Diary of Garth Edward Sommerville Clabburn - 1942-1944 - Part 19

was a very nice fellow - young &
very wide awake & asked many

sensible questions. He is now
an Air Commodor in the R.A.F. &
evidently is stouging about here finding

things out. He used to be a

Storm Trooper - so I am told -

but is very fine fellow despite that.

The Fighting French - General Le Clerc's

gang got themselves into serious  

difficulties this morning & found

themselves completely surrounded

 by  strong Jerry tanks Armoured cars

& guns.  They would have been

whiped out had 239 Wing not

gone to the rescue & shot up

all the enemy.  I did not get

off for the first show but from

all reports it was the best bit

of straffing ever done here in the

desert.  The Kitties destroyed innumerable

vehicles guns & petrol Waggons &

killed many men.  The enemy was

all on a great plain surrounding the

French in a small village. 

 

P/O Hawkins straffed a big 
gas waggon &

the whole thing exploded right in

front of him. He had to fly right

through the explosion & brought

a blood stained groundsheet &

many German Razor blades back

-Razor blades in his radiation &

ground sheet on his leading edge.

He also set fire to 5 trucks.

With 24 A/C straffing with 6 5" guns

each - all hell must have been

let loose for those birds on the

ground.  Three Squadrons went on

the second job & met up with

20  109's & 12 Stukas over the

target who had gone there to

blast the French.  112sq who

were up top took on the 109's

whilst the other two squadrons were

down straffing, & knocked one

Stuka & one 109.  112 sq lost

 6 (six) which was no good.  I

was taking out our sq. on the

last & final "do" but it was

cancelled at the last minute
because 260  250 & 112 were in

the circuit area & it was

getting late.  I heard a few

charges this day - 6 in all &

cleaned them up in 45 mins.

One fellow from 260 sq was hit

by small ACK/ACK well out side

at the bomb line - enemy in

the hills & died two hours

after crash landing on the S.A.A.F.

drome.  He had been hit in the

chest.                                                   

10th    This morning attended a 
Sq. commanders

conference at Wing & received all

the "Gen" on the coming battle.

Also took across Laver & McLeod

who had collided yesterday after

the big job.  How they weren't

both killed I cannot understand.

Lavers A/C was cut in half &

McLeod did a complete somersault

& crashed on his back - both

with 6 bombs on.  The Lord is

good to us.

The job yesterday had the

desired effect - the enemy found the

position too hot all together & beat

a retreat, leaving the French in

their little village.  The French sent

the R.A.F. a nice little telegram on 

signal this morning of thanks.

Now hear that the "Boss" will not

be back until the 16th.  Received

letters from Billy in London & Joan in

Cairo & both sound happy.  the

Bostons (18) came over low &

 picked up an escort & did a

job somewhere over to the West.

Perhaps they gave the [?] ( Jerry) yet

another sock.

11th / 16th.      

Many things have happened & I feel

too tired to write them all up but

here are the outstanding few.  We did

a sweep over the Mareth line & nothing

happened. E/A were sent to catch

us but didn't.  The C.O. returned &

looks well & enjoyed his course.

Dave Ritchie was taken off "opps"

yesterday & is very happy.  Ali Barber

& Alf Glendinning of 450 sq are

 

also turned out to grass.  Yesterday

I crashed, due to engine failure

in a salt pan about 7 mis from

El Assa.  I walked to the drome

in 3 hrs & spent the night with

the Americans - who were very

good to me.  The C.O. flew down

& picked me up in the Kitten

this morning.  There were a few

enemy bombs around & they

attacked staff on the road.  There

is a great Army moving up &

we are in great strength.  The

big attack should start very

soon now.  Dave went off

this morning to establish a

rest camp on the big island

North of here.  It is a beaut-

iful day & I have never seen

a more unreal sky of bright

blue, & cotton wool clouds.

Received a very cheery 
letter from

Mother this day & also a 

little note from John Clarke.

