Barry Budd's father was in Egypt in 1943 and took a number of wonderful photos, Barry has kept the original captions even if they are wrong as they are his family history.
Enjoy
Edited, you all seemed to enjoy them so much I asked Barry for some background
"I know that during the second World War many British troops were sent to Egypt.
I discovered that my father, Eric George Budd, was among the many who came. His interest in the historical places mentioned in the Bible and the Middle East in particular caused him to document his extensive journeys in photographs taken with a simple camera.
He travelled with other members of the 1st Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment by ship around the Cape of Good Hope and back up the coast of East Africa aboard the RMS Empress of Britain. They then passed through the Suez Canal before arriving at Port Said in September 1940.
The company then spent 3 months in the area of Jerusalem being acclimatised by never ending route marches around the Dead Sea and other parts of Jordan.
They returned to Moascar on the Suez Canal for a one month training course. Finally in January 1941 he arrived in Cairo itself to begin his job in Movement Control. He took his camera whenever he had time free and travelled around the city.
In June 1941 he was given his first leave and travelled with a small group of friends to Alexandria for a brief holiday. His next journey was in October 1941 when he was sent back to work in Jerusalem for two weeks so he made good use of his camera while there.
In March 1942 he managed a second leave visit to Alexandria. He was also beginning to get around the more historic areas of Cairo, Memphis and Saqqara.
Finally at the end of March 1943 he and some friends managed to make a six day visit to Luxor and Aswan. His portfolio of photographs is impressive for such a brief visit including some historic images of the old Savoy Hotel where he spent several nights.
On his return to Cairo in April he was posted back to Jerusalem. Once again he became busy with his camera before being posted right up the coast to Aleppo in December 1943.
In February 1944 he returned to Jerusalem for a short leave before then being sent of to work in Lydda. He finally got a two week leave granted in May 1944 so set off on an extended journey .
Train to Haifa and the bus to Tiberius. After a few days another bus to Rosh Pinna. He then hitch-hiked through the Bekaa Valley to Baalbeck. After a night there he continued hitch-hiking to Damascus where he spent a few more days. He then continued over the Lebanon Mountains to Beirut. After a few more days exploring he returned along the coast to Haifa.
In June 1944 he was posted to Haifa. The album ends with pictures of his company enjoying their Christmas in Haifa in December 1944. I presume they must have been returned to the UK shortly after that event as there are no further pictures."
The Voyage Out
http://picasaweb.google.com/115265054906687312356/OutboundVoyage1940?authkey=Gv1sRgCNDh3YOShv2R3gE#
Ismailia
http://picasaweb.google.com/115265054906687312356/Ismailia?authkey=Gv1sRgCKq_tIiWs_GnLA#
Jerusalem to Aleppo (this covers visits from arrival and training to departure)
http://picasaweb.google.com/115265054906687312356/JerusalemToAleppo?authkey=Gv1sRgCJnN8MWq1IuqJw#
Cairo
http://picasaweb.google.com/115265054906687312356/Cairo?authkey=Gv1sRgCKuJ2YHyh7uKFQ#
Memphis and Sakkara
http://picasaweb.google.com/115265054906687312356/MemphisSakkara?authkey=Gv1sRgCN7j35CjtJeK4gE#
Alexandria
http://picasaweb.google.com/115265054906687312356/MyFatherInAlexandriaIn1942?authkey=Gv1sRgCMieifykqOXMQA#
Luxor
http://picasaweb.google.com/115265054906687312356/MyFatherInLuxor1943?authkey=Gv1sRgCM2ftcKa5-nLlwE#
Aswan
http://picasaweb.google.com/115265054906687312356/Aswan1943?authkey=Gv1sRgCO6ZhZGs38nuJQ#
3 comments:
Thanks Jane.
Just one small correction, he actually arrived in Egypt in October 1940 and finally left From Haifa in 1944. Most of his travels were made in 1 week leave periods. He also photographed each area where he was posted.
thanks for the correction Barry, if you would like to send me a brief biography, either email of comment I can add it to the post. I suspect people would love to learn more
The photos really are excellent. I urge all readers to have a look. Its not often that we are able to see so many pictures of Egypt from such an early period- and the quality is remarkable.
Thanks Barry (and Jane),
Stuart
Post a Comment