Through Palestine with the 20th Machine Gun Squadron

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Through Palestine with the 20th
Machine Gun Squadron

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Machine Gun
Squadron, by Unknown This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere
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Title: Through Palestine with the 20th Machine Gun Squadron
Author: Unknown
Release Date: November 19, 2005 [EBook #17109]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THROUGH
PALESTINE WITH THE ***

Produced by Suzanne Lybarger, Sigal Alon and the Online Distributed
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[Transcriber's note:
1. Some of the biblical references in the original seem to be mistaken.
All the references were left as in the original. The following is a list of
uncertain references, usually together with a possible alternate
reference.
Footnote Original Suggestion
[7] III Kings i II Kings i Zech. iv, 5 Zech. ix, 5
[10] Judges l, 18 Judges i, 18 Jeph. ii, 4 Zeph. ii, 4
[13] Matt. xii, 40 ? Acts x, 9 Several times in Acts x, but not verse 9
[15] II Kings ii, 11 II Kings ii, 15
[20] Judges iv, 3 Judges vi, 33 v, 21 Mentions the Kishon which
borders Esdraelon vi, 1 Judges vii, 1
[21] Psalms xxxix, 12 Psalms lxxxix, 12
[25] Deut. xiv, 5 ? I Kings iv, 23 I Kings iv, 11 mentions Dor, a village
in the vicinity xviii, 13 xviii, 19 Isa. lv, 12 ?
[29] II Kings vi II Kings v vii ? xiii ? xv ?
[30] John i, 47 ?
[34] Josh. xiii, 2 Josh. xiii, 5 Judges iii, 1 Judges iii, 3 II Chron. ii, 2 II
Chron. ii, 8 or 16 Isa. xxxv, 17 Isa. xxxv, 2
[40] I Kings xviii, 34 II Kings xviii, 34 xix, 13 II Kings xix, 13
2. As there is no one way to transcribe Arabic and Hebrew place names,
I left all the names as they appear in the original. Nevertheless, I tried

to keep consistency and used a single spelling when a place was
mentioned using two possible spellings.
3. The inconsistency of capitalization (e.g., Sub-section/sub-section,
Sergeant/sergeant) and punctuation (mostly inside/outside quotation
marks) are thus in the original book.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Through Palestine
with the
Twentieth
Machine-Gun
Squadron.
Printed and Published for private circulation
by
J.M. BAXTER & CO., 20 Appold Street, London--E.C.2.

Foreword.
This Booklet has been compiled with the object of enabling the
members of the 20th Machine-Gun Squadron to recall the principal
incidents in its history, as well as to allow their friends and relations to
obtain some idea of their experiences whilst they were serving with the
Egyptian Expeditionary Force.
Although no pains have been spared to obtain accuracy, the statements
made must, necessarily, not be regarded as absolutely authoritative.

Beyond doubt, many brave deeds, fully deserving of mention in these
pages, must have been unavoidably overlooked, in which case the
leniency of readers is requested.
In view of the probability that the incidents described herein may be
read by many persons who have not been to the East, explanations have
frequently been included, which might appear to some as unnecessary.
The writer is indebted to several members of the Squadron for their
valuable assistance, without which, obviously, it would have been very
difficult to have given an adequate account of any particular incident at
which he was not present in person.
THE AUTHOR.
_1st July 1920._

Glossary.
The following are a few descriptive terms which occur in the following
pages, with place-names, and the abbreviations used:--
ABU Father. AIN Spring. BEIT House. BIRKETT Pool. BIR Well.
DEIR Monastery. ED, EL, ER, ES, EZ The definite article THE JEBEL
Mountain. JISR Bridge. KEFR Village. KAHN Inn. KHURBET
(abbrev. KH.) Ruin. MAKHADET Ford. NAHR River. NEBY A
Prophet. RAS Head, cape, top. SHEIKH (abbrev. SH.) Chief, elder,
saint. TEL Mound (especially one covering ruins). WADI A
watercourse (normally dry).
TIME.
The following table shows the military method of stating the time
which is used throughout this book:--
1 a.m. 01.00 2 " 02.00 3.15 " 03.15 6.45 " 06.45 12 midday 12.00 1 p.m.
13.00 2.35 " 14.35 3.50 " 15.50 8 " 20.00 10 " 22.00 12 midnight 24.00

12.15 a.m. 00.15

THROUGH PALESTINE WITH THE 20TH MACHINE-GUN
SQUADRON.


PART I.
FORMATION OF THE SQUADRON.
It was on the 4th July 1917 that authority was given to the 7th Mounted
Brigade (then at Ferry-Post, Ismailia), for the formation of a
MACHINE-GUN