I now have a new Kitty 3 & 

 

hope that I have the same fine

service from her that 
her predecessor

gave (120 hrs opps)

17th    A very dull day.  
The weather is not favourable 

for bombing.  This evening I am to go

across to 450 sq. for a little farewell

dinner given by Ali Barber 
& Alf Glendinning.

18th    Early this morning 
Tom Russell Dank Bray

Ted Raffan & I set off for a

48hr. holiday in Houmt Souk on the

Island of El Gerba.  We crossed

 

the little straight in a faluka

together with camels goats feed &

many dogs.  The other party passed

us at sea.  The island proved

to be a paradise of flowers

olive trees & green crops.   Here the

natives sow island poppies & bright

yellow dandelions for crops & the

whole land was one blaze of

colour.  We stayed in a delightful

little hotel De  Lotus on the 

Northern tip.  Close by is a 

great old spanish fort - 400yds.

The many barges lying in the

shallow water of the little

bay were most picturesque.  Al

around were great avenues of

tall Australian blue gums &

the French colonial homes were

of a delightful architecture.

For the exhibition of

native home crafts was really

beautiful.  Here I bought a

very fine hand worked dolie

which I have left in

the Truck.  Some of the native

rugs-made from coarse dyed

wool were of beautiful

workmanship & worth 20-30 in

My estimation , but unfor-

lunately none of them were

for sale.

 

19th     Unfortunately 
the weather has been

very overcast & we thought it too

cool to swim.  We drove around

in the truck & traded with the

islands inhabitants for eggs &

a little wine.  They - especially

the French are very short of

 bread & consequently rush our ration

biscuits.  We had a jewish girl called

Nina into afternoon tea.  She comes

from Gabes & speaks a little English.

This morning dawned fine & bright &

we were loath to leave our beautiful

island.  We saw many (Sight?) bomber

raids sweeping out over the Mareth

Line in the clear sky & they

all seemed to be unmolested.  I

sincerely hope that it will be my

good fortune to visit once again

this delightful isle - the legendary

isle of the Lotus Eaters.

21st      (?)Flight moved 

forward to Medinnin

Main last evening.  
This afternoon

we flew up over & past the N.Z.

Div & were unable to find

a target worth bombing.  We

were carrying 2 - 250 lb with

sticks for the first time &

many of them moved in the

rack when we landed back at

Medinnin Main.  The A.O.C. was

present (Broadhurst) when we

landed.  Last night we were told

the plan of attack which began

last night at 9.30p.m.  This

day the Army have been unable 

to break through because the

Mareth Line was found to be

too strong especially in the

Northern Section.

22nd     This morning I flew
out as White 1

The W/C led & S/ldr Gibbs flew

yellow 2.  Brian Eaton led the 

top six & there were 2 sqdns.

Above us.  As expected about

30 Jerry tanks were found

facing the N. Z's.  They had

rushed down from the Nth.

during the night.  The W/C told

the tank boys all about them

& then went into bomb.  He was

hit by 20m.m. in the wing &

made off into the hills.  I

had no R.T. but guessed

the score & went in & bombed

two tanks at the West end

at their long line which

 

stretched right across the valley.

The ACK/ACK was 88mm. & (accurate)

& poor old Brian led his six

around & around at(3000) night

over & through the stuff waiting

for the order to bomb. Of course 

he did not get it & could not

sought the messages out so

went off home with all the 

bombers & got a near miss on 

two enemy tanks & so did 

my No 2 Jack Sergeant. The job 

served its purpose for it showed

the N.Z. Div. just where the 

Jerry was.(Farstrum) straffed & 

knocked two tracks. I saw

what I thought to be two big

troop carriers up in the mountains

(Jerry) but they were too far

inside the bomb line to 

straff & J did not investigate

thorough enough. Two squads 

of tank [[?]] were sent 

out in & in two shows damaged 

15 tanks & [[?]] 3. Unfortunately

they also clobbered two of our

own & to hear the fellows

in our own tanks yelling at them

was not good.  This evening the

S/Ldr called Brian & I together

in the mess & said we were

to change places - it meant I

was off "opps".  I immediately

bought drinks all round &

was shaken warmly by the

hand.  We only had gin & 

lemon but I had quite a

few & when the first raid

arrived - fell into a trench

& hurt my leg.  Many raids

were over this night but did no

damage - the ACK/ACK was very

pretty & made a terrific din.

