Allenby's entry to Jerusalem - new story?

[Eran Tearosh]

During preparations for events to commemorate the centennial of the Capture of Jerusalem, several interesting stories ‘surf’, and I’m trying to check these stories.

 

I received an interesting quote, from a book about medical activity in the Holy Land, which states that Allenby stopped (December 11, 1917) on his way to Jaffa Gate and the official entry, at the Shaa’rei Tzedek Hospital on Jaffa Street, near the western entrance to the city (Also known as Wallach Hospital). At the hospital, Allenby met Dr. Wallach, was served tea & biscuits, and signed the official document of the surrender of Jerusalem. I am not familiar of any record of such a meeting and/or signing of such a document. Can anyone help with this?

 

All this sounds to me identical to the story about Brigadier-General Watson (180 Brigade, 60 Division), two days before (December 9^th, when the series of surrender attempts took place). The story is mentioned here and there, but I was never able to verify that story either. Again, can anyone help?

 

Does anyone have the letters that Allenby sent to his wife during those days (Dec. 8 – 12)?

 

Thanks,

 

Eran

[Philip Wilson]

The meeting on 11 December, 1917 with Dr WALLACH  is not mentioned in 'ALLENBY in Palestine - The Middle East Correspondence of Field Marshal  Viscount ALLENBY' selected and edited by Matthew HUGHES published for the Army Records Society in 2004, ISBN 0-7509-3841-2.

 

Nor is it mentioned in 'ALLENBY' by General Sir Archibald WAVELL published by the Oxford University Press in 1941. 

 

Philip

Edited 11 June , 2017 by Philip Wilson

[Gareth Davies]

I always thought that the surrender was signed at St George's Cathedral.

 

A quick trawl through my extensive library reveals the following:

 

National Jewish Post & Opinion 1957:  https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=JPOST19570531-01.1.16  which states "When the Turks surrendered Jerusalem to Gen. Allenby, the locale was Dr. Wallach’s study."

 

In the book Where Heaven Touches Earth: Jewish Life in Jerusalem from Medieval Times to the Present David Rossoff writes "During the First World War, Shaarei Radek was used as a Turkish military hospital.  In 1917, the Turkish surrender to the British forces took place there". 

 

This piece https://www.szmc.org.il/UploadedImages//11_2015/MyLifeAtShaareZedek-Eng.pdf called My Life & Experiences at "Shaare Zedek" says "

Shortly after that, General Allenby arrived at our hospital in order to declare the peace here. Our hospital hall was the site of this historical act. He was then invited by me into the so-called (!) Salon and tea was served to him and his aide. Dr. Wallach did not speak English well and therefore the conversation was counducted in French. "

 

 

 

 

 

[Gareth Davies]

As for St George's, the Jerusalem Diocese website says 2 slightly differing things.  Here http://j-diocese.org/resources/file/sermons/Canon%20Edmunds%20-%20111th%20Anniversary%20of%20Cathedral.pdf it says " the surrender agreement which ended hostilities in Jerusalem in 1917 was signed on what is now the Bishop's desk" whereas here http://j-diocese.org/index.php?lang=en&page=1296660183622 it states "The surrender of Jerusalem was signed in the Bishop’s residence on 9th December 1917".  

 

 

[michaeldr]

 quote from Gareth - "whereas here http://j-diocese.org/index.php?lang=en&page=1296660183622 it states "The surrender of Jerusalem was signed in the Bishop’s residence on 9th December 1917"."

 

Allenby writing via Wigram for the King, on 22 December 1917, notes that

"On the 9th, the Mayor of Jerusalem gave the submission of the city to the XX Corps."

Did that take place at the Bishop's residence?

LoC caption - The surrender of Jerusalem to the British, December 9th, 1917. General Shea and staff, who was authorized to accept the surrender of Jerusalem.

 

edit to add further photograph dated 09th DEC 1917

Loc caption - The surrender of Jerusalem to the British December 9th, 1917. British generals who captured Jerusalem.

