The Alamein Memorial forms the
entrance to the El Alamein War Cemetery in Egypt. The memorial commemorates
nearly 12,000 servicemen of the British Empire who died in the Western Desert
campaigns of the Second World War including the Battle of El Alamein.
The Battle of El Alamein marked
the culmination of the North African campaign between Commonwealth forces and
the Axis forces (German and Italian). For both sides the objective was the
control of the Mediterranean, the link with the East through the Suez Canal,
the Middle East oil supplies and the supply route to Russia through Persia.
Among the casualties was my cousin Air Sgt Leonard Dudley Shanley
of the 24th Squadron of the South African Air Force.
He died on 21 November, 1941. His name appears on Memorial Column 248 in
El Alamein Cemetery
Air Sergeant SHANLEY, L D,
His parents were Percy Leonard and Winnifred Emily Shanley (nee Swires).
To find your own El Alamein Ancestor see
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