Love Without Borders

My Zionist British Major Uncle They loved each other and together they admired the Land of Israel

By Shai Razieli   Peter Sinclair Thomson, a major in the British Army during the Mandate in Israel (Palestine) passed away peacefully on December  2002, in the arms of his beloved wife Sabina, in Cardiff, South Wales The UK. He was 90 years old. Upon his request, his ashes were scattered over his much loved Galilee Mountains, where he spent many years during his tour of duty.

Sinclair-Thomson was born in Scotland in1913 into a Protestant aristocratic (Church of England) family. Most of his ancestors served as officers of the British Crown. His father was the only officer who survived the battle of Gallipoli in World War I. His father was a high-ranking officer, of the Essex Regiment, who had privileged access to the British royal family. Steeped in the Bible since his childhood, Peter possessed an unshakable and sustained belief that the Jews of the Diaspora were the successors of the ancient Jewish Nation, destined to return from their involuntary exile back to the land of their forefathers, Israel. He had an undying conviction that the global community must do its utmost to enable the Jews to return to their Promised Land to settle and build a great nation. Peter Sinclair Thomson British Military Academy After Peter completed the British Military Academy, he joined the Essex Regiment, following in his father’s footsteps. As a young officer, one day he attended a military parade, accidentally wore yellow gloves that were not matched by his battalion parade tradition and was punished by being allocated to the regiment leaving to do service in Palestine. That was fateful moment. The rest would not have happened if he had not worn those gloves. In Palestine, he felt he could be instrumental in assisting the “Yishuvim” (Jewish settlements) in their mission to establish a Jewish Homeland; to make the land productive and to enable them to live in peace with the neighboring Arabs. In 1936 he was assigned as an intelligence officer, billeted in Nazareth, the north district capital of the British Mandate. Within days upon his arrival in Nazareth, Sinclair-Thomson was welcomed by his superior officer, the legendary Major-General Orde Charles Wingate commander of the Northern District, who was equally a student and passionate believer of the Bible and its prophesies. At that time Wingate was active in establishing the “Night Squads” (Ploogot Ha’lila), a “peoples” militia consisting of Jewish pioneers defending their settlements and farms from Arab murderers mob. Ploogot Ha’lila became the predecessor of the “Hagana”, which in turn became the forerunner of the Israeli Defense Force. Wingate deputized Sinclair Thomson in this venture, in which he later eagerly participated with brilliant organizational skills and leadership. The two soon became the best of friends. Wingate wanted to introduce unconventional strategies to the Israeli Kibbutz settlers whose actions were primarily defensive and static. His approach was, not to wait to be attacked by Arabs, but to go out at night on per-emptive strikes against known aggressors. However, Wingate had difficulty getting this idea across through the Army hierarchy, to British Army superiors and without approval; his project was in danger of never getting off the ground. Sinclair Thomson helped him. He heard that General Wavell, the most senior British Military officer in Palestine, was coming north the following day. He rushed to Ein Herrod to tell Wingate. They both drove to a spot on the way between Afula and Nazareth where they stopped the car and hid it amongst the trees. Soon after the armed escort of the General came into sight, Wingate stood in the middle of the road, stopped the convoy, and to everyone’s surprise, including Peter, he opened the door of the General’s car, got in and sat down with him. As a result of this unconventional meeting, the project was given the “go ahead” and the special Night Squads were born. This was an historic moment. It was during this development of the Night Squads that Sinclair Thomson, on many occasions, met and conferred with David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Sharett and Golda Meir, all of who eventually became Prime Ministers of Israel. As an intelligence officer he was in close contact with many in the Hagana field commanders in the Galilee and Haifa, and on many occasions provided crucial military intelligence regarding Arab terrorist plans for attacking Jewish transportation infrastructure and settlements. During the Arab revolt in 1936 – 1939 he often provided advanced warning to Jewish settlements of impending attacks by Arab raiders. His efforts prevented the shedding of much Jewish blood. When the Night Squads planned counter attacks in pursuit of the Arab mobs, it was Sinclair-Thomson who enabled them to successfully accomplish their missions. Although not widely acknowledged in British Mandate military circles, Sinclair initiated and participated in many of these forays.      The Sinclairs While he was always busy assisting the Jews, he also wanted to be connected permanently to the Jewish Nation. When he occasionally met a beautiful Jewish young woman in Haifa and fell in love with her, he knew that by marrying her he would not only gain a loving lawful wife, but this marriage would lead him to be a part of the Jewish nation forever. Sabina Wallhandler, a daughter of a religious Jewish father, came from Poland 10 years before, loved Sinclair and met him secretly, but when they planned to marry, her family strongly objected this impossible marriage, especially her father David Aharon. When he heard what a great Zionist Peter was, and what he really did for the Jewish people, he finally agreed . Sabina, Haifa 1935 Sinclair Thomson had a very clear future with a preplanned guaranteed carrier in the British Army; he could climb the ladder of ranks. He knew that by marrying a Jewish woman he would be punished and could lose his position. But because his love for Sabina was so great he decided to give up everything for her. He then went and informed the British Army officially of his marriage. His marriage was not acceptable by the Army