http://www.burnleyexpress.net/burnleynews/Kit-bag-lost-in-desert.3856676.jp
Kit bag lost in desert 60 years ago returns to Burnley
A BATTERED old Army kitbag has provided a treasure trove of memories for a Burnley pensioner.
Mrs Irene Porter (75) has been reunited with letters she wrote when eight to her brother Alec Ross, who was serving with the forerunner of the SAS in Egypt during the Second World War.
In August, the Egyptian desert yielded its long-lost secret when Italian tourists spotted the bag and handed it to tour guide Mr Khaled Makram.
Enlisting the help of Mr Geoffrey Kolbe, who was on another tour, the pair set out on their quest to trace the family of Alex Ross, who died three years ago aged 87. Six months later, Mr Makram arrived in Burnley at the Parkinson Street home of Mrs Porter with the treasured contents.
Letters from home, photos, dog tags, paybook and even a radio codebook were among the items recovered.
An emotional Mrs Porter said: "It is just incredible. These items really bring Alec back to me and take me back to my childhood in Rutland Avenue.
"I don't think we appreciated Alec's war efforts enough when he came home. He never really talked about his experiences, but I'm sure he did a lot of very important and brave work."
Desert safari guide Mr Makram, making his first visit to England, described how the bag was found near "Camp Chianti", used by Lazlo Almasy on whom the film "The English Patient" was based.
He said: "The bag was found under a small covering of sand near Gelf Kebir, just a few kilometres from the 'Cave of Swimmers' and near the Libyan border. There has been no rain there for 60 years, which is why the contents have been so well preserved. I am very grateful to Mr Kolbe for tracing Mrs Porter and it is lovely to hand these remarkable artefacts personally to her. It is certainly the most interesting thing to have been found on my tour."
Mrs Porter added: "I used to send Alec copies of the Burnley Express so it's possible there are some of those lying out there in the desert."
After Egypt, Alec returned to England and was attached to the secret code-breaking station, Bletchley Park, and married a local girl in February 1945.
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