Bidspirit auction | Gordon and the Search: With

Gordon and the Search: With the 6th Airborne Division in Palestine. England, 1949 - First edition - Gordon and the Search: With the 6th Airborne Division in Palestine - The Siege and the Search: With the Sixth Airborne Division in Eretz Israel, by R. D. Wilson (M.B.E., M.C., The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers). Foreword by Hugh Stockwell (Major-General Sir Hugh Stockwell, K.B.E., C.B., D.S.O.). Published by Gale & Polden Limited. England, 1949 - First edition - one of the most detailed primary sources written from a British perspective on the final days of the British Mandate in Eretz Israel. An important publication documenting the activities of the British Army’s 6th Airborne Division in Eretz Israel in the years following the war, against the backdrop of the struggle with the Jewish underground movements and the complex security situation during the final years of the British Mandate in Eretz Israel. It describes the British soldiers’ confrontation with the task of maintaining law and order during the most tense period in the country, “when Jews and Arabs were engaged in a bitter struggle over control of the land and were determined to destroy one another” (from the introduction). Here, for the first time, is described “what occurred in the life of the soldier in Eretz Israel between September 1945 and May 1948, whose almost impossible duty was to maintain law in this lawless land, ” as recounted by an officer who himself served in the 6th Airborne Division during this period. It details the British soldiers’ confrontation with the forces of the Irgun, the British response to the King David Hotel bombing, the unit’s handling of illegal Jewish immigration to the country, its dealings with the Hebrew press, and more. These were the tense years in which British soldiers knew that “almost everything the army was called upon to do had some political significance.” The author describes the great tension among the British troops, who were aware that the British government was constantly reconsidering its policy in Eretz Israel in light of unfolding events, and that any minor incident could influence the Jewish response and Jewish-Arab relations. The title of the book, “Cordon and Search, ” derives from the central tactic employed by the division - imposing a cordon on settlements or neighborhoods (as in the “Black Sabbath”) and conducting extensive searches for weapons and underground fighters. This is one of the most detailed primary sources written from a British perspective on the final days of the Mandate. The famous song “Kalaniyot” by Natan Alterman was written inspired by those soldiers described in this book. The book includes, among other things, detailed maps of military operations (such as “Operation Agatha”), as well as excerpts from orders and documents that had never been published for security reasons and appear here for the first time. The book is also accompanied by numerous photographs vividly illustrating the difficulties and dangers faced by the British security forces. Among the photographs appearing in the book: a vehicle in which British officers abducted by Jews were transported, rescue operations by unit soldiers at the King David Hotel in July 1946, the Carmelite Monastery in Haifa where the headquarters of the 6th Airborne Division was established, the illegal immigrant ship “Olua” in Haifa on February 28, 1947, division personnel taking control of an illegal Jewish ship, the scene of the Acre Prison break on May 4, 1947, and many others. On the page facing the title page appears a photograph of the last High Commissioner in Eretz Israel, Alan Cunningham, together with the commander of the 6th Airborne Division. The proceeds from the sale of the book were dedicated to the Airborne Forces Security Fund and the Parachute Regiment Association. In the final pages of the book appears a detailed table documenting, over several consecutive pages, the “Summary of Major and Minor Internal Security Operations during the period October 1945 to April 1948.” xiv, 275 pages + a folded map of Eretz Israel, 33x24 cm. Ex-libris of a previous owner. A complete copy with the original dust jacket, entirely intact.