19th and 20th March, 1948 - Spring in the air, thoughts of home

Friday, 19^th March, 1948

The cold weather is gradually leaving us now and this morning saw brilliant sunshine.

Bob Matthews my old school friend is still here and occasionally we wander about the colony together.  He spends a lot of his time up with me and I find him good company.  There is quite a deal of competition as to who will reach home first.  The standing joke is that the first one of us to reach home will spread marvellous tales about the life out here and he will have to pay enormous sums of “Hush” money to the other on his return in order to perpetuate the story.

We are all wondering whether or not the decision on America’s part to abandon partition will have an adverse effect on our going home.

Saturday, 20^th March, 1948

I see on the detail for next week’s duty that once more I am assigned to the Public Works Department Work Shops.  This will be about the fifth time I have had this guard.  It will be different in as much as the partnership of Barclay & myself will be broken, the first time since our arrival in Jerusalem.

This evening I went to the local “Regent Cinema” to see “Dr Jeckyll & Mr ydeHydeHHyde.”  I had never read the story or seen the film before and found it exceptionally well played and the photography well done.

3rd and 4th March, 1948 - Desperate remedies to turn up the heat, Ron and his comrades scavenge for firewood.

Wednesday, 3^rd March, 1948

These night duties are not unpleasant when we have a fire.  Last night we took a very large and unused plywood notice board off the H.Q. wall for our fire.  Plywood burns very quickly that was the only trouble but with some larger pieces of wood we lasted the night.  At about 3a.m. when everything was deathly still in Jerusalem we reached the stage in our fire where we had to split the notice board down in half.  Not thinking we bent it half and cracked it down.  Now Plywood does not crack cleanly but splinters and this splintering was mistaken by a guard on H.Q. roof for gunfire and he opened up with a burst of automatic fire and fired a flare into the sky*.  He could have had no idea what it was but thought he would show he was awake by opening up.

[*This story of setting the gun fire off was one of Dad's favourites and was often retold when we were children. I hope to produce a page of remembered anecdotes with the collaboration of my siblings at a later date.]

Thursday, 4^th March, 1948

Last night’s duty was started in despair; we had not a splinter of wood with which to light a fire.  I set out from the gate and went around to all the nearby guard positions all of whom had cheerful fires but no pieces of wood to spare.  In my travels I collected all the empty cigarette packets and cardboard I saw.  Returning to the zone gate I decided there was nothing for it but to go and ask the “City Guards” for some.  The Arabs on their ten hour duties had not a large supply but they let us have a few pieces.  My Partner went off on the scrounge now and returned with a large plank which had been serving no purpose nailed to a wall.

Thus we had a fire after all and with the teas & biscuits we were quite happy again.

4th & 5th February, 1948 - The etiquette of the frisk is under scrutiny.

Wednesday, 4^th February, 1948

The duty passed reasonably quickly today and without any outstanding events.

One minor incident occurred when one of the B/Cs on duty with me felt a little over energetic and instead of running his hands carefully up in under a man’s arms when he was searching him, brought them up with some considerable force.  The other B/C and myself saw the funnyside of this but the astonished fellow being searched was too preoccupied determining whether or not his ribs had been broken.  When he discovered he was whole he forgave the B/C in a generous way and offered us cigarettes all round.  Probably this last move was to safeguard himself on being searched another time.

Thursday, 5^th February, 1948

It poured with rain all this morning starting at approximately 3am and finishing just before lunch time.

Typical of the lack of interest taken by N.C.O.s in the Welfare of the Force we were taken to our posts on the back of an open 3 tonner.  If at a future date I attend a reunion dinner of the Palestine Police I shall be very surprised if I do not snigger in the middle of one of the inevitable speeches made praising the life we led and the conditions we worked under.

This evening my recreation took the form of a visit to the Zone Cinema.  I do not think I have ever been more impressed than I was by the film “The Four Feathers.”  It was truly an excellent film excellently produced, filmed and acted.  The propaganda value in this country at this time is also not to be neglected.

21st & 22nd January, 1948 - Ron's settling into guard duty routine, makes some observations about the locals and contemplates the future..

Wednesday, 21^st January, 1948

How quickly one gets into a routine as my life at the moment is.  Every day since we started the guards has been veritably the same.  In detail, small incidents have been different but the order of things is very constant.

The plumbers started on the restoration of our sanitary installations today.  The water is now so plentiful that the tank is overflowing onto the washroom floor.

There was nothing in the way of firing or explosions during the periods I was on guard today.  This afternoon, so I was told, two Arabs were shot dead on a road which runs parallel to our Static Point, probably as a result of this tomorrow evening will be more active.

I had long conversations with the R.A.F. Regiment guards on the road block outside the P.W.D. this evening.  This all helps to make the duties seem shorter, a thing I like very much.

