| Place | Middle East: Ottoman Empire, Palestine, Beersheba |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | ART02708 |
| Collection type | Art |
| Measurement | Framed: 29.7 cm x 37 cm; Unframed: 22.5 cm x 30.5 cm |
| Object type | Painting |
| Physical description | oil, pencil on wood panel |
| Maker |
Lambert, George |
| Place made | Ottoman Empire: Palestine, Beersheba |
| Date made | 11 March 1918 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Trenches Beersheba, looking towards Tel el Saba
Description
Beersheba, was a heavily fortified town 43 km from the Turkish bastion of Gaza, and the scene of an historic charge by the 4th Light Horse Brigade on 31 October 1917. Lambert visited there in March 1918 and found his work "very arduous consisting of surveys, topographical records in pencil & riding over the very trenches where a short time previously a brigade of Light Horse did spectacular & useful work." Still evident were the trenches and remains of dead Turkish horses. His guide was Major J Lawson, who had led the charge of the 4th over the trenches. Lambert wrote of his time at Beersheba: '...we went to Beersheba, accompanied by Major Lawson, who had led the charge of the 4th over the trenches. The ground over which the 4th carried out this now famous charge was gone over carefully, and two records made in oil colour'.