and they denied this marriage, posting him far away from his beloved wife, from his beloved country, from the Land of Israel, and he was forced to transfer to Sudan. Sabina just lost her brother, 24 years old, Sroolik Wallhandler, murdered by Arab terrorists near Haifa on his way as Hagana member, driving a truck to bring a Jewish woman to the Hospital to give birth and bring supplies to the surrounded Kibbutz Bet Oren. Unfortunately Arab terrorists murdered both on their way back, as well as others, just because they were Jews. Sabina then found a way and united with her husband in Sudan. Sinclair Thomson told his wife that before he left for Sudan, he managed to revenge her brother’s killing in an Army action. The couple meantime moved to Egypt, and their first son Andrew was born. The Sinclairs with their new baby son moved then to Britain. A second son was born and was named David. Sabina throughout the Land of Israel The independence of The State of Israel and the War of Liberation found Sinclair Thomson in Britain. Peter wrote letters to the British Government, and articles published in the media, demanding to help the newborn small country against Arab terrorist attacks, and Arab countries army invasion. All his life Peter was concerned and was involved with Israel’s struggle. He wrote many articles for Israel published in the Jerusalem Post, and the international media, felt his mission is to assist the Zionist movement publicity. In 1952 he took his family and made “Aliyah” settling in Haifa on Mount Carmel, brought with him two trucks he bought in Britain with most of his savings to help build the country. The days of the beginning of the new State of Israel found him trying his best for his family and for the country. He was invited frequently by the leaders of Israel to give lectures in many official national conventions and succeeded to impress his audience with his enthusiasm of the Zionist cause, and his views. But the poor economy of the new country made it so hard for him and his family, and they were forced to move back to Britain with great sadness. Sabina 2011 Cardiff Peter and Sabina never gave up their love for Israel and for their many friends and family in Mount Carmel (Haifa) and elsewhere in Israel. They stayed alert to know everything, everyday of the ongoing efforts of Israel to exist, and they knew everything that was happening in Israel. His love for this country made Peter attempt a third time to become a true Israeli. In 1985, when he was 72 years old, he and Sabina came again to Mount Carmel, rented an apartment. But their dream to live in Israel for the rest of their lives was again shattered.  They returned to Cardiff with great sorrow. Peter’s desire to be in Israel was finally fulfilled by his last will, to scatter his ashes in the Galilee, to enable his soul to rest in peace in the country he so loved. This great man was my beloved uncle, the husband of my aunt Sabina, sister of my late mother Naomi rip. I was waiting in Israel to accept Peter’s ashes to be scattered in the Galilee to fulfill his last will with much pride. A few days later, Peter’s son David arrived in Israel from London. I met him at the arrivals terminal of the Tel Aviv airport. David held in his arms a small jar with his father ashes. We drove to Haifa, and on our way many stories were raised about his father, my uncle’s history, while his ashes in the jar in the car, hugging with love by David.   We arrived in my house and left the jar in the spare room surrounded with candles. After dinner we all went to sleep. I could hardly sleep the whole night, thinking of my brave uncle, pictured him in his British Army uniform. I saw in my half awake dream how my uncle holding a blue white star of David flag (Israeli national flag) in his hands and smiling. The next day, David, I and a few family members, including my 4 sons, drove to the Galilee Mountains. I scattered a quarter of the jar there. I could not think not to leave no remnant to burial at least some of the ash. We asked permission, the rest of the jars contents we buried inside the grave of my other uncle Avigdor rip, who passed away a few years before and located in the ancient cemetery of Kibbutz Machaniem, near the Jordan River, on the way to the Golan Heights.  Peter loved Sabina’s brother, his brother in law Avigdor, he never stopped speaking about him and praised him. On the grave we put a black murmur granite stone with a script saying: "Here are buried the ashes of Major Peter Sinclair Thomson 1913 - 2002, a great Zionist and a true friend of Israel". We gathered there surrounding the Grave and I read words of good-bye. It was a monologue about Peter’s history and his life. At the end I said with much pride: "We fulfilled your last wish to scatter your ashes in the Galilee Mountains you so loved. We also fulfilled your life’s wish to be one of us, an Israeli. I know your soul is now with the Angels up in Heaven, looking down upon us and smiling with great happiness".  Epilogue My favorite aunt Sabina Sinclair Thompson passed away peacefully  in Cardiff South Wales, UK, on September 2013. Sabina was 98 years old. I loved her all my life, as long as I can remember my self. Despite her passed away at so old age, living such great fullest life, her death leaves a sadness and emptiness in my heart and thoughts.  My relationship with Auntie Sabina were very close. I will miss her   endearing and captivating laugh, hours of intimate conversations and those phones I called her before every holiday, birthday, before any family event that in many of them Sabina participated. Sabina was not only my aunt, my mother's sister Naomi RIP, but a role model throughout my life. Not surprisingly, until few weeks before she passed away, in spite of her old age, Sabina use to go out of her house, where she lived for years with her late husband Peter and remained there after he passed away.  She use to take the bus to Cardiff's city center to a seniors club where she met every day of the week with friends for breakfast or lunch, returned home by cab. She didn't use a cane, nor a walker, she walked fast, straight and always with a smile on her lips. A very independent woman. Until her last day her mind was clear.