Thursday, 15 February
Today we left Rehovot, and came across country to the camp which has been prepared for us at Latrun by a squadron of the Greys. We left at 10.30 and C Squadron, my squadron, acted as advance to the Regiment.
Being advance guard, all my troop were armed and we led no extra horses; these were taken by the other troops. The first leg was about 15 miles and most enjoyable. Parts of the country were lovely, and reminded me in many ways of South Africa. We passed through one or two Arab villages, which were most quaint, and one quite large town. Their standard of living seems extremely low, and most of them seem to live in abject squalor. When we got on to high ground, it really was a most impressive sight to see the column, stretching for a long way, following on behind. We halted every hour to look round our horses, and lunched off rations at about 1.15. It was very hot as the colonel insisted we should ride with full marching order, including gas masks. We were not allowed to ride in shirt sleeves. After leaving Rehovot we first passed through a little village (Arab) called No-ar-ord. Horribly dirty and mostly consisting of mud huts.
Niara was the next place, also an Arab village but larger, followed by Abri-Thusha, which was considerably larger with very narrow streets and quaint houses. It really was most interesting. After that we left all roads and tracks and went across country. In spite of the heat I thoroughly enjoyed my ride.
We arrived at Latrun just about 4.15 p.m. and after watering and feeding the horses, grooming and shackling, we all went to bed at a very early hour.
Friday, 16 February
On the whole I think we shall be comfortable here – each officer has his own tent, and there is no sharing, thank goodness, as the tents are not too large. In my tent I have a camp bed, a chest-of-drawers, the top of which I use as a wash-hand stand, a folding table, facing the entrance as a desk, a folding chair, and a small stool. When the heavy luggage arrives I shall have my tin box.
The men sleep on palliasses, in large tents holding about 12 men in each. As for our mess, we have two wooden huts, one as a sitting room, and the other a dining room. The officers’ tents have a lovely view from the side of a hill, which includes the ruins of Latrun. The site has never been built up except for a few mud huts round the outskirts in which the Arabs live now.
We have the brigadier and the BHQ with us. They are situated in the monastery just outside Imros.
In the morning we led out the horses. They lasted out the journey very well, and have suffered hardly any ill effects. Their feet were in rather a bad state, and it was a difficult job to pick them out.
In the afternoon we spent our time at stables and cleaning up and getting the camp in order. I went to bed almost immediately after mess.
Saturday, 17 February
Half the squadron led the horses out for exercise, and what remained cleared up the lines. All the troops are expected to make gardens outside their tents, and a prize is to be given by the squadron leader for the best garden at the end of two months. In the afternoon we had a troop leader’s conference with the colonel presiding. He gave us some details about our programme here, which I understand is going to be very intensive. On 23 February we start a month of intensive troop training; that means each troop leader will be responsible for the training of his men. The colonel pointed out that the brigadier insists that a troop leader should justify his position, and that if he does not come up to the required standard, there will be plenty to take his place, and that if his men are not trained sufficiently by the end of the period he can expect a ‘bowler hat’. Actually I do hope that troop leaders, especially in my squadron, are given very much more independence and scope in the organization and the training of their troops.
The colonel ended by saying that if we did our best and made a success of our job, which was essential, he would be behind us and that we could either come to him or our squadron leader for advice; but all the same I think that he is a difficult man to approach.
At the moment we have done very little real training. None of the men, since the start of the war, have fired a single shot on the range. We have spent all our time moving from place to place. First Grove then Malton, Brocklesby, across France to Marseilles for 10 days, through the Mediterranean, via Haifa and Rehovot for two weeks, until finally we reached our camp here where we shall start our training in earnest. A very good thing. All our time so far has been spent in getting the horses fit.
Sunday, 18 February
After lunch I called a meeting of my section leaders and troop sergeant, gave them an outline of the training programme, and had a general discussion with them. Sergeant Rogers, our troop sergeant, was excellent, in fact the best in the Regiment. My section leaders consist of two reservists and two Yeomen. The two former are very much the better.
