1061- RAB 50 Iskhak Dinkha Feb/2002   By Gaby Kiwarkis                           GK- when did you join the Levies?   RAB 50- I joined on the 9th Sep 1940, in Habbaniya.   GK- When were you promoted to the rank of RAB 50?   RAB 50- On the 22nd April 1952.   GK- were you involved in the Battle for Habbaniya?   RAB 50- Yes, I was in the 4th Assyrian company, our job was to advance onto the plateau and clear it. We went out from number 4 Block House.   GK- Can you describe a Block house?   RAB 50- A Block House is a specially built bunker, to defend the camp, It was usually manned by 10 Levies.   GK- What did you do after leaving Block house 4?   RAB 50- Our left flank joined with the British troops. We advanced through our rifle range and onto the plateau.   GK- How many men advanced onto the plateau?   RAB 50- only our company advanced, 500 Assyrians.   GK- What happened to the British unit?   RAB 50- they received many casualties, they had to withdraw.   GK- Who were the officers with you?   RAB 50- We had two British officers, RAB 100 Barkho, RAB 100 Shem, RAB 100 Odisho, Beju Peku and officer Pithu Yacoub.   GK- Can you describe the advance, was there much resistance from the enemy?   RAB 50- Yes we were under machinegun fire all the time. But the enemy was very shaken up, the bombers hit them hard. Some of them gave up as soon as they saw us. Some refused to give up; we either smoked them out or shot them.   GK- How many enemy do you estimate were on the plateau?   RAB 50- Well there was 4 Divisions of infantry, 30 armored vehicles including 16 Tanks, 2 mobile battalions mounted in trucks, an Artillery Battery, and four Gunboats, That made around ten thousand men. We captured 700 prisoners and killed many more. We captured an Assyrian Major, he was wounded at the time, He was the Artillery Major that directed the enemy Guns on our positions. His name was [name withheld by GK], you can imagine our surprise when he started speaking Assyrian. I don't mind telling you we wanted to finish him! But RAB 100 Odisho stopped us; he said the major was of his village.   GK- how long did the battle last?   RAB 50- It lasted for 15 hours, at 8 PM. our company was relieved.   GK – what type of uniform were you warring?   RAB 50 – We had khaki overalls, a steel British helmet, black boots, a back pack and an ammunition pouch in front that held fifty rounds. We also carried the 303 short magazine with extra ten rounds.   GK- Where else did you serve?   RAB 50- In 1942 we were sent to Iran, We were there to help the Russians fight the Germans.   GK- How did you help?   RAB 50- Number 4 Assyrian Company was first into Iran; our job was to escort convoys from Iraq to Iran. Then into Russia.   GK- what did the convoys carry?   RAB 50- There was mainly rifles and ammo, and there was also food.   GK- Were you involved in combat in Iran?   RAB 50- Not hand to hand as in Habbaniya, we were mostly attacked by German planes. But that did not stop us doing our job. We did that for 18 months, and then we were sent to Jordan for 8 months then back to Habbaniya. We stayed there until the disbandment of the Levies in 1955. After that I joined the Iraqi Army until I retired in 1982 as a Captain.

RAB 50 Dinkha holding wreath on ANZAC Day 2004       Each evening RAB 50 [Lieutenant] Beijo Rahana, my Assyrian officer came to my tent for a talk and a drink and it was then that we planed the things for the day ahead. Luckily for us the British officers of the Levies, our Assyrians were fine linguists and nearly all of them spoke English. These Assyrians were direct descendants of those who ‘swept down like a wolf on the fold’ in Biblical times, and bore the old names like Nimrod, Sennacherib and Tiglath-Pileser, natural soldiers, having many of the Ghurkha soldiers characteristics, taking great pride in their marksmanship and mountaineering capabilities. We who commanded them grew to love them dearly and to this day I feel I never had the privilege of leading better men.   Major-General John Dutton Frost CB DSO MC