Baharia Expedition

By late August 1916, five blockhouses had been built and a sixth (B.6) was nearing completion along the Darb el Rubi track, from Samalut on the Nile towards Baharia. The light railway too was expected to reach B.6 by early October. During this period the main Senussi force, estimated at 1,800 men, was in Dakhla, the richest of the oases.

By October, Sir A. Murray was ready to reoccupy Baharia, and ordered the new Western Force commander, Major-General W. A. Watson to commence operations against it. News leaked to Sayed Ahmed, who had advanced from Dakhla to Baharia with most of his force. Ahmed retreated to Siwa from 8–10 October. An attempt was made to try and cut off the rear guard by a concentration of light cars but despite their weakened state due to hunger and illness they were able to escape.

The "warders of the desert"

It was now known that the force in Dakhla was much smaller and likely to retire soon. Watson decided to attack from Kharga. The force contained sixty men with a Rolls-Royce armoured car and a tender, six Fords and twelve motorcycles, two Vickers and two Lewis guns supported by a company of the Camel Corps. The cars reached Dakhla on 17 October, 48 hours ahead of the Camel Corps, but it was found that most of the Senussi had gone, apart from a party of about 120 men at Budkhulu in the middle of the oasis, who were taken prisoner. With the arrival of the Camel Corps on 19 October, 40 more prisoners were taken. With further patrols in the area the oasis and its 20,000 occupants had been cleared of the Senussi by the end of October. Garrisons were installed at Dakhla and Baharia and civilian government restored.

The Senussi had played the game, from their point of view, extremely well. That had kept a very considerable force from participating in the war against the Turks for many months. The result had been the expenditure of vast resources in building the block houses and the railway, all now of limited value. They had waited until the last possible moment when the block house line was completed and the railway very nearly so, before disappearing.

Sayed Ahmed was attacked and defeated at Siwa at the beginning of February 1917, by a force of aroured cars from Sollum under Brig.-General H.W. Hodgson. This finally liquidated the Wester Desert campaign by discrediting Sayed Ahmed and destroying his influence.

Band of Oases

Commencing in February 1916 Senussi forces under Sayyid Ahmed, occupied the Baharia, Farafra, Dakkla and Kharga oases to the west of the Nile. This necessitated the 53rd Division and three brigades of dismounted Yeomanry being distributed in garrisons in Upper Egypt from Fayum to Assiut, for the whole summer.

Initially posted to Minia, some 150 miles south of Cairo, the role of the Cheshire Yeomanry was to assist in the capture and occupation of the Baharia Oasis.

“The main difficulty of the operation was the lack of any water between the Nile and the oasis. On top of this, the desert was extremely difficult to cross in places. The advance, therefore, had to be gradual in order to enable supplies to keep pace with it. To protect the lines of communications, block houses were built every ten to 12 miles. They were known as B.1, B.2, etc. Railhead for the Baharia Expedition, as it was called, was then at Samalut, close to the Nile, while the advance post was at Shusha some ten miles to the west. It was from Shusha that the block house line ran out into the desert in the direction of the oasis. At the end of April, B.4 was nearing completion. 

“As regards supplies, all food, petrol, stores and a great deal of the water required for the maintenance of the Shusha garrison and the block houses, has to be sent up from Samalut. The same was true for the materials required for the construction of the new block houses.” (The Cheshire Yeomanry, by Lt.-Col. Sir Richard Verdin, 1971)

At the same time as the block house line was gradually extended a light railway was being constructed into the desert. Progress was rapid thanks to the efforts of the Egyptian Labour Corps.

The Light Desert Railway constructed at the rate of a mile & a half a day

Friendly natives who are employed on the railway

(photographs by T.B. Minshall of "C" Squadron, Cheshire Yeomanry)

Minia Camp

Cheshire Yeomanry arrived at Alexandria, Egypt, on 14 March 1916. The 25 officers and 451 men remained on board HMT Haverford until 15 March, when they disembarked and entrained in open cattle trucks for camp at Beni Salama. This camp in the desert was not popular with the men or officers and it was likely with some relief then that the Regiment moved to Minia, some 150 miles south of Cairo, on 18 April.

The men, accompanied by the Shropshire Yeomanry, travelled by rail again in open trucks. The journey was made at night to avoid the heat of the day and arriving at Minia around 2:00am they tramped three quarters of a mile laden with kitbags to their new camp in a wadi near the Nile. Once the new camp was established field training continued, including rifle fire at targets.

The Nile. Our camp at Minia (T.B. Minshall)

The Regiment had been sent to Minia to prepare for operations against the Senussi, a religious sect in Egypt, Sudan and Arabia, who were persuaded by Turkey to attack the British. A coastal threat had been defeated before the Yeomanry arrived in Egypt, however inland the Senussi had occupied oases to the west of the Nile.

We have arrived somewhere…

HMT Haverford

On 3 March 1916, 25 Officers and 451 other ranks of the Cheshire Yeomanry departed from Devonport on board HMT Haverford. The ship arrived safely at Alexandria, Egypt, on 14 March 1916, where the men remained on board until the following day.

For those remaining at home, the safety of the men had been of great concern due to a persistent rumour. On this point the Mayor of Chester (Alderman J.M. Frost) wired to the Secretary of the Admiralty, Whitehall saying:

“Persistent rumours in Chester that Haverford, with Cheshire Yeomanry on board, has been torpedoed, and is causing widespread anxiety. Will you authorise contradiction of statement?” (Liverpool Echo, Tuesday 14 March 1916)

The happy reply was: “Mayor, Chester – Latest news: “All’s well” – Admiralty.”

This official news was supported by a further report, no doubt to the relief of those with loved ones overseas:

Liverpool Echo - Wednesday 15 March 1916  THE CHESHIRE YEOMANRY CANARD In reference to rumours about the Cheshire Yeomanry, the town-clerk of Chester has asked us to state that Mr. Arthur Boumphrey, of Lymm, Cheshire, has received a cablegram from his son, who is with the First Cheshire Yeomanry, stating that they have arrived safely at a port “somewhere”.

Voyage to Egypt

Since September 1914 Cheshire Yeomanry had been stationed in Norfolk on defence duties. They had experienced coastal bombardment and Zeppelin bombing raids and completed much training. In November 1915 the Regiment received their orders to go abroad dismounted. All cavalry equipment had to be handed in and changed for infantry. November orders were cancelled and the Yeomanry continued to do dismounted training. Such infantry training included route marches, bayonet exercises, bomb throwing and rifle shooting.

Finally, in February 1916 orders were again received that the Regiment were to go abroad and that they would sail on 3 March 1916.

The last parade of the Regiment in Norfolk took place at 7:30pm on the evening of 2 March before marching to Lowestoft Station. The train finally left Lowestoft at 8:45pm bound for Devonport.

It is at this time that the Cheshire Yeomanry War Diary commences. A War Diary is a daily record of operations, intelligence reports and other events, kept for each battalion by an appointed officer. It is not a personal diary. Specialist units, such as military hospitals, also kept war diaries.

The War Diary of Cheshire Yeomanry for this period is concise, recording just the barest of facts:

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events
Lowestoft	1/3/16		Regiment in billets at Lowestoft
	2/3/16	8.45pm	Regiment entrained at Lowestoft
	3/3/16	9.30am	Arrived at Devonport & embarked on HMT Haverford
		6pm	Left Devonport. Strength 25 Officers. Other Ranks 451

HMT Haverford

HMT Haverford was a 12,000 ton troop ship, originally a passenger cargo vessel, built in 1901.