 

Edited 11 June , 2017 by michaeldr

[michaeldr]

With regard to Doctor Wallach's hospital

It was certainly used by the British as some sort of HQ at this particular time. In his diary the Conde de Ballobar mentions going there on the 9th December

The place was guarded by a British sentry and an English Colonel questioned Ballobar about the Turks and Germans

Also present were Dr. Wallach, the Mayor of Jerusalem, together with a Mr Mani and an engineer from Jaffa, Guini

After a short while this group was joined by General Watson

see page 186 of 'Jerusalem in World War I - the Palestine Diary of a European Diplomat"

[michaeldr]

28 minutes ago, michaeldr said:

After a short while this group was joined by General Watson

 

It may be (?) that at this point Savage's account kicks in

He has Watson calming the Mayor before sending a message to Shea

Shea was then authorised by Chetwode to accept the surrender on behalf of the C-i-C

and this he did about 11:00

Did all this take place at the hospital of Dr Wallach?

If it did, then it might make sense for Allenby to also call there two days later ????

 

Edited 11 June , 2017 by michaeldr

[Ghazala]

Capture of Jerusalem 11 Dec 1917 - When the Holy City returned to Christendom after 730 years of Moslem rule.   In Seven Pillars of Wisdom Lawrence wrote that this was, for him, the supreme moment of the war.

[Ghazala]

[michaeldr]

Ghazala,

 

I find it fascinating that Allenby has signed that photograph

since in it he almost hidden from view behind the new (and v. brief [2 weeks?]) Governor of Jerusalem Borton, and two Aides

…..................................................................................................................................................................................................

 

 

regarding the competing locations for the signing of the surrender of the city

Is it possible that both the claims (cathedral & hospital) are justified?

 

Did Izzet Bey sign the document at the cathedral, before leaving the city

(whilst the Germans preferred the Augusta Victoria, we know that the Turks had used the cathedral: there are photographs of Djemal Pasha [the lesser] there)

 

Izzet Bey hands the surrender document to the Mayor, who proceeds to search for someone to accept it

finally meeting up with various British General at the hospital, where one signs on behalf of XX Corps in the name of the C-i-C

 

Were the British still using the hospital two days later when Allenby enters the city?

Edited 11 June , 2017 by michaeldr

[Eran Tearosh]

 

Hi everone,

Sorry I didn't have a chance yet to answer - I'll do so shortly. 

In the meanwhile - Just received this:

 

ירושלים - 1917.pdf

Edited 14 June , 2017 by Eran Tearosh

[Gareth Davies]

That's excellent, well done.

[michaeldr]

A great stamp with a very good overall design

and a clever bit of Photoshop work there to get rid of the Mayor's elbow 

If I'm not mistaken that's Sgt Frederick George HURCOMB (numbers 3876 and 611058) believed to have enlisted about mid April 1915, wounded 20/02/18 at Talat ed Dumm and previously resided 60, Grafton Rd, St Pancras

 

Many thanks for sharing that Eran

 

[the original photograph of the procession is seen here http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205194701]

 

Edited 14 June , 2017 by michaeldr

[Eran Tearosh]

First day envelope:

 

 

Eran

 

[Gareth Davies]

Good to see the 60th Div memorial on it.  I must buy one.

[michaeldr]

1 hour ago, Gareth Davies said:

Good to see the 60th Div memorial on it.  I must buy one.

 

Yep! must get one too

...................................................................................................

 

 

A post scrip here about Borton (the first British Governor of Jerusalem [and head of the procession seen on the stamp]) Details from the diary of Ronald Storrs

 

Borton was completely overwhelmed by the job which Allenby had given him:

entailing as it did the complete and comprehensive civil administration, including food and health for the starving population, law enforcement, etc etc, and endless bickering with the French and Italians allies, plus the various other competing ethnic and religions groups

 

quote

“The first person we met was Bill Borton, now a General and Governor of Jerusalem, in a dressing gown, returning from his evening bath. He informed me that the only tolerable places in Jerusalem were bath and bed.”

