BACK FROM IHE HOLY LAND.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14986, 13 August 1919, Page 3

BACK FROM IHE HOLY LAND.

NEW ZEALANDERS QUELL EGYPTIAN TROUBLEi Sergeant W. ii. Coleman, of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles, returned home by the Arahura this morning, having completed two periods of active service. As a member of the distinguished Mail* Body Sergeant Coleman participated m the Gallipoli campaign, where he wa: wounded, and was subsequently invalided home. On his recovery the Gisbornite returned with the 12th Reinforcements, .and on arriving m Egypt the second time he found the infantry had moved on to France. Sergeant Coleman re•joined his regiment, which was Hheu operating at Bir-et-maler, joining up about a month before the engagement at that point. He accompanied the New Zealand Mounteds on their victorious campaign right ,up through the Holy Land, beiitg slightly wounded on twe Wibsequent occasions at Romani m Aug ust, 1916, and at Raffa m January, 1917. Speaking of his experiences to-day. Sergeant Coleman stated that 73 pc; cent, of the New Zealand Mounteds went down with malaria as a result of their operations m the Jordan. Valley. Personally, however, he was fortunate enough to escape the malady. The New Zealanders, he went on to say, wore ready to sail for home on March 3, but were detained for six months as tinresult of the Egyptian disturbances-, The . Mounteds were called up and trucked through to Saria, where there were 12,000 prisoners being held fron whom trouble was expected. Theso nur were being guarded by a regiment of Ghurkas. After stopping there 2" hours the New Zealanders pushed on, and found quite a lot of destruction o. the way through to Cairo. The railway line had_ bene torn up m places, tele graph wires had been cut down, severa small railway stations burnt, and a couple of trains derailed. At Zagazig the Mounteds separated, the Auckland regiment going about 40 miles beyond Cairo whilst the Canterburys- stopped tithe Zagazig district, the Wellingtoj regiment going on to Cairo. The second -md sixth squadrons were stationed around Quesna, the duties of the New Zealanders generally being to patrol awide an arrea as possible, to maintain order and clear up some of the damage. Sheiks and other leading people were arrested and fines were levied on thr residents. The trouble was soon ended although there were spasmodic outburst? ' m isolated places. At Cairo, where the sergeant was stationed," the rebels destroyed many of the trees and. gardens m the city, doing a good deal of trifling damage, but nothing more serious, although the power-house, trams and some buildings had to be guarded during the disturbances. Efforts wer made by the mob to intimidate thrkramwav men and to derail the cars, and things were' a bit "lively" for a time. Gathering up iron guards that pro tected the avenues of trees, the rioter-, barricaded the streets to prevent the armored cars pasing, and the Mounteds had to force their way through. The priests m tho mosques, the Gisbornite wont on to' say, were preaching "Egypt for the Egyptians" ; they wanted te overthrow the British rule and to push the British out. They urged the populace to assassinate the British official? and other Europeans, some of whom were murdered m their homes and m the streets. The "unrest" was engineer d by the native agitators, and with olenty of money they seemed to have a' oretty good organisation. However, when the New Zealanders left things had' settled down and the position was w^ll m hand, the army 6f occupation (Tommies) having taken over" from the Colonials. The demobilisation of the New Zealanders was also delayed by the 'inrest m India, British forces intended to relieve the New Zealand Mounted? having been hurriedly Bent on to settle the Afghanistan trouble. Sergeant Cnie •nan added that there were still about 1000 New Zealanders m Egypt to return home, including a number of Oisborn ties, and they would probably be on the water now. Despite his lengthy service Sergeant Coleman (who is a son of Mr. Tobn, Coleman, of Gisborne), is lookin? exceedingly "fit,"' and his many friend" vill be glad to him back. ,.'