Ghent was occupied by the Germans in both World Wars but escaped severe destruction and was liberated by the British 7th Desert Rats Armoured Division on September 6, 1944.

In Desert Rats ( 1953 ), Burton plays a young English captain in the North African campaign during World War II who takes charge of a hopelessly out-numbered Australian unit against the indomitable Field Marshal Erwin Rommel ( James Mason ).

In Hollywood, Rafferty also appeared in Australian themed films, including The Desert Rats, The Sundowners and Mutiny on the Bounty.

His roles include Brutus in Julius Caesar ( 1953 ), Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel and The Desert Rats, the amoral valet turned spy in Joseph Mankiewicz's 5 Fingers, the declining actor in the first remake of A Star Is Born ( 1954 ), Captain Nemo in 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea ( also 1954 ), a small town school teacher driven insane by the effects of cortisone in Bigger Than Life ( 1956 ), a suave master spy in North by Northwest ( 1959 ), a determined explorer in Journey to the Center of the Earth ( also 1959 ), Humbert Humbert in Stanley Kubrick's Lolita ( 1962 ), a river pirate who betrays Peter O ' Toole's character in Lord Jim ( 1965 ), the evil Doctor Polidori in Frankenstein: The True Story ( 1973 ), the vampire's servant, Richard Straker, in Salem's Lot, and surreal Royal Navy Captain Hughes in Yellowbeard ( 1983 ).

* The Desert Rats ( 1953 )

Greene was discharged in December 1944 and appeared in the stage plays Desert Rats and I Capture the Castle.

A large section of bare desert land on the north side of Antonio Street near the 1400 – 1600 block is designated to become a soccer field complex with at least 4 fields and home to the Anthony Desert Rats soccer team.

It was part of the " Divisional Troops " of the 7th Armoured Division ( known as the " Desert Rats ").

As alternatives to Chatterton or Mr Chadwick as the origin of the name Chad, REME claimed that the name came from their training school, nicknamed " Chad's Temple ", the RAF claimed it arose from Chadwick House at a Lancashire radio school, and the Desert Rats claimed it came from an officer in El Alamein.

In May 2006 7th Armoured Brigade, the Desert Rats were relieved by 20th Armoured Brigade under the command of Brigadier James Everard.

The regiment is currently based in Bad Fallingbostel, British Forces Germany, as part of the 7th Armoured Brigade (' The Desert Rats ').

In October 1990 The Staffordshire Regiment was deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of 7th Armoured Brigade, better known as the ' Desert Rats '.

Initially based at Tidworth, the battalion moved to Bad Fallingbostel, Germany in August 2009, where it is now permanently based as part of 7th Armoured Brigade ( The Desert Rats ).

* Moreman, Timothy Robert, Anderson, Duncan, Desert Rats: British 8th Army in North Africa 1941-43, Osprey Publishing, 2007.

Although there was pressure from London for the reconstituted Desert Rats to go into action, outfitting for the desert and training delayed their first use until Operation Battleaxe, an attempt to relieve the siege of Tobruk in June.

* Panzer Grenadier: Desert Rats

* Desert Rats ( April 2012, ISBN 1-84732-968-3 )

The last of the Zoo's Central Rock Rats were sent to Alice Springs Desert Park in 2007 and the breeding program closed.

* The Desert Rats ( 1953 )

He was a Second Lieutenant in the British 7th Armoured Division, called " the Desert Rats ".

In W. W. II 9 Bty fired both 25 pdrs and 105mm SP, with 3rd Field Bde, 11th Army Field Regt, 1st Canadian Corps Artillery, both in Italy, where at one time they were part of the 8th Army, the “ Desert Rats ”, and later in Northwest Europe as part of the 1st Canadian Army Artillery.

* The Desert Rats, nickname for the British 7th Armoured Division

* The Desert Rats, 1953 war film starring Richard Burton

The Namib Desert and the Namib-Naukluft National Park is located here.

The Desert Christ Park sculpture garden is located here.

* Paul E. Funk, Lieutenant General, U. S. Army, Retired, commander of the 3d Armored Division from December 1990 to April 1991, during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Middle East, was born here.

The British Army's Long Range Desert Group was based here, but Rommel's Afrika Korps also took possession three times.

A 300-person prisoner of war camp built here during World War II housed Italian prisoners from the Western Desert Campaign and German prisoners from the Battle of Normandy.

Painters of the Hudson River School, including Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, glorified Mount Desert Island with their brushstrokes, inspiring patrons and friends to flock here.

Many famous Southern California desert resort cities such as Palm Springs and Palm Desert are located here.

The third river, the Khotan River comes to the same junction area from the south, but it is usually dry at this location, as it has to cross the Taklamakan Desert to get here.

The Universidad de Sonora has its Centro de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnologicas ( Scientific and Technological Research Center ) as well as its Centro de Estudios del Desierto ( Center for Desert Studies ) here which are open to visitors.

According to Theosophy, once Sanat Kumara arrived here, he directed the construction of the city of Shamballa on the etheric plane above the Gobi Desert to serve as his headquarters.

From here the river meanders for approximately 600 km to the western edge of the Simpson Desert in northern South Australia.

Along with Organ Pipe, many other types of cacti, as well as other desert flora native to the Yuma Desert section of the Sonoran Desert region grow here.

The plaque notes that Eric Coates was inspired to write By the Sleepy Lagoon, the signature tune for Desert Island Discs, whilst watching the sea from here (: File: Eric Coates plaque Selsey. jpg | read plaque.

The Casa del Desierto (" House of the Desert ") located in Barstow, California is seen here in 2006.

The Casa del Desierto (" House of the Desert ") located in Barstow, California is seen here in 2006.

The area lies on the northeastern edge of the Sonoran Desert, which is generally arid land with annual rainfall of about 16 inches ( 400 mm ) here.

Carry On Follow That Camel was shot on location here during the early months of 1967 when Camber Sands doubled for the Sahara Desert although filming had to be stopped several times because the dunes were covered in snow.

It also has narrow paths rather than plateaus, though the chance of falling into the void here is less than in the Desert.

The Sierra Nevada meets the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert here, creating an unusual ecosystem.