Six soldiers of 75th Division Signals Company posing for a photograph, with equipment, El Arish, Northern Sinai, Egypt, 1917
In World War 1 each infantry division included a signals company. The signallers used flags and heliographs (seen here) to communicate messages back to company or battalion HQ from a position close to the front-line. Telescopes were used to read signals over large distances between each unit in the field. The 75th Division was created during World War 1 as part of Sir Edmund Allenby's Egyptian Expeditionary Force against Turkey. The Divisional HQ was established at El Arish, Northern Sinai, on 25 June 1917. The Division took the field in time for the 3rd Battle of Gaza (27 October-7 November 1917), remaining in action in Palestine until the signing of an armistice by Turkey on 31 October 1918. The two soldiers lying on the ground are infantrymen from the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. The 2nd Battalion of this regiment, having served in East Africa, was attached to 75th Division in April 1917, then detached in August 1917, being placed onto lines of communication at Gaza. This image is a copy of a small monochrome photograph (photographer unknown). A simple photograph, not a war postcard.
Size: 1615px × 1085px
Location: 75th Divisional Signallers, El Arish, Northern Sinai, Egypt, World War 1, 1917
Photo credit: © robert harrison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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