Baghdad, Mesopotamia. c. 1917-06. Aerial view of the area outside the south gate of the city ...

Baghdad, Mesopotamia. c. 1917-06. Aerial view of the area outside the south gate of the city known as `The Horselines' which was the camp for details (individuals or small parties not allocated to a station) of 1st Wireless Signals Squadron, Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force. Note the small single storey building which contained the sergeants' mess and provided cooking and messing accommodation for the men. Nearby are their tents built over four foot pits or dugouts with raised walls to allow ventilation. There are also big dugouts without tents in which the men could stand or lie down at a reasonable distance from their tents. The area was between palm groves and fields irrigated from the Tigris River nearby.