When the Iraqi forces lay siege to RAF Habbaniya on the 2nd May 1941 (part of the Battle of Habbaniya), the British were caught unawares. Though they were able to evacuate women and children from the base (some of whom had only recently escaped from Baghdad to the safety of Habbaniya) there was no operational RAF squadron based on the airfield to carry out counter-attacks against the enemy. There was however one RAF unit at Habbaniya, the No 4 Flying Training School RAF, equipped with Mk I Oxfords. The Mk I Airspeed Oxford was a converted civilian aircraft used for training flight crews, equipped with a machine gun turret on the top of the fuselage and capable of dropping practice bombs from the belly of the fuselage. The Oxfords were quickly fitted with machine guns and bomb racks and it was in an Oxford that Flight Sergeant Harold Brattan took part in the Battle of Habbaniya, flying with a gunner who would release eight 20 lb bombs, the maximum weight the aircraft could carry, during day and night raids on enemy positions. Sadly, on the 8th May, two days after the end of the siege, whilst flying at low level on a bombing raid near Ramadi, twenty-one miles west of Habbaniya, Sgt Brattan was struck by a sniper’s bullet and killed. His gunner, AC1 Kenneth Clifton, took control of the aircraft and successfully landed back at RAF Habbaniya at the third attempt. For this, Kenneth Clifton was awarded the DFM (Distinguished Flying Medal). Harold Brattan was buried that day in the RAF Habbaniya War Cemetery, Plot 1 Row G Grave 8. The day after I added photographs of all 290 headstones at RAF Habbaniya to this website, I answered Lynn Brattan's query on the 'Find a Grave' website by adding a photograph of Flt Sgt Brattan's headstone. In reply, Lynn sent me an email explaining her connection to Harold - the content of Lynn's message being " Thank you so much for photo of Harold's gravestone. I will show my mum in law . . . . . . . She briefly went out with Harold and dated Harold just before he died and then dated and married Harold's brother William. " I have attached several photos to this post which add detail to Harold Brattan's death and the bravery of Kenneth Clifton in bringing the aircraft under control and returning to RAF Habbaniya. The first photograph is of Harold Brattan. Note also that the first headstone photo is of the original headstone and the second is of the new headstone that was erected in 2019 by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission when the Habbaniya War Cemetery was completely restored. The group photo is of the members of the No: 4 Service Flying Training School, taken in February 1940. Added June 2024 For anyone wanting to read the full story of the Siege of Habbaniya, Richard Chancellor has just informed me of a book entitled "The Big Little War", by James Dunford Wood .

When the Iraqi forces lay siege to RAF Habbaniya on the 2nd May 1941 (part of the Battle of Habbaniya), the British were caught unawares. Though they were able to evacuate women and children from the base (some of whom had only recently escaped from Baghdad to the safety of Habbaniya) there was no operational RAF squadron based on the airfield to carry out counter-attacks against the enemy. There was however one RAF unit at Habbaniya, the No 4 Flying Training School RAF, equipped with Mk I Oxfords. The Mk I Airspeed Oxford was a converted civilian aircraft used for training flight crews, equipped with a machine gun turret on the top of the fuselage and capable of dropping practice bombs from the belly of the fuselage. The Oxfords were quickly fitted with machine guns and bomb racks and it was in an Oxford that Flight Sergeant Harold Brattan took part in the Battle of Habbaniya, flying with a gunner who would release eight 20 lb bombs, the maximum weight the aircraft could carry, during day and night raids on enemy positions. Sadly, on the 8th May, two days after the end of the siege, whilst flying at low level on a bombing raid near Ramadi, twenty-one miles west of Habbaniya, Sgt Brattan was struck by a sniper’s bullet and killed. His gunner, AC1 Kenneth Clifton, took control of the aircraft and successfully landed back at RAF Habbaniya at the third attempt. For this, Kenneth Clifton was awarded the DFM (Distinguished Flying Medal). Harold Brattan was buried that day in the RAF Habbaniya War Cemetery, Plot 1 Row G Grave 8. The day after I added photographs of all 290 headstones at RAF Habbaniya to this website, I answered Lynn Brattan's query on the 'Find a Grave' website by adding a photograph of Flt Sgt Brattan's headstone. In reply, Lynn sent me an email explaining her connection to Harold - the content of Lynn's message being " Thank you so much for photo of Harold's gravestone. I will show my mum in law . . . . . . . She briefly went out with Harold and dated Harold just before he died and then dated and married Harold's brother William. " I have attached several photos to this post which add detail to Harold Brattan's death and the bravery of Kenneth Clifton in bringing the aircraft under control and returning to RAF Habbaniya. The first photograph is of Harold Brattan. Note also that the first headstone photo is of the original headstone and the second is of the new headstone that was erected in 2019 by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission when the Habbaniya War Cemetery was completely restored. The group photo is of the members of the No: 4 Service Flying Training School, taken in February 1940. Added June 2024 For anyone wanting to read the full story of the Siege of Habbaniya, Richard Chancellor has just informed me of a book entitled "The Big Little War", by James Dunford Wood .

