Fernleaf Cairo

"Its call sign was Fernleaf Cairo, and between 1939 and 1946, around 76,000 Kiwis of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force passed through Maadi Camp. Around 14 kilometres south of Cairo, the camp appeared almost overnight, as this country's permanent overseas base during the Second World War. By 1945 the camp had tar-sealed roads, two cinemas, an open-air amphitheatre, canteens, bars, chapels, sports fields, a meat-pie and ice-cream factory, and thanks to General Bernard Freyberg, swimming baths. With unpublished images and first-hand accounts, Fernleaf Cairo offers a fascinating insight…