Pilgramage to El Alamein

Written 26 Jan. It was 23 Jan as we trundled north through the desert. People on the road flash their headlights during the day to warn drivers of a checkpoint or other hazard coming up. There are lots of trucks on the road. In parts it's 2-lanes each way but in other places it's four each way. There are bulldozed parts that suggest it will all be that wide some day. There's a stop for morning tea to break the journey and finally we get to the El Almein Museum at 12.15.

There's a room each for Egypt, Germany and Italy and one for the Allies, so NZ doesn't score very well. A dummy in NZ uniform and a small glass case with a greenstone mere, a white feather and a photo of a member of the Maori battalion. Outside there are lots of WWII vehicles.

It's the cemetery which is the moving part. We are at the Commonwealth Cemetery. Jane is looking for her uncle, and we are caught up in her search, having a real person's grave to find. Believe it or not, we walk in and are standing by Block 2. Row G number 4 is only seven rows in front of us. We are all delighted for her.

Quite a lot of graves have unidentified bodies. I was crying as I read "known to God" on those ones. All of them have Christian crosses. The New Zealanders are not buried together, all nations are mixed up. It was very moving to realise that all those men gave their lives.