Thursday, 2 January 2014

31st January & 1st February 1948 - Ron is making the best of his Static Guard duties while Arab and Jew hostilities continue all around

Saturday, 31st January, 1948

Another week of statics completed.  Although in themselves these static guards are aimless and needless I find a lot can be gained from the things that happen around about me as I stand eight hours a day.
A very peculiar thing stands out in my mind above all the minor points; it is that among so-called Christians there is very little of the Christian spirit of charity.  Every time I have been working on an evening this week a lady, a middle aged Christian Arab of good family and standing, has been thoughtful and kind enough to bring out three cups of coffee, at about the mid-evening, one each for myself, my friend and the soldier whose Sanger is near her house.  She says she was in the A.T.S. and realises how cold and bitter evening guards can be.  Talking this kind deed over with the others one evening I found that the soldier who had travelled quite extensively in his career had never met anything like it before and could explain it in no other way than to think the kindness might be from an insanity.


Sunday, 1st February, 1948
In itself my duty was carried out without any event of interest other than the discovery made by a B/C on with me that the Arab Canteen at Police H.Q. nearby had been broken into and some £P60 stolen.  We heard three heavy explosions during the morning and learned later that they were caused when Arabs blew up three Jewish shops.  The Jews later retaliated by sniping with Bren guns.
This evening I met a friend with whom I worked in the B.B.C. he is a wireless operator in an armoured car on Jerusalem Operational Patrols.  Yesterday he went down to Damiya Bridge where with the I.G. and two lorry loads of B/Cs they took up the planks of the bridge making it impassable as Arabs were massing on the Trans Jordan side and might enter Palestine.
As I write this, heavy automatic fire cracks outside probably down in the city.


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