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Deane’s grave is easily found, standing among the first line of headstones. Though he was only 16, Deane – like so many other boy soldiers – appears to have added five years to his age on enlisting. A member of a machinegun battalion, he died in the Western Desert a year before the El Alamein battles, with his death listed as accidental. The boy from Campbelltown in NSW was barely old enough to drive a car, and younger than my own young son. It’s hard to stand here and not feel a sense of grief, even now, 84 years on. I touch his headstone and wish for a different world. The details VisitBunnik Tours runs a 16-day Egyptian Discovery tour, which includes a day at El Alamein. Tours start from $12,295. See bunniktours.com.au
