Pictures From Palestine
This post is unusual in not strictly being of military in nature. It's more of a social history I suppose, being a set of photographs that my uncle Les sent home to mum in WW2.
During WW2 Les served with the Australian 9th Division in North Africa. Palestine and later New Guinea. I've documented his service in more detail later in the post.
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| Les |
Les was a colourful character and a favourite uncle of mine. Like most of his generation, he didn't talk much about what he saw and went through, at least not to me, a spotty young teenager with a too many questions.
The one thing he did say was that at the Battle of El Alamein he remembered allied tanks being like turtles that enemy shells bounced off. I never could get him to identify what type of tank he meant despite the all Airfix models I showed him!
Anyway, The photos are all here. I've included what - if anything - Les wrote on the back of each photos with some further details that might be useful. They're quite small, approx 75mm x 55mm, plus the white border. Most of them were originally taken in the 1920s.
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| At Jaffa Gate |
From the Australian War Memorial:
Les enlisted in the 2/15th Infantry Battalion which was raised at Redbank army camp in Brisbane on 1 May 1940, as part of the 20th Brigade.
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| Mosque of Omar |
The 20th Brigade transferred from the 7th to the 9th Division en route to the Middle East. It arrived at El Kantara in Egypt at the start of February 1941 and moved to Kilo 89 in Palestine for desert training.
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| Turkish Baths Gaza |
At the end of February the 2/15th travelled through the Libyan Desert to the front line at Kilo 789. The battalion relieved elements of 6th Division, becoming the most advanced part of the line.
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| Pyramid in Egypt |
When German forces landed at Tripoli and were advancing east. The 20th was involved in the withdrawal of British forces to Tobruk, the withdrawal cost the battalion heavily: the commanding officer, second in command, and 154 men were captured at El Gazala.
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| No note on this one but he's probably a Zulu Warrior. |
The battalion moved to Hill 69 near Gaza where it remained into 1942, before undertaking training and garrison duties in Lebanon and Syria.
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| Mount of Olives |
In August the 2/15th relieved the 2/28th Infantry Battalion, holding the line from Hill 33 to the coast. On 1 September the 2/15th participated in Operation Bulimba, designed to test tactics and strategies for the upcoming Battle of El Elemaein.
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Tower of David
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The fighting was vicious and the battalion suffered 183 casualties - about half its fighting strength.
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| Arab Woman (Note: The water container is called a jarrah) |
From 23 October to 4 November 1942 it fought with the brigade during the battle of El Alamein.
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| Arab women and their sheep |
The 9th Division was recalled to Australia to face a new enemy - the Japanese.The 2/15th left Egypt aboard the Acquitania on the 25th January, 1943.
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| Young Arab Porter |
After leave and jungle training on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland the 2/15th embarked for Milne Bay in Papua on 2 August 1943.
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| Arab Women and their sheep |
On 4 September the battalion landed on Red Beach, 15 miles north-west of Lae. Shortly after it fought its way ashore at Scarlet Beach near Finschhafen and defended the area against Japanese counter-attack.
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| Via Dolorosa (Note: In the old city of Jerusalem) |
The battalion also took part in the Huon Peninsula campaign, advancing along the northern coast of New Guinea from Lae to Sio.
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| Interior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre |
Les was discharged from service on 30 September 1944
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| Jewish Wailing Wall |
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| Jerry para-troops (Note: These are German paratroopers about to embark for the invasion of Crete, 1941) |
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| The Church of the Holy Sepulchre |
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| Camp picture show (Note: this must have been a contemporary photo, judging by the camouflage paint on the walls of the building and the vehicle) |
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| This one is the only actual postcard in the collection. It's a pity he didn't write a little note on the back. |
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| Again, no caption. It must have been from his time in New Guinea. |
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