Collection of Orders and Military Documents – End of the...
Collection of Orders and Military Documents – End of the British Mandate for Palestine, March-May 1948 – Order for the Evacuation of Palestine, Telegraph Messages on Battles of the 1948 War, Intelligence Shared with the Arab Legion, and More
Some 45 orders and documents of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, a British unit stationed in "Ras El Ein" (Rosh HaAyin) military camp during the later period of the British Mandate for Palestine. March-May, 1948 (several earlier documents). English.
The present collection documents the evacuation of British forces from Palestine, which commenced in early 1948 and culminated on May 14, 1948. On this day, as Israeli independence was declared, the British Mandate was formally concluded, the British flag was lowered at the port of Haifa, and the High Commissioner for Palestine, Alan Cunningham, departed from the country. Included are:
· A Handwritten order for the evacuation of Palestine, including a detailed schedule for the day of the evacuation, hour by hour: order of sectors and places to be evacuated, driving speed between sections, locations of roadblocks, code words for the stages of evacuation, and more.
· Draft Conducting Orders – printed communication containing orders for troops' conduct during the evacuation: An officer or senior soldier will be put in charge of every train compartment carrying troops, troops are instructed to carry their arms at all times, to avoid leaving their train compartments, to avoid sleeping near open train windows, and more (the present copy was handed to an officer of the unit's camp, whose handwritten name appears in the margins).
· Some 20 telegraph messages sent to and from Ras El Ein camp a short while before the evacuation: a report on the theft of rifles near the Lydda (Lod) railway junction (April 1948); report on attempts by the "Stern Gang" (Lehi) to raid weapon depots (May 1945); report on a British minefield map, transferred to the Arab Legion (May 1948, map included); report on a school in Jaffa, seized by a group of Jewish militants (May 1948); and more.
· Assortment of hand-written command orders, detailing various assignments and mission to be carried out by British soldiers before the evacuation – including an order issued on April 9, detailing the preparations for the funeral of Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, leader of the Palestinian Army of the Holy War, who was killed in the Battle of al-Qastal the day before.
· Five booklets and circulars issued for soldiers and civil servants who completed their duties upon the end of the British Mandate for Palestine, including tables for calculating various grants, details on the rights of discharged men, application forms to continue serving in another country, etc.
· And other additional documents.
Some 45 documents and booklets. Size and condition vary.
Enclosed: "Faugh-a-Ballagh", The Regimental Gazette of The Royal Irish Fusiliers, July 1948 (containing detailed information on the activities of the regiment in Palestine, with many illustrations).
Bid on this lot
Collection of Orders and Military Documents – End of the British Mandate for Palestine, March-May 1948 – Order for the Evacuation of Palestine, Telegraph Messages on Battles of the 1948 War, Intelligence Shared with the Arab Legion, and More
Some 45 orders and documents of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, a British unit stationed in "Ras El Ein" (Rosh HaAyin) military camp during the later period of the British Mandate for Palestine. March-May, 1948 (several earlier documents). English.
The present collection documents the evacuation of British forces from Palestine, which commenced in early 1948 and culminated on May 14, 1948. On this day, as Israeli independence was declared, the British Mandate was formally concluded, the British flag was lowered at the port of Haifa, and the High Commissioner for Palestine, Alan Cunningham, departed from the country. Included are:
· A Handwritten order for the evacuation of Palestine, including a detailed schedule for the day of the evacuation, hour by hour: order of sectors and places to be evacuated, driving speed between sections, locations of roadblocks, code words for the stages of evacuation, and more.
· Draft Conducting Orders – printed communication containing orders for troops' conduct during the evacuation: An officer or senior soldier will be put in charge of every train compartment carrying troops, troops are instructed to carry their arms at all times, to avoid leaving their train compartments, to avoid sleeping near open train windows, and more (the present copy was handed to an officer of the unit's camp, whose handwritten name appears in the margins).
· Some 20 telegraph messages sent to and from Ras El Ein camp a short while before the evacuation: a report on the theft of rifles near the Lydda (Lod) railway junction (April 1948); report on attempts by the "Stern Gang" (Lehi) to raid weapon depots (May 1945); report on a British minefield map, transferred to the Arab Legion (May 1948, map included); report on a school in Jaffa, seized by a group of Jewish militants (May 1948); and more.
· Assortment of hand-written command orders, detailing various assignments and mission to be carried out by British soldiers before the evacuation – including an order issued on April 9, detailing the preparations for the funeral of Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, leader of the Palestinian Army of the Holy War, who was killed in the Battle of al-Qastal the day before.
· Five booklets and circulars issued for soldiers and civil servants who completed their duties upon the end of the British Mandate for Palestine, including tables for calculating various grants, details on the rights of discharged men, application forms to continue serving in another country, etc.
· And other additional documents.
Some 45 documents and booklets. Size and condition vary.
Enclosed: "Faugh-a-Ballagh", The Regimental Gazette of The Royal Irish Fusiliers, July 1948 (containing detailed information on the activities of the regiment in Palestine, with many illustrations).
