Diary Extract

The following details are taken from the Diary of an Officer of ‘B’ Squadron which suffered severely in the action:—

“The Brigade had left Belah Camp at 4 p.m. on April 17th, and trekking to Tel el Jemmi, rested from 8 p.m. till midnight. Moving on to the junction of the Wadis Imleih and Sheria we held the ridges on the north side till the afternoon and then returned to Jemmi.

After a few hours rest, at 12.30 a.m. on Primrose Day we were off again to Wadi Imleih.

The dawn was just breaking when we arrived at the Wadi where we dismounted behind the white ruin of E] Magam, and just had time for a hasty breakfast. At 5.10 a.m. a heavy bombardment of the enemy’s lines could be heard and continued for three hours, and at 8 o’clock our dismounted advance commenced. From the crest of the hill we had a fine view of the Infantry moving to attack and the first Tank rolling into action.

Our Squadron (“B”) moved out in open ranks, being the centre of the three Squadrons. The 2nd in command and Junior Subaltern were ordered to be left from each Squadron with the led horses, which in our case meant Wheatley and myself, and it was with mixed feelings we watched Valintine, Alan-Williams and Drake moving off, the only Officers of the Squadron, as Motion had been left at Belah sick and Gilman was Galloper to the Brigade.

Having got the horses hidden in the valley we watched our Squadron until out of sight from the Magam ruin. About 10 a.m. we moved a mile or so up the Wadi to our right near the Field Ambulance, and soon after the Berks Yeomanry who had been kept in reserve came past galloping into action, which made us fear things were not going well in the front.

It was about 1.30 when Drake cantered up to where we were and told us that Valintine was badly wounded, my Troop Sergeant Wheildon, killed and others, besides many wounded including himself. Although suffering from a bad wound in the leg Drake managed to remain mounted and rode back to Belah where his wound was attended to, and a month later he was able to rejoin the Regiment. Wheildon had sat up to reload his rifle when he was shot in the head by a sniper. Alan-Williams was now the only officer left with ‘B’ Squadron.

Moving up nearer the firing line I met wounded officers and men tottering out of the danger zone, and familiar faces in the Regiment passed me, including Valintine on a stretcher, Townsend with a smashed wrist, Sergt. Bateman with a mangled hand and Sergt. Mackenna hit in the body.

All this was taking place at the head of a small nullah leading up to where the fighting was going on in the flat land beyond. Having found Col. Cheape, by his orders I sent back a message to Wheatley to come up, and clambered up a sandy nullah to get a view of the position. From this point the ground sloped gently towards the enemy and our thin line of yeomen could be seen lying on the ground some 170 yards away. I got acrogs to Alan-Williams who was holding the remnants of our unfortunate squadron together and assured him of the immediate arrival of other officers. Wheatley and Gilman soon joined us about 2.30 p.m. and for the next four hours we lay exposed to the heaviest fire. There was not a vestige of cover and enemy snipers were hidden in the folds of ground below us, while their main body of Infantry were on our side of the Gaza-Beersheba road within a few miles of our position in the first Gaza attack.

Enemy planes were busy signalling our positions and shells and high explosives soon followed. Our C.O. and Major Watson were coolly walking about and continually assisting the medical bearers, seeming to have charmed lives amidst the rain of bullets.

The heaviest fire of the enemy had begun about mid-day, and until then we had been slowly advancing without serious loss.

A move up on our left flank was now ordered. Gooch's Squadron being on our right and the Bucks on our left.

Rifle fire had now lessened and shelling ceased, and as darkness was coming on, the order was given to retire by Squadrons as slowly and quietly as possible. We had to creep on our stomachs, but it was a big relief to drop over the top into the shelter of the little nullah.

The wounded still left here were got away into the main wadi and we followed to join the led horses.

The Warwicks reached camp at Mendur about 2 a.m. on the 20th.

Our casualties in the Regiment on the 13th amounted to about 33, out of which “B” Squadron had two officers wounded and 20 men killed or wounded, being one third of the number that left Magam that morning.

Though certain ridges were captured round Gaza, the day was another failure, and our forces suffered over 12,000 casualties.