Beersheba

[willie45]

Hello All,

In light of the 100 year anniversary of the battle at Beersheba, I thought I'd post a couple of pics of my Great Uncle's diary. It's a very small French made diary about two inches square. I've scanned it and been able to decipher most of his handwriting, so I'll post the text from it. It runs through to 29th. December, 1917, so I might split bit into two or three posts.

He was in the 5th. Light Horse Regiment, which was part of the campaign on the East side of Beersheba.

Cheers, Willie.











I've also attached notes as edits. The diary starts on the 21st. October, 1917 when the Regiment was leaving Kazar (in the present day Gaza Strip) to move south to Esani.

21/10/1917.

Escort to Engineers. Left at 2 pm. & went till 1 am. 22nd. & camped for three hours.



22/10.1917.

Started at 4 am.. Travelled until 6.30 & observation till 8am. & then on patrol, got back & horses fed up about 8pm.. Jacko had a few shots but did not do any damage.



23/10.1917.

Fixing lines during day. Outpost at night.



24/10.1917.

Patrol during day, chased some Turks, did not get any. Outpost at night.



25/10.1917.

A day in the lines, outpost at night.



26/10.1917.

Patrol during day, sitting on observation post & Jacko got a few shots very close. Went out to hunt, Jackos back at 11 pm..



27/10.1917.

Went across to Camel Corps outpost. outpost bombed, six camels killed. Dug in on 970 at night. Left Esani at daylight, got to Kalassa 4 pm..



28/10.1917.

Left Kalassa to go to Asluj.



29/10.1917.

Arrived at Asluj.

*[ Note: Up until the arrival at Asluj, dates, times and movements differ from the Regiment's movements as per the history of the 5th. Light horse Regiment as written by Captain H. Wetherell. The only explanation I can think of is that my Great Uncle may have been part of a detachment following behind for some reason.]



30/10.1917.

On patrol in the mountains & left for the scrap at 5.30 pm.

*[Note: the 'scrap' referred to is the battle at Beersheba.]



31/10.1917. * [ the day of the battle and charge at Beersheba ]

Came round the back of Beersheba, pushed the Turks back, got under shrapnel and machine gun fire in the afternoon.



1/11/1917.

Under fire from taubes in the morning. Patrol at 4 am.. In the afternoon advanced into the hills & had a bit of a fight at close range. Retreated to the flat at night.



2/11/1917.

Advanced into hills & held the line at night.



3/11/1917.

Advanced still further into the hills.



4/11/1917.

Morning patrol at 4 am.. Taube fired on us with machine guns.



5/11/1917.

Under shrapnel fire all day. Casualties fairly heavy.

[* Note: 9 men wounded, 14 horses killed, 17 horses wounded.]



6/11/1917.

Retired at 3 am. & went back to Beersheba. Left Beersheba at 5 pm. & arrived at El Sheria at 3 am.. Infantry fighting & we came along and kept them going.



7/11/1917.

Made attempt to take two guns in afternoon. Heavy shrapnel fire all day. Lt. Webster killed.

*[Note: Lieutenant Tom Webster wounded 7.11.17., died of wounds 8.11.17.



8/11/1917.

Fight at Sheria lasted all day. Ted Davis badly wounded. Also Mac and Lt. Morley.

*[Note: Private Edward Davis wounded 8.11.17, died of wounds 9.11.17
'Mac' - Private George MacKenzie wounded 8.11.17
Lieutenant Charles Morley wounded 8.11.17, died of wounds 8.11.17. ]



9/11/1917.

Pushed on at daylight & overtook retreating Turks. No tucker since day before.



10/11/1917.

Turks made another stand & held us up again. Heavy artillery fire all day.



11/11/1917.

Under shell fire all morning. Standing to in afternoon. Horse slightly wounded.



12/11/1917.

Horses tired, retired to beach.

[Larry C]

Great piece of History Willie and an eyewitness account of your Great Uncles time served in the Mid East.