 

By the 23^rd December 1917 Borton was already showing signs of strain and Storrs admits that, if Borton goes, then he would quite like the job

 

Christmas Eve 1917 - “Poor Borton very low again, complaining of grave insomnia and burning pains in the back of his head”

 

Christmas Day 1917 - “Before luncheon Clayton told me that Borton had written his resignation, which Allenby had accepted; and showed me an official paper from Cathcart Garner [Principal Medical Officer] describing his symptoms as being those of a complete breakdown and necessitating instant cessation of all work.”

 

 

Edited 14 June , 2017 by michaeldr

[Stuart24]

Re:  Borton, he described what happened in a letter to his cousin, Col. Arthur Close Borton:

 

GPO

Alexandria

March 13 (1918)

My dear Arthur,

So many thanks for your kind letters, which I have greatly appreciated.  I have had as bitter a pill as any man (who has kept out of reach of the law) is likely to get.

Sleeplessness was the origin of my trouble.  For eight nights I never slept a single wink, and then when they brought me papers, I could not take them in.  Then of course I knew the game was up, and as there was no second to hand over charge to, I had to ask for a relief.  Anyhow I could not have expected to have been allowed to hand over only temporarily at such a juncture.

My doctors sent me down, and I managed to hang on until reaching here, when I entirely collapsed, and lived on sleeping-draughts for the best part of a month, remaining 5 weeks in bed.  Since then we have spent a month in the desert, and now I am physically much better, but still woolly in the head and not good for much, and wonder if I ever shall be.  I go to my office, but don’t do much when I get there, I fear…

Really you must be intensely proud of your boys.  They are just magnificent.  I am exceedingly proud of being connected with them, and so is Daisy I can tell you.

She nursed me all through and is now no great shakes herself.  Three hot weathers here and then the shock and disappointment of all this, with heavy nursing on the top is more than enough for most women…

Well, so long my dear old chap.  I fear I have proved a disappointment.  If that is the case with you, you can imagine what it is like to me!

Our best love to Laura,

Yr. Affect.

Neville

 

Arthur noted in his diary by this letter ‘Poor Neville.  Most bitter bad luck.  We all feel for his most deeply.’

(Guy Slater (ed) “My warrior sons: The Borton family diary, 1914-18”, Peter Davies Ltd., 1973)

 

Arthur’s sons both served in the EEF – Arthur (‘Bosky’) won the VC leading the 2/22^nd London Regt in November 1917, and Amyas (‘Biffy’) ended up commanding the RAF Palestine Brigade from December 1917.  They referred to Neville as ‘Pontius Pilot the Second’.

[michaeldr]

Thanks for that Stuart: Poor old Borton sounds absolutely worn out

I presume that the GPO, Alexandria at the head of his letter refers to the fact that on leaving Jerusalem he reverted to being Postmaster General of Egypt.

 

A small souvenir of Borton's brief stay as Governor

[michaeldr]

The IWM, in their description of the photograph of the procession, give some details: see the link in post No.13

 

However, there are more comprehensive details in the OH Vol.I, page 259/260  which gives the following:

 

The Commander-in-Chief, Sir Edmund Allenby, followed by two of his staff officers: 
Lt-Col Lord Dalmeny & Lt-Col A P Wavell

 

On Allenby's right & left, 
Col P de Piépape [Fr] & Lt-Col F d'Agostino [It] each followed by one of their a staff officers

 

Then M. Picot [Fr], Br-Gen G F Clayton, Maj T E Lawrence & Lt-Col W H Deedes 
flanked by French & Italian Military Attachés

 

Followed by Chief & Deputy Chief of the General Staff: Maj-Gen L J Bols & Brig-Gen G P Dawnay

 

Then the Commander of XX Corps & his staff officer: Lt-Gen Sir Philip Chetwode & Brig-Gen W H Bartholomew

 

Lastly the four guards in column of fours
….........................................................................................................................................................................

