Skip to content

Desert Rats in the U.K. Multi-Cache

This cache has been archived.

Lactodorum: This cache is being replaced with a new one very soon.

More
Hidden : 4/9/2004
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Related Web Page

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

This cache is located at the Thetford Forest Memorial to the 7th Armoured Division. Finding this multi-cache is a walk through military history.

The 7th Armoured Division, better known as "The Desert Rats" were stationed in Thetford Forest, Brandon, Suffolk, United Kingdom, between January and May 1944 while they prepared for the invasion of Normandy. This was the only time the division was in the United Kingdom in its entire existence. The Division sailed from Felixstowe on the 5 June 1944 with the first tanks landing on Gold Beach on the evening of 6th June 1944.

Winston Churchill said of the Desert Rats, "May your glory ever shine, May your laurels never fade, May the memory of this glorious pilgrimage of war you have made from Alamein, via the Baltic to Berlin never die. It is a march unsurpassed through all the story of war. May the fathers long tell the children about this tale." (From the Memorial Plaque at the entrance to the Park).

To get to the actual cache

You are looking for this set of coordinates:

52' AB.CDE

00' AF.GHB

A=_ B=_ C=_ D=_ E=_ F=_ G=_ H=_

Clue #1: What is the serial number of the "Little Audrery II"?

T 1 G F G 7 A

Move West along the trail, through the Park.

Clue #2: At the Marker for the site of the Headquarters, what year was a reunion held?

19XY Y/x=B

Clue #3: At the Marker for information on the Cromwell tank, how much did the Cromwell weigh?

XY tons Y-X=E

Clue #4: At the Marker for information on the Cromwell tank, how many Horsepower did the engine produce?

XYY HP X-E=C

Y=D

Clue #5: At the Marker for the site of the old Cookhouse, when was breakfast served?

X to Y a.m. (Y-X)+A=H

Once you've solved the five clues, plug the coordinates in, and they will lead you right to the cache which is in a 2 quart Rubbermaid container. The original contents were:

Mardi Gras beads from New Orleans
Coca-Cola ornament
Car keychain flashlight
Canadian flag patch
Travel Bug Citi-Hopper II
Log book and pencil

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Haqre n ybt Fbhgu bs gur Pbbxubhfr

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)