling & climbing. 

This evening the C.O. has given us the

"GEN" on the coming battle. We are

to be part of the spearhead - 

any^way right in the thick of things. We

have 12 flight squadrons going up