I was also informed that I had been made president officer of the Debating Society, and that I should have to organize debates every week. Some of us discussed the matter after dinner and came to the conclusion that if the debates were not too serious, we could have a deal of amusement.
Monday, 19 February
This morning we exercised before breakfast; parade was at 6.15. I told my servant Smith to call me half an hour before parade and, like a fool, he thought parade was at 6.30. I saw the squadron leader leave his tent while I was only half dressed. It needed some quick action and a flanking movement round through A Squadron tents, to enable me to get on parade before the squadron leader. I arrived thoroughly out of breath and it was somewhat of an effort to appear calm and collected to the squadron leader when he came round to my troop – old Mike Parish was in the same position and arrived on parade after me. He received something of a rocket as his troop had to act as advance troop and he had come on parade without a map.
After breakfast we had an hour’s saddle cleaning and fixing up our saddle tents, then stables followed as usual. As we left for early-morning exercise old Stephen Mitchell’s horse got his hind legs caught up in the guy ropes of his saddle tent. It really was a magnificent sight from where I was sitting on my horse. He just managed to save himself from crashing to the ground. The horses are gradually beginning to look better, and are getting full of life.
We have just come off stables. I must go and have a wash and get ready for lunch.
This afternoon from 2 until 3.15 all the squadron were on cleaning saddles and arranging our saddle tent. Stables at 3.15, after which all the men in the squadron had a hot bath. Water and feed at 4.30 and late feed again at 7.15.
We started Hotchkiss gun classes. Two officers from each squadron have to attend a class under Sydney Morse. Stephen and I represent our squadron.
Some mail arrived today. I received one letter from Mummy, dated 27 January, and one from both parents dated 8 February. I also had a letter from Barbara Congrave, Clive’s VAD girlfriend [Clive Priday: Stanley’s best friend from Winchester College].
After mess this evening Stephen and I walked over to the horse lines and had a look at our horses. We came to the conclusion that two horse-line guards for the squadron were quite inadequate, and that it would be the easiest thing in the world for the cunning Arab to take horses off the line.
Poor old Michael Parish has collected a few rockets today and is rather afraid that he might get a bowler hat. I gather that our move is a certainty, the date I believe 15 March – the Ides of March. It’s bed time, 5.30 call tomorrow.
Thursday, 22 February
Troop feeding of horses starts tomorrow, so I put a fatigue, which included self, on making a cement stand for mixing feeds. Sly, a bricklayer in private life, did some good work but we did not get very far this evening. From 5.30 to 6.30 Hotchkiss gun lectures. Myles Hildyard is most amusing at these lectures. He always has the greatest difficulty in working the gun. Sydney Morse who takes the class is an excellent teacher especially as he only had a five-day course.
The Hotchkiss compared to the Bren is a most clumsy and out-of-date weapon. They have taken our Brens away, given them to the infantry and replac
ed them with the old Hotchkiss.
We really are very comfortable here. True, we work all day, but the work is interesting, the climate attractive, food excellent, and working out of doors makes all the difference to life.
Friday, 23 February
Last night Donny Player got instructions from Brigade that he should send one of his troops on a reconnaissance patrol to an Arab village about three miles off. He decided to send Dan Ranfurly and prepared the whole thing with him last night. A message came through this morning that Dan had to sit on a court of enquiry and so was unable to go on the patrol. So he told me that I should have to take 2 Troop in place of Dan. It only gave me about half an hour to prepare the whole thing. We paraded at 8.45 and the colonel, Donny and a fellow from Brigade came with us. We should have had an interpreter but he let us down.
The last part of the journey was across cultivated country, and the officer from Brigade told us that we had strict instructions from Brigade not to go over cultivated lands. In spite of that I made a very poor plan. Instead of sending each section round the flanks, I waited until I had arrived at the village before doing that and my line of approach was not very clever. The officer went into the village, and we were received very courteously. They gave us oranges and we gave them cigarettes. We found one Arab who spoke English.
The colonel was very decent and told me that we only learned by mistakes.