Thanks to the assistance of fellow researcher Paul McMillan, I have been able to find sufficient evidence to prove that the 'vacant' grave in Plot 3 Row G Grave 2 was in fact the final resting place of AC1 John Maxton Ramsay, who died in the RAF Hospital at Hinaidi on the 17th July 1924 from enteric fever, perforated intestine and general peritonitis, aged 22. At the time he was serving with No 6 Armoured Car Company, based at RAF Hinaidi. Before the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is able to update their records, my findings will have to be ratified by the JCCC (Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre). I have attached to this post photos that support my findings. UPDATE MAY 2024 With no progress made by the CWGC, MoD or JCCC on my submission since April 2023, I spent two weeks of further research to establish beyond doubt that John Ramsay lies in Ma'Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery, notably his birth certificate, Military Notice of Death and a cemetery photograph that clearly shows a headstone in a plot that is officially "Vacant' but fits the timeline of his death perfectly. I presented my new findings to the CWGC in May 2024 and these were passed on to the MoD and JCCC. More than a month later I still have received no response. For details of my full submission refer to this PAGE on my website.

Thanks to the assistance of fellow researcher Paul McMillan, I have been able to find sufficient evidence to prove that the 'vacant' grave in Plot 3 Row G Grave 2 was in fact the final resting place of AC1 John Maxton Ramsay, who died in the RAF Hospital at Hinaidi on the 17th July 1924 from enteric fever, perforated intestine and general peritonitis, aged 22. At the time he was serving with No 6 Armoured Car Company, based at RAF Hinaidi. Before the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is able to update their records, my findings will have to be ratified by the JCCC (Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre). I have attached to this post photos that support my findings. UPDATE MAY 2024 With no progress made by the CWGC, MoD or JCCC on my submission since April 2023, I spent two weeks of further research to establish beyond doubt that John Ramsay lies in Ma'Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery, notably his birth certificate, Military Notice of Death and a cemetery photograph that clearly shows a headstone in a plot that is officially "Vacant' but fits the timeline of his death perfectly. I presented my new findings to the CWGC in May 2024 and these were passed on to the MoD and JCCC. More than a month later I still have received no response. For details of my full submission refer to this PAGE on my website.

203 Squadron was based in Mesopotamia in the early nineteen-thirties and was re-equiped with the Short Rangoon flying boat in January 1931. These photos were kindly sent to me by Janey Wall, whose grandfather served at RAF Hinaidi during the late 'twenties and mid 'thirties as a Cypher officer. Note the engine covers and the way in which the motorboat is pulled towards the flying boat so that the passengers could climb aboard. See more details of 203 Squadron and its operations during that time in the ' Welcome to Iraq ' pamphlet featured on this website.

