Current Information:

Age-32

200, Wightman Road, Hornsey

Jerusalem War Cemetery

Egypt and Palestine

After the Western Front, the second largest theatre of war between 1914 and 1918 was Egypt and Palestine. Britain had long had a foothold in Egypt guarding the vitally important Suez Canal and when war was declared against Turkey (the Ottoman Empire) who controlled all of what is now known as the Middle East, British troops were sent to guard the canal from attacks from the north. For the first two years of the war the British forces were on the defensive as the Turks, backed by the Germans, made a number of attempts against the canal but an important victory in August 1916 at Rumani relieved the pressure and the British force was then able to move onto the offensive and advance north into Palestine. It took them three attempts to break through the Gaza-Beersheba line which was finally achieved at the end of October 1917 followed shortly after by the capture of Jerusalem. In February 1918, the British Army extended their right towards the Jordan Valley as a result of which Jericho was occupied. The plan now was to launch large scale raids across the River Jordan and strike at the Hedjaz railway, a vital supply line for the enemy.

When XX Corps began their advance on 8th March, 1918, the task of 181 Brigade of 60th Division was to secure the line of the Wadi el ‘Auja, just above the Jordan valley and guard against an attack on the open wing of 53rd Division as they advanced on Tell ‘Asur. At 5am on 9th March the 2/22nd London and 2/21st London battalions crossed the line of the wadi but the 2/24th London battalion was held up in the hills where precipitous gorges made progress very slow and as a result their attack on Abu Tulul started late. When they finally moved forward at 8.15am, after 30 minutes bombardment, the men of 2/24th London were pinned to the ground by machine-gun fire and it was not until midday that a second attack gained them a footing on the south-eastern slope of the hill. At 2.30pm, the 2/23rd London battalion were sent forward in support and the position was fully secured clearing the way for the advance of 53rd Division. There were some casualties for the London battalions, including William Mallett of 2/24th London.