 

At the Jaffa Gate the above were met by the Military Governor, Brig-Gen Borton, and his two AdCs (Capt W L Naper & Lt. R H Andrew) 

who then led the procession from the Jaffa Gate to the steps of the Citadel.

 

 

[Storrs referred to Borton as 'Bill' and it is interesting to note that the OH mistakenly gives Borton's initials as 'W. M.']

Edited 15 June , 2017 by michaeldr

[Eran Tearosh]

On 11.6.2017 at 09:42, Philip Wilson said:

The meeting on 11 December, 1917 with Dr WALLACH  is not mentioned in 'ALLENBY in Palestine - The Middle East Correspondence of Field Marshal  Viscount ALLENBY' selected and edited by Matthew HUGHES published for the Army Records Society in 2004, ISBN 0-7509-3841-2.

 

Nor is it mentioned in 'ALLENBY' by General Sir Archibald WAVELL published by the Oxford University Press in 1941. 

 

Philip

 

 

Hi everone,

 

First – Thank you all for trying to assist in solving the really complicated events around the Capture of Jerusalem.

 

I’ll answer/respond one by one (might take a while...):

 

First – Philip Wilson (Post #2): Yes, I agree. I’m not familiar with any record in British books connecting Allenby and Shaare Zedek (Wallach) Hospital. I’m looking for details of that day (Dec. 11, 1917) – when, from where and how Allenby arrives to Jerusalem. Where does he mount his horse (Some claim that Allenby’s soldiers nicknamed that horse ‘Hinderburg’…)? Details of his route towards Jaffa Gate (Most likely down Jaffa Road. There are several mentions of this ride. Shaare Zedek Hospital is on the side of this road) and what happens after the ceremonies at Jaffa Gate, the stairs of The Citadel and the dignitaries’ reception in the courtyard of the Kishleh (The barracks). When and how does he leave the city?

 

There’s one source that claims that there was a meal that took place in 60^th division HQ. The source is no less than Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom. It describes a fascinating incident during that meal, concerning Picot:

 

 

So far, haven’t found any other reference to this meal and/or incident.

 

As I wrote before – It would be great to know what Allenby wrote in his own diaries and in the letters he wrote to his wife regarding the Capture of Jerusalem.

 

Eran

 

[michaeldr]

 

19 hours ago, Eran Tearosh said:

As I wrote before – It would be great to know what Allenby wrote in his own diaries and in the letters he wrote to his wife regarding the Capture of Jerusalem.

 

Eran,

 

As Philip has already indicated, Allenby's correspondence (edited by Hughes) to his wife, and to Robertson, and to the King for that matter, gives no details beyond what is well known from others sources. If you still need them however, then please let me know and I will scan them for you.

 

regards

Michael

[Eran Tearosh]

It’s about time to put things right as to the location of Major-General Shea’s HQ.  Michael added a few photos from the Matson Collection (American Colony photographers) in the Library of Congress – Post #5 (It would be interesting to identify those officers, all supposed to be from the London division).

 

Here and there some mistakes might be found in Fall’s HO. On page 254 there’s such a mistake: “He (Shea) established his headquarters at the English Ophthalmic Hospital of St. John on the Jaffa Road”. This sentence led quite a few scholars to locate Shea’s HQ at the English Ophthalmic Hospital of St. John, which is along Hebron road (Not Jaffa road), on the south sector to Jerusalem, far away from the western sector of the city, where Shea’s division was operating. At this stage of the events (December 1917) - the English Ophthalmic Hospital of St. John was in ruins, due to the explosion of Ottoman ammunition that was stored there (The building was restored after the war. Today it’s the Mount Zion Hotel).

