WW1 Digger History Podcast

This episode has some of Oliver Hogue's best battlefield writing. As the commander of a squadron of now cavalry trained Australian Light Horse he describes the actions north and east of Jerusalem as General Allenby's force and their arab allies sweep through Palestine and the Levant / Syria and take Damascus from the defeated Ottoman 4th, 7th and 8th Armies. Herés a taste: "The ruin and slaughter on the road from Tulkeram to Nablus defy description. Never shall I hear the trite expression "horrors of war" without thinking of that road. Dead men, horribly gashed, lacking limbs or head, lay strewn around. Poor wounded creatures beyond all aid lay in the gutters moaning for water. Broken and bleeding animals still kicked in the wrecked wagons. All around were littered the vast impedimenta of an army. Ordinarily our troopers laughed and joked as they rode along. To-day they were strangely silent on their tired charges picked their way amongst the debris."

Well folks, it's my birthday and you get the present. This one is a beauty, not just the First Battle of Amman, but also the Battle for El Ghoraniyeh (The Camel's Hump). We cover the last three non-fiction chapters of 'The Cameliers'. Here's a taste of the camel's hump battle: "The first line having surrendered, the Cameliers pushed on to the second trench. But this left unguarded a number of Turks and Germans in the front line who had yelled for quarter. With Teutonic treachery several of these grabbed the rifles they had thrown down and fired on the backs of the men who had spared their lives." If you don't like Oliver's poems, miss the first and last couple of minutes, but no more. 

G'day folks, just a quick update on the podcast. 

No battles, except on the most unusual sporting field! This one has two parts. It looks firstly at the YMCA in the Middle East Theatre in World War One.  Secondly a fun look at the Imperial Camel Corps sports day in February 1918 so if you want to learn about 'The Galoot' then listen in.

It never stops does it? The Holy Land is in the news now as it was in 1917. We take a look at the fall of Jerusalem and the entry of General Allenby into the city marking the start of just over 30 years of British rule. Oliver Hogue, a 10th Light Horse trooper and a local bystander tell the story of the attacks leading up to the surrender of Jerusalem and how Allenby entered the old city on foot.

This one covers fan-boy Oliver's description of the work done by General Allenby, the widely attributed last cavalry charge of history by the Australian Light Horse on Beersheba and later battles around Gaza and Khulweilfe. We also cover the death of a great Aussie cricketer, Albert 'Tibby' Cotter and the unsubstantiated claim that his mates killed the Turks that killed him... It does happen but there is no proof it happened this time.

This one is about the hardships of living in the desert, the Bedouin, camels, Mount Sinai and blowing up railway lines. All fun stuff, to be sure. Be advised: Politically incorrect language and poor pronunciation warnings!

We won that battle, didn't we? .... We did, we did! Trust us, we'd never lie. Honest! Spin doctors were alive and well in WW1 and they worked overtime on the Australian and British public after the disastrous battles around Gaza in the Holyland in early 1917.  Oliver gives a reasonable account of the battles, anecdotes about the troopers and lastly advice to a certain young actress.

The little known Battle of Rafah was the last in the Sinai Desert Campaign. The Aussies, Kiwis, British and Indians including the Cameleers with their 'Bing Boys' gunners had to attack a fortified position deep in the desert with absolutely no cover. Guess what? ... They won and here is their story.

Finally for the 100th real episode the long promised interview with Len Jones' grandson Murray. We talk about Len, the family and the service of Len's son and grandson, Norman and Murray. 3 wars for the price of one, folks! Episode artwork is Len in later years courtesy of Murray Jones.