Saturday, 24 February–Sunday, 10 March
On Saturday, 25 February, we received instructions from Brigade HQ that no officer was to leave camp until the second-in-command Major Bennett, who is acting colonel while Lord Yarborough is away, had returned from a conference at Brigade HQ. There was much speculation about the reason, and this increased considerably when we had orders that the Regiment should leave at nine hours’ notice for an unknown destination, taking the 18 best men and horses from each troop, leaving the remainder and HQ squadron in camp. These are the possibilities of our speculations:
(1) The brigadier was being bloody-minded and this was his idea of training (unlikely over a weekend).
(2) The Australians, who are now in this country, have been causing trouble: one has killed an Arab. We were going to get them out of Tel Aviv.
(3) Trouble between Arabs and Jews at Jaffa and Tel Aviv.
We started early Sunday morning. C Squadron advance squadron and 3 Troop – my troop advance troop (as usual). Our destination was Sarafand, which is about sixteen miles away and might be described as the ‘Aldershot of the East’.
We put up our horse line, the men were billeted in some large garage sheds and the officers lived at the Brigade HQ for the Lyder area, which was most comfortable. There was even a fire in the mess after dinner. But still we were not told the object of our visit.
We spent our time doing some training, standing ready to move at a moment’s notice. Two days later we were told the reason of our visit: it was in fact to help the civil power on the issue from the Foreign Office of the White Paper on Palestine. They anticipated trouble from the Jews in Tel Aviv and the authorities had us in reserve at Sarafand.
As a result of this White Paper, the Jews are prohibited from buying large tracts of land from the Arabs as a result of which they were gradually but certainly gaining control of the whole place. From this paper it was made quite clear that Palestine could no longer be considered the home of the Jews. On Wednesday, 28 February, much to my irritation, Donny Player decided to send me back to camp to look after the rest of the camp squadron, which we had left behind. Dan Ranfurly, who had been left, had gone sick, also the only remaining sergeant, and Corporal Bond was left in charge.
I left at 6 o’clock in the morning and really had the most enjoyable ride home across country. I took with me Smith, my servant, Gardner, my groom, and Davidson. It was a grand morning, the country looked lovely, and we made excellent time arriving home for breakfast.
Monday, 11–Wednesday, 27 March
Last weeks at Latrun Camp. At one time during this period I suffered from the most frightful toothache, but I was fortunate enough to get into Tel Aviv to be attended by a Professor Gottlich. He is world famous and before being turned out by Hitler he used to practise in Vienna. He certainly cured my toothache by removing three nerves from a back tooth. Before leaving I asked him why it was with his reputation he had not gone to England or America. He replied, ‘I am a Jew, and am proud of it. I have been turned out of one country, which was my home. I do not wish that to happen again so I have come here, where I am most happy.’ Rather pathetic but very true.
The fun had started while I was away. The Regiment was called out at a moment’s notice from Sarafand. Riots had started over the weekend, mostly the students. Curfew was immediately brought in and we were called out to enforce it. Things looked rather bad at one time, and A Squadron under Basil Ringrose, had to make a mounted charge with drawn swords in order to clear the streets and rescue some police who had been cut off. We did not do much damage to any person and suffered not many injuries ourselves, except for a few broken heads and limbs caused through some stones and bricks. Fortunately no horses were damaged at all. Rioting still continued over the next few days, but to a lesser degree. We patrolled the streets mounted during the day, and each squadron took it in turns to patrol in lorries by night. In the end it was a very wearisome and dull job at nights. After a few days the curfew was lifted and we left Jaffa for camp at Latrun again.
In many ways, it is amazing to think that even in the Second World War the British Army were still carrying out mounted charges, with sabres drawn, and yet, of course, mounted police are still used today, albeit using batons rather than swords. Since the Sherwood Rangers were being used primarily as a colonial police force, perhaps it is not so extraordinary after all. This was, however, the last such charge in the Middle East, although mounted troops were still operating in Syria the following year. The last recorded British cavalry charge, with swords drawn, took place on 19 March 1942 when mounted cavalry of the Burma Frontier Force charged Japanese troops near Toungoo airfield in Burma. It ended badly, with most of the 60 men killed, including the commander, Captain Arthur Sandeman.
