Page 18 - Chiron Autumn 2018

16 CHIRON CALLING
Figure 4 - General Allenby’s formal entry to Jerusalem on 11th December 1917
acquiring a new horse called Queenie. He first described her in his letter dated 21st February 2018 during the Battle of Jericho.
The Deputy Director Medical Service decided to inspect the right flank to see if the wounded were coming in satisfactorily. I went over to the extreme left. I had to make a long detour. I rode my horse “Queenie”, very lively but quite a good horse.
His new role was in preventive medicine and in his letter dated 9th March 1918 he described how he and a veterinary officer carried out their work to prevent disease amongst Allied soldiers and their animals.
On Tuesday Dale and I rode on horseback to Neby Musa, the place where our troops were held up in the great battle for Jericho. It was terribly hot; we rode on until the path became too bad for horses, and then walked on for a couple of miles. We had a glorious view of the famous inland sea. Lieutenant Colonel Dale is veterinary officer, an awfully nice chap. He was out looking for a species of fly which had caused the disease called “Surra,” very fatal to camels and horses. I was looking for breeding places for mosquitoes. So he was out to save his horses and camels: I was out to save man. I found no breeding places, but he found a species of fly which may be the one he was looking for.
Steadman was soon thoroughly impressed by his new horse describing her in glowing terms in his letter dated 9th May 1918.
Quite warm today! I spent Ascension Day by going for a ride in the morning on Queenie. By Jove! She is a lovely horse, a real thoroughbred.
In fact Queenie proved to be a natural jumper and brought Steadman unexpected
Figure 5 – Steadman on Queenie in Palestine in 1918
I rode for miles without seeing a soul. Most weird! It was very hot, and my hands were burnt red with the sun. It was wild country, partly desert and partly land which had been cultivated before we captured it from the Turks. At one time I was galloping along and suddenly confronted a trench too late to draw up, so I gave Diana a sharp cut and she jumped it beautifully. I enjoyed the ride. I had an armed orderly with me and had my own revolver ready for action.
Steadman’s unit provided medical support during the capture of Beersheba in November 1917 and then advanced northwards towards Jerusalem. He was fortunate enough to witness at first-hand the formal entry of General Allenby into Jerusalem after the city had been liberated from the Turks. In his letter dated 12th December 1917 Steadman described how he had ridden over to Jerusalem unaware of what was due to take place.
To my surprise I found that I had the road to myself! Now, this was just wonderful, as a military occupation of a town now-a-days means hundreds of heavy lorries (motor), many heavy tractors (caterpillars), many ambulance wagons or sand carts conveying wounded; thousands of camels taking up all kinds of supplies. The reason that I found the road so clear was that the Commander- in-Chief was to make his Formal Entry into the City. He, with his staff, passed me on the road in motor cars.
I don’t think conditions could have been better for my first visit to Jerusalem. I rode slowly along the main street, looking at the busy scene. There was the same cosmopolitan crowd which reminded me so much of Salonika. Turks, Arabs, Egyptians, Jews, French, English, Russians. Presently I came upon two rows of soldiers, lining each side of the street. I knew many of them, especially the officers, who called out a cheery greeting to me. I turned into a side street and turned my horse round facing the main one, to wait for the Commander-in-Chief to pass.
Steadman went on to describe the occasion including how General Allenby had dismounted from his horse before entering the city on foot. This was in fact a diplomatic gesture recommended by the Foreign Office to avoid any impression of Allied triumphalism. Figure 4 shows a photograph of the event outside the Jaffa Gate and Steadman can be seen amongst the crowd on the left hand side wearing a pith helmet and standing with his hands behind his back.
It was very hot, and my hands were burnt red with the sun
I watched the mixed crowd, and the way that the British Tommy handled it. It was most amusing. Many people tried to cross the street only to be turned back by the good humoured Tommy with cheerful banter and chaff. The streets, windows, balconies and roofs of the houses were packed with people. As I had now been in the saddle some time, I dismounted to rest the horse.
It was now a few minutes to twelve, so I mounted my horse again and a few minutes later the British, French and Italian Generals, with their staffs, rode by. The people clapped their hands and cried out “Bravo! Bravo!” They threw flowers from the balconies. After the General had passed I fell in behind some little way, and rode slowly down the street, between the long lines of troops. A little way further on I came to a square outside the Jaffa gate. Here the General and his staff had dismounted to receive the Mayor of the town (I suppose); I handed my horse to a trooper and followed on.
Queenie
Soon after the liberation of Jerusalem Steadman was appointed Deputy Assistant Director Medical Service on the staff of XX Corps and this resulted in him