Part 2 of 3
A New Zealand soldier identified at the time of recording only by the nickname 'Skin', continues his story about walking 200 miles over the Libyan desert with only fourteen pints of water between himself and his three companions and no food at all. His escape journey lasted ten days. [The speaker is Ronald Joseph Moore, DCM, of the Long Range Desert Patrol, military service number 1248]
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They retrieved some tins of water from the burnt-out trucks. One of the men was wounded in the throat and Skin had a hole through his right foot.
They set off in a SW direction hoping to reach Sarra or Tekro, and rationed the water to a quarter of a pint a day for each man. For three days they travelled night and day covering 100 miles. On the fourth day one of the men collapsed and they had to leave him. On the eighth day the wounded man collapsed and they had to leave him on the desert. Later they were seen by a French army plane which raised their hope. It dropped some water but the cork came out of the bottle. On the evening of the nineth day, his last companion also collapsed.
This item is part of a collection of recordings made by the Mobile Broadcasting Units, which travelled overseas with New Zealand forces between 1940-1945. They recorded New Zealanders' experiences of war and messages to their families and friends, which were sent back home to be played on a weekly radio programme.