Contents
We were very well trained
First time under fire
Sidi Resegh with 21 Battalion
Whistling Wadi
Rescue
Hospital
Recovery
Convalescence
Palestine
Syria & return to Egypt
Infantry exercises in the desert
Back to the sharp end
Brigadier Clifton’s Recce
Safe in a slit trench
We’re burning our boats
I’m not a bludger
One man’s Alamein
We regret to inform you
Back in Palestine
Somewhere in Tripolitania
Medenine and Tebaga Gap
Victory and the road back
War weary
Where next for the Div?
To Italy, and then home
Cliff Baugh was a Signalman with Divisional Signals — “Div Sigs” — a specialist unit of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, whose members were seconded to the various Brigades and Battalions etc to maintain communications. There were two ways to communicate: by radio or by phone (i.e. landlines, likely to be cut at any time by bombardment or military traffic).
Radio comms in 1940 were not as we know them now. Radio range was very limited and much of the traffic was by morse code. At Sidi Resegh, the first engagement Cliff describes, his set required a truck and a two-man team to operate, and it made a good target. When, by contrast, Stephen phoned Cliff on his brand new “brick” Motorola while we were driving through the back roads of the Manawatu in the 1990s, his grandfather became very emotional.
Because of his role, Signalman Baugh (as he remained throughout the war) probably had a slightly better idea of what was going on than most of the Other Ranks — but Sidi Resegh, part of Operation Crusader in Libya, and where this story begins, was not just lethal but confusing at every level.
Some of the text, mainly after Alamein, has been complied by me from Cliff’s letters to his fiancée Dorothy McCarroll, his occasional diary and postwar anecdotes. Photos, comments and footnotes have also been added by me. You can tap on most photos to view them full size. ~ Ian
Sadly, a very different Palestine today.
A more cheerful, easier read. The extraordinary medical resources available to the wounded described in this entry are ignored in favour of the deadly, dramatic theatre of war. It appears the wounded NZers were well treated.
This is an exceedingly tough read. On the plus side this what my father went through but could not speak about. The account is extraordinary valuable as it clearly describes events seen through the eyes of a very brave man. The account is remarkably coherent, mostly devoid of opinion and judgement.
As a personal project, you have learned much about ‘his war,’ seen through his eyes and directly from his lips always. You are one of just a few privileged NZer’s to been given access to such an insight. Cliff’s description or being wounded and journey beside his companions to find safety and treatment is extraordinarily direct, without extravagant claims of heroism.
Your methodology is excellent. The account reads well, your own contributions are written with a light-touch but contextually essential. Though at times I am a little tearful, I am impressed by Cliff’s courage, the clear-headed account and the quality your editing. A task well worth doing, Ian
Enough for one day. I will carry on as I am able to face more tragedy.
Thanks, Ken. You’re reading the Sidi Resegh account? Your dad was an engineer, I think. There’s an account on the “Somewhere in Tripolitania” page of some time he spent with engineers clearing mines after Alamein. I’ve corrected the mistake you pointed out.