Friends of Islington Museum

General Sir Archibald Murray inspects D Company at Kubri East General Sir Archibald Murray (1860 – 1945) was an experienced and decorated staff officer who had fought in South Africa and had served in France in the opening months of the First World War. In January 1916 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of what became the Egyptian…

Out with the mobile column The mobile columns of camels delivered supplies from the railhead at El Kubri to the outposts of the Suez Canal Defences. This also included small forward camps far out in the Sinai Desert that monitored enemy positions.  Although the food, water and equipment were vital, what soldiers really longed for…

Sidi Bishr   Sidi Bishr was an extensive Allied army base to the north east of Alexandria. It housed an open-air rest and recuperation camp for other ranks. Men were sent there from the different battalions guarding the Suez Canal during 1916 and appreciated the change of scene and better conditions. A detachment from the…

Loading Camels The 1/11 Finsbury Rifles were split at this point. While half the battalion stayed at Halfway House for specialist training and the never-ending maintenance and repair of the defence system, the remaining two companies were sent to the army base at Kubri. This was also the railhead for supplying the defence outposts and…

Islington Museum is one of a number of partners around the country contributing to Away from the Western Front, a two year project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. This project looks to explore the heritage of the men and women from Britain and its former Empire who served in the campaigns of Salonika, Egypt, Palestine, Syria,…