This is the story of three 6 Squadron officers whose destinies became intertwined on the Western Front during 1917. Frank Vivian Durkin was serving as a 2nd Lieutenant with the 2/7th Worcester Regiment (TF) when he became attached to the Royal Flying Corps in early 1916 and trained as an observer in England. After qualifying he was posted to 6 Squadron on the Western Front as a flying officer / observer, arriving on the 28th October 1916. At that time 6 Squadron was sharing Abeele Aerodrome (located near Poperinghe, Belgium) with 41 Squadron and was operating several variants of the two-seater reconnaissance/bomber, the Royal Aircraft Factory BE2. The six aircraft of ‘C’ Flight were temporarily operating out of Droglandt, six miles NW of Abeele, leaving twelve BE2s to fly from 6 Squadron’s main base. Fortunately for Vivian Durkin, he was one of the first Royal Flying Corps observers to receive extensive training in England before being posted to a front-line squadron, as before October 1916 many observers ran the risk of receiving much of their training ‘in the field’. The first month on active service provided Durkin with an insight as to the difficulties serving on a front-line squadron. The weather was cold and wet, with many days too foggy for flying operation. On one of the few clear nights, the aerodrome was bombed by a German aircraft and on another occasion there was a gas attack. Nevertheless, aircraft from 6 Squadron were able to carry out successful artillery observation missions as well as the bombing of enemy targets; both types of operation giving Durkin invaluable experience. Durkin flew with several pilots, including his flight commander, Captain Sidney Philip Smith. In March 1917 the first batch of the new Royal Aircraft Factory RE8s arrived to replace the ageing BE2s. As the weather improved with spring, 6 Squadron concentrated on Artillery Co-operation missions and in the last two weeks of May 1917 its aircrew amassed more than 950 operational flying hours, a record for the squadron, equivalent to eighteen aircraft flying four hours every day. The first day of the Battle of Messines (7th June 1917) proved to be a difficult day for 6 Squadron, with two aircraft destroyed, four officers killed, one taken as POW and three badly injured. One of the men killed that day was Lt Arthur James Cecil Eyre Phillippo, though details surrounding his death remained a mystery for more than a century until, in 2022, I read a post on the Great War Forum that the WW1 medals and bronze Memorial Death Plaque of Philip Smith had been sold at an eBay auction for £8,000 in 2016. Included in the sale were two letters (one written by Philip Smith and the other by Vivian Durkin), the contents of which shed light on Phillippo and Durkin’s last flight. Even today, it is quite likely that Phillippo’s descendants are unaware as to how and where he died. The official records show that Durkin and his pilot, Arthur ‘Galipot’ Phillippo, left Abeele aerodrome at 3:50 pm on the 7th June 1917, bound for a photo reconnaissance mission. Flying to the west of Ypres in strong and gusty winds, their RE8 A4210 was attacked by four Albatros fighters. After a brief battle, during which the RE8 was peppered with machine gun bullets, observers at an English battery near Kruisstraat reported that the RE8 went into a spin over Vlammertinge and crashed inside enemy territory east of the village of Hollebeke. Frank Durkin survived the crash but was taken as prisoner of war and held in captivity in Germany until the 14th December 1918 when he was repatriated to England via the port of Hull. Both he and Phillippo were initially reported as missing in action, but Phillippo’s status remained as “MIA” until a year after the end of the war (London Gazette 9th October 1919) when the Germans reported that his body lay in the Menen Communal Cemetery, only ten miles east of where he and Durkin crashed. However, the details as to how, when and where Phillippo met his death remained a mystery. Having read the two letters it is likely that Phillippo died of his injuries in a nearby German field hospital the day after the crash, 8th June 1917. The link between Smith and Phillippo is that they both flew with Durkin on operations when they served with 6 Squadron. When Smith received severe bullet wounds to his right foot in May 1917 and was shipped back to England on the Hospital Ship St Denis, Durkin was paired with Phillippo. Smith recuperated for ten months in England before he was fit enough to return to active duty in France, this time posted to 46 Squadron on the 6th March 1918 as a fighter pilot, flying a Sopwith Camel. While recovering in England, Smith received a reply to a letter he had written to his old friend Vivian Durkin, who was being held in the Holzminden POW camp in Germany. In the letter, written in January 1918, Durkin asks for cigarettes and takes the opportunity of explaining exactly what had happened that fateful day in June 1917 when he and Phillippo were shot down. The letter from Durkin was included with a letter from Smith to his parents when he wrote to them in March 1918 and both letters remained in the possession of the Smith family along with ‘Phil’ Smith’s other personal effects until were sold off at auction in 2016. The letter from Smith would be the last his parents would receive from him as it was written only eleven days before he was shot down in flames during a low patrol near Villers-Bretonneux on the 6th April 1918 whilst flying Sopwith Camel D6491. His nemesis was none other than Baron von Richthofen flying a Fokker DR1. Smith was listed as “Missing in Action” on the 9th May 1918. His death was eventually acknowledged by the British authorities but his body was never found. As a result, Smith’s name is honoured on the Arras Flying Services Memorial. It is ironic that after almost a year recuperating from what was classified as a ‘severe’ injury, enough to put a lesser man out of the