'Gezira Club. Rugger & Hockey grounds from the race-track', Zamalek, Egypt, 1942 (c)

Photograph by Major Wilfred Herbert James Sale, MC, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters), World War Two, North Africa, 1942 (c).

The Gezira Sporting Club was founded in 1882 and is situated on an island in the Nile River in Cairo, on land formerly part of the Khedivial Botantical Gardens. It was an exclusive British Army club, complete with golf course and racecourse. It was nationalised in 1952. The golf course was subsequently reduced to nine holes to make way for a youth club and the club's holdings were further eroded by the construction of a major highway, the 6th October Bridge.

The Sharpshooters arrived in Egypt in late 1941 and took part in the successful campaign to oust German and Italian forces from North Africa. The unit moved on to Sicily and mainland Italy, returning to the United Kingdom in time to participate in the Normandy Landings in June 1944.

From an album containing 182 photographs compiled by Major W H J Sale, MC, 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters).