Our new Patron, Graeme Deeley, retired Paratrooper/ CSM British army/ author of Worst Fears Confirmed and Never Not ready,
and a good mate.
A word from our patron...
There are many aspects of military history which have never been fully documented and as a result many servicemen and women have never received the full recognition that they rightly deserve. The major battles have been widely written about and have been the subject of films and documentaries but there are many smaller scale actions and lesser known military units that have not had their actions fully recognised. One of these units is the RAF Levies and their predecessors who served under British command.
This year saw the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the seaborne and airborne assault into Normandy during the Second World War. Quite rightly, this drew worldwide media coverage and involved large scale commemoration events. Unfortunately, there were very few surviving veterans of that operation that made the journey to Normandy to honour their former comrades. Those service personnel who were teenagers during that operation are now in their 90s. This is the same for the Assyrian Levies. The youngest Assyrian volunteer for the Levies Parachute Company in 1943 was fifteen years old, having first joined the Levies when he was fourteen. This paratrooper, Benyamin Shlimon, is no longer with us but if he was still alive today he would be 96 years old. The RAF Levies were disbanded sixty-nine years ago, in 1955, which means the youngest serving member at that time would now be in his 80s. These two factors, lack of recognition and very few surviving personnel also affects the Assyrian Levies. It is inevitable but each year the amount of surviving Assyrian and British personnel of the RAF Levies reduces, so the hard work of Gaby Kiwarkis to record the deeds of these men becomes increasingly important in order to ensure their loyal service and their exploits are documented and not forgotten.
I have always been interested in military history and I was aware of the RAF Levies but not in too much detail. It was only when I started the research for my second book, which covered the history of RAF Regiment Parachute Units, that I fully became aware of the history of the Parachute Company of the RAF Levies. Three of the four platoons of this Company comprised Assyrian personnel. Even in the many histories of British Airborne Forces in the Second World, the Levy Parachute Company has only received a brief mention. The Levy Paratroopers fought in Albania and Greece and suffered many casualties. But the exploits of the Paratroop Company is only a one small aspect of the Levies history which includes their distinguished service in the battle of Habbaniyah in 1941. Their history goes even further back to 1921 when the first Assyrian officer was recruited into the locally raised militia forces in Iraq. In 1922 the RAF assumed command of the Iraq Levies, of which the majority of personnel were Assyrian. During its existence it is estimated that approximately 40,000 Assyrians served in the Levies.
The Assyrian people are Christians and their ancestral homeland includes the country now known as Iraq, The lack of knowledge of the Assyrians and their heritage was evident in the British military during the campaign in Iraq from 2003 – 2009. All personnel who served in Iraq from the invasion in 2003, which included myself, received a campaign medal which included an image of a Lamassu, known as The Winged Bull on the reverse side. A Lamassu has a human head, symbolising intelligence; a bull's body, symbolizing strength; and an eagle's wings, symbolizing freedom. The Winged Bull was also adopted as the badge of the British Forces Head Quarters in southern Iraq but was commonly and erroneously referred to by many as a Sphinx. Even on my last tour in Iraq in 2009, when British Forces officially handed over responsibility of the south of Iraq to US Forces, it was still not widely known that this image was in fact the Lamassu, the symbol of the ancient Assyrian soldier.
For many years Gaby Kiwarkis has campaigned to get the men of the RAF Levies the recognition that they deserve. He formed the RAF Assyrian Levies Association and they proudly marched each year on ANZAC Day in Australia. The last official march of the veteran Levies took place in 2015 on the 100th anniversary of the ANZACs, as there were no longer any surviving members able to complete the march. This sad fact affects many Regimental Associations from the Second World War. Despite this, Gaby Kiwarkis has continued to document the history of the Levies and continued to ensure that their deeds are not forgotten. His work includes visiting schools to inform the school children about their ancestors and to remind them how their sacrifices have ensured the freedoms that we enjoy today. His work has not only documented that of the Levies. Gaby himself served in the Royal Australian Regiment and has worked to see that other Australian service personnel are honoured and not forgotten. His most recent endeavour was to honour a group of Australian female nurses who were executed by the Japanese during the evacuation of Singapore in the Second World War.
When I wrote my book it was my intention to document the history of the not so well known Parachute units of the RAF Regiment. This included the Levies Parachute Company which had only received one line in the official history of the RAF Regiment. I hope that my book was a worthy tribute to all those personnel that I researched and I also hope that it has helped to highlight the role of the Assyrians and their loyal service with British forces. From the first email I sent to Gaby, when I discovered his Assyrian RAF Levies website, he was very supportive of my research. It was not until many years later that I finally was able to meet him when he came to visit England. I am honoured to have been asked by him to write these words and to become the Patron of the RAF Assyrian Levies Association. I now aim to continue to research further into Assyrian Levies personnel, especially those that settled in Great Britain, in order to assist Gaby in his work in ensuring that these men are never forgotten.
There are many aspects of military history which have never been fully documented and as a result many servicemen and women have never received the full recognition that they rightly deserve. The major battles have been widely written about and have been the subject of films and documentaries but there are many smaller scale actions and lesser known military units that have not had their actions fully recognised. One of these units is the RAF Levies and their predecessors who served under British command.
This year saw the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the seaborne and airborne assault into Normandy during the Second World War. Quite rightly, this drew worldwide media coverage and involved large scale commemoration events. Unfortunately, there were very few surviving veterans of that operation that made the journey to Normandy to honour their former comrades. Those service personnel who were teenagers during that operation are now in their 90s. This is the same for the Assyrian Levies. The youngest Assyrian volunteer for the Levies Parachute Company in 1943 was fifteen years old, having first joined the Levies when he was fourteen. This paratrooper, Benyamin Shlimon, is no longer with us but if he was still alive today he would be 96 years old. The RAF Levies were disbanded sixty-nine years ago, in 1955, which means the youngest serving member at that time would now be in his 80s. These two factors, lack of recognition and very few surviving personnel also affects the Assyrian Levies. It is inevitable but each year the amount of surviving Assyrian and British personnel of the RAF Levies reduces, so the hard work of Gaby Kiwarkis to record the deeds of these men becomes increasingly important in order to ensure their loyal service and their exploits are documented and not forgotten.
I have always been interested in military history and I was aware of the RAF Levies but not in too much detail. It was only when I started the research for my second book, which covered the history of RAF Regiment Parachute Units, that I fully became aware of the history of the Parachute Company of the RAF Levies. Three of the four platoons of this Company comprised Assyrian personnel. Even in the many histories of British Airborne Forces in the Second World, the Levy Parachute Company has only received a brief mention. The Levy Paratroopers fought in Albania and Greece and suffered many casualties. But the exploits of the Paratroop Company is only a one small aspect of the Levies history which includes their distinguished service in the battle of Habbaniyah in 1941. Their history goes even further back to 1921 when the first Assyrian officer was recruited into the locally raised militia forces in Iraq. In 1922 the RAF assumed command of the Iraq Levies, of which the majority of personnel were Assyrian. During its existence it is estimated that approximately 40,000 Assyrians served in the Levies.
The Assyrian people are Christians and their ancestral homeland includes the country now known as Iraq, The lack of knowledge of the Assyrians and their heritage was evident in the British military during the campaign in Iraq from 2003 – 2009. All personnel who served in Iraq from the invasion in 2003, which included myself, received a campaign medal which included an image of a Lamassu, known as The Winged Bull on the reverse side. A Lamassu has a human head, symbolising intelligence; a bull's body, symbolizing strength; and an eagle's wings, symbolizing freedom. The Winged Bull was also adopted as the badge of the British Forces Head Quarters in southern Iraq but was commonly and erroneously referred to by many as a Sphinx. Even on my last tour in Iraq in 2009, when British Forces officially handed over responsibility of the south of Iraq to US Forces, it was still not widely known that this image was in fact the Lamassu, the symbol of the ancient Assyrian soldier.
For many years Gaby Kiwarkis has campaigned to get the men of the RAF Levies the recognition that they deserve. He formed the RAF Assyrian Levies Association and they proudly marched each year on ANZAC Day in Australia. The last official march of the veteran Levies took place in 2015 on the 100th anniversary of the ANZACs, as there were no longer any surviving members able to complete the march. This sad fact affects many Regimental Associations from the Second World War. Despite this, Gaby Kiwarkis has continued to document the history of the Levies and continued to ensure that their deeds are not forgotten. His work includes visiting schools to inform the school children about their ancestors and to remind them how their sacrifices have ensured the freedoms that we enjoy today. His work has not only documented that of the Levies. Gaby himself served in the Royal Australian Regiment and has worked to see that other Australian service personnel are honoured and not forgotten. His most recent endeavour was to honour a group of Australian female nurses who were executed by the Japanese during the evacuation of Singapore in the Second World War.
When I wrote my book it was my intention to document the history of the not so well known Parachute units of the RAF Regiment. This included the Levies Parachute Company which had only received one line in the official history of the RAF Regiment. I hope that my book was a worthy tribute to all those personnel that I researched and I also hope that it has helped to highlight the role of the Assyrians and their loyal service with British forces. From the first email I sent to Gaby, when I discovered his Assyrian RAF Levies website, he was very supportive of my research. It was not until many years later that I finally was able to meet him when he came to visit England. I am honoured to have been asked by him to write these words and to become the Patron of the RAF Assyrian Levies Association. I now aim to continue to research further into Assyrian Levies personnel, especially those that settled in Great Britain, in order to assist Gaby in his work in ensuring that these men are never forgotten.