The compound covered quite a large area the exact size of which I can't
say but it was spread out over a vast expanse of desert with the various
workshops located in no apparent order. There were no metalled roads
but between the buildings a hard travelling surface was obtained by
putting discarded engine oil over the loose sand and traffic soon firmed
this up For heavier loads a two-foot gauge Decauville track was laid
between the main buildings and trucks were hauled by a Lister powered
locomotive. For off-loading really heavy equipment within the compound
a metre-gauge spur line branched off from the main line linking Turkey
with Basra.
When we first arrived the conversation centred around two topics,
firstly there was the recent flea infestation that fortunately for us
had now subsided; apparently this had occurred quite suddenly, lasted
for a brief period and then unaccountably it was over. Perhaps Keatings
had something to do with their departure. Secondly there was the tyre
scandal. I was told unofficially that with the shortage of tyres
amongst the Iraqi civilians some had been diverted from the British
stores in exchange for cash and sentences had now been pronounced.
In those early days no master plan existed showing the layout of the
installation and to remedy this deficiency I was quickly instructed in
plane table surveying, a subject in which I had no previous experience.
Jim and I spent weeks and weeks out in the sun wearing the pith helmets
that had now replaced our cork topees, getting browner by the day as we
toiled away with plane table, tripod, sighting rule and chain (well, we
didn't have a chain but we managed with a 100-foot steel tape),
gradually building up a map of the camp to our superiors' satisfaction.
Just before this project was complete I was taken off for some other
drawing office work. Not a great deal of real engineering work was done
in the DO, mainly modifications to drawings to implement changes to
armoured equipment; the six wheeled Staghound seems to be the one
vehicle I recall. But one must not forget the other onerous duties,
keeping up to date all the pretty coloured charts and graphs in the
Company Office so that the clerical staff could see how many soldiers
they had, where they were and how many were sick. We also had the task
of addressing the parcels that the commissioned ranks sent home to their
families as we could print more neatly than they could and anyway it was
beneath their dignity to do anything so menial.
I suppose that now would be a good time to explain the reason for our
existence in that area. Between the two world wars Britain had been
awarded by the League of Nations the mandate to govern Iraq and had
military forces in the country, notably the RAF in its permanent station
at Habbaniyah; naturally some Iraqis objected to this arrangement and
caused a bit of trouble but their big chance came when Britain declared
war on Germany. Under their leader Rashid Ali they tried to drive the
British forces out. A major engagement occurred at Habbaniyah but the
RAF personnel successfully resisted them. The early part of the war had
not gone too well for the Allies and by 1942 Germany had advanced in
North Africa to the borders of Egypt and in the east was on the road to
Tiflis (now Tiblisi). It seemed that unless these advances were stopped
which at that time appeared doubtful the two armies would join somewhere
in northern Iraq and drive southwards taking control of the oilfields of
Persia and Iraq. This would have had serious consequences for the
Allies.
There existed at this time in Shaiba a very large ordnance
establishment, No.1 Base Workshops which besides being well equipped to
service tanks, guns and other military hardware also stored vast amounts
of everything else an army required. For this reason it was decided to
interpose No.5 Advanced Base Workshops between Shaiba and the advancing
Germans. That's why I was there. Fortunately the German armies were
halted at El Alamein and Stalingrad so the personnel of No.5 ABW were
later relocated.
Anyone who has worked in an engineering shop will recognise some of the
sounds associated with various operations, for example a bench
grindstone on being started up has a peculiar whine, very high pitched
when top speed has been achieved; this is followed by a clatter as metal
is presented to the stone. I heard this whine and then nothing. Why?
I went over to this grindstone and saw a man grinding away at the sole
of his gym shoe. The QM had issued an edict to the effect that no gym
shoes (or shoes, canvas) would be replaced unless the soles were worn
through. These shoes like so many other pieces of army equipment had
been stored over a long period in the open air in the blazing sun and
consequently their uppers had rotted. This lad had been left with a
pair of fairly good soles but hardly any useful uppers and not wishing
to fight the stupid edict, knowing he could not win, decided that he
could beat the system.
