Lance-Corporal Bowie’s Diary.
“On September 25th we marched out to commence operations again, our first march being to Conningham Post, some 12 miles distant. The next day we marched on to Baquba. Here we took the opportunity of giving our horses a good swim in the Diali river, which runs by the side of the village. Early the following morning we moved on to Belad-Rus and after resting here for a few hours we made a night march at about 8.30 P.M. on to Mandali, a village situated right at the foot of the Jabel Hamrin hills. This place we attacked at dawn, and speedily discovered that it was held by a very small force of Turkish Cavalry, about one squadron, who, needless to say, did not waste any time with us, but took to their heels and succeeded in escaping through the pass into Persia, where, as we discovered later, they fell into the hands of the Kurds, those very fierce tribesmen who never lose an opportunity of revenging themselves for former outrages they have suffered at the hands of the Turks. Our chief capture here was some 300 camels, which are the enemy’s chief means of transport in this country.
| F.S.M. A. Bald | R.S.M. S. F. Seekins, M.C. | |
| S.S.M. A. Potter | ||
| Sgt. W. H. Tetheridge, D.C.M. | Cpl. G. Rayner, D.C.M. | |
| Cpl. J. Stevens, D.C.M. |
“We went into bivouac near this village and remained there for about 14 days, while at the same time we made daily reconnaissances well into the surrounding country. During this period we were forced to live on the country, our transport failing to arrive with our much-needed rations for some unaccountable reason, and our fare consisted mainly of dates and oranges, which, fortunately for us, were very plentiful in that district. Even our horses had to be rationed with these dates.
“On October 18th we left Mandali and made a forced march on to Kizil-Robart, making a short halt at the Salt Water Lake in the Jabel Hamrin hills, some 23 miles distant, to refresh our horses; we marched again at dawn and covered another 17 miles at a very fast pace. We came into contact with the enemy a few miles south of the village. We at once deployed for action and engaged them, and at the conclusion of a very severe day’s fighting we had driven them back on to the village. Renewing our attack early the following morning, we succeeded in driving them out of it, and finally captured the village at about 11.45 A.M. on the 20th instant. Leaving our Infantry to occupy this place, the following three days we devoted to reconnoitring the surrounding country.
“On the 23rd instant the following names appeared in our Regimental Orders for conspicuous gallantry in our action at Lajj on March 5th: S.S.M. Brearly, Cpl. Bowie, L.-Cpl. Stevens, L.-Cpl. Watkins, and S.S. Couch. All were awarded the D.C.M., and a very proud Regiment we were on this day.
“The following morning we left bivouac and marched through the pass, leading our horses owing to the very rough nature of the ground. Mounting at the farther end we marched on to Sharaban, where we bivouacked for the night. The following day we moved off to Baquba, where we arrived at about 4 P.M. It was whilst here that we celebrated the anniversary of the Balaclava Charge, in which the Regiment took part. Making an early start the next morning, we marched on to Sadiyah. Crossing the river Tigris at midday, we bivouacked at a spot which afterwards proved to be the site of our winter camp. We were not destined to rest here very long, however, as two days later we were ordered out to take part in some operations on this side of the river. We marched out on the 29th instant, and bivouacked at Sinajah some 15 miles distant. From this place all our movements had to be made under cover of darkness. Marching again on the night of the 30th, we rested at Istabulat, from which we made another night march on to Samarrah, arriving there at about 10 A.M. on November 1st. Here we rested until 8 P.M., when we marched again to a point some 12 miles west of Daur. We waited here until dawn, when we commenced an elaborate demonstration, whilst our Infantry were attacking Daur from the south. During this day we came under a considerable amount of shell-fire, and here the Regiment was subjected to a very severe test, while our Colonel displayed the utmost coolness and courage in manœuvring us at the walk in the very face of the enemy’s Artillery, in order to draw their fire and thereby enable our observers to locate their batteries.
“Our casualties during the demonstration amounted to 1 killed[59] and 5 wounded, whilst later on the same evening an enemy airman tried hard to inflict further casualties amongst us by bombing, but fortunately without success.
“On reaching bivouac that night we received the stimulating news that our Infantry, under General Cobb, had succeeded in capturing Daur; after attacking a strong trench system of a 9-mile perimetre encircling Tekrit, they had defeated the Turks after heavy fighting, capturing some 319 prisoners and the river boat Julnar, which was aground near by. This steamer was captured from us by the Turks in our attempt to reach Kut with provisions for General Townshend and his heroic force in April 1915.