war, Philip Smith would lose his life only one month after returning to active duty with a new squadron. His role during the last month of his life was to fly dangerous low level missions against the German army along the 3rd Army Front. On two occasions flying different Sopwith Camels, his aircraft was damaged so much by ground fire that when he arrived back at the aerodrome it was officially declared a wreck and “struck off charge”. Such was the bravery of the man. It is sad that the ten months Philip Smith’s spent with 6 Squadron, during which time he rose to the rank of Captain and flight commander, have never been recognised, no doubt due to the fact that the extended time he spent recuperating meant he would be allocated to another squadron when he was deemed capable of flying again. It is interesting to note that he was sent to a fighter squadron flying the idiosyncratic and unforgiving Sopwith Camel when it would have made more sense for him to be posted to an artillery-cooperation squadron flying the familiar RE8. My theory is that his badly compromised right foot would have caused him a problem operating the right rudder of most aircraft but the Sopwith Camel (with the huge gyroscopic influence of its rotary engine) required left rudder for both left and right turns with only a light additional touch of the right rudder for right-hand turns. By the time of his death, Captain Philip Smith was officially an "Ace", with the downing of five enemy aircraft to his credit. Vivian Durkin remained with the RAF until the 28th April 1919 when, according to the London Gazette, he was transferred to the Unemployment List. He married later that year in Dorking Surrey to Teresa Paterson. During WW2 he was a lieutenant in the Hampshire Regiment and died aged 58 in 1955. I have attached below transcriptions and copies of the two letters as well as a photograph of the crashed RE8 flown by Durkin and Phillippo. It is clear that the propeller was not spinning when the aircraft hit the ground, so it was the “Dead stick” landing as described by Durkin in his letter to Smith, a difficult feat in a damaged aircraft, with only the rudimentary controls in the rear cockpit to guide it to the ground. Lager No. 728, Holzminden.  January 23rd 1918 Dear old Smith, Heaps of thanks for your letter of Dec 6th 1917.  I was awfully delighted to get it, and to know how you were.  Well now as to explaining things.  I don’t quite know how to put things, as we have to be very careful what we say.  Phillippo & I had just finished our job, when he said “how many photos have I taken”? So I looked at indicator when “tut-tut-tut,” could not see them at first, (meanwhile Galipot was turning and diving all over the shop) then 3 enemy machines came into sight, all three must have had a pot at us, because I heard them hit all over the show.  Then they buzzed off. So I turned and shouted, “they’ve gone,” by this time the buzz was spinning, nothing happened, so I repeated, this time poor old Galipot had fallen right forward.  So I stuck my stick in and grabbed the “cotton-reel” shut-off engine and shoved stick forward.  She came out of it beautifully, when all of a sudden crash, went into spinning again and nothing that I did would alter it.  Then I happened to catch sight of elevator wire flapping behind in the wind.  Of course all was over, so I thought. Remember nothing more till someone was hauling me out of machine.  The tail was completely broken off.  They took me to a dressing station and sometime after Galipot came in on a stretcher with an awful wound in his left leg and altogether looking ghastly.  The only words he said to me were “Hullo old chap how are you”?  Then he lost consciousness.  We stayed there about an hour, and were moved to another bigger d.s. [dressing station] on a horse ambulance.  Galipot was removed to a motor ambulance, and that is the last I saw or heard of him.  A German orderly came back to where I was and said “my friends leg was kaput” meaning amputated.  As for myself I was twisted inside and left leg nearly crushed.  Have made enquiries about him but have heard nothing whatever neither has Mrs Phillippo.  I fear the worst.  I don’t think there is anything you can send me thanks.  Oh yes, some cigarettes.  It is really awfully good of you.  Cheero.  Best of luck and better luck than we had. Yrs.  Sincerely, F. Vivian Durkin 26/3/18 Dear Mother and Dad I really have got an excuse for not having written before as there’s quite a war on at present; and the weather being so extraordinarily fine has meant us being up in the air all day long.  I’ve more or less settled down at 46. It is a crack Sqdn. with a priceless lot of fellows. I’ve had more thrills in the last week than I ever had in the whole 10 months with 6, as this is a most extraordinary battle.  Afraid I can’t give you any details but I’m keeping a faithful record in my log book.  The number of Huns one sees massed behind their lines is really amazing – just like a swarm of flies crawling along the ground as far as you can see.  That’s the impression you get from the air, and its absolute sheer weight of numbers that has made us withdraw, but their casualties from our bombs and machine gun fire from the air above must be enormous, as they’re so thick, you can’t help hitting them.  (I hope the Censor won’t object to all this information.) I received boots – breeches but am badly in need of that leather coat.  Afraid the ferry pilot idea is impracticable, as even if it gets to France unless its flown direct to the Sqd. which it never is, it would stick at same depot for weeks.  So the M.F.O. [Military Forwarding Office] is the only way. Got a letter from Durkin the observer prisoner in January, in which he asks if I can send him some cigarettes.  Could you send 500 each of Turkish and Virginia (3 Castles)? I enclose letter – he had a wonderful escape apparently. Patrol just going up, so goodbye. Yr. lovg. Son Phil Love to Evelyn