Regards Larry

[willie45]

Thanks Larry,

He survived the war and came home to live his life on the farm. His encounters with horses weren't over though, as he got smashed up a bit by one on the farm and was left with some permanent injuries. But it was an Austin A-40 that got him in the end.

Cheers, Willie.

[Anderson]

This battle of Beersheba is well worth reading about. There's quite a good Wiki account. What surprised me was the extent of German involvement in that Palestine campaign. The Australian and New Zealand Mounted Rifles played a key role, attacking Turk positions on horseback. On one skirmish even sharpening their P1907 bayonets and using them like sabres. Looking forward to your next installment Willie.

[Jerry B]

I have passed through beer-Sheba whilst in Israel. No sign of anything relating to the battle but I did see camels by the roadside. The heart of the Negev desert, well worth a visit.

[willie45]

Here's another diary installment, following on from 12/11/1917.

13/11/1917.

Shifted lines. Watered near village. Oranges very cheap. 10 for 1/6.



14/11/1917.

Spent day digging for water etc..



15/11/1917.

Left for front line again. Passed several small villages.



16/11/1917.

Arrived at Dierau. A pretty little town about 5 miles from Jaffa. Bought bread 1/6 per loaf & jam 6/- per tin.



17/11/1917.

Not much doing all day.



18/11/1917.

Passed through Ramle & Ludd, two rather nice villages 7 camped in olive groves.

* [Note: from 30th. October to the 18th. November, 120 miles of enemy country had been covered, 629 prisoners were taken, and four guns, 1,500 rifles and much other booty fell to the Regiment. The Regiment's duty from the 18th. was to assist in holding the left half of the lines. Horses were sent to the rear and it was trench warfare again.]



19/11/1917.

Wet night on outpost. Had a rough time. Yeomanry man shot in afternoon.



20/11/1917.

Had a rough time, rained all night. No shelter.



21/11/1917.

Moved over & relieved 1st. Brigade. Bread & jam bought but very dear.



22/11/1917.

Usual patrols and outpost watching Jacko.



23/11/1917.

Escorting Doctor to village, two trucks. Turks just outside village.



24/11/1917.

On patrol. Turks preparing to attack.



25/11/1917.

Turks attacked village East of Jaffa & took it. N-Z's counter attacked. Heavy casualties.

* [Note: N-Z's would refer to New Zealand forces].



26/11/1917.

Turks advanced to village. On outpost close to Turks.



27/11/1917.

Turks attacked, heavy artillery fire. Nearly blown up with shell. Turks held village.



28/11/1917.

In trenches under shell fire. Trench digging at night.



29/11/1917.

Heavy artillery fire. Digging trenches. Turks attacked Camel Corps.



30/11/1917.

A day on the lines. Called out at 2am. to reinforce 6th. Regiment.



1/12/1917.

In trenches at night. Dug out in daytime. heavy shrapnel fire.



2/12/1917.

In trenches. Digging at night. Heavy bombardment by Infantry on left.



3/12/1917.

In trenches all day. Heavy bombardment & attack at night. Machine gun fire very heavy.



4/12/1917.

In support. In dug out, a few shells. Shrapnel pellet went through overcoat.



5/12/1917.

In trenches. Digging at night under fire.



6/12/1917.

In trenches digging at night and after, stand to.



7/12/1917.

In trench. Turks opened heavy fire on our trench. Relieved by Scottish Infantry at 9pm. Went back to horses and retired.



8/12/1917.

After riding all night, camped near Dierau. Rained heavy all day. Shelters erected but not too good.



9/12/1917.

In Reserves, Rained all day.



10/12/1917.

In Reserves. Still raining.


11/12/1917.

In Reserves. Fine day but very cold at night.



12/12/1917.

Left Camp at 10am. & went back about 15 miles. camped near (Esdud) beach.


** Original period maps are hard to find and a lot of names have since been changed. My guess is that Esdud is the modern day Ashdod, on the coast between Gaza and Jaffa / Tel Aviv.


