World Battlefronts: Passion In the Desert

Eustace is a rooster. A few months ago, when some R.A.F. pilots first saw him at Gambut in the Western Desert, he looked as though disaster had struck the poultry kingdom. The pilots thought that scrawny, molting Eustace might as well be consigned to the pot; they traded three packages of tea for him. But on their way back to their station, Eustace’s unhappy eye reproached their appetites. They decided to keep him as a mascot.

Though given every consideration, Eustace would not improve. Finally a farm boy who wore the Distinguished Flying Cross thought he had solved Eustace’s problem. Another expedition to Gambut returned with Clarabelle, the shapeliest hen in town. Eustace crowed his pleasure. The R.A.F. courteously left Eustace and Clarabelle alone.

By the time the pilots moved on to El Adem, Eustace was a different rooster. Every day, as soon as the 1 p.m. BBC news broadcast began, Clarabelle laid an egg for the R.A.F. It has been that way ever since. Last week Eustace and Clarabelle were with the pilots in El Alamein, ready for Rommel, or anything.