WHEN JAFFA FELL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 124, 12 February 1918, Page 10

WHEN JAFFA FELL

9 ■ A WELLINGTON MAN'S STORY. Writing of the advance on Jaffa (Palestine), a Wellington trooper says: "Our fight started in a plantation of oranges, the trees being covered with big juicy Jaffa oranges. 1 think some of our boys were thinking more about the oranges than the fight. At one part of the fifiht we had to run across a flat for about 100 yards, and the Turks had a machine-gun trained on the track, and gave it to us very hot, but strange to say only one of our boys (Wellington Company) got hit (in the foot). When we got up to the line we soon found that the Turks had our exact range, as they got six out of the 18 in our platoon—one officer killed and five troopers wounded. Strange to say, both my mates on either side of me were wounded. As the lead was flying thick, 1 made a wild dash for a little hollow ten yards away, and scrambled in unharmed, though 1 could hear the song of tho bullets over my head. We held our line all that night, and when daylight appeared it was to find that the Turks had left their position and made for the hills. . The next day we rode triumphantly into the anciont city of Jaffa—the port of Jerusalem. Whilst walking along the streets of the town, one may pick beautiful oranges off tho trees. Needless to say, our boys did full justice to Nature's bounty.

"The people of Jaffa wero delighted to see our troops march into the town. I think thoy must have had a bad time under the Turkish Government. A great number of them have' been looted of their property by the Turks, and are very down on their luck. Those people make splendid brown bread, and it was a treat after our long spell on hard biscuit. Also they have a good, light, dry wine (sold at 2s. a bottlo), something like our claret, so that with plenty of fruit, bread, and wine life has taken on another hue."