This photo is one of many my Great Uncle took and may or may not be the beach referred to near Esdud. Most of them are hard to identify.

Cheers, Willie.

[Jerry B]

Also at the battle of Beersheba were the Welsh Cavalry (though they fought as infantry), the 25th Bn. RWF Montgomeryshire and Welsh Horse Yeomanry and a member of them, Captain (Temporary Major) Godfrey Fitzhugh, 1st Montgomery Yeomanry attd to the 25th Royal Welch Fusiliers who was killed in action on the day of the battle, the 31st October 1917 and I have an official document that records his death, a copy of death certificate for him.

Date of birth: 20 October 1873
Date of death: 1 November 1917
Killed in action aged 43
Buried in the Beersheba War Cemetery, Grave Reference: K. 13.
Godfrey was born in Pershore, the son of Godfrey William Fitzhugh, a barrister, and Katharina Emily Oakley of Plas-Power, Wrexham.
At the time of the 1891 census, Godfrey was described as “articled clerk to a solicitor”. In June 1894, he was gazetted to be a Second Lieutenant in the Yeomanry Cavalry and was promoted Lieutenant, three years later.
In March 1900, he was seconded for service with the Imperial Yeomanry. He relinquished his Commission in the Imperial Yeomanry in September 1901.
He married Ethel Mary Peel on 14 April 1904 they had two sons and a daughter. In October 1905, the London Gazette announced, “Major in the Yeomanry Cavalry (Honorary Captain in the Army) G. FitzHugh resigns his Commission. Dated 18 October 1905”. In 1909, he was Sheriff of Denbighshire and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant, the following year.
He was a Captain in the Montgomeryshire Yeomanry (TF), and arrived in Egypt with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers 25th (Montgomeryshire and Welsh Horse Yeomanry) Battalion on 4 March 1916. In Egypt, the Montgomery Yeomanry were dismounted, and on 4th March 1917 became Infantry, part of the 231st Brigade of the newly-formed 74th (Yeomanry) Division. They were engaged at the 2nd Battle of Gaza 17-19 April 1917, and the 3rd Battle of Gaza 27 Oct-7 Nov 1917, including the Capture of Beersheba on 31 October, the day on which he was killed.
He is commemorated in St Hildeburgh's Church, Hoylake, Cheshire on the Memorial Plaque to Members of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club who fell in the two world wars. His widow had the bells at St Mary's Church in Plas Power installed in his memory; they consist of a carillon of eight bells operated by hand and are still in use 2010.

[willie45]

Thanks Jerry, there's some interesting history there.

Cheers, Willie.

[willie45]

The remainder of the diary entries from 13th. December through to 29th. December were written when the Regiment was in Reserve, and the diary entries are brief and not very noteworthy. A typical entry for this period is 'In Camp, nothing doing.'

For anyone interested in reading it, here's the text from a letter my Great Uncle wrote to his father, my Great Grandfather, during this period. It gives an account of the fighting at Beersheba.



Now that we are back in reserve for a few days I have a chance of writing a few lines, although paper is not too plentiful, I still have a little bit that I got from the Turks. Don't bother sending me any paper over as I will most likely be able to get plenty soon. I will try and give you a little account of my experiences during the advance here.

We moved from Abbersan on the 21st. October, as escort to Engineers transport, then for ten days we were attached to the Camel Corps for screen and patrol work and got in touch with the enemy every day. We then all joined up again and moved from Essane to Kalassa. We stayed at Kalassa one night and then moved on to Asluge. I did one days patrol in the mountains there and then the whole division moved out for the attack on Beersheba. It is a fine sight to see the whole mounted division on the move. We left about six o'clock and rode all night, next moring we stopped about eight o'clock and had a bit of breakfast and then pushed on again. As soon as daylight broke we were escorted by planes to keep the taubes away.

