Kairouan, Tunisia. c. May 1943. The morning
after the VICTORY IN AFRICA celebration
sees a nice batch of "dead marines" (empty beer and spirits bottles)
outside the Pilots' Mess
of No. 3 (Kittyhawk) Squadron RAAF, a fighter-bomber squadron.
[AWM MEC0241]
Paul WOOLF has sent us a
fantastic 3SQN “desert song” from WW2, found pasted in his
father-in-law’s diary.
[Paul's wife is the daughter of Alan AVERY, who was a 3SQN Aircraft
Hand in the Western Desert and Italy.]
The song was written in 1942, during the Battle of Alamein.
Sung to the tune of “There’ll Always be an England.”
There'll always be a Squadron
That's known as Number Three,
Who'll fly and fight with anyone
Wherever they may be.
You'll
always find 3 Squadron
In lands far o'er the sea,
Just shooting down those 109s
To keep Australia free.
The Pilots here; in them they have no fear;
Flying a kite,
With all their might;
Happy and free.
The Ground Staff too,
We can depend on you,
While flying so high, up in the sky,
Over the Blue...
We're going back to Gambut,
3 Squadron's on its way.
We're
going back to Gambut,
To fight yet another day.
And
when we get to Gambut,
We'll fight those 109s.
Or
any Jerrie or I-tee
That comes within our lines.
This Squadron's got a motto,
In Desert or in Town
- Wherever 3 Squadron "B"s are
We'll shoot them up or down.
And when this war is over,
In lands far
o'er the sea,
You'll always find the dirty work
Still done by Number 3!