There’s a lot more to this crash photograph than meets the eye. Twenty-year-old 2nd Lt Philip Smith transferred from the Army Service Corps into the Royal Flying Corps in March 1916 and only three months later on the 22nd June was posted overseas to 6 Squadron as a newly-qualified pilot. Philip’s first two weeks on active service were almost his last, an all too frequent fate for novice pilots during WW1. Four days after arriving at the squadron, he misjudged landing back at Abeele after a practice flight and ran into a ditch (see attached photo). His BE2c was quickly repaired and he was back in the air, but six days later, whilst leaving on a mission in the same aircraft with his observer, Captain T R Duff, the engine failed on take-off and they came to grief just outside Abeele. No-one was injured in the crash and the BE2c was put back together again, remaining on charge with 6 Squadron until it was flown back to England “time-expired” in October 1916. Over the next few months, Philip Smith became a skilled pilot, with many of his exploits mentioned in 6 Squadron’s operational diary, before he was promoted to Captain and flight commander in January 1917. He even succeeded in shooting down an Albatros DII, despite flying an obsolete BE2d two-seater. His time with 6 Squadron was cut short on the 1st May 1917 when his RE8 was attacked by five red Albatros scouts. With the help of another 6 Squadron RE8 that came to his aid, he managed to land his damaged aircraft, despite bullet wounds to his right foot. Philip Smith returned to England on a hospital ship to recuperate, but it wasn’t until March 1918 that he was able to resume active service as a pilot. This time, instead of flying a two-seater reconnaissance bomber (the RE8), he joined 46 Squadron at the Filescamp Farm aerodrome in France, flying the Sopwith Camel fighter. In the short time he was with 46 squadron, Captain Sidney Philip Smith DSO was credited with a further four aerial victories, officially making him a flying ‘Ace’. Sadly, during a low patrol on the 6th April 1918, Philip Smith’s aircraft was shot down in flames, becoming the 76th victim of Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen. Philip Smith’s body was never found.