The workshop compound was fairly deserted at night but the Company
Office stood within it so night time pickets had to be supplied. The
duties were negligible apart from lowering the REME flag at dusk and
raising it again at dawn; there must have been a reason for this but it
escaped me. The hours before bed were boring and lonely but looking
around the place and viewing some of the documents was interesting.
Apart from Army Council Instructions (ACI's) there were other papers
printed on yellow paper, applicable to Paiforce, whose title eludes me
now. One item caught my eye, I can't recall the exact wording but in
essence it said, "If a soldier were to be executed then his next of kin
should be informed that he died while on active service". Technically
correct I suppose but why not tell the truth? To spare the family pain
and disgrace? Or to protect he system and avoid answering awkward
questions? As Churchill remarked, "Truth is the first casualty of
war."
Drinking water supplied to the cooks was brought in daily in the evening
in a two wheeled trailer that was then parked adjacent to the cookhouse
ready for their early morning chores. Breakfast and evening meals were
taken in the mess room in the camp but the mid-day hot meals were
delivered to the various workshops by lorry; they were kept hot by being
stored in "hay boxes" forerunners of the present day coolers and these
too were kept adjacent to the cookhouse. I mentioned earlier that there
was a severe shortage of tyres among the Iraqis, many civilian lories
could be seen on the roads, well loaded and carrying as many Arabs as
could possibly hang on, with only on tyre on what should have been a
twin wheel. The British had tyres and the Iraqis were envious.
Arriving early one morning the cooks discovered a hole in the perimeter
fence and the axle of the water trailer resting on two hay boxes. The
two wheels and their tyres were missing. The hay boxes had been placed
under the axle of the trailer and the sand scraped away beneath the
tyres until they could be freely removed. We knew where the intruders
came from because there was a small Arab settlement a quarter of a mile
from our camp.
The gap in the fence was repaired and a watch kept; some days later
another gap appeared and expecting another attempt at stealing an ambush
was set up. Two REME personnel (I was one of them) armed with our
SMLE's and two privates of the Royal Sussex Regiment armed with Bren
guns got into position after dark and waited for the intruders to
appear. I wasn't too happy about this because it could be the first
time I had a human target in my sights. Fortunately for me and the
possible intruders the Orderly Officer and the Orderly Sergeant came
along in their jeep, stopped by the gap, illuminated it with their
headlights, then got out and inspected it, thus warning any watching
Arabs that we were expecting them. I was very glad when daylight came
and I still had five unused rounds in my rifle.
Not all nights passed so uneventfully however. One unlucky guard on the
last shift of his duty going from the guard room to awaken the cooks
interrupted a robbery that was taking place in the cook's hut. He was
set upon and stabbed several times, he survived but the robbers escaped.
We were allowed leave on occasion, the nearest site for any sort of
entertainment was Baghdad and we could take day trips there but could
not stay overnight. When I first arrived there was still some residual
hostility towards British troops and we were instructed to go around in
twos and to wear side arms but this rule was later relaxed. A lorry was
made available each Saturday and Sunday to make the somewhat
uncomfortable journey into town.
Adjacent to our camp a mobile cinema put on films twice a week, these
were mainly old ones that we had seen at home; with only one projector
there was a pause as the Arab operator changed reels. Often he had
difficulty with the numbering of the reels and this led to some
interesting results, sometimes a murder would be solved before it had
been committed. When such a mix-up occurred the restive audience would
yell, "Get yer money ready, Shafto," harking back to similar situations
in WWI. Waiting for an audience to arrive an Arab stood with his wares,
beautiful green grapes that he sold at 50 fils a pound, about the price
of ten good cigarettes. Someone had obviously instructed him in
Imperial measures and, "One pow-und." he shouted as he weighed them on a
primitive hand held scale using a railway spike as the nearest thing to
a pound weight.
Besides being able to buy English cigarettes we could also get Canadian
ones, Sweet Caporal but not all favourite brands were available at all
times. The army issued a free ration of Victory cigarettes, a
nondescript brand that were just about acceptable as a last resort and
which were often given away to Arab civilian employees. We could get
Palestinian beer and Canadian Black Horse but I never saw any British
brands. Beer was rationed of course, I think it was two bottles per man
per week and non-drinkers often used their rations for barter or for
cash.