My feelings are very mixed. Somehow

now I would like to have

finished my 200 hrs. - only 7 to go.

I left for the Isle of the Lotus

later at 10.30am & arrived

amongst the lads at about

2p.m.  Dave Ritchie, George(Plinis?)

 

John Hooke & 4 others were all

enjoying themselves 
 just mucking about.

I just ate & slept early.  They

were all happy to hear that I

was off "opps" & so am I now.

We went out to the Jewish quarter

& there I found a nice little

girl of ten yrs. with a bad foot.

I bought her to the doctor & had

it dressed.  She stayed to lunch

& I drove her back in the late

afternoon.  The island is more

beautiful than ever today after

the heavy rain.

This day George Barten Nic Watson

the Doc, Geo Shaw & the

new equipment fellow all

arrived up & are staying the night.

 

F/Lt Gray - the Wing dentist traded

& brought along a big bottle of

 French brandy.  We enjoyed

a few drinks after dinner &

discussed the war.  Evidently

this line is very hard to

crack - Jerry has reinforced from

the North.  We have taken 2200

Axis prisoners, but they are still

very strong.  We have now a

change of plan & I will

say more of that later.  We

all swam this afternoon

on the Northern shore &

it was cold & windy.  I

cut my foot & George hurt 

his arm.

26th    George Barten & his party left

soon after breakfast.  George

Plinstern     Dave & I went off &

had a look at some silver &

gold bracelets.  The boys all

arrived just after lunch &

Mac told me I had the

 

D.F.C. & so had Rex Bailey.

George gave me a piece of ribbon

-he received his about 3 wks ago,-

& I have sewed the ribbon on my

battle jacket.  well I am now

writing on the evening of the

28th.  The days have drifted

by with graceful & estactic

 

ease.  We have swam, dined, been

visiting, sailing & entertaining our

French friends at afternoon tea.

Yesterday Dave & I enjoyed a marvellous

7 course lunch with a charming French

family.  His lady love - Pontes, was

present & charmed us both with

her flashing smile & large soulful

dark eyes.  Yesterday also the

new batch of pilots to arrive

up with Ted Tunbridge & Col

Greeves brought the good news

the El Hamma had been

reached by the New Zealanders.  This

means that nearly all the enemy

now still in the Mareth Line are

as good as trapped.  The Squadron

-all squadrons, have been putting

over some immense straffing

"does" & have completely broken

what spirit the the Axis forces

had left.  The Luftwaffe has

nearly disappeared, except for

a little [?] & been bombing-

at their own troops.

Today the C.O. flew the Gibby up &

landed about 3 mls from the Hotel

de Lotus.  With him was Brian Eston

Ron Susans Rob Ulrich & Andy Taylor.

They all offered their congratulations 

& the "Boss" said that he was

still trying to have me reverted

to the R.A.A.F. so that I could

then be posted home.  They all

had a cup of tea & met 

Monsieur & Madam & then

swam & visited the exposition

of native art & Brian & then

Ross & Dave went & said a

sorrowful farewell to the lovely

girl with the big brown eyes.

Brian said as they were about to

 take off that he felt just

as he used to when a small

boy, after a great & wonderful

treat.  This island is

like that.  All & everything is

so far removed from the war-

that to us all it a great

refresher.  We gaze at acres of 

flowers, peaceful fishing boats, 
stuck on a glass sea & 
inhale the perfumes

of a million wattle & blue gum trees.

