| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | 1DRL/0446 |
| Collection type | Private Record |
| Record type | Collection |
| Measurement | 1 wallet: 1 cm. |
| Object type | Letter |
| Maker |
Mackenzie, Arthur Arundel |
| Place made | Egypt |
| Date made | 1918-1919 |
| Access | Open |
| Related File This file can be copied or viewed via the Memorial’s Reading Room. | AWM93 12/11/1476 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
Mackenzie, Arthur Arundel, MC (Captain, b.1891- d.1970)
Description
Collection relating to the service of Captain Arthur Arundel Mackenzie MC, Imperial Camel Corps and (later) 14 Light Horse Regiment, AIF, Egypt, Syria, 1918-1919. Collection consists of seven letters written by Captain Mackenzie between June 1917 and January 1919, to his sister Helen Arundel Mackenzie, recording his convalescence in Egypt, active service with the Camel Corps in Palestine, award of MC, and being stationed in the Jordan Valley at the end of the war.
History / Summary
A feature of this collection is a letter written from Beyrouth [Beirut] Syria, 11 January 1919. In this letter, Mackenzie gives an account of the conditions under which the ordinary citizens of Palestine and Syria were living during the war. He mentions the rise in food prices, the increasing unavailability of even the most basic supplies, ("Over one-third of the population has died in Syria, from lack of food during the War"), and the destruction of food by the retreating enemy, at towns such as Damascus, Tripoli and Beyrouth [Beirut].
Biographical note: Captain Arthur Arundel Mackenzie, MC, Imperial Camel Corps, and (later) 14 Light Horse Regiment, AIF. Station hand, of Branxton, NSW; born Greta, NSW, 12 April 1891; joined the AIF on; 15 February 1916 - appointed a 2nd Lieutenant in the Imperial Camel Corps; 2 January 1917 - promoted to Lieutenant; 1 July 1918 posted to 14 Light Horse Regiment; 9 May 1919 - temporary Captain; 8 April 1920 - AIF appointment terminated.