Friends of Islington Museum

From El Arish to El Burj   The Ottoman garrison at El Arish had been based in the old Napoleonic fort by the town but this had been severely damaged by shelling from the Royal Navy anchored off the Mediterranean coast. The new military camp was outside the town and would grow to include a supply base, an infantry garrison…

At El Arish  Once the brigade reached the small town of El Arish on the Mediterranean coast, bathing parades provided welcome relief from the heat and the accumulated dirt and sand of the march across the desert. El Arish had been occupied by Ottoman forces from 1914 -1916. They had only retreated 2 months earlier just ahead of…

The Advance across the Desert : Romani to El Arish     Captain FH Garraway, the adjutant of the Finsbury Rifles, wrote the daily entries in the battalion’s war diary in the approved style – terse and strictly factual. His counterpart in the 1/5 Bedfordshire Regiment, another battalion in 162 Brigade, included more detail and often mentioned…

The Advance across the Desert Crossing the Sinai Desert was wryly dubbed ‘Our 40 Days in the Wilderness’ by the Finsbury Rifles. Although the journey only took 3 weeks, it was an exhausting and unpleasant experience with the heat by day, the plummeting temperatures by night, heavy storms and as before, sand everywhere. There were…

Preparing to Move The Military Service Act of 1916 stated that men graded A1 were able to march, see to shoot, hear well and stand active service conditions. In addition, they were fit to serve overseas in terms of their physical & mental health and training.  ‘B’ class men could stand service in garrisons in…