As one of my hobbies is photography, Im on a photo sharing website called Flickr One of the members 'DesertBloom' comes up with many interesting finds and nuggets British soldiers attending after the bomb blast at King David hotel in Jerusalem, Palestine - circa July 22nd 1946 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Capt Bill Not sure if it was this Hotel which was blown up but at one of them Major Roy Farran D.S.O. & three M.C's of ex 2nd SAS was alleged to have killed a young jewish lad and was arrested and charged with murder - on feeling that was to be scapegoat he escaped and gave himself up to the British ambassador and stood trial and was aquitted for lack of evidence - later back at home in Wolverhampton a book was delivered and his brother REX opened the first letter bomb which was sent out by the leader of the Irgun Zvei Leumi who became President of Israel - the letter bomb exploded and REX was killed and the mother seriously injured.... lot of history in that land. Cheers
Capt Bill Not sure if it was this Hotel which was blown up but at one of them Major Roy Farran D.S.O. & three M.C's of ex 2nd SAS was alleged to have killed a young jewish lad and was arrested and charged with murder - on feeling that was to be scapegoat he escaped and gave himself up to the British ambassador and stood trial and was aquitted for lack of evidence - later back at home in Wolverhampton a book was delivered and his brother REX opened the first letter bomb which was sent out by the leader of the Irgun Zvei Leumi who became President of Israel - the letter bomb exploded and REX was killed and the mother seriously injured.... lot of history in that land. Cheers Tom, it was after the King David Hotel atrocity...... and here is a rather lively debate on Major Roy Farran and the death of Alexander Rubowitz. Major Roy Farran, DSO, MC
WTID - GDAV has it about right apart from being born in Simla and attending the Bishop Cotton School and only winning ONE D.S.O.....the rest is spot on though although he went off to Kenya - I think- as a consruction boss before meeting his Calgary born wife there and they returned to Calgary where I met him on many occasions prior to his death there around 2005. Cheers
WTID - GDAV has it about right apart from being born in Simla and attending the Bishop Cotton School and only winning ONE D.S.O.....the rest is spot on though although he went off to Kenya - I think- as a consruction boss before meeting his Calgary born wife there and they returned to Calgary where I met him on many occasions prior to his death there around 2005. Cheers Thanks Tom, I should of noticed the decoration error as I had been posting in the thread about most decorated soldier and did notice Major Farran was no slouch in that department! having been suprised at times by just who was at Dunkirk, that later became of note........... the same is starting to happen with Palestine, and Tom call me Jason!
King David Hotel, Jerusalem 1946 My late father was present at the King David Hotel he told two stories and only two. One was how a warning was received I`m not sure if it was a bomb warning or just a general call out to the hotel, whatever,two jeeps were despatched my father in the second vehicle was sent around the rear the first jeep to the front .When the bomb exploded the front of the hotel collapsed killing all the occupants of the first vehicle my father,luckily, was unscathed.He served with 2DLI(Briefly) before joining The Green Howards (I know the regiment wasnt present in Palestine but he was at an Infantry small arms training facility) His second story was the search for the missing British Sergeants in 1947? Sergeant Clifford Martin and Sergeant Mervyn Paice who were hung and their bodies booby trapped my father was one of the first on scene and he recalled it led to riots and murders he was very bitter about both incidents but never bore any real grudges..except to the actual perpetrators. Best wishes Jim
Jim / Jason those were indeed troubled times- and just as bad to-day although the enemy is different.. Cheers
