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Preface

The granting to the British of the mandate over Palestine after the Great War has made this historic country of greater interest than ever to the British public. The recent dissensions between the Arabs and the Jews, both races with traditional claims to its possession, have brought it more prominently into public notice, while the official opening in January, 1935, of the immense pipe lines carrying oil from Kirkuk, one hundred and fifty miles north of Bagdad in Irak, across the barren desert of Arabia, the high plateau of Trans-jordania, the deep valley of the Jordan, Northern Palestine and Syria, to the ports of Haifa and Tripoli on the Mediterranean Sea, has given to Britain an important commercial interest in this ancient land.

How this interesting country was wrested from the hands of the Turks by the British Army under Lord Allenby, has been described both officially and unofficially, but the story of one unusual unit of this force, The Imperial Camel Corps, is still unknown to the general public.

Never before in modern times had such a large organized force of troopers been mounted on camels—the animals specially adapted by nature for transport in the desert—and, owing to the advancement that has been made in mechanical methods of warfare, both on land and in the air, it is not likely that such a force will ever again be used on such a scale.

In this book an attempt has been made to include an account of the everyday experiences of the Cameliers, as well as to link up their achievements with the major military operations, while the historical aspect of the country has also been touched on.

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It may be objected that this makes a disjointed narrative, but if this is so, the whole campaign was disjointed; while major operations were being planned or carried out, the men in the ranks were having their daily experiences, monotonous, humorous, or tragic, in the midst of scenes of greater historic interest than can be found in any other country in the world. This latter interest appealed to all ranks. I have seen a group of a dozen men lying round a trooper who had a copy of the Bible, and who was reading out the story of Samson at Gaza, and wherever the column moved, inquiries were constantly made as to the history attached to the places passed. But frequently military exigencies overshadowed historic interest—we were making history.

After the reorganization of the Australian and New Zealand Companies of the I.C.C. into the 5th Australian Light Horse Brigade, with its attached New Zealand Machine Gun Squadron (No. 2), these ex-Cameliers took an active part in Lord Allenby’s great sweep north through Samaria and Syria. This story has not been fully related in this country, and an account of it has been included in this volume.

It is not claimed that anything like justice has been done to the deeds of the various Companies of the Camel Brigade, but it has been impossible to obtain access to the official diaries of overseas companies. As the doings of his own Company, the Sixteenth, are better known to the writer than those of other units, these bulk more largely than those of any of the others. This must not be taken as an indication that this company took a more prominent part in the campaign than did these others, but the work of one may be taken as typical of the work done by all. Each company did its share, and did it well, and this book is a slight attempt to bring before the public the efforts of a gallant body of men who bore their part in the struggle against a no mean foe.

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The movements of the various forces as here described are strictly in accordance with official accounts, such as the Despatches of General Murray and General Allenby, and Military Operations, the Official History of the War, published by H.M. Stationery Office, 1930.

I have to thank several old comrades for assistance, both as regards furnishing material for subject matter, and also for illustrations.

To General Sir H. Chauvel, formerly Commander of the Anzac Mounted Division, and later of Desert Mounted Corps, who commanded the whole of the Cavalry Force in Palestine and Syria during General Allenby’s command, and who supplied the driving power during the final cavalry sweep north through Samaria, Galilee, and Syria, and to Sir James Allen, who was Minister of Defence in New Zealand during the whole of the Great War, I tender my sincere thanks for their kind introductory notes.

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