Good old George was recalled to 145

Sq.  this afternoon to fix up his papers

& to push off to Cairo for disposal.

David has definitely been posted back

to Australia & S/Ldr Gibbs is due to

leave to England early next month.

By good luck we should all be

together again in Cairo.  The C.O. is

going to send Dave & I down in

the Gibby, with John Hooke as pilot.

That is by far the best way of

going & I am very grateful to

our fine "Boss" for being so generous.

He is one of the finest fellows I

haver ever met, & without a doubt

the finest & most efficient Sq.

Commander the M.E. has ever had.

After making a deal of cash on the

exchange market here this morning

I bought a few silver & gold

brackets worked by the natives,

Also a very attractive gold belt.

To date these & two hand loomed

rugs are my only souvenirs at this

delightful isle - together with

a thousand happy memories.

Last evening George shot a few

cats with his Tommy gun, &

thurs day we enjoyed a great

roast Turkey cooked by our

charming French - or Greek

hostess.  She can cook!!  I am

now convinced that the food

position is not very serious here

-except for bread.  Ted Gilbert

brought up a parcel from Margaret

in Canada & and E.F.M, from

June in Sydney when he came

at midday.  The contents of

the parcel were all candy-

& the contents of the EFM -

very sweet also.

(J?)friend - the fellow - brought

him a beautiful silver bracelet

as a parting gift - made him

feel very embarrassed.  Brian

Eaton was shot down by a

 direct hit from an 88m.m. after

having silenced another yesterday.

He was picked up by the N.Z's &

he has been doing an exemplary job.

Ross Susams force landed behind

the enemy lines & after changing

tanks (water) took off & again

had to force land - this time in

our territory.  Another fine job.

This new team is making a

name even fairer than those

teams that have gone before -

but they are still keeping the same

captain. No. 3 is the squadron of

the desert for close shaves &

individual fantastic exploits.

She will be present to see the

fall of Rome & Berlin & will

probably go to the Far East

to assist in the final phase

of the War. - the crushing at 

Tokyo.  I hope now to go to

Australia - train a few fledglings

then be in the final assault

on Japan.  After that I'll settle

down.

13.4.43

Well much has happened since last writing.  I

finished up the pleasant stay on Gerba &

came back to the Sq. by truck.  Unfortunately 

forgot my jewellery & one rug, but they may

be sent along later on.  After saying

Au Revoir to all the lads & having a

very nice little party in our tent with the

C.O. the W/C & about 10 others Dave & 

I spelt our last night out in the "blue"

& took off at dawn for Alexandria.

John Hooke & Dave flew the old Gibby

in turns & we arrived in Alex on

the second day after an uneventful

but very interesting trip of about 1780

miles.  We saw again the thousands

of burnt out knocked out vehicles 

tanks that we had passed during

our advance, & the smashed tanks

in the El Alamein area stretched as

far as the eye could see.  There were

hundreds .  For two days we stayed

in Alexandria picking up a load of

grog for John to take back & also

generally enjoying ourselves.

We were both very ill after eating 

a meal prepared by our Italian lady friend

Mrs.(Waugh?) don't know to this day if

we were poisoned or not.  We said Hello

to one or two others & spent a good

time one evening with W/C Chapman then

came to Cairo by train.  Once again the

richness of the country impressed me - What

a prize this Egypt is!  & how near all these

money grabbing, selfish, plutocratic, Egyptian

millionaires were to loosing the whole

show to the Axis.  I really feel that

seeing the Allies saved the country & spent

many Allied lives in doing the job, that

we should now, control the Government

of the land & endeavour to stamp out

the shameful graft that now rots its

whole Government.

For about a week we stayed at the (T?)

Officers Club, saw W/C Duncan & talked a lot

about what we would like to do for the

remainder of the war.  He kindly sent a

signal to Air Minister asking for a definate

ruling a to my status. - RAAF or E.A.T.S. & said

he would have a reply in about a weeks

time.  David we found had already missed