Ghosts of War

Category: World War II

  • Diving the Saint Didier, Turkey

    I walked for an hour through the busy city of Antalya, Turkey, to reach the dive centre. I was excited about the day ahead, as I was going to dive on the WWII wreck of the Saint Didier.

  • Diving the S.S. Thistlegorm, Egypt

    The wind was gusting over 20 knots, and the dive boat lurched in the choppy seas. Geared-up and ready, I have to admit I was feeling nervous. It didn’t seem all that long ago that I had done my first scuba dive, and now I was waiting to descend to the bottom of the Gulf…

  • The S.S. Thistlegorm, Egypt

    Merchant seaman are arguably the forgotten heroes of World War II. Sailing the unarmed, or lightly armed, cargo ships that delivered troops and vital supplies was a dangerous game.

  • Searching For The Blockhouse Part I, Egypt

    Somewhere along the railway line, west of El Alamein, Egypt, stands an unremarkable, low concrete building. It was the scene of an extraordinary occurrence in 1942, when compassion and humanity prevailed over war’s chaos and carnage.

  • Searching For The Blockhouse Part II, Egypt

    I had spent an enjoyable, but ultimately disappointing, couple of days searching the area west of El Alamein for the Blockhouse. I was still keen to find this surviving landmark from the final battle at El Alamein, but I was running out of ideas.

  • Valletta, Malta

    Malta lies in an historically significant strategic position in the Mediterranean. Squeezed between Sicily and Africa, control of Malta was critical for trouble-free trading, plundering, and warring.

  • The Saint Didier, Turkey

    Only a kilometre from Antalya harbour, Turkey, hidden beneath the sparkling waters captured in millions of holiday photos, is a little-known WWII wreck.

  • Diving the Ghosts of Corsica Part II, France

    Below Calvi’s towering citadel walls, we descended beneath the waves to explore one of Corsica’s World War Two ghosts.