This is a postcard photograph of the old Exchange Square in Baghdad, kindly sent to me by Janey Wall. The postcard belonged to her grandfather, Flt Lt Wilfred Knott, a Cypher Officer at the RAF HQ in Baghdad (RAF Hinaidi) during the late 'twenties and early 'thirties.

Here is a photograph of Hawker Hardy K4063 of 30 Squadron taken from the cockpit of a second Hawker Hardy. The date is the 7th January 1937 and they are flying over RAF Dhibban (name later changed to RAF Habbaniya). The Hardy in the picture remained with 30 Squadron until January 1938 when it was sent to 6 Squadron based at Ramleh, Israel. K4063 was shot down by enemy ground fire on the 11th October 1938 and before the crew were rescued, they set fire to the aircraft. This photograph was kindly provided to me by Janey Wall, whose grandfather Flight Lieutenant Wilfred Knott - a Cypher Officer with the RAF HQ, took many photographs during his time in Iraq (RAF Mosul, RAF Hinaidi and RAF Habbaniya) during the nineteen-thirties. Janey has given me permission to show some of these photographs on my website, which I will do so over the coming months.

As a result of a recent query about 6 Squadron's movements from the start of the German Spring Offensive in March 1918 until the end of hostilities in November 1918, I found that the squadron moved eleven (11) times in seven (7) months, on one occasion spending only a single day before being obliged to pack up and move on due to the fluid nature of the front line. To help understand the distances involved, I updated the map of the Western Front that I have included in three of my books and I have attached the image to this past, as well as a table showing details of the eleven moves.

Leading Aircraftsman Sidney Ivor Kerslake was serving with the Royal Air Force in No 5 Armoured Car Company at Mosul in Mesopotamia (now part of Northern Iraq) at a time when there was a great argument between the British, Turkey and the Arabs as to whether the city of Mosul should be part of Turkey or remain under the control of the British mandate. At that time, the role of No 5 Armoured Car Company was to assist the RAF in holding back invading Kurdish tribesmen by providing on-the-ground support for the Vickers Vernon troop transport / bombers of 45 and 70 squadron. Attached to this story is a photograph taken at Mosul by Sidney Kerslake of a 45 Squadron Vernon that had been fitted with bomb racks and sights and able to carry 36 bombs instead of 11 passengers. Also attached are two photographs of Sidney, the first in his ‘Mess’ uniform and carrying his dog “Billie”, and the second in his normal tropical working uniform. The last photograph is of the squadron guard room at Mosul. On the 5th July 1925, only a few days before the British Government was to present its case to have Iraq admitted as a member of the League of Nations, Sidney Kerslake (aged 22) was killed in a road accident whilst travelling in a Lancia Armoured Car of No 5 Armoured Car Company (photo attached of a similar vehicle). Unfortunately the circumstances and outcome of the accident were not recorded. Sidney’s body was transported back to the Armoured Car Group Headquarters at RAF Hinaidi in Baghdad and he was buried with full military honours at the Hinaidi RAF Peace Cemetery (name later changed to the Ma’asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery) in Plot 2 Row D Grave 8. The Ma’asker Al Raschid RAF cemetery has officially been maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (who own the land on which the cemetery is sited) ever since control of RAF Hinaidi was handed over to the Iraqi government in February 1938. For reasons unknown, the cemetery became neglected over the years, so much so that only 71 of the original 300 headstones remain in recognisable condition (click HERE for photographs). Sadly, Sidney Kerslake’s headstone has not survived, though it is most likely his remains have not been disturbed. It is hoped that in the near future work will commence on Stage 2 of the restoration at Ma’asker, so that the body of Sidney Kerslake will again be awarded the honour and respect as it was almost a century ago when he died in the service of his country. My thanks to Claire Connolly for permitting me to post some of the photographs that once belonged to Sidney Kerslake, her grandfather's brother. Claire is the latest person to have contacted me regarding the appalling condition of the Ma'asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery. I sincerely hope that I will soon be able to offer more than vague promises whenever I receive queries from the descendants of servicemen and servicewomen whose ancestors lie in unmarked British war graves in Iraq. If you would like to read a more detailed story about Sidney Kerslake, click https://www.stevebusterjohnson.com/lac-sidney-kerslake For the full history of RAF Hinaidi and the Ma’asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery, including the completion of Stage 1 of the restoration project (viz. the construction of a new perimeter wall) and future restoration plans, visit the RAF Hinaidi or Ma'Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery pages on this website.

I have recently received several enquiries regarding the various aerodromes occupied by 6 Squadron and 4 Squadron RFC/RAF during their time on the Western Front as well as an enquiry as to the present-day site of what was once the WW1 RAF airfield at Abeele, a village on the Belgian French border (in fact the border runs through the centre of the main street). As Abeele aerodrome was occupied by both 6 Squadron and 4 Squadron between May 1917 and November 1917, I thought it would be useful to post an image that shows aerial photographs of Abeele aerodrome, one taken in 1916 and the other, a Google Maps image c2023. I have also added diagrams which show the layout of the aerodrome in 1917 when 6 and 4 Squadrons were both stationed there. The details on the main diagram shown below were gradually built up after visits to the Public Records Office in Kew, viewing the operational records of 4 and 6 Squadrons and reading several personal diaries kept by men who were stationed at Abeele. and were used by me in the writing of three of my books, 'For God, England and Ethel', 'Seven Days in April' and 'Over the Western Front'.

