My Grandfather Clarence Strachan served in the Australian Army Postal Core in Palestine during WW2. I always knew this, however this ANZAC Day thought I’d find out why the Australian Army was in Palestine. What follows is a very brief overview and serves as a backdrop to commemorating my grandfather and ensuring what little I know of his service, is not forgotten.
World War 1
When the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) entered World War I as an ally of Germany in November 1914, Jerusalem and Palestine became a battleground between the Allied and the Central powers.
Australia fought in some decisive battles including the Charge of the Lighthorse Brigade at Beersheba of which there are numerous sources and film enactments for those interested.
At the end of the war Turkey conceded defeat and the League of Nations (the precursor to The United Nations) mandated British administration of Palestine. The British Mandate for Palestine that lasted until the end of WW2 (1918-1948) was the outcome of several factors: the British occupation of territories previously ruled by the Ottoman Empire, the peace treaties that brought the First World War to an end, and the principle of self-determination that emerged after the war.
World War 2
During World War II, Palestine was still under the British Mandate and ANZAC soldiers were helping the British army to stop the Germans from capturing Egypt and the Suez Canal. They fought alongside several Palestinian brigades enlisted into the British Army under The Palestine Regiment. That decisive offensive took place in 1942 at al-Alamein, Egypt, the first allied land victory of the war.
It was what happened at the end of WW2 that led to what is happening in Palestine today (and which I explored in a previous post).
So this is what took my grandfather to Palestine. He was eventually captured in Troulos, Greece and sent to a POW camp in Corinthia and finally to Germany where he saw out the war in various POW camps including Stalag 383.
Australian War Cemeteries in Palestine
Tragically, more than 2,000 ANZACS from both WW1 and WW2 would never see Australia or New Zealand again. Over 600 lie in unknown graves with Muslim and Christian Arabs and Jews who also died trying to defeat the German army.
Many of us a familiar and venerate the war cemeteries of France and Belgium, but did you know they are also located in Palestine?
ANZACS are buried in war cemeteries throughout Palestine, two of which are in Gaza — one in the Palestinian town of Deir al-Balah, and the other in Gaza City.
Deir al-Balah cemetery contains 724 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, 5 of which are unidentified. Deir al-Balah was captured by the British Army following the surrender of Khan Yunis
on 28 February 1917 during WW1.
By April an aerodrome and an army camp were established there and Deir el-Balah became a launching point for British forces against Ottoman-held Gaza and Beersheba.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-64344483.amp
https://theconversation.com/diggers-of-the-gaza-graveyard-40661
The war cemetery in Gaza City was struck by Israeli shells on two occasions in the 2000s: damage caused by an Israeli airstrike led to $200,000 in compensation being paid to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in 2006; and some 350 headstones needed repair following damage from Israeli shells in 2008–2009.
I’m unable to find out what state these cemeteries are in today.
Souvenirs of my Grandfather’s time in Palestine
Other pieces I have
I have written about her as a FB post (and if I find it I’ll add it here) otherwise you can read more about her and others here
I wish I knew more about my Grandfather’s service in WW2, but the little I have, at least it’s here for posterity.
Lest We Forget Clarence Fleming Strachan
And
Lest We Forget Palestine
coddiwomple 