SAFE AND WELL...

(Written c.1941)

1941-10. WESTERN DESERT.  TOMAHAWK AIRCRAFT IN A DUST STORM.  THE GREATEST ENEMY OF THE FIGHTER PLANE IN THE DESERT IS DUST.  IT GETS INTO EVERY LITTLE PART AND IT MAKES MAINTENANCE A NIGHTMARE.  [AWM 010204]
 

We've heard the cry of jackals
And the braying of the donk;
We bargained with the Arabs
For their eggs, their fruit, their plonk.
We've lived with sheep and camels
(And their everlasting smell.)
- But still we write those same old words:
"Dear Mum, I'm safe and well."

We've heard the Jerry bombers
Come screaming overhead.
And it's not very pleasing,
To be dodging lumps of lead.
But when you're in the trenches,
Midst a hail of stone and shell.
- You'll still find time to write a note:
"Dear Mum, I'm safe and well."

The tucker may be onkus;
The water may be crook
We haven't seen a drop of beer
Since Wavell took Tobruk.
We've been before the skipper
(Caught out A.W.L.).
- But take your pen and write this down:
"Dear Mum, I'm safe and well."

We've marched on rocks and gibbers,
And swallowed tons of sand.
'Til we wonder why this awful place
Was called "the Promised Land".
The nights are cold as charity.
The days as hot as hell.
- But still we scibble once again:
"Dear Mum, I'm safe and well."


[Received via Val St. Leon. Note the beautifully crafted reference to "Donk" Bray,
Tomahawk pilot, later DFC and (sadly) killed in action with 451 Sqn., 14/3/1945.]

1941-10. WESTERN DESERT.  AN INFORMAL PORTRAIT OF FLYING OFFICER FRANK FISCHER, DRESSED IN ARAB COSTUME, WHO HAD TO MAKE A FORCED LANDING ABOUT 100 MILES BEHIND THE FRONT LINE DURING THE SYRIAN CAMPAIGN. 
HE RETURNED TO ALLIED LINES WITH THE HELP OF ARABS.  [AWM 010159]