Anniversary of Loss

Twenty-one New Zealand veterans, aged between 88 and 96, attended a service in Egypt at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery on 19 October to mark the 70th anniversary of the battle of El Alamein. The battle, which raged between June and November 1942, cost New Zealand 7000 casualties including more than 1300 fatalities. At the cemetery 1108 New Zealanders are buried. Hamilton man Alan Peart, 90, says the service was very humbling. “It was very touching, and I could just envisage what happened here,” Peart said. Peart was a flight lieutenant in the North African campaign and he has family buried at the cemetery. “I found my cousin, Lieutenant Colonel Jan Peart’s grave. He commanded 18 Battalion.”
(21 October 2012)