Gunner STANLEY WALTER BRACKEN 41007, 14 Lt. A.A. Regt., New Zealand Artillery who died on 16 July 1942 Remembered with honour EL ALAMEIN WAR CEMETERY CWGC :: Cemetery Details
In the next few days 4 Brigade, less 18 Battalion but plus the remnants of the 22nd, withdrew to Maadi and 6 Brigade was called forward. The 4th Field came directly under the CRA, with the 6th Field still under 5 Brigade and the 5th Field with Divisional Reserve. For the period of urgent reorganisation which followed, Brigadier Weir arranged close liaison with the RAF and strong air support could be called up if needed. But the field guns were kept busy. They drove enemy gunners south of Ruweisat off their guns on the 16th. The enemy retaliated by bombing at 2 p.m., when the heat haze was at its worst. Ju87s came over first and then Ju88s dived from a different direction, so that Bofors gunners engaging the Ju87s were facing the wrong direction and were taken unawares. D1 claimed yet another Stuka and the Left Section of D Troop shot down another with small-arms fire. But 43 Battery suffered the rare disaster of a direct hit on one of its guns which wiped out the whole crew - a shocking spectacle for men of nearby guns. (Sgt D.P. Patterson, Bdrs E. J. McAlpine and C. A. Walker, Gnrs S. W. Bracken, W. W. Hooper, J. F. Lynn, H. F. Preston and M. G. Smith were killed and Gnrs T. L. Joseph and N. J. Thurlow died of wounds.)