I had a query regarding the location of 4 Squadron Royal Air Force during the German Spring Offensive in 1918 and determined that the squadron was based at St Omer between the 16th April and the 18th September 1918. St Omer was the home of the British Air Park between October 1914 and May 1918 as well as many of the Royal Air Forces squadrons from time to time. For the interest of anyone who might wish to visit the actual location occupying the present-day racecourse and aerodrome at St Omer I have produced a set of aerial images of the same area, with photographs taken in 1918 and a satellite image (courtesy of Google Maps) taken in 2024 - see attached image.

I have just completed (3rd February 2024) interactive diagrams of the Habbaniya War Cemetery and Ma'asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery which have links to all 290 headstones at Habbaniya and the 71 headstones at Ma'asker (all that remain from the original 300 graves). New headstones were erected at Habbaniya during the restoration of the cemetery in 2018/19 but the headstones at Ma'asker are old and the condition of the headstones range from complete to fragments. I have attached a couple as examples as well as links to the appropriate pages of this website. https://www.stevebusterjohnson.com/habbaniya-cemetery-restoration/habbaniya-burial-locations https://www.stevebusterjohnson.com/hinaidi-cemetery-headstone-photos

The full extent of the tragic story of the Marks family only became known recently when Ron Workman (the grandson of Leonard Marks) sent me photos of Leonard Marks’ funeral and headstone. In the late nineteen-twenties Leonard Marks was a civilian electrician working for the Royal Air Force in the Works & Building Depot at RAF Hinaidi, Baghdad. At that time RAF Hinaidi was the centre of operations for all British Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) in Mesopotamia, present day Iraq. Leonard lived on base with his wife Marie who gave birth to their daughter, Phoebe, on the 6th November 1928. Sadly, Phoebe died when she was only eight months old on the 17th July 1929 and was buried in the cemetery within the grounds of the RAF Hinaidi cantonment. At that time the cemetery was named the Hinaidi RAF (Peace ) Cemetery but the name was later change to the Ma’Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery. It is not known how Phoebe lost her life but Marie gave birth to another daughter some time between 1929 and 1934 and named her Dorothy. On the 11th September 1934 a local native employee was in dispute regarding pay with a fellow Works & Building Depot civilian contractor James White, when he pulled out a pistol and fired a number of shots, fatally wounding James White and seriously wounding Leonard Marks who happened to be working nearby. James White died that day and Leonard Marks succumbed to his injuries on the following day, the 12th September 1934. Leonard Marks was buried next to James White in the same cemetery as his daughter Phoebe, less than twenty yards away from her grave. Though the Marks family history is still being investigated, I am not yet aware as to how and when Marie Marks and her daughter Dorothy returned to England nor when Dorothy got married and gave birth to Ron. I have reproduced here photos of Leonard Marks’ funeral procession (with his wife Marie following the coffin carrying a wreath) and his headstone, the latter also showing part of Phoebe’s headstone in the background. I have also attached a press cutting describing the incident and a present-day photograph of Phoebe's headstone. Sadly, Leonard Marks' headstone is not one of the 74 headstones (out of 300 burials) that has survived decades of neglect at the Ma'Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery.

In reviewing the hundreds of photographs taken at the Ma'Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery over the past 3+ years (the first batch being taken by staff of the British Embassy in Baghdad during the first visit to the abandoned CWGC cemetery in March 2020), I have been able to identify a further five headstones from fragment photographs, bringing the total number of identifiable headstones to 74. For a complete list with photographs, click HERE . Here are the latest headstones to be identified: AC2 Albert Corkill of the RAF HQ, Iraq who died of Bubonic plague on the 14th May 1922 LAC William Fincham of 55 Squadron RAF, who was found hanged at RAF Hinaidi on the 30th June 1926 LAC William Self of the RAF Aircraft Depot, Iraq, who died of Typhoid fever on the 21st July 1927 AC1 Arthur Fryer of the RAF Aircraft Depot, Iraq, who died of acute Nephritis on the 18th May 1928 Sgt George Garlinge of the RAF Aircraft Depot, Iraq, who died of Septicaemia on the 16th June 1929

My latest book, Rising from the Flanders Mud, has been published (August 2023) and is available for purchase from any of the major on-line book stores (eg Amazon) or direct from the publisher Feed-a-Read. For more information, click HERE .