For a Virtual Tour of North Africa click on the image after my introduction titled "Troops Proceeding to North Africa"

You are now on a site dedicated to the men and their Regiments of the ‘Eight Army’. Their 3000 mile march from the Western Desert to the Italian Alps is a story that deserves to be remembered. My inspiration for this site was sowed at a very early age. I came from a very little village in Surrey and as morbid as it may seem my infant school was right next door to the village cemetery. In this cemetery lay my Granddad a ‘Desert Rat’ who served with the 1/6th Queens Royal West Surrey Regiment, I would often give guided tours to his resting place. I remember every Remembrance Day going down with my Mum and Nan to lay poppies on his grave, on these adventures down to the cemetery I would ask the inevitable questions ‘What happened to Granddad?’ This is the question I have been asking ever since and I am sure is the inspiration to thousands of over people researching their family members who served in World War II.

I am not going to try and rewrite the History books, I will leave that to the experts and I am sure there will be a couple of errors in my research, which in time I hope to correct (with a little help from you). I would love to cover the whole of their 3000 mile journey and in time I will, but for now I will concentrate on the Western Desert from Egypt to the surrender of the Axis army in Tunisia, a journey of 1500 miles through some of the most desolate unforgiving regions on this earth.

Before we go any further we must not forget the men of the 1st Army and their landings at Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia in the combined British and American operation code named "Torch".

Virtual Tour of North Africa

You are just about to go on a fascinating journey with arguably the most famous army during World War II ‘The Eighth Army’ with the help of original photos taken at the time.

Before we embark on this journey you need to read the following “Notes for Troops Proceeding to North Africa”, you never know you may need some of the information supplied within.