Aden Protectorate Levies

[azyeoman]

A nice set of insignia consisting of a cap badge with two shoulder titles and a GSM 1918-1962 with Arabian Penninsula clasp.

Named to: 9368 Pte. Abdullah Saleh Saidi A.P.L.

The Aden Protectorate Levies (APL) were a military force raised for the local defense of the Aden Protectorate. The Levies were drawn from all parts of the Protectorate and were armed and officered by the British military. They used the Lahaj emblem of crossed jambiyah (traditional curved double-edged dagger) as their badge.

The APL were formed on 1 April 1928 primarily to protect Royal Air Force stations following the change of status of Aden to an Air Command in April 1927. Their secondary role was to be that of assisting the civil police. The APL also formed a Camel Troop. Prior to 1928 the British garrison in Aden had comprised two infantry battalions, one British and one Indian, plus Royal Artillery units and detachments of Sappers and Miners. A locally recruited infantry unit, known as the 1st Yemen Infantry, had been raised in the Aden Protectorate during 1917-18 for service in World War I but had been disbanded in 1925.

Colonel M.C. Lake of the British Indian Army was the first Commanding Officer until Lt. Col. J.C. (Robby) Robinson took over command in 1929 and remained as C.O. till 1939. In 1928 the APL comprised two British officers and six platoons of Arabs (each one officer and 34 men) recruited from tribes in the Western Protectorate states, they had 48 camels and 8 mules. The APL recruited from the various tribes which lived in the foothills or the higher mountainous regions of the protectorate. During the early years of the APL's existence a number of junior commissioned officers and senior NCOs were Indian.

Based in Aden Colony was the APL Depot Battalion, the Levies Base and Training Organisation. The Depot included married quarters, a neonatal clinic, a school for children, the APL Band and the APL Camel Troop. Air supply and other repair and supply units also were based there. The APL Hospital (ALH), located near Khormaksar, was a 160 bed RAF general hospital where free medical care was given to the APL's 1,500 men active members and their families, and also to former members, about 10,000 people in all. The ALH also provided the medicines to the APL. The hospital CO was an RAF doctor assisted by two RAF warrant officers, and an administration and supplies staff. Medical coverage was provided by three RAF doctors and a surgeon who were assisted by local doctors. The other RAF personnel were two male nurses, two laboratory technicians and a Pharmacist. Local people made up the rest of the staff and all of them would have been trained on site.

Arab officers were called Bimbashis, with one in each battalion being responsible to the Commanding Officer for Arab Administration. They held Governor's Commissions as 2nd Lieutenant (MulazimIth Thani); Lieutenant (Mulazim Al Awal); Captain (Rais); and Major (Wakil Qaid Ith Thani). During the period of RAF control prior to 1957, a different system of Arab rank designations had been in place at all levels. The senior Arab rank was that of Lieutanant Colonel (Qaid Al Awal). During WWII the APL was expanded from 600 to 1,600 men. The Levies operated in Aden and the Western Aden Protectorate but also provided garrisons at Socotra Island and Sharjah. By 1939 an APL anti-aircraft wing had been created, which shot down an Italian plane in the course of the war. In 1942 a six year process of replacing British Army personnel serving with the APL with RAF Regiment officers and airmen commenced. This policy led to the reorganisation of the Levies into a tactical force of two wings, each about the equivalent of a battalion, plus an administrative wing. A third infantry wing was added after 1948 After the war, during the December 1947 anti-Jewish riots, some Arab personnel of the Levies proved ineffective in controlling inter-communal violence and fired indiscriminately into Jewish houses, killing several of the inhabitants.

The Levies reverted to War Office control in 1957 with British Army officers and NCOs replacing RAF secondees. The AFL headquarters was at Seedaseer Lines in Khormaksar. "Up country" bases and out-stations were maintained at: Dhala, Mukeiras, Geihan, Zinjibar, Ataq and Lodar. In 1958 the APL, supported by British troops and the RAF, repulsed border intrusions by Yemeni forces in the Jebel Jihaf region. Border clashes with Yemeni tribal groups continued through the late 1950s. By 1960 the APL consisted of four rifle battalions each of which had 3" mortars, medium machine guns and signallers, and a Mechanical Transport Platoon. The APL was a brigade-equivalent force with its own air supply and air liaison officers and the Senior Arab Officer. Additional units included the APL Armoured Car Squadron, the APL Signal Squadron, the APL Band and the APL Camel Troop. The APL Camel Troop was a ceremonial unit which conducted many public appearances.

On 30 November 1961, following the creation of the South Arabian Federation, the APL changed its name to the Federal Regular Army. After 1967 those British trained personnel considered politically unreliable were purged from the reorganised armed forces of the newly established People's Republic of Yemen.

If interested, for another Arabian Penninsula thread to a different unit see: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/61564-trucial-oman-scouts/

Edited May 13, 2014 by azyeoman

[Brett Hendey]

John

The medal and badges are a wonderful addition to your collection! Congratulations! As usual, the background information adds lustre to the objects.

Regards

Brett

[Brett Hendey]

Sorry! Made a double post.

Edited May 14, 2014 by Brett Hendey

[azyeoman]

These smaller colonial units are so very interesting and especially those from the Arabian Penninsula and Middle East. Perhaps it's because I worked there for 13 years straight, but I like the history and they're often either not considered or overlooked for the traditional British and Commonwealth units.

Thanks.

[peter monahan]

Azyeoman

I've always been fascinated by the Arab levies too - too much Lawrence as a boy? Hence part of my interest in the old Indian Army and what George MacDonald Fraser, in a comment on Tuareg, calls 'the wild men of the world'. Probably grossly stereotyping som eof the men you worked with, but an interesting lot both militarily and culturally.

Peter