7th Essex in Palestine

[Pvte Lynch]

Posted this originally in the Soldiers Forum. Thought visitors to this forum might be interested as well, particularly those who helped me in my work....

G'day,

Last year when I joined this forum, I sought assistance in putting together a history of my Grandfather's career as a Private in the 7th Essex Battalion. It was for my father, who knew hardly anything of his father's experiences during the war. Thanks to the help of fellow members, this work is now complete.

I have uploaded it to http://users.bigpond.net.au/toolaroo/essex.htm.

I hope that members find it interesting. My main goals were to be both historically accurate and provide some insight into what my Grandfather's experiences were like.

If I have failed in this regard, please feel free to comment and/or offer any advice.

Thanks again for all your help.

Stephen

[steve fuller]

With relatives in the 162nd Bgde, I was naturally curious so had a look. I must say - great read Stephen - really enjoyed it mate.

Well researched & you've included a good level of what may be called the "small details" in it. I especially liked the "go round the block & come back a year older"!!!! Very nice touch & makes it all the more realistic.

Very worth the effort & my congrats to you

Steve

[Matthew King]

Well done Stephen, very nicely put together. Noce to see another view point of the Essex in Gaza.

I was wondering if you could add some references to the page so I could read somemore of the background information.

Thanks

Matt

[Pvte Lynch]

Matthew,

Some of the material I referred to was:-

With the 1/5th Essex in the East by Lieut.-Col. T. Gibbons

Everyman at War edited by C. B. Purdom

The Essex Regiment - Volume 5. Essex Territorial Infantry Brigade (4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Battalions). Also 8th (Cyclists) Battalion by John William Burrows

Stephen

[marina]

Good read!

Marina

[michaeldr]

Stephen,

Many thanks for sharing your article with us.

If I may offer some help then you may wish to note the following

Re: Qasim or Kasim Wood and Sivri Wood

If you have not already checked our GWF archive then the foll may be of interest with respect to your page 6 as last year we had a Pal [Londons] who was interested in this area: see -

 

Re: Zimmarin [today’s Zikhron Ya’aqov]

This was community was founded in 1882 and in WWI it was the base of the ‘Nili’ spy ring led by the local Aaronson family and which did such valuable work for Allenby.

Dr. Steuber, the chief medical officer of the Turkish-German forces in Palestine, visited Zikhron Ya’aqov in the fall of 1917 and described the locals as peasants and wine-growers ‘under the energetic protection of Baron de Rothschild and enjoy a genuine prosperity, but from a political point of view are considered highly unreliable.’

The photograph below is, I understand, a still from and an Australian film of September 1918 [ref. AWM 42/3] captioned;

“Simmarin – Scenes in a Delivered Jewish Village on Arrival of Chauvel’s Troops”

[NB: quote & photograph are from Benjamin Z. Kedar’s book ‘The Changing Land Between the Jordan and the Sea’ ISBN: 965-05-0975-5 published 1999, by the MoD and Yad Izhak Be-Zvi Press]

[michaeldr]

Re: Haifa’s German Colony

Also on page 6 you mention ‘the German colony of Haifa where they camped for three weeks.’ The aerial photograph below dates from 1918 and

“it focuses on the houses and fields of German Templer Colony at Haifa. The short, sickle-like mole at the end of Carmel Avenue – the colony’s strait, tree-lined main street – was erected in 1898 on the orders of the Turkish sultan to facilitate Kaiser Wilhelm II’s landing. The large tripartite building overlooking the colony from the right is the convent of the Dames de Nazareth.”

When looking at the photograph, north is at c.9 o’clock.

The aerial photograph and the above quote are from Benjamin Z. Kedar’s book as detailed previously. Kedar credits the aerial photograph to “Adolf Schreiber’s album, in possession of Susanne Kolmar and David Ruegg, Munich.”

Kedar also quotes from the British military correspondent F. J. Ferguson [28 Sep 1918]

“The few hundred Turks left behind at Haifa resisted our advance. The configuration of the ground, with a marsh on one side of the road and the slopes of Mount Carmel on the other, prevented our troops from deploying on a line of any width. The Turks were thus able to concentrate their fire on a narrow front, but our men gradually worked their way forward and drove the Turks out of their positions. They held out, however, till they had fired the last round from their field-guns, because we saw two guns surrounded by empty shell-cases, while a little further down the road a wagon bringing up a fresh supply was overturned, a lucky shot having killed the horses. The population gave our men a most enthusiastic reception, the Germans colonists even participating in this welcome. These Germans are mostly quiet emigrants from Wurttemberg who came to Palestine on conscientious grounds. They complained bitterly of Turkish exactions and the lack of security. Their settlement is one of the most successful in Palestine.”

Regards

Michael D.R.

[Pvte Lynch]

Thanks for the info Michael. I appreciate you pulling out parts of your book that relate to my Grandfather's time in Palestine. I've also attached a copy of a map of the Sivri battle from The Essex Regiment - Volume 5. Essex Territorial Infantry Brigade (4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Battalions). Also 8th (Cyclists) Battalion by John William Burrows. Haven't done this before, so hopefully it will work.

Hope this is of interest.

Stephen