QUESTIONS about whether the sacrifice of war is worth it has prompted the chairman of the Prince's Trust in Herefordshire to recall a poignant visit to an Egyptian desert in search of the remains of his uncle.

John Leftwich, aged 51, who lives in Tenbury Wells, and his sons Edward, 18, and Jack, 17, made the journey to try to find where John's uncle Bob died fighting in the Battle of El Alamein.

Bob Leftwich was 25 when he was killed after the tank under which he was sheltering during an enemy barrage was struck by gunfire.

He was buried where he fell in a "gunners grave" with three spent cartridges and his hat but the body was never recovered and, although his name is inscribed on a memorial, there is no grave.

Research meant that John and his sons had a good idea where the last resting place might be, although they had been warned it would not be easy to find.

"There are still many live munitions in the desert and in places that can be quite dangerous. Indeed, we drove for miles past a walled-off area that was an old minefield," said John.

Eventually they came to a place where records suggested that Second Lieutenant Bob Leftwich, of the Royal Horse Artillery, died in the early evening of June 28, 1942.

"It was bleak, scrubby desert. A mixture of sand and black pebbles. Flat with only gentle hills. I knew we were close."

John then saw a small grove of trees nearby - the only distinguishing feature in the whole landscape.

"The small grove of trees was in a small gully and fed by an ancient well. The shade from the trees would be a cool final resting place. Not only that but the gully would have created a good defensive position for Bob's guns facing south towards the advancing German armour."

John and his sons put a small cross of poppies in the ground and buried a commemorative booklet and undelivered letters that had been sent to Bob by his mother.

Winston Churchill never had any doubt about the importance of El Alamein and the value of the sacrifice: "Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat," he said.

l The memory of the war dead and the Hereford Times cover story about the value of the sacrifice provoked many calls to the paper including one from 13-year-old Samuel Jones, from Peterchurch, who penned his own poem as a tribute.