Easter weekend
Over Easter all the officers and men could take a night off. I went to Jerusalem with Michael Parish and Myles Hildyard. We left on Sunday midday in a hired taxi, which we kept the whole time. On Sunday afternoon we motored down to the Dead Sea with Araminta MacMichael, the governor general’s daughter, and a girl called Marion Young. Both are friends of Michael Parish. The Dead Sea and surrounding country I found most attractive. There is a hotel there and a golf course and would be an excellent place to spend a weekend. We didn’t bathe.
We went back for a drink at Government House, which is quite beautiful, with the most wonderful view over Jerusalem. Sir Harold and Lady MacMichael were away. Araminta is only 20. Quite attractive, amusing, sophisticated but definitely intelligent, she is engaged to a man called Benson from the Black Watch on the staff of General Wavell. Marion Young, the other girl, is the daughter of the leading chartered accountant in Jerusalem. She, too, is very young, but unlike the other is most unsophisticated. Michael thought her very attractive. Myles did not agree at all. I admitted that while she did not appeal to me personally she did possess quite a pretty face. Strangely enough, the MacMichaels live in Kent at Selling, only four miles from Belmont Paddocks, and are great friends of the Harrises. Araminta did ask me to stay some time. We all went to dine at the King David Hotel. It was not a very late night, and we were in bed by 1 o’clock.
After depositing the girls home we returned to the Eden Hotel which was most comfortable, and really quite reasonable.
Easter Monday – the following day – Myles and I spent wandering about in the old city of Jerusalem, which was really most terribly interesting. We saw the August Sanctuary sacred to the Moslems, the Mosque of Omar and the Dome Rock, where Abraham offered up his son Isaac. One of the most impressive sights was the Palace of Solomon and the v
ast substructures below the south-east corner of the area, which was later used by the Knights Templar for their horses. We also saw the Wailing Wall, which was most interesting. Quite a few Jews were wailing. We returned to lunch rather late at 2 o’clock to the Eden Hotel where we found that lazy dog Michael Parish still in bed. We excused him for his laziness as a few years ago he had been to Jerusalem. After lunch Myles and I visited the church of the Holy Sepulchre. The church is supposed to have been built on the Hill of Calvary or Golgotha. It is interesting to note that the doorkeepers are Moslems, and the post of custodian is hereditary, in a Jerusalem Moslem family. Being Easter Monday we found a procession in the church. It was fascinating and rather stirring to watch. And finally we entered Christ’s Tomb over which a priest always keeps watch. I had my St Christopher medal blessed by the priest and sprinkled with Holy Water and was also given a spray from the flowers, which are always kept in the tomb. I found it most impressive.
Arrived back in camp about 6.30. I enjoyed the two days. It was a change. I found some letters awaiting me, one from Ione telling me about her engagement [Ione Barclay was a close family friend]. I was amazed when I read about it.
Stanley mentions General Wavell, who was commander-in-chief of Middle East Command, created in 1939. This was a vast area that covered British interests in the Levant, Egypt and all the way to Persia. He was a highly cultured and competent man, although never quite saw eye to eye with Churchill, who was to become prime minister on 10 May. Incidentally, Myles Hildyard wrote a very detailed and informative letter home about this same weekend.
A few days later, the Regiment was on the move, leaving Latrun for Karkur. While two of the squadrons had stopped near a village to water the horses and get a hot lunch, the horses of C Squadron suddenly stampeded. The men had been eating at a long wooden table near a grove of gum trees when suddenly two hundred horses hurtled towards them. Two horses managed to jump and clear the table, but the rest charged on through, with men leaping out of the way. A number of men were injured – 12 were taken to hospital – several horses were lost for good, and the Regiment was left with a huge bill for damages and no small amount of humiliation.
An Englishman at War Page 3
