The Battle of Egypt: Advanced Dressing Station Interior by Anthony Gross, graphite and watercolour on paper

Anthony Gross made over 30 watercolours of the First Battle of El Alamein in July 1942 when, as an Official War Artist, he was commissioned to record the Middle East theatre of war.

In early July, British and Commonwealth Armies, supported by RAF fighters, blocked the advance of Axis forces at El Alamein, near Cairo, as they attempted to seize the Suez Canal. While 13,250 Allied servicemen were killed, 150,000 sustained injuries and were treated at Advanced Dressing Stations. A second battle in mid-October resulted in British victory under General Bernard Montgomery’s command of the Eighth Army. From the Air Ministry allocation of works from the War Artists' Advisory Committee, 1947. Original accession number: LD2545. On loan from the RAF Air Historical Branch (MOD). Copyright: Crown (expired) / RAF Museum.