This page is part of the fuller description of Ray Rigg's early life and his war time role and experiences, to return to the shorter version click here.
Egypt
Ray in the camp at Mex.
Ray was part of a Royal Engineers Dock Maintenance Company and on arrival in Egypt at Port Said, he was transferred to work in the Port of Alexandria and whilst there lived in the camp at Mex, to the west of the city of Alexandria.
When he was in Jerusalem in
When he was in Jerusalem in
He told the tale of being dive bombed by German aircraft whilst in the docks there. He and some others took shelter under the nearest railway wagons on the dock side. When the raid ended they emerged to find that the wagons they had been sheltering under had been carrying mustard gas shells.
Ray's photos right and below show another task arising from an air raid - the recovery of unexploded munitions. It appears that a bomb disposal team have already removed the fuses from both bombs making it safe for them to be recovered.
Ray's photos of a visit to the site of the Pyramids at Giza.
By coincidence, whilst in a cinema in Cairo, he was very surprised to recognise his Brother in Law Bert Marwood who was also serving, in the RAF, in Egypt at the time sitting two rows in front of him - in the days before mobile phones letters were the only way to stay in touch so it was quite a coincidence.
The Rigg Family of Southwestern Lakeland © Michael Rigg 2021