IBCA visited the Anzac Memorial Centre in Be’er Sheva on the 7th December as part of a series of events run by IBCA to celebrate the Balfour Declaration. We were addressed by Mathew Wise, Deputy Head of Mission of the Australian Embassy who gave an overview of why the Battle of Be’er Sheva is so important that it is still part of the Australian school curriculum.
A local guide explained the Battle in depth and gave us a history of the Memorial. Ulla Hadar, a researcher of family history, made the day so much more moving by telling us stories of individual fallen soldiers, including the only Jew who is buried in the cemetery there – Captain Seymor J. H. Van Den Bergh.
After visiting the cemetery, we had a light lunch and then were led by our guide Stephen Kliner, to the Turkish War Memorial and the famous Engine 70414.
