ALLENBY, "THE BULL"

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 68, 14 December 1918, Page 8

ALLENBY, "THE BULL"

PERSONAL SKETCH OF THE VICTOR OF PALESTINE

General Sir. Edmund Allenby, the victor where Napoleon failed, has long been known to his associates as "the Bull '-by reason of his massive stature and whirlwind way of doing things (writes "F" in the "Daily Mail ). Poople who annoy him—and there have been several such, generals with a. mania for paner work and pipeclay—earn the sobriquet of "Matador." Strikingly handsome, of tho determined chin order, standing well over six feet, ho exudes force and energy. Allenby promotes on merit, not on medals, and it was in no small measure duo to him that tho first "civilian helper," Carrie, of Canada, got command of an army 08-ps. With his wonderful break through cavalry, he has had another non-regular in the accepted sense, Lieutenant-Gen-eral Sir Harry Chauvol, of New South AYiiles— although that brilliant cavalryman Sir Philip Chotwodo has probably been intimately concerned in the debacle of "tho old Turk."

I havo several vivid recollections of Allonby—riding through Amiens, after the rntreat from Mons, a, dripping, waterproof, figure at the bead of his cavalry division; a.gaiu,i some months lator, lifting little Flemish children up to a Christmas tree at his corps headquarters nt A tele; or. again, having a, henrt-to-lieart talk with a group of men on tho Arras Road after his 3rd Arnw had won the battle of that name. Alleiiby has l>eon hard at it. since mobilisation day and has marched' from success to success, ably seconded by Major-General Bols (of Belgian descent), whom he brought out to Palestine from Army Headquarters in France, together with his military secretarv. Lord Balmeny.

Tho last I saw of General Allonby was at his desert headquarters before Gnza a year ago, sitting uncomfortably cramped and upright in a Ford car, the king of tho desert and the only car that will tackle the sand. Hi? had arrived in Egypt only a few 'days b?foro to take over the command, after a record war-time trip of five days from the West. On arrival in Cairo ho found the bulk of G.H.Q. installed tbero. "Well," ho said, "I'm going up to my men." And a week later there ho was, carrying on >n a little wooden, hut overlooking the Mediterranean. 10 miles' from tho Turk instead of 300, and. all complete and selfcontained even to a hairdresser specially brought up from Cairo. Tie does not bslieve in "pigging it" just for appearance sake, and ouch <lny in the dcert he used to get fresh vegetables up from Cairo. Ho saw, boo, that others were not forgotten, promptly gaining the support of .1.11 ranks by Commandeering ycvewl fleryptinn State railway trains for lrn"& purpose", and' Collecting nil the available bser in Egypt fnr the troops. Allonhv then sat down to nrepare the Gi\isa-Bep.rsh<<]>a offensive. He got out "snpcinlist«" from Friuve, vewd the local Arnb? n th* Heinz, ami cvervlhing was ready—butted. And with clockwork like precision h? stro'lod. on foot into Jerusalem—where the TOiiwr hnd arrived twenty vws pnvlier all dressed up on nn Arab steed. He meant to exactly where ho got I'o—the .Tiiffa-Twipho line,, whence the present nthc l ; rnstarfod. \ni) now he has butted ngaip.. Poor old Turk!