Palestine 1948

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10 years 10 months

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Some photographs from my late Father's album from his National Service in Palestine..
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Could someone please identify his unit from the badges on the truck he is in front of. Why do you always want to know these things when it is too late to ask?

i have a few others if you think they may be of interest.

Graham Mee

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17 years 6 months

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The white rhino on a black oval seems to have been the badge of the British 1st Armoured Division or the 2nd Armoured Brigade but both units seem to have been disbanded before 1948?

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12 years 11 months

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Graham,

I don't know anything about the 'rhino' but Palestine in 1946/7/8 wasn't the place to be. Your father as a member of the British forces would have been engaged in peacekeeping duties. Keeping the peace or, attempting to do so, between Jew and Arab was, as we subsequently discovered, a lost cause.

The soldiers in the last photo look like Arab auxiliaries. British forces in Palestine at the time included the Palestine Police, many of them former servicemen, and units from the Parachute Regiment.

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17 years 6 months

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The photograph of the burning truck is very interesting too! At first I thought it was a US M3 'White' Half-Track but it is clearly a twin rear axle truck that has had the cab armoured; armoured windscreen, the radiator has armoured shutters too and there is a strong metal bar at the front of the bonnet, to cut any wire strung across the road...

...and all this for what looks like a gravel truck! A dangerous place indeed!

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10 years 10 months

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This is a closer view.
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10 years 10 months

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And another of the train incident
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10 years 10 months

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Definitely not a safe place to be..
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18 years 2 months

Posts: 485

Hi Grammee.
Just because he is standing in front of that truck, it may not belong to the unit he served with.

Best way to find out, is to apply for his army records. Which will give you all the details of where and what he was doing.
You might have to wait awhile to get them, and might cost you £30 depending on next of kin.

see

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210233/request_service_details_NOK_pt1_v6.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210235/request_service_details_general_enquirers_pt1_v6.pdf

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10 years 10 months

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In this case I do know it was his unit as I remember that when I bought a Suzuki Jeep, I remember my dad when he saw the Rhino badge saying "That's the same badge as my old army unit".

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12 years 11 months

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The 'rhino' image suggests an African connection. Was your father at one time in the Kings African Rifles or the Tanganyika Scouts or, any unit that saw service in East or South Africa ?

Member for

17 years 6 months

Posts: 9,739

The white rhino on a black oval seems to have been the badge of the British 1st Armoured Division or the 2nd Armoured Brigade but both units seem to have been disbanded before 1948?

Or the British 1st Armoured Division or the 2nd Armoured Brigade?

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17 years 5 months

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Looking at the first truck, is it not sitting on concrete blocks? Might be a memorial / gate guard?

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17 years 6 months

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Don't think so; just sunlight / shadows on uneven dust under the vehicle?

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18 years 2 months

Posts: 485

Something amiss here.

The 1st Armoured Division in Italy in 1944. their rhino flash was facing the other way and had a kink in its tail.
The 2nd Armoured Brigade their rhino flash, was facing the other way as well, they used this until the end of the war. A regular division at the outbreak of the war, formerly The Mobile Division, on 5 April 1943 it was redesignated 1st British Armoured Division to distinguish it from the 1st US Armoured Division. It ceased to be operational on 28 October 1944 and from this date there were no formations in the division. Divisional HQ was disbanded on 11 January 1945.

Now 1st US Armoured Division used a rhino flash facing the same was as depicted on the photo.
So did the 7th Canadians.

During WW2 various units had the white rhino on their vehicles, background colours and numbers donated who they were examples below.

- HQ 2 Armd Bde - '3' on Red
- Queen's Bays - '4' on Red
- 9 Lancers - '5' on Red
- 10 Hussars - '6' on Red

- HQ 3 Armd Bde - '7' on Green
- 2 RTR - '8' on Green
- 3 RTR - '9' on Green
- 5 RTR - '10' on Green
Methinks more investigating is required.

As with any big organisation men and equipment get temporary moved to other units etc.

The only way to find out the units your father served with, is to get his Army records as suggested earlier.

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20 years 8 months

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Is it my eyes, or does it say RECOVERY on the top edge of the badge on the other side? If so it could have been a REME LAD vehicle from any of the units listed.