ANZACS IN PALESTINE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17283, 6 October 1919, Page 9

ANZACS IN PALESTINE.

UNOFFICIAL REPRISALS. RAID ON ARAB VILLAGE. MARSHAL ALLENBY'S REMARKS. [FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] SYDNEY. Sept. 29. Writing to a Melbourne newspaper, a correspondent says that Sir Edmund Allenby's omission from his official account of the deeds of the Anzacs has caused no surprise whatever to the men. The Anzacs. he states, had General Allenby's; own word for it that he would 'not mention them again. Time and again during the campaign the men were infuriated by finding that the bodies of their dead comrades had been dug up by natives of the country, stripped of everything in the shape of clothing, and the corpses thrown to the jackals. Brothers had found the graves of brothers thus desecrated, and the feeling was intense. Any,attempt to check these wretches, by reprisal was sternly checked, and the mens anger grew great, as it was suppressed. r . When the armistice was proclaimed the Anzac division was withdrawn from the Jordan Valley and assembled at Wady Aneed, preparatory to embarkation. One night a New Zealand sergeant had his tot bag torn from under his head by a thieving l . native, who, hen pursued towards the village, turned and shot the sergeant dead. Again no move was made to punish the native, or bring the particular murderer to justice n jLkT^ tio ? ° f New Zanders approached the Australians, and it was decided to march to the village in a body and demand the murderer. Headquarters h Jr B 0 a f , ♦** was afoot, and an attempt was made to check it by bringing up a body of English troops, 7 however, when they learned of what was being done refused to interfere, and a nmnkr of them joined in the march to the vilThe village was surrounded, and the headman summoned. He replied in an insolent tone that he could not find the murderer and did not intend to try He ■ treated their request contemptuously. i! then Md to send the women and children out of the village, and seeing real danger this was done, and A V£?, a, ? d children left the place. A fight took place, in which a number of the men of the village were killed, ineluding, it is supposed, the murderer. Several, days afterwards the Anzac* were paraded for Field-Marshal Allenbv who cantered up with his staff, and said of effect : ''Hitherto I have been proud of you and have always spoken of you in the highest terms, but after what you have done in the village I no longer esteem you. You are nothing but assassins and cold-blooded murderers, and from this time I do not intend to mention you again.