Wanted: Historical sources – photos, letters, journals or memories of the 70,000 New Zealand troops that were based in Maadi during World War II.
A New Zealand filmmaker is on his second trip to Cairo in search of pieces to a jigsaw that he hopes will complete the picture of the life led by his fellow countrymen. They lived in a tent city during the 1940s that featured an amphitheatre, cinema, a swimming pool and staged international rugby matches against South African troops at the Maadi Sporting Club.
Alex Hedley was passing through Cairo in May after filming on the West Bank. He called into the New Zealand embassy, where Ambassador Rene Wilson told him the extraordinary story of Maadi as the base of New Zealand operations from 1940 until Germany’s surrender in 1945.
The ambassador’s own father was stationed in Maadi, and he would often talk about his experiences in the desert, in a language that the troops took back to New Zealand and has become part of the New Zealand story.
“‘Out of the blue,’ or walking out of the desert with its big blue sky; ‘baksheesh’ of course and ‘take a shufti,’ or have a look, are all phrases that are part of the New Zealand vernacular now, the Ambassador said.
The New Zealand troops also participated in rowing competitions at the Cairo Rowing Club. Such a strong bond developed that when the Kiwis embarked for the antipodes, they were presented with a silver cup – The Maadi Cup – which, to this day, crews still race for in the Southern Hemisphere’s largest rowing regatta.
Hedley, who works for the film wing of a publishing house outside of London, has completed much of the filming already for the documentary; a story about his own journey in search of the experience of these soldiers, that at the time would have almost drained New Zealand’s small population of able-bodied men.
The documentary film, “In Search of Maadi, has a 60-minute slot on New Zealand television and Hedley is planning for the debut on the memorial day for soldiers that died in foreign wars, in April 2008.
He has spent a lot of time with the charismatic Maadi historian, Samir Raafat, who is the author of Maadi 1904-1963, and would be very interested in hearing from anyone who remembers the New Zealand troops or anyone who has stories passed down from parents or grandparents.
“Among the New Zealand veterans there are many accounts of the soldiers suffering from stomach problems, visiting the less salubrious parts of the city, dressing up in burkas and clashing with the Cairenes, Hedley said.
“Both sides resented each other. They didn’t understand each others’ culture. They were from opposite ends of the globe, the geography, climate and cultures were poles apart.
“Nonetheless, it is a big part of New Zealand’s military history and today’s current generation are rediscovering the role their grandparents played in a world war.
“Every year thousands of New Zealanders leave home to work and explore the world and one of the main sites of pilgrimage is Gallipoli in Turkey, where the New Zealand army fought in 1915. Every April on ANZAC Day, thousands of New Zealanders gather here for a dawn service. Though part of a later war, Maadi Camp is definitely part of this tradition and my own journey and hopefully the film will help to keep the story alive for the next generation, Hedley said.
“It is fascinating to read the journals and letters of the veterans, because a lot of their time in Egypt was spent as tourists. They saw all the attractions including the temples and sites in Upper Egypt, visited Palestine and many went as far as Syria.
“I was at the memorial service recently at El Alamein and I met an Australian veteran who remembered that the New Zealanders turned up on their flank during the famous battle against Rommel. The Australian said they were happy the Kiwis were there, because we knew we could rely on them.
Both the New Zealand Ambassador and Alex Hedley would be eager to speak to anyone with information leading to finding another part of the jigsaw that is not only part of the New Zealand story but very much part of Cairo’s history.
“Much of the physical remnants have been paved over in Maadi, Hedley said. “I can draw a parallel with the last veterans in New Zealand who will also be gone soon and I don’t want this story going untold, so I would love to hear from anyone with any kind of information or tale from out of the blue.
Please contact the New Zealand embassy Press Office: [email protected]: (02) 2461 9178
