Letter
No 64
8th Feb. ‘43
Dear Mum,
Here I am again with a few more lines of news.
I received three more
bundles of papers & a Pix (magazine) yesterday & as things have been
slack to-day I have read them all. Also received a cable from Betty to-day
& I can’t understand it at all. It was sent on the 6th Jan &
all it says is “All well at home”. I’m
hoping there was more to it & it had some reference to the coat that I sent
to Betty. I will enclose it with this letter & if there was more to it let
me know.
I went to Tripoli again the day before yesterday
& there was nothing open. It was Saturday & over here Saturday is
Jewish Sunday & everyone seemed to shut up shop & go for a walk. So I
couldn’t buy anything for you.
In Tripoli, as in every other town in North Africa,
there is plenty of horse-drawn buggys to travel from place to place in. These
buggys are called “Gharries” & the drivers in here still squeal as much as
they do in any other town when we only give them about 1/- for three-quarters
of an hour ride. Actually the hire of them is set at 1/- an hour but they think
that if they make a great song & dance about things we will give them more
but more often than not we give them less than is stipulated just to hear them
go crook.
I forgot to mention it before but when I was in
town last Wednesday, the third of Feb., I saw the greatest parade of tanks,
armoured cars, & tank recovery trucks & trailers that I have ever seen.
They were backed into the
gutter, a few inches apart, for about three quarters of a mile along the main
street. There were light & heavy tanks, armoured recco cars, light &
heavy armoured cars, Bren gun carriers, ambulances, trucks, trailers etc.
On the opposite side of the
road were six pounder anti-tank guns, 25 pounders, light & heavy ack-ack
& dozens of other sorts of guns. It was an extremely impressive ceremony
& General Alexander went up & down the street & took the salute.
All the Italian civilian population cheered & clapped him but I suppose it
would have been the same to them if we were the Axis troops & the salute
taken by Gen. Rommel.
After Gen. Alexander took
the salute he stood on the steps of the headquarters of the Highland Division
& the whole H.D. marched past. They were all dressed in kilts & marched
up the street six deep. The full pipe band was playing & I was sorry that I
did not have my camera with me.
Well, Mum that’s all for
now but will write again in a couple of days.
Much love to Dad &
Betty
Lovingly Yours
Frank
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