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[Page 28]
plane were hit. While bombing over TULKERAM a machine flown by Lieut. C.C. Cameron received several shrapnel fragments through the upper planes.
On January 10th Lieut. Tonkin (Pilot) and Lieut Finlay (Observer) were heavily shelled when reconnoitring the same area. A piece of shrapnel hit Lieut. Finlay in the forehead but not being seriously hurt he decided to go on with his reconnaissance. A few moments later, however, he was hit, this time in the chest. The front of his leather flying coat was torn away and he sunk into his cockpit stunned. Lieut. Tonkin thereupon flew back to the aerodrom[e] where it was found the machine also had been hit in several places.
On January 20th another of out machines – a Bristol Fighter, Lieut. A.A. Poole (Pilot) and Lieut. F. Hancock (Observer) was hit at 10,000 Feet and forced to land behind the enemy's lines. The engine was put out of action by a fragment of anti-aircraft shell and Lieut. Poole made an effort to glide back to our lines, which he failed to reach by a few hundred yards only, landing right beside the enemy's front trenches. They burnt the machine before the enemy got to it and were soon after taken prisoners. Letters dropped over our lines later stated they the two Officers in question were prisoners and well. They were repatriated after the Armistice with Turkey.
At AMMAN also heavy Air-Craft fire was met with, particularly in the later stages of this period.
On numerous occasions, other than those above referred to, our machines sustained minor damage from the effects of Anti-Aircraft fire. However, in two instances only – when Lieut. Finlay was wounded and Lieut. Poole shot down – did it preven[t] our airmen from completing their allocated task. Daily reconnaissances over these localities, in addition to frequent bomb raids, machine gun attacks and photography went on just as before despite the messages of hate that came up in ever-increasing numbers from below.
DESCENT INTO JORDON: The descent of our forces into the JORDON VALLEY commenced on February 19th., and only those possessing personal knowledge of the nature of the country can form an accurate conception of the difficulties that confronted them. These arose chiefly because of the extremely rugged nature of the locality. The enemy, then in strong force, was established in the midst of a series of precipitous hills, divided by deep and sinuous waddies, providing natural and most effective facilities for the concealment of large bodies of troops from ground observation. With rare exceptions all tracks ran along the beds of these ravines, and were, in many places, exposed to the enfilading fire of the enemy. These constituted the only tracks that could be used by mounted troops who had to move along them in single file. In numerous places our men had to alternately haul each other over cliffs, forcing a sort of human chain for the purpose, and finally expel the enemy with hand to hand fighting when they got to the summit.
In view of these circumstances it is abundantly apparent what effective aerial co-operation meant to the other areas engaged in the attack. Without it our troops would have been able to do very little to guard against the danger of surprise attack, for the country was admirably adapted; but this menace was reduced to a minimum, if not disposed of entirely, by the work of our observers. Throughout the whole of the operations, the machines of this section kept a diligent watch over the enemy, harassed him in his movements with bombs and machine gun attacks and furnished frequent reports to 20th Corps Headquarters, then at JERUSALEM, and Advanced Headquarters, disclosing the strength of dispositions of the enemy. These reports were written by our Observers in the air and dropped on Headquarters before the machines returned to the Aerodrome. In cases where it was considered any movement of the enemy called for prompt action on the part of our forces, a digest of these messages was dropped on our advanced troops in the sector immediately effected.
Frequently considerable groups of enemy troops were discovered lurking on opposite hill-slopes, or in the bed of one of the deep waddies, effectively screened from all ground observation. Our troops in the locality were promptly apprised of the fact by means of a message dropped from