Pte J. Ashton Knight, Royal Army Medical Corps, son of Mr James Knight, of Birchington House, Dunstable, sends a very interesting account of recent experiences in Palestine. Pte Knight, who is a chemist by profession, underwent his military training in the Eastern Mounted Brigade Field Ambulance at Luton. In the course of his letter Pte Knight says:

"One again the narrow strip of semi-arable country between the Mediterranean Sea and the Syrian desert has been the scene of vigorous warfare. So many times have its few important towns been attacked and won and lost and the blood of so many generations been shed on its sands that it might well be called the country of battles. It is harmonious, too,that our offensive should be against Turkey, a nation that has been at war with one country or another for the past 50 years. 

"It is to be feared that the average Britisher has always looked upon the Turkish nation as composed of an ignorant and undisciplined rabble, but never was a greater mistake made. The Turk as a fighter has a world-wide reputation, and considering the experience gained during the last half-century or so, as a nation they are looked upon as experts in the matter of warfare.

"Campaigning in this country has two big difficulties to overcome. First and foremost is water, and secondly the continual marching in the sand.

"In England it is difficult, even in mid-summer, to imagine the sufferings of thirst in a hot climate - for my own part, I can assure you I never was really thirsty until I came to Egypt - and it is just as difficult to describe the agonies of it.

"All the water used in Palestine is brought up in pipes from the Suez Canal to the railhead, and further than that it is conveyed by camels in copper vessels (containing from 12 to 16 gallons) known as 'fanatis'.

"Before this offensive, Johnny was in possession of the majority of the wells, and they naturally defended them to the last man. Now they are in our possession we shall be able to procure drinking and washing water more easily.

"During the attack we were issued with a quart per man per day for washing and drinking purposes. As the greater part of the quart was required for drinking, the latter duties of washing and shaving were sadly neglected. In fact at one time both were forbidden altogether.

"As regards the marching, it is calculated we covered over 80 miles of sand during the 16 days in moving from one place to another, and I am sure it takes at least twice the amount of energy to march over a mile of sand compared with a mile of road.

"As you will have seen from the newspapers long before you read this, the attack was made on the whole length of line. The Turks must have been expecting this attack at any time during the last six months, but the attack on his left flank towards Beersheba came somewhat as a surprise. During the long weeks of training we knew this surprise attack was to be entrusted to our division, and we were somewhat dreading the long march along practically the whole length of the line to reach our point of attack.

"It was just after five o'clock on the evening of October 25th that we left our somewhat comfortable quarters 'somewhere behind the line' for our long march, which we were pleased to hear was to be done in three easy stages. About 9.30, after marching some seven miles or so, we arrived at a place near where we were stationed at the end of April, and here we got down for the night. We were nort allowed to build anything in the way of a bivouac or shelter, as the movement of troops might arous Johnny's suspicions.

"The next day we packed up and travelled about eight miles and got 'down to it' near the railhead, where we stopped for a bit. It was very cold at night, indeed we had several bitter nigts during the attack with only the skies as roof and covered with only one blanket. We lost many hours sleep when our camp was in an open place.

"After two or three very quiet days, we started on a long march at 3.30 am on October 31st, and arrived at our destination some 15 miles away just after 10 o'clock. This march was done without food or water, so you can easily imagine in what condition we were at the end of it.

"At dawn our brigade attacked the ridge which dominated the town of Beersheba, and took it with very few casualties. Our ambulance was in reserve during this attack, and from our position we were able to witness our troops advancing under the protecting barrage fire. I was on picket from six o'clock in the evening, and at nine o'clock roused everybody for a further move. This turned out to be a false alarm, but everybody was in preparation for a move at short notice.

"The next day we heard the result of the attack in the morning - all objectives gained with very few losses, and also that the Turks had retreated, leaving Beersheba and its water supplies in our hands.

"On November 3rd we resumed our advance at 6.30 in the morning, and had a very tiring, hot, dusty march of ten miles to a camp which was in a very exposed position. In the afternoon two Taubes [aircraft] flying very low turned their machine guns on us, luckily without causing any damage. They also obtained the range for their artillery, as we afterwards discovered.

"Later I was able to get a shave under circumstances which were not at all enviable. First of all, it was just before dusk, so the light was none too good, and the liquid I used was so muddy that I refused to wash in it. To complete matters, Johnny was shelling a water dump not far from us. As after events showed, I was infinitely glad to have had the shave, however.

"The following night we had a good rest, but early in the morning 'Johnny Taube' was busy bombing. It proved to be a very hot day (in more ways than one) and naturally this was one of the occasions upon which we suffered greatly from thirst.

"Later, having got our range to a nicety, the Turks commenced shelling us. Luckily, we were well sheltered but three burst close to our camels, wounding two natives. We then had to shift the whole camp into somewhat more comfortable quarters. Just at ten we again packed up and marched six and seven miles to another part of the line.

"The next morning Johnny again shelled us, but we were in excellent shelter. A divisional order was issued to the effect that there was to be no washing or shaving until further notice. One of our chaps, having a little water to spare, dared to disobey the order, and was awarded [fined] 'seven days pay' - the most expensive shave he ever had, I am certain.

"We moved forward about half a mile during the night, the bearers and nursing sections separating.

"We attacked the Turks' new positions again on November 6th - a splendid success. Our brigade were instrumental in capturing Sheira, an important water supply. We had a large number of casualties pass through our hands and were kept very busy.

"We witnessed an exciting air battle, our airmen succeeding in driving their opponents off. After dark we explored 'No Man's Land' for wounded, but were unsuccessful. We then carried several wounded Turks from the Regimental Aid Post to our dressing station.

"We heard the following morning of our division's brilliant victory, of the cavalry getting into action and of the Turks' precipitate retreat. Later we heard the official news of the fall of Gaza, and were naturally elated.

"In the afternoon we had another move of four miles, crossing over the piece of 'No Man's Land' where our casualties were highest and witnessed the sadder side of victory, the collecting of the dead etc. We were also able to appreciate fully the extent of our gains. Our troops had to advance over miles of open ground and capture the Turks' ten-feet-deep trenches, which were in practically an impregnable position and bristling with machine guns.

"The land we captured yesterday is to a large extent inhabited by nomad tribes of the Bedouin type. We saw several of them and also a huge cave where scored of them dwelt. I could hardly believe my eyes, for I thought such things only existed in the realms of fiction.

"We rose early on November 8th and had a short march to get nearer to our brigade, and here we were able to wash and shave. When I tell you it was the first wash I had had for nine days and the first shave for five days, perhaps you can imagine what a picture I looked.

"This was the day on which our aeroplanes bombed the retreating Turkish army - we saw no fewer than 23 of ours in the air at the same time.

"On November 10th we had the worst march of the whole attack. Staring at 10.30 we did not reach our destination until 7 pm, doing anything from 16 to 20 miles.

"Our wanderings have not yet finished, for after a week's rest in our present position we are to march ro near our old camp before the offensive started. We are now looking forward to having our Christmas dinner in Jerusalem, and we sincerely hope the next Christmas will be spent at home."

[The Luton News: Thursday, December 27th, 1917]