Berkshire and The War: the "Reading Standard" pictorial record. Volume 4. p 961

Berks Royal Horse Artillery - continued.

... Belah, and then there was a general Inspection, a certain forerunner of sterner work to come.

In the Jordan Valley.

The march from Belah to the Jordan Valley began towards the end of April, 1918, when the first news of the great German offensive in France was reaching the troops in Palestine. The battery had not yet been privileged to see "Jerusalem the Golden", and so the journey through that ancient city was eagerly welcomed. The march was by way of Mejdel, Julis, Station Junction, Latrone, Enab, Jerusalem and Jericho, and the latter part, from Latrone onwards, was over a road that can have few equals for engineering skill and hill scenery. Winding snake-like between and around the Judean hills it climbs tortuously up a steep pass, clings giddily to the very face of a precipice, or wanders down to a valley in ever-widening spirals. It was tricky work negotiating some of those downward sweeps. Brakes, drags, wheel chains and other devices had to be employed, and even then catastrophe was often only narrowly avoided. The magnificent sweeps of hillside which would often come in to view as a sudden bend in the road was reached took the breath away by their startling and imposing beauty. Rugged slopes, here and there dotted with olive trees, and slashed and divided by deep valleys, with villages that have stood since Christ passed among them dotted about the hillside, all these things conspired to make the pages of our Bible a greater realism than they had ever seemed before. This ...

Awe-Inspiring Countryside

... was the very ground over which the Nazarene passed with His disciples, performed His miracles, told His parables, and fulfilled the words of the prophets. Of all these villages, none is more picturesque than Enab, some twelve miles from Jerusalem, which formed the first halting place in the hills. Nearly all the marching at this time was by night, for strategic purposes, but none of the delights of the journey were lost because of this, for there was always brilliant moonlight which served to enhance rather than dim the beauty of the panoramic scenery. The long uphill stretch to Jerusalem was commenced at about nine o'clock at night and the Golden City was reached before midnight. Entrance was made through the famous Jaffa Gate, where the late Kaiser's clock tower rears itself in ridiculous impudence against the substantial, aeons-old walls of the city. A halt was called just outside the famous Mosque of Omar, and then the Battery passed on by the north wall of the city and along a road bounded on one side by the Mount of Olives and on the other by the Temple walls. The gilt dome of the Russian church on the Mount gleamed weirdly in the moonlight and then Jerusalem was left behind and the Battery began the second section of that wonderful hill road to Jerusalem. Here it dropped away in winding spirals into a deep valley with the lights of a village twinkling far below and every known artifice had to be used to check vehicles from plunging to destruction over the edge of the road. One wagon got beyond the control of the drivers, but was happily stopped by colliding with another, although two wheels left the road and hung over a sheer precipice. At Talaat-el-Dumm a halt was called during the following day, the place resembling nothing so much as a huge dust heap, and the only mystery was why it had been blessed with a name at all. Early the next evening the concluding stage of the journey to the Jordan valley was commenced, and the long column of troops finally emerged from the hills under cover of darkness.

Story of Lost Guns.

What happened during the night was something of a Chinese puzzle. The Battery proceeded by devious paths into unknown regions, everybody drew rations at once, and the Ammunition Column joined in with the Australian division and finally got lost until morning. When dawn came it revealed the fact that a battle was in progress on the other side of the Jordan. Our troops had cleared the enemy from the immediate vicinity of the river and were pushing them back into the hills. Troops were pouring across the pontoon bridges and deploying into the valley. All that day steady progress was made and at night the gunfire died away and everything was quiet. The next day came news of a disaster. The 19th Brigade, R.H.A., two batteries of H.A.C. and the Notts Battery, had been surprised in the early morning by fresh bodies of German troops which had arrived during the night. They were unable to extricate themselves from the difficult position they had taken up and lost nine of their twelve guns. If they could not get their guns away, however, neither could the enemy remove them and they remained in the gully where they had been abandoned. The 20th Brigade were moved in to compensate for the lost pieces and their first target was the guns themselves, which it was resolved to destroy rather than sacrifice to the enemy. The Berks Battery's high explosive is believed to have blown up a good proportion of them. The next task was to cover the Middlesex Yeomanry in an attack on Red Hill, where the Turks had some machine guns. It was learned that the town of Es Salt was the objective, but whether General Allenby was attacking seriously or was only feinting at the enemy remained in doubt. After events pointed to the latter theory being the more probable. The Battery did very good execution on some Turkish watering parties, but just as at Abu Shushah the Turks retaliated with one lucky shot which unhappily killed Bombdr. "Dolly" Saunders, of Staines, who was one of the merriest fellows in "D" Sub-Section, which boasted all the most hilarious spirits. Hostile aeroplanes were very busy, having good targets in the open plain, and they paid a very unwelcome visit to the Ammunition Column, sweeping close to the ground and pouring in a hail of machine gun bullets. So quickly was the warning given, however, that only two men were hit. Es Salt was taken, but not held for long, and on the fourth day our troops withdrew to their old positions guarding the bridge-heads over the Jordan. Everything seemed to point to the fact that this expedition had been merely a part of General Allenby's scheme to keep the enemy's attention focussed on that end of the line. In a circular letter to the troops he told them that the operations had been entirely successful. The Battery took up a position just behind the Jordan, while the Ammunition Column went further back.

