 My dad Edward Joseph Kemble was born in 1918 although everyone called him Ted.  Dad was conscripted into the Army in 1939. He served in many countries, Palestine, Egypt, and Italy among others. My dad and mum married in 1942 in the middle of the war. Whilst abroad he was shot in the leg but recovered and returned to duties. When dad was in Italy, an Italian Prisoner of War did a pencil drawing of my dad in 1944, the picture looks as fresh today as the day it was drawn. I have it framed and hanging in my front room above his medals, which number five, the 1939-45 Star, Africa Star, Italy Star, Defence Medal and War Medal 1939-l945. I would like to trace the man who did the drawing, I have his name and army number but haven’t got round to it yet!!! Also whilst in the Army my dad learnt to speak and write Italian and Arabic. 
My dad spent some time in Egypt and while there went all over and returned with many photos, some we know were taken in Egypt but some were in Palestine and Italy.
In 2005 my sister and I decided to try and trace our dad's steps in Egypt. We had photos of him standing between the feet of the sphinx (although this photo has since been lost) so I have inserted a very old photo of the sphinx alone together with lots of photographs of him in the desert with his army pals,
including Monty and various other photos.
 
I also have scanned in a copy of a letter sent from my dad to my mum it is on exceptionally small paper and a lot of
the space for writing is taken up with a picture of Rule Britannia, I think however the soldiers would have appreciated more writing space.So off we went Mary (my sister) and I spent a week on a Nile cruise, though we have no idea whether our dad went down the Nile. It was however very enjoyable going to all the various sites of interest including the Valley of the Kings, Abu Simbel and Luxor. 
After the cruise we flew to Cairo, we wanted to stand where he had stood though unfortunately although we have a photo of our dad standing between the feet of the sphinx you can’t get that close now as its being preserved for future generations. We did however find it quite odd that when my dad saw the pyramids and the sphinx he had to drive some considerable way across the desert to see these wonders of the world, and wonders they are, we stood in awe, just amazed at how someone could come up with the idea of building a pyramid, let alone how to carry out the building of them.
My sister went into many pyramids, I however felt quite claustrophobic as the entrances to some were very small and you had to bend over quite low and the heat was amazing. However times change and now whilst we were in Cairo you could lay by the pool of the hotel and look at the pyramids because they are so close to the City. 
Unfortunately we did not manage to get to Alexandria where our dad was also stationed but we felt we had walked in his shoes for a little while although an ice cold beer in Alex would have definitely finished it off quite nicely. 
We are glad we went to Egypt it’s fascinating and the Cairo museum is stunning and we would recommend it to anyone even if they don’t have a story to follow purely for the history and the many outstanding sites to see. Bear these in mind if you ever go to Egypt the following can be accessed via Luxor and the Nile: The Temple at Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, Abu Simbel. Make sure you take a ride in a Felucca, and visit the homes of the original Egyptians who are Nubians. However remember to see the Pyramids and the Sphinx, you must go to Cairo where the brilliant museum is and many other sites. 
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