A time to remember

Palestine 1945-1948

MORE than 50 years ago, they were risking their lives on a daily basis as they tried to keep the peace during one of Britain's forgotten wars.

At the weekend, they marched once more with heads held high, as veterans of the Palestine conflict remembered their comrades who did not return home.

About 400 former members of the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force - men and women - gathered at Eden Camp near Malton, North Yorkshire, a former Second World War prisoner-of-war camp that is now an award-winning museum.

Joining them on parade in front of the museum's cenotaph was former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam, who was invited to take part following an article she wrote comparing the Ulster situation to that of post-war Palestine.

Between 1945 and 1948, more than 90,000 British military personnel served in Palestine - some of them hardened war veterans, others recruits doing National Service.

During those years, 748 were killed, becoming victims of the impossible situation created between Jew and Arab.

But, perhaps because of the complex political and religious arguments with which the whole Palestine affair was associated, their loss has seldom been publicised as much as those in other conflicts.

However, in October 1999, Eden Camp held its first reunion for Palestine veterans, to coincide with the opening of a new exhibition hut covering Britain's post-Second World War conflicts.

As a result of that reunion, the Association of Palestine Veterans was formed and it now has a membership of 785 men and women, and is administered from the museum.

Veterans travelled from all over the country for their fourth reunion at the weekend, to remember the dead and find old friends.

They included people such as Irene Lewis, from Darlington, a survivor of the notorious bombing of Jerusalem's King David Hotel, and all had their own stories to tell.

"We get a lot of veterans' associations here, but those from the Palestine conflict are a breed apart. All they want is recognition of those that were lost out there," said museum archivist Nick Hill.

Stepping back to a dark time in history

THE clock was turned back by more than half-a-century over the weekend to the dark days of the Second World War.

For the 11th year, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) staged a wartime weekend, taking visitors back to khaki-clad days of austerity and Woolton pies.

Since they were launched, the weekends have continued to grow in popularity and the whole community of Pickering now gets involved.

More than 750 re-enactors descended on the town, as well as other railway stations at Levisham, Grosmont and Goathland, for a nostalgic wallow in times past.

Tea rooms served wartime fare, and the streets were filled with military vehicles. Even the air-raid warning sirens wailed once more.

NYMR general manager Peter Pay said: "The idea is to recreate the atmosphere and the spirit people showed during the war years. The weekend commemorates all those railwaymen who died in the service of their country - but it also serves to show the children of today what life was like for an earlier generation."

Museum arms veterans with memories of past

Malaya 1949-1952

MEMORIES of a conflict that took place half a century ago came flooding back when four old friends met up once more.

Among them was one veteran who had flown more than 4,000 miles from his home in Canada to recall old times.

Dixie Dean, who now lives in Burneby, near Vancouver, was a member of the Green Howards during the Malayan Emergency, of 1949 to 1952.

He travelled to the regimental museum in Richmond, North Yorkshire, to be reunited with three former comrades Joseph Newton and Ronald Priest, both from Sunderland, and Richard Bebb, from Wombwell, near Barnsley.

They swapped tales of old times as they were shown pictures of themselves in Malaya by curator Major Roger Chapman and museum assistant Paul Cooper.

They also handled weapons that were used in Malaya, including an M1 carbine that belonged to Captain (later Field Marshal Sir Nigel) Bagnall, a Malayan Parang that had been used by the communist terrorists, and a .303 Mk IV Lee Enfield rifle that had been cut down in size for jungle use.

Major Chapman said: "Fighting the Chinese-backed terrorists in the Malayan jungle was a character-forming experience for the young men of the regiment, and the comradeship they formed then still remains 50 years later.

"We were delighted to welcome them to the museum, and especially Dixie Dean, who had travelled so far to see us."

Regiments march together

FOUR of the regiments granted the Freedom of the City of York celebrated together at the weekend.

For the first time, the regiments jointly exercised their right to march through the city in the time honoured way, "with bayonets fixed, drums beating and colours flying".

Soldiers from the Royal Dragoon Guards, 2 Signal Regiment, 1 Battalion the Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire and the Imphal (PWO) Company of the East and West Riding Regiment, gathered in the Eye of York, in the shadow of ancient Clifford's Tower.

They marched under the command of Brigadier David Shaw, commander of the York garrison and 15 (North-East) Brigade.

In the past, freedom marches have been exercised at any one time by only one holder, most recently in March when the Royal Dragoon Guards dedicated a stained window at All Saints Church, to former regimental members.

The practice of conferring the honorary Freedom of Entry upon regiments is a relatively recent one, the earliest appearing to be in December 1943 when Sheffield conferred the honour on the York and Lancaster Regiment.

But traditionally, when the Army needed to recruit more soldiers, the custom was to send a recruiting officer to various towns and draw public attention by the steady beat of a drum.

Permission had to be obtained from the local town to enter and beat the drum - and, over the years, that permission came to be granted "in solemn form" and translated into the practice of conferring the Freedom of the town or city involved.