Dust to Dust.

If there is a really desolate spot on this earth, it is the Valley of the Jordan. Why tourists spend money to go and see it is one of those mysteries that passeth all understanding. Sweltering heat, a blinding, choking, yellow dust, flies, mosquitoes, putrid smells, scorpions and snakes are a few of its characteristics. The dust was one of the worst trials. After the heat of the morning a breeze every afternoon might have been welcomed had it not picked up that dust and swept it in yellow clouds into every nook and corner. Watering the horses was an ordeal. When camp was reached on the return journey neither the men's faces and uniforms or the horses'€™ coats could be seen through the clinging stuff, and water was too scarce to get more than one good w ash in a day.

About this time the Battery had a diversion in the shape of a captured 77 m.m. German field gun, which was given them to experiment with. It was proved to have a longer range than our own 18 pounders and was used with good effect against some Turkish transport, under the direction of Lieut. C. A. Morell-Miller. Then another day the Turks had a turn at shelling, using 5.9 howitzers, and the Battery had to move to a less exposed position.

The rigours of the Valley soon began to have its effect on m en and horses alike, and it became necessary to rest them if wholesale disease was to be avoided. The Brigade, therefore, moved back to the hills and camped at Enab, where the change in climatic conditions was very noticeable. After the terrible heat, the hills seemed such a damp, cold place that overcoats were worn, whereas a shirt and pair of shorts had sufficed as covering in the valley.

'Flu Epidemic.

After a fortnight at Enab there was another move, back to Ras El Deiran, a few miles from Ramleh and close to the famous winepresses of Reichon, founded by the Rothschilds. Here some more cricket was attempted and the evenings were whiled away by concerts and performances by the divisional band. Some sort of epidemic broke out in the Battery, akin to the influenza which was raging in England, and a great many men were sent into hospital. It was eventually found that the Battery was occupying an old camel camp, and after the lines had been shifted there was an appreciable slackening in the number of cases. Malaria also claimed a fair number of victims and until reinforcements could be obtained the Battery was nearly down to half strength. There was one sad incident during the stay at Enab. During a sea bathing parade, Driver Chamberlain, of the Ammunition Column, a Reading lad, was overpowered by the strong currents and drowned, despite several plucky attempts at rescue.

A fine swimming bath was provided in the shape of an irrigation tank, which when well filled with water attracted numerous lovers of the natatory art.

To Damascus.

After being equipped with fresh remounts and reinforcing sadly depleted ranks, the Division, now re-named the 4th Cavalry Division, moved back to the old spot at Mejdel, where a French camp was taken over. Officers did their best to give the men as easy a task as possible and to assist them to forget the many trials and tribulations that had fallen to their lot during the past few months, and this, coupled with the improvement in news from France, did much to make things merry and bright at Mejdel. Most of the men had not seen England for over three years, and it w as not surprising if they were getting a little war-weary, but it speaks highly for their indomitable cheerfulness and patience to say that actual depression or complaining never once made an unwelcome appearance. They knew that people at home referred carelessly to Palestine as a "side sh o w", and, perhaps, unthinkingly, belittled the part they were playing in the great world struggle, but resisting all temptations to cavil at fate they passed the time along with jest and song, until General Allenby was ready to give the word "Go" for Damascus or anywhere else that he might ask of them.

"Are You Ready -€” Go!"€

Early in September of 1918 all preparations had been completed for the Damascus ...