 

Fall’s was probably unaware that there were two English hospitals in the city of that time, and he mixed them into that sentence mentioned above. The other one was The English Mission Hospital which was opened in 1897, on Prophets St., a few minutes walk from Jaffa Road, in the western sector of the city, near the area where most of the surrender attempts took place. This was the second location of this hospital, first opened in the Old City and known by the name The Jewish Hospital. This was opened in 1844 by the London Jews' Society and the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews – today known as The Church's Ministry Among Jewish People (CMJ). It was the first modern hospital in Jerusalem.

 

As to the new hospital – it was built in a wide-open area, separate wings (See plan and photos) and created a very different site in the general landscape of the hospitals in Jerusalem.

 

 

 

 

As to the Great War period – in 1915 the Ottomans took over and used the place as a military hospital. During the weeks prior to the capture of Jerusalem, The Doctor’s House was used as an Ottoman HQ. That is the same structure used by Major-General Shea. The photos Michael added were taken just next to that structure. According to CMJ sources “General Allenby slept there (The HQ) the night before his official ‘entry’ into Jerusalem” and “there mounted a horse and proceeded down Jaffa Road toward the Old City”.

 

Now you see why I’m trying to receive reliable sources as to Allenby’s movements before and after the official entry at Jaffa Gate. The site is still in the hands of CMJ, and is functioning today as The Anglican International School Jerusalem. A visit to the site requires prior arrangements. There’s a nice historical display, including the Great War period, in one of the buildings.

 

Eran

 

Edited 20 June , 2017 by Eran Tearosh

[michaeldr]

20 minutes ago, Eran Tearosh said:

Here and there some mistakes might be found in Fall’s HO. On page 254 there’s such a mistake: “He (Shea) established his headquarters at the English Ophthalmic Hospital of St. John on the Jaffa Road”. This sentence led quite a few scholars to locate Shea’s HQ at the English Ophthalmic Hospital of St. John, which is along Hebron road (Not Jaffa road), on the south sector to Jerusalem, far away from the western sector of the city, where Shea’s division was operating. At this stage of the events (December 1917) - the English Ophthalmic Hospital of St. John was in ruins, due to the explosion of Ottoman ammunition that was stored there (The building was restored after the war. Today it’s the Mount Zion Hotel).

 

Confirming Eran's above, you can see the extent of the damage to the hospital in the this old thread

 

[Eran Tearosh]

On 18.6.2017 at 20:24, michaeldr said:

 

 

Eran,

 

As Philip has already indicated, Allenby's correspondence (edited by Hughes) to his wife, and to Robertson, and to the King for that matter, gives no details beyond what is well known from others sources. If you still need them however, then please let me know and I will scan them for you.

 

regards

Michael

 

Michael

 

Philip referred to the fact that there is no mention of Allenby meeting Dr. Wallach. I'm trying to find out what happened during that whole day: When did Allenby arrived in Jerusalem (Most likely by car from his GHQ of that time. I'm not certain where it was, possibly Julis. Bir Salem became the GHQ only later, I think January 1918), where to (Shea's HQ?), did he drive or ride to Jaffa gate (Falls writes in the HO that he arrived by car - p. 259. Most sources claim he rode his horse. If so, where did he mount?)? When was the official entry at Jaffa Gate (Falls writes 'noon'. Other sources claim 14.00)? Allenby left the Old City riding his horse - Where to? Did he have that lunch at Shea's HQ? When did he leave the city and where to?

 

Maybe there are some hints in Allenby's correspondence, and/or 60th Div., XX Corps, GHQ logs?

 

Eran

 

 

 

 

[Philip Wilson]

page 105 'ALLENBY in Palestine' edited by HUGHES:

 

ALLENBY  to  ROBERTSON(Chief Egypforce to Chief LONDON)

Telegram.Typescript    11 December 1917

Repeated to High Commissioner under E.A. 593 at 1900, 11/12/17

SECRET

E.A.591 Despatched 1400.

JERUSALEM,1400, 11th December.

1. At noon today I officially entered  this city with  a few of my staff, the commanders of the French and Italian Detachments, the Heads of the Picot Mission and the Military Attaches of FRANCE, ITALY and the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.  The procession was all on foot.......................................................