Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A rare Great War ‘Palestine, September 1918’ D.C.M. group of three awarded to Lance-Corporal W. Hutchinson, 1st Cape Corps

Distinguished Conduct Medal, G.V.R. (2796 L. Cpl. W. Hutchinson, 1/Cape Corps.); British War and Bilingual Victory Medals (L/Cpl W. Hutchinson. 1st C.C.) mounted for display, good very fine (3) £1,000-£1,400

D.C.M. London Gazette 17 April 1919; citation London Gazette 25 February 1920:

‘For conspicuous gallantry and initiative near Kh. Jibeit on the 20th September 1918. During the withdrawal of his company he saw his wounded comrades being stripped and ill-treated. On his own initiative he ordered his Lewis gun section to halt, and he remained in a favourable position for four hours and denied the enemy further progress, covering his own men at the same time.’

The attack on Kh Jibeit

The 1st Battalion Cape Corps landed in Egypt in April 1918 and spent the following two months training. The Battalion was then placed under the command of British 160th Brigade which formed part of the 53rd Welsh Division. Although the men of the Cape Corps were well-nourished and clothed, early strains of the devastating Spanish influenza epidemic had begun to take its toll on the Battalion and, by September 1918, it could only maintain about 70% of its complement.

When the offensive eventually got underway on 18 September, the 53rd Division formed part of a force assigned to attack the Turkish positions north-east of Jerusalem through the Nablus Valley and the Jordan Valley. The 1st Bn Cape Corps was tasked to follow the 1st/17th Bn Punjabi Regiment and march along the watershed to take Dhib Hill, Chevron Hill, Crest Hill, End Hill and Square Hill with pickets being dropped along the route to protect the right flank of the advance. On arrival at Dhib and Square hills, the Battalion was to be responsible for protecting the right flank of the 160th Brigade against counter-attack from the east. The plan was that once the 1st/17th Bn Royal Welsh Fusiliers had signalled the capture of Hill 2362, Cape Corps detachments would be pushed forward to capture a high ground position known as Kh Jibeit.

The Battalion attacked Square Hill at 18:45 on 18 September with the men acquitting themselves admirably after an intense artillery bombardment. They achieved their objective early on 19 September with the loss of one dead and one wounded. During the attack, 180 Turkish soldiers and one gun were captured.

North of Square Hill, the retreating Turkish troops dug in strongly on Kh Jibeit and, instead of advancing safely along either flank to isolate the position and cut off the defending forces, the Battalion was ordered to capture it by 07:30 on 20 September. An earlier reconnaissance probe had suggested that, although the enemy strength in front of the Battalion was unknown, it was not considerable. The Battalion attack, set for 03:00, was to be preceded by a strong artillery bombardment of five minutes.

However, the attack did not go according to plan, beginning with the artillery bombardment, which started late and, once it got going, lacked accuracy, giving the Turks time to reinforce their defences. The order to attack was finally given at 05:00 which meant that the objective would only be reached in daylight. Almost immediately the men of the Cape Corps were met with terrific machine gun fire and the attacking force was broken up, suffering heavy casualties. By the time they were ordered back to Square Hill, all the officers had been lost and thus the retirement had to be effected by N.C.O.’s. This was done in an orderly and disciplined manner and by 23:00 on 20 September the Battalion was back at Square Hill. It comprised only ten officers and 350 men, having suffered 51 killed, 101 wounded and one soldier taken prisoner.

After the offensive against the Ottoman Turks, the 1st Bn Cape Corps was withdrawn to Alexandria where it remained until returning to South Africa in September 1919. For their actions at Square Hill and Kh Jibeit, members of the Battalion earned a Military Cross, five Distinguished Conduct Medals, one Military Medal and five Mentioned in Despatches. The dead lie buried in the Jerusalem War Cemetery north of the city while the gun captured at Square Hill was brought back to South Africa where it became the focal point of the Square Hill Memorial in Kimberley in the Northern Cape.

W. Hutchinson enlisted into the Cape Corps as a Lewis gunner on 24 September 1916. He was appointed Lance-Corporal on 24 June 1917, and Acting Corporal on 1 February 1919. He was demobilised on 7 September 1919.