The fight started with the New Zealanders on our left, but soon our screen was at it and then Jacko opened up with his guns and began to give us a bit of shrapnel, but did not do much damage. Our artillery came into action and made Jacko move back, our chaps picked up the range very quick and got on to his guns in the third shot and then let the shells go thick and fast. We then moved forward again and met with very little resistance, a little machine gun and rifle fire till we came to the Hebron road. Here we waited for a while, our object being to cut off the enemy from Beersheba, also to stop reinforcements coming from Hebron and Jerusalem.

That night we camped near the road and next morning a few of us went on a patrol along the road at daylight. A taube fired on us with a machine gun but we scattered out and it did not get any of us. In the aftemoon we advanced into the hills, our section forming part of the screen. We came in for our share of fire, but there was little damage done. We had a little experience that day, but I mentioned it in my last letter, so need not say any more about it. We had a rough time in the hills for about a week and lost a few good men and horses.

Left the hills on the 6th November at 6 am. and retired to Beersheba for a rest, but we got there in the afternoon and had to move straight to the front again where the Infantry were fighting at Sharia. The enemy had begun to retire so we had to get in for our share and keep them fighting. We rode all night from Beersheba and had a bit of breakfast at daylight and followed them up all day taking a few prisoners. In the afternoon our regiment made an attempt to take some guns, but we had not quite enough daylight to finish the job. We did two charges and got close to the gun, but it got dark and we had to draw out.

We held the line that night and next morning advanced a little, and the Turks attacked, we had a good scrap which lasted all day. I had a mate wounded along side of me, and a horse I was holding shot through the neck. Things were very lively all day and we lost a good few men. Ted Davis being one. Next morning the enemy retired and we pushed on and captured a number of guns and a good many prisoners. We started that morning hungry and with no tucker for ourselves or horses and very little water, but we captured some of Jacko's stores and helped ourselves, and I can tell you we enjoyed it. The Turk's tucker was very good. We were under fairly heavy fire from the big guns that day but very little rifle fire. Next morning we went ahead again and after a couple of little scraps and taking a number of prisoners we came to a village, where we tried to water our horses, as the poor beggars needed it badly. There were two wells there, but Jacko had the range of them with his guns and shelled us when we went near them.

We got into a warm corner that day at the village. Jacko got his guns right on to us and we had a number of casualties. It was a lively few minutes, my horse was slightly wounded, but I got out alright, narrow escapes don't count here. I will give you an instance of what happened a few days ago. Our Signalling Officer was riding along and a H. E. shell burst near him, it blew the horse's front legs off and cut it in two behind the saddle and never hurt the man. We have been doing a bit of trench warfare lately and I don't care about it, but I suppose we will get used to it. I had a shrapnel pellet through my overcoat one day, but it never hit me, so there was no harm done.

I could go on writing for a week about different experiences we have, but I will get on to something else as war is not a very pleasant pastime. We have had three days rain over here which has not made things any better for us, but there is a lot of rain here in the winter and none in the summer. It is getting very cold here as we are nearly into the middle of winter and the days are very short. This is a fine country and in many respects similar to the Downs, only there are no trees except what have been planted. Oranges are grown here on a large scale for export and are ripe at present, but we are just about tired of them. We can get as many as we want, but it is very hard to get anything else in the way of food.

Thanks very much for the parcels which arrived at a very convenient time, we were in the trenches when they came and they were very welcome. We are camped alongside of A squadron for a few days, so I shall have a yarn to Alf Seanegan and Gorrie and Jack Swayne nearly every day, sometimes I don't see them for a month. Glad to hear from your last letter that everything is going on so well at home, hope you have a good Christmas. I have no idea what sort of a time we will have or where we will be. I think I will close now, the boys are boiling up for tea. Will write again as soon as I get an opportunity.



This is the diary entry for Christmas Day, 1917:-

' Rained all day. No tea for dinner. Cold & wet. Transport wagons bogged everywhere. A Happy Xmas.'



The dreaded oranges:

[Anderson]

Very interesting Willie, your great uncle was a good correspondent, when he had time to put pen to paper.