大象传媒

KIRKUK cont.

From the 5th onwards we commenced a period of going out on exercises known as 鈥淒rill Orders. The first ended rather suddenly because of rain. When it was wet all traffic came to a standstill as the road had a very steep camber and lorries tended to go along sideways with only their front wheels pointing roughly in the right direction. In fact, from what I saw, it seemed to be the only way vehicles could proceed without slipping off the road and getting bogged down in the mud on either side.

On the 6th, I was Battery Orderly Sergeant and spent all the morning on various duties, then cleared everything out of the tent, had a good spring clean, followed by a large tea and a good supper. As the other members of the tent had gone to Kirkuk, I read a book and finally accompanied the Orderly Officer, who turned out the guard at the respectable time of 2130 hours. The following day our training dealt with the 鈥渞angefinder鈥�. Then there was an inspection of motor transport and afterwards the sorting out of maps which we had a great many of covering out part of this country. In the evening we saw the Marx Brothers film, 鈥淕o West鈥� at the nearby outdoor cinema.

Our next drill order started in a very dry spell and we were up early, had packed, breakfasted and had left by 0730 hours. At first there was a distinct nip in the air, but it soon gave way to the heat of the sun and later on the temperature was way up in the 鈥渟eventies鈥�. There was lots of dust and sand about in some areas, whilst other parts were very stony. We reach Eski Kifri to the south and east and relatively near the Iranian border and by the afternoon and following a good meal settled down to our early nights sleep at about 2130 hours. The 鈥渂attle鈥� started the next day, a long drive and then towards evening 鈥渋nto action鈥�.

There was the usual amount of work connected with setting up our command post and completing the necessary survey. The signallers had to lay lines to observation posts, etc, all of which took an hour or so of feverish activity. Whilst this was going on the guns arrived and took up their appoint4ed positions and the gunners were equally busy preparing ammunition, digging spit trenches and various other duties. This particular 鈥渂attle鈥� continued into the next day, but was quiet so far as our regiment was concerned, the exercise being mainly for the infantry.

One of our group had a camera and during a lull in the proceedings we took several photographs of each other. I went off on a motorbike and bought five chickens in a nearby village after some interesting bargaining. They were at once executed by the seller and tied on to the back of my bike and as soon as I returned, they were plucked and put into the pot for supper. That night the weather changed, it commenced raining and the 鈥渂attle鈥� came to an abrupt end. In the morning we moved back a distance of only eighteen miles, but the effort took us until 2230 hours. We enjoyed a good meal and a fair sleep even though the night was very cold. The following morning we continued back towards our base, but had to stop and take the mudguards off the vehicles because the roads were thick with a mixture of sodden earth, sand and stones where the desert had been washed over them.

The cooks lorry got lost, there was no evening meal and naturally the lads were browned off. After another very cold night we had a fairly good breakfast, the cooks lorry having caught up with us, but everyone was in a bad temper. We did little during the day and finished miles from anywhere south to southwest of Kirkuk. A very late dinner arrived at 2200 hours. The exercise carried on for another two days during which we fired off some live ammunition. On the secondy day we had a 鈥減repare to move鈥� order at 0400 hours and stumbling out into the darkness, I fell into a trench we had dug earlier and nearly broke a leg, but I was lucky to get away with only a bruising. Finally, on the way home, we were able to wash our truck in a river and thereby remove a great deal of the mud it had picked up over the past week, and so back to camp and a good nights sleep at last!

On December 16th I happened to be on duty as Regimental Orderly Sergeant and was kept busy most of the day dealing with all kinds of problems because we had a most important visitor in the person of General Maitland Wilson who, so far as I can remember, was in charge of all British operations in the Mediterranean area at that time and this I believe included 鈥淧AIFORCE鈥�, i.e. all troops in Persia and Iraq. He did not stay long and luckily chose a hot day to call on the troops in the Kirkuk area. The nearest I got to him was a very respectful distance indeed!

