Warbird Information Exchange

THE slouch hats of the Australian Light Horse regiments returned to Beersheba yesterday, 90 years to the day after the 1917 battle, as 50 mounted re-enactors formed up for a repeat of the famous charge.

Carrying Lee-Enfield and Mauser rifles supplied by the Israeli army, the Australian men and women first rode through the streets for wreath-laying ceremonies at the Commonwealth and Turkish war cemeteries.

Standing to attention in the Commonwealth graveyard, Ken Curnow, 75, of Wirlinga, NSW insisted that he wasn't hot, despite being clad from toe to chin in heavy First World War battledress.

"It's wool," he said, "and wool insulates you from both the heat and the cold. It breathes through the fabric, and it's also fire-resistant. It's a wonderful material. I should know. I used to be a wool producer."

The mounted parade was cheered through the streets by several hundred flag-waving locals, including many children from local schools.

Bar Shemesh, a fifth grade pupil at the nearby Bari school, said she had learned in history class how the mainly Australian mounted corps under General Harry Chauvel had "freed Beersheva from the Turks".

"It's a very beautiful sight," she said. "We are very honoured and very happy that the Australians are here in Beersheva."

The re-enactment of the charge was, of necessity, a scaled-down affair. The original 800 men of the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments galloped at full tilt across open ground for several kilometres, to close down the firing angles for the Turkish machine-guns and artillery.

Their latter-day admirers had to be content with an advance of a few hundred metres at walk and trotting pace, culminating in a brief dash to capture the Turkish railway bridge still standing on the edge of town.

"Even to get that was a major battle," confided one member of the Australian party. "The Israeli riding stable said there was no way they would let us do more than trot with their horses. But most of our people are first-rate horsemen, with experience as stockmen and so on. They made them do tests, four at a time, before they finally agreed to let them canter."

Representing Australia were the Ambassador to Israel, James Larsen, and Major General Mark Kelly, commander of Australian land forces.

"This is a very significant event in our military history," said General Kelly. "To have the chance to represent the Australian army at this 90th anniversary of what was really the last great cavalry charge in the modern era is a real honour. And I'm also here to visit the Australian personnel serving with the United Nations in this region, many of whom are here today."

The Israeli foreign ministry was represented yesterday by its Australian-born spokesman, Mark Regev, while the mayor of Beersheba, Yaakov Turner, welcomed the group to the city. The ambassador of New Zealand, Hamish Cooper, attended with his counterparts from Great Britain and Turkey.

In the green oasis of the Commonwealth war cemetery the Australian Light Horse Association's patron, retired Major General W.B. "Digger" James, read Binyon's Ode to the Fallen amongst the plain white gravestones - "Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn..."

Kelvin Crombie, a Jerusalem-based Australian whose Shoresh Tours did most of the detailed organisation with help from the Israeli World War One Heritage Society, said his dream was to have a full 800 re-enactors in the field for the centenary in 10 years' time.

"I've been doing these tours with Australians since 1988," he said. "We've done about 100 light horse tours, although this is much the biggest, and the first on horseback. Usually when I bring people here it's on a bus."