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New Zealand Railwaymen In North Africa During WW2

During the Second World War, New Zealand railwaymen constructed and operated the desert railway in the North African campaign, which became a crucial strategic operation, transporting soldiers, equipment and supplies to the front line—one that that the Germans were determined to destroy.


A steam engine on the desert railway operated by the 16th Railway Operating Company of the New Zealand 2nd Expeditionary Force in 1942/43.  Photo: © Historical Aviation Film Unit

Overlooked in other war histories, these men played a significant role in the Allied victory in North Africa. The desert railway became a crucial strategic operation, transporting soldiers, equipment and supplies to the front line.

The various challenges they faced, from relentless bombing, to the dreaded fifty-day-long khamseen winds, to the siege of Tobruk, culminated in the second Battle of El Alamein, during which Field Marshal Montgomery stated, 'Well, now it's the railway versus Rommel.'

For more details on the 2/NZEF railwaymen, see Brendon Judd's excellent book 'The Desert Railway', is a tribute to the courage and enterprise of these railwaymen who kept the trains running no matter what. This book is described as:

....the untold story of the hundreds of New Zealand railwaymen--shunters, builders, engine drivers, firemen, engineers, who answered the call to construct and operate a railway network in the Western Desert during the Second World War. The Desert Railway is a tribute to the courage and enterprise of these railwaymen who kept the trains running no matter what.


Sixteen year old Nerys Udy presents a speech she wrote to the gathered crowd at the Blenheim (New Zealand) Anzac Day Service on 25th April 2013, regarding the New Zealand Railwaymen who operated in North Africa during the Second World War.


For those viewers not in Australia or New Zealand, Anzac Day (25th April), the anniversary of the Gallipoli landings in Turkey in 1915, is a commemorative day held in both countries, to remember the veterans of the armed services of both Australia and New Zealand countries. For more information see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_day

Brendon Judd's 'The Desert Railway' is available here: https://www.amazon.com/Desert-Railway-Zealand-Africa-Middle/dp/0143019155


Another engine of the 16th Railway Operating Company 2/NZEF, on the North African Desert Railway, in the yards waiting for its next run to the front.   Photo: Copyright © Historical Aviation Film Unit


Slideshow of photographs of the rolling stock and railway line constructed and used to great effect by the Allies during the North African campaign of the Second World War. These previously unpublished photographs from the North African campaign, circa 1942, were taken from the personal photo album of a member of the 16th Railway Operating Company, 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force.



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