A letter thought to be from Lieutenant Kesley, published in the Parish Magazine June 1918:
Palestine
I have been moved from camels to donkeys; the Corps is under the same administration as camels, and is newly formed, so of course it has to be officered, and I have been selected as one of them and posted to No 1. It is really a big scream. I wish you could hear the noise at feeding time, I have 500 of them, and it is a regular Donnybrook! Of course, I am no longer on the coastal sector and probably, shall have a chance of getting to Jerusalem, which is about 25 miles distant, but the country is about the worst I have ever struck; it is very mountainous with hardly any cultivation, and the mountains are covered with huge boulders of rock, and only donkeys can get about on them, with the exception of goats; but they are not forming a goat corps yet!
We seem to be away from the world up here, away in the hills. Everything is very quiet except for the hum of an aeroplane; it seems almost living a hermit's life.
(Later)
At last I have seen Jerusalem. Just before entering the city, Nebi Samwil, the traditional tomb of the prophet Samuel, is clearly visible from the road. This where some of the stiffest fighting took place, and one cannot understand how our boys overcame such strong positions; it was superhuman. I took a guide to the Holy Sepulchre; there I saw our Lord’s tomb. The church, which is built over it, is very beautiful inside. I cannot say what passed through my mind as I stood by the side of his tomb, but everything seemed to be at peace. I also saw the mosque of Omar, the Jews waiting place, and the garden of Gethsemane. It is hard to realise what happened here.
