George Herbert Clifton

Back in Egypt, the 2nd New Zealand Division underwent a period of refit and training before it was assigned to the British Eighth Army, which was then engaged in the North African Campaign. It took part in Operation Crusader in November 1941 where the Eighth Army attempted to break through to Tobruk.[2] Clifton earned a bar to his DSO[13] during Operation Crusader when, during the Battle of Sidi Rizegh, he led a convoy of supply trucks which delivered vital ordnance to artillery units shelling advancing elements of the Afrika Corps.[14]

In February 1942, Clifton was promoted to brigadier and given command of 6th Infantry Brigade which, at the time, was in Syria along with the rest of the division. However, following the attack on the 8th Army's Gazala Line by Panzer Army Africa, the 2nd New Zealand Division was dispatched to the lines of El Alamein and while its 4th and 5th Brigades went south to Minqar Qaim, the 6th Brigade, was initially held in reserve before being ordered to man the Kaponga Box at Bab el Qattara. The brigade remained here, watching first the retreating British stream by and then the Germans, at a distance, for several days before moving to Amiriya.[15] It missed the action of 14–15 July at Ruweisat Ridge which saw the destruction of a large part of the 4th and 5th Brigades.[16] The 6th Brigade was recalled back to the El Alamein lines to relieve what was left of the 4th Brigade. A few days later, it was involved in a nighttime attack on the El Mrier Depression. The aim was to secure the depression to create a route through which British armour could penetrate.[17] The brigade successfully achieved its objective and was consolidating its positions when the 21st Panzer Division attacked on 22 July.[16]

At daylight, the tanks of the 21st Panzer Division caught Clifton's brigade headquarters which, along with 24th and 25th Battalions, was positioned in the relatively shallow El Mrier Depression. Firing from the edge of a low cliff overlooking the depression, the Germans caused heavy losses amongst the infantry battalions before passing through their positions in pursuit of the British armour. Over 900 men were either killed, wounded, or captured including the majority of 24th Battalion and half of the 25th Battalion. Clifton, with his brigade headquarters, had been among those captured.[18] Removing his rank insignia, he pretended to be a medical orderly. That evening, he played dead and managed to escape.[19] The remnants of Clifton's brigade moved to the southern section of the Alamein line where it manned defensive positions during the Battle of Alam Halfa, Rommel's failed attempt to cut off the Eighth Army.[20]

On the night of 3 September, the brigade was involved in a nighttime attack during which the commander of its 26th Battalion was mortally wounded.[21] With the battalion leaderless and disorganised, Clifton tried to restore order. He approached what he thought were friendly troops only to find himself in the hands of the Italian 185th Folgore Division. Debriefed personally by the commander of the Panzer Army Africa, Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel, Clifton was taken away afterwards by truck but promptly jumped out to try and escape. Chased down by the guards, he was recaptured only to give them the slip again. He walked for five days to El Alamein before he was noticed by the crew of a German tank and captured. Taken before Rommel again, he was threatened with a firing squad if he was to escape again. He was flown to Italy the next day.[22]

Brigadier George Clifton (left), having been made a prisoner of war, meeting Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel in Egypt

Held in a prisoner of war camp, Clifton soon managed to escape and made his way as far as the Swiss border before being recaptured.[23] Transferred to a punishment camp at Gavi, he made three further escape attempts, the last of which was in September 1943 and involved the digging of a tunnel with 60 other prisoners. Detected before they could break out, the prisoners were moved to a camp in Germany. While en route, Clifton jumped from the train transporting them through Germany. His escape was short lived and while hiding in a bush near the train tracks, he was shot in the leg and stomach by a guard. Other prisoners, under guard, retrieved him and dressed his wounds.[24] Taken to a hospital, he was treated for his wounds; the bullet, which had lodged in his stomach, was later given to him as a souvenir. In March 1944, after recuperating for four months, he was placed in a camp near Hadamar which was specially designated for recidivist escapees.[25]

His last escape attempt was in March 1945, when he managed to make his way over several barbed wire fences and evade guards. Disguised as a labourer from Holland, he was able to reach advancing American troops and, having established his identity, was flown to England[26] and then onto New Zealand, he arrived in April 1945 and was treated in a servicemen's hospital in Rotorua.[27] He received a second bar to his DSO[28] for his exploits as a prisoner of war, having made a total of nine escape attempts from captivity.[27] However, shortly after his return to New Zealand, his wife, Doris, died.[29]