1927 (2)
1/4/27
Nos 4, 5 and 6 Companies are disbanded and all officers and airmen on the strength of these companies were posted to the Armoured Car Wing
7/6/27
RAID by the HUWAITAT tribe
F/L N C Saward and F/O Kingham with No 5 Section proceeded to Ramadi to intercept reported raiders of the HUWAITAT tribe, who are alleged to have stolen 250 camels from the SOBA tribe.
Later in the day S/L Peck with 1 Rolls Royce Armoured Car and 1 RR W/T tender left HINADI for RAMADI and to take command of the operations. F/Lt BENSTEAD accompanied this column as relief for F/Lt SAWARD who was medically unfit.
8/6/27
F/Lt SAWARD returned to HINAIDI
S/L PECK with column “COMCOL” arrived at RUTBA, and after receiving a reconnaissance report from No 55 Squadron that the raiders had been sighted approaching BIR MELUSSA from the Eastward, left RUTBA at 2200 hours with 4 RR Armoured Cars and 1 W/T tender.
9/6/27
“COMCOL” arrived WADI MIYA crossing at 0630 hours. Cars were concealed in depression and the column remained there until sunset, awaiting reports from No 55 Squadron. At sunset the column withdrew into WADI MIYA and cars were placed in position covering the wells. 4 Lewis Gun posts were set up covering the Wadi.
10/6/27
At 0300 hours as there were no signs of teh raiders “COMCOL” set off along the PALMYRA-RUTBA track. At 0615 hour the raiders were sighted strung out over a large area about 2 miles on the frontier of the PALMYRA road, and about 4 miles ahead of the column. S/L Peck with 3 RR Armoured Cars went into action, leaving 1 RRAC and 1 W/T tender in rear, with instructions to keep in touch, nut out of effective range. The Special Service Officer, Flying Officer N A West, and 3 Camel Policemen accompanied the cars into action. The cars closed down and approached the head of the camel column at a speed of 40 mph. The leading camels were seen to swing back and the party bunched together. A burst of machine gun fire was firected at two of the raiders who attempted to break away, and immediately a white flag was hoisted from the man body of the raiders. The cars were placed in position covering the raiders, who were warned by the SSO that any attempt at resistance would be met by machine gun fire without further warning. All rifles, revolvers, knives and ammunition were taken from the raiders and burnt in a pile in front of them. 200 rifles, knves and belts, and about 13000 rounds of ammunition were destroyed.
The captured raiding party consisted of 205 men under the leadership of ABU TEYEH and IBN JAZZI and were in possession of 220 raided camels. The two leaders were detained and the remainder were given half an hour to be out of sight in the direction of th frontier.
The position at which the capture was made was approximately 2 to 3 miles North West of th signpost where the DAMASCUS road and the PALMYRA road branch/
The SSO ascertained from ABU TEYEH that a smaller party of the raiders (55) with 40 looted camels had broken off from the main party earlier in the morning, and had taken a Northerly direction. As the cars were running short of petrol, and this party had probably crossed the frontier, it was not considered advisable to follow them. The looted camels were driven into RUTBA by the Camel Police, and the two leaders ABU TEYEH and IBN JAZZI were handed over to the ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER of RUTBA. “COMCOL” returned to HINAIDI.
No 7 Section, KIRKUK, were disbanded.
