I arrived in Israel the second day after the State of Israel was declared, in early 1948. I was recruited by a group called the 43 Group which was based in London. After our recruitment, a group of us were taken to Paris by a guide, where we stayed overnight in a hotel.
The next day we were taken to an office and briefed about what was going to happen. That evening we boarded a train to Marseilles, where we were met by another guide and the next morning we had a further briefing. That night we were taken to a Displaced Persons Camp, and after a few days were moved to some hills in the country, where we met other groups, and had some intensive training for a week or so.
Then one night were transported to the docks at Marseilles and boarded a ship, I think it was called “The Oranges,” and sailed for Israel.
On our arrival in Israel, the British were still present, and we were told not to speak English outside the camp. We were separated into groups and mine was attached to the 34th Battalion of the Alexandroni Brigade. I remember my army number as 71212. This battalion had some armored vehicles, with armored plates fitted around the trucks.
Later on, a Jeep Company was formed, called ‘Hajeepim.’ Our main task was to prevent supplies getting through to the Egyptians. As far as I can remember, we operated near a place called ‘Sdom.’ I saw a fair bit of action and lost a few good friends.
Sadly, I got rather fed up with all the United Nations truces and returned home in October, but I will always be proud of what I was a part of and of what we achieved.