The next two or three days were employed on routine maintenance and we had one exceptional stroke of luck. On checking our survey stores we found that we had lost a 鈥減ivot鈥�, a small brass item and only an inch in diameter and half an inch thick, but very essential to the working of our artillery boards on which so many things, such as barrages, are plotted when in action. So one of my group went out on a motorbike and found it in one of the positions we had occupied during the recent 鈥淒rill Order鈥�. Such items were quite scarce and its recovery saved answering awkward questions. I was then detailed for Battery Orderly Sergeant on the Sunday which meant taking the church parade and a day or so later having turned up all spic and span for guard duty discovered that a change had been made and the sergeant in charge was no longer required to take part in the ceremony. I cannot remember the exact reason but it was probably due to the very muddy conditions which made it virtually impossible to keep clean and therefore denims were more or less in constant use. I should also mention that during the spells of hotter weather we wore khaki drill shorts and shirt with battle dress blouse. The only time we ever wore a combination of the two uniforms.

On December 24th everybody that could be spared was fully employed getting our new dining hall completed and decorated. It had been dug into the ground in a similar manner to our tents in order to insulate it from the cold in general and cold winds and rain in particular. A primitive form of central heating had been installed which basically consisted of drops of oil and water, in a certain proportion, falling on to a hot plate and in doing so creating a continuous series of small explosions which in turn released enough heat to take the chill out of the atmosphere. There was also a rush to stock up with beer and cigarettes.

Christmas Day, a Friday, saw me up somewhat later than usual at 0830 hours and feeling a lot better for a good nights sleep and together with Eddie, I went for a good walk to the local village and back. These little villages were built with mud and straw bricks, each house being conical in shape and looking like a traditional type of beehive.

Returning to the battery position we found that one of the Troops had decided not to attend morning parade so I suppose it could be said that there had been a tiny mutiny. This was settled in a satisfactory manner and a good festive dinner was had by all. The picture I retain most clearly in my memory is that of our quartermaster, who had had a few drinks, as indeed we all had, tottering across the open ground with a plate of Christmas dinner in each hand and finally stumbling and sprawling flat on his face on the ground! On Boxing day everybody was late up needless to say and in the morning I played in a soccer match for the sergeants versus the gunners and junior NCO鈥檚. The men won 3-0 which was only to be expected as they had a much greater number to choose from. The remainder of the day was spent enjoying a good dinner, letter writing, and an excellent concert in the evening. Among other talent the regiment had a pianist and violinist who were up to concert standard and if my memory serves me correctly, the pianist enthralled us with an excellent and quite emotional rendering of the Warsaw Concerto. Afterwards back to the tent and eggs for supper.

In the morning we carried out a physical check of the specialist鈥檚 equipment and this was followed by cleaning up the mess left over from Christmas. The weather generally was getting colder, but luckily it was very sunny with the temperature in the seventies during the day over the holiday period.

The reasons why the British Army was in Iraq in 1942 were both political and military and so far as the latter was concerned, there were worries that if the Germans broke through at Stalingrad, they might also swing south through the Caucasus and attach the oil wells here at Kirkuk and also in Iran. In defence of the oil, there was a plan, of which I never heard or saw the details, to forma 鈥渂ox鈥� at Altun Kopru on the Little Zab river about twenty miles to the northwest and the 鈥渂ox鈥� would presumably consist of our 56th (London) Division or our 167 Brigade.

To get us all back to earth after the festivities and no doubt to keep us at the peak of fitness, the remaining four days of 1942 were spent on exercises. One was organised with the signallers to polish up procedure because it was an important facet of communication. Just as today civil aircraft have a set way of speaking to each other and to the ground, so in the army everybody who used radio or telephone had to conform to the correct method laid down by the military hierarchy and only constant practice made perfect.

The other exercise was with the entire battery and was a tragic affair as a signaller was injured and another man killed by what turned out to be a faulty shell falling short. Immediately the accident occurred there was a ceasefire while every order previously given, all the survey and all the gun laying was checked. As a result it was very late before we arrived back at camp and I did not bother to stay up to see in the New year and neither did anyone else so far as I can recall.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.