Thursday, 22^nd January, 1948

French Jewish Gold medallist
 Micheline Ostermeyer
source:http://www.westminstermemories.org.uk/
page_id__23_img__76.aspx

As this working with Jews is new to me I find it at times rather embarrassing.  In the short time I have been here I have talked with several Englishmen and several Jews whom I have mistaken for Englishmen.  This mistaken identity could lead to misunderstandings if one did not guard ones conversation.

What pettiness exists between the Arabs and Jews.  Arabs refuse to work with Jews because they are Jews.  The Lebanese Govt. announces their delegation to the Olympic Games will not take part in the Games if the Jewish Flag is flown.

It is all this dribble that is aggravating the already tense atmosphere here in the Near East.

A commission has just arrived here from England to recruit men from the Force into the Police and Prison Services at home.

I have no idea what I shall do but whatever it is I intend to settle to it as my career.  This is my principle trouble I do not wish to take employment where I may leave after a year.  The job I want, and what it is I do not know, is one that I can set my heart & brain to.

15th & 16th January, 1948 - Where to find water and decent kitchen staff..

Thursday, 15^th January, 1948

This morning my two friends and I were up at seven o’clock.  We went out in search of water for a wash and a shave.  We visited every washroom we knew of in our billet without success.  In despair we decided to have breakfast first then perhaps to obtain some form the cookhouse.  This also failed but the cook was able to direct us to a source of supply which was a tap set out in an open place.  We now needed something to convey it in to a suitable place for a wash and shave.  The only container we could find was an empty tin for fifty cigarettes.  Needless to say our ablutions were of a “lick and promise” nature this morning.

Our first duty was allotted to us this morning.  This took the form of an escort to headquarters to bring back a lorry-load of barbed wire for strengthening the camp defences.  Fortunately before lunch the water in the camp was turned on so that we could have a shave in comfort now.

The afternoon and evening were psent idly, the former in the recreation room the latter at the cinema.

We met a friend who used to be with us in Nablus and is now employed in the “Records Office in H.Q.”  I have resolved to enquire into the likelihoods of the granting of a transfer to this section.

Friday, 16^th January, 1948

A muster Parade was held this morning at nine and for about the twenty fifth time since I have been in the force I gave my name, number and rifle number to a sergeant who noted down similar particulars of all present.

The mess is a little better today than it was yesterday, the result no doubt of removing the “cook” from office.  The “mess boys” were unwisely chosen by the powers that be but I think with a little patience on the part of my fellow B/Cs we should be able to organise the present chaos.

I with a few others we called upon this morning to utilise the wire we had brought yesterday.  We blocked up all holes in the perimeter fence and greatly strengthened the whole.

Table tennis seems to be the principal form of recreation here and today I spent a considerable amount of time on games.

We still have not been told what duties we are to perform.

13th & 14th December, 1948 - Nablus Urban & Rural come to Jerusalem but the conditions are pretty Spartan...

Tuesday, 13^th January, 1948

All in my room were up at 6.30am this morning to finish the packing started last evening.  We have been expecting this move for a long time but no date had been fixed.

At 8am we moved all our kit down to the veranda, where it was to stay until the lorries arrived.  For myself I had two suitcases a kit box and a bundle of blankets.  Both the Urban and the Rural Foot Police are moving out and their places being taken by Palestinians.  We were supposed to start out at 8am but as is usual in this force, unforeseen delays were encountered so that the convoy did not move off until 10.30am.  the Rural Station Officer was i/c the convoy and was in the lead in a G.M.C. Truck.  Behind this came four three ton lorries with all our kit on them and three 15cwt trucks with the 35 or so B/Cs in them.  The rear was brought up by two Motor Cyclist

A random picture of a convoy heading
 towards Jerusalem in 1948.
 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/File:Jerusalem_convoy.jpg

Police.  We first went to Mount Scopus who knew nothing about us then we went on into the heart of Jerusalem to the Police H.Q. and about 100yds away a pistol shot was fired from the roof of a building down onto the main road.  This was all that happened and Police on Patrol cocked their rifles and were ready for more.  Our convoy carried on its journey entering the so-called safe zone of the “German Colony.”

Wednesday, 14^th January, 1948

Last evening a party of us decided a visit to the nearby cinema would be very pleasant after our lack of entertainment of this type in Nablus.  It was a very good programme in a quite pleasant cinema.

All today we have been establishing ourselves.  When we look around and see how the army left this small camp we are very thankful that we are not numbered among their ranks.  A £P1,000 is the estimated cost of repairing the sanitary facilities alone.  I doubt not that more money than this will not be spent on or other badly needed necessities.  We have literally nothing in the room other than what we brought with us.  We have been forced to drive nails into the walls on which to hang our uniforms.  We all fear to hang up our civilian clothes as the fence around the camp is so weak that any thief could enter or escape via it in comfort.  Our mess has not yet been established so we are using the mess of those Police in the camp proper.  Late last night Police from Hebron arrived in the camp but I have not come into contact with them yet.  We still have received no information as to what form our duties will take.