El Alamein veteran called up for Iraq

Seeking out those with experience of desert warfare seems prudent, but this might be going a bit far:

An 80-year-old Nottinghamshire man has been called up to fight in Iraq. The order for Joe Steer to make himself available for combat came 61 years after he last saw action - in the battle of El Alamein, reports The Sun. . .

The MoD blamed an administrative error. A spokesman said: "Ex-soldiers have a call-up liability, but only for about three years after they leave the service."

Joe was in the Royal Sussex Regiment when he was captured as the Allies crushed the Germans in Egypt in 1942. He spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war but stayed in the Army for 27 years until retiring.

Posted by David on February 27, 2003 10:44 AM