Aden Protectorate Levies

The Aden Protectorate Levies (APL) were a military force raised for the local defense of the Aden Protectorate. The Levies were drawn from all parts of the Protectorate and were armed and officered by the British military. They used the Lahej emblem of crossed jambiyah (traditional curved double-edged dagger) as their badge.

Foundation
The APL were formed on 1 April 1928 primarily to protect Royal Air Force stations following the change of status of Aden to an Air Command in April 1927. Their secondary role was to be that of assisting the civil police. The APL also formed a Camel Troop.

Prior to 1928 the British garrison in Aden had comprised two infantry battalions, one British and one Indian, plus Royal Artillery units and detachments of Sappers and Miners. A locally recruited infantry unit, known as the 1st Yemen Infantry, had been raised in the Aden Protectorate during 1917-18 for service in World War I but had been disbanded in 1925.

Organisation
Colonel M.C. Lake of the British Indian Army was the first Commanding Officer until Lt. Col. J.C. (Robby) Robinson took over command in 1929 and remained as C.O. till 1939. In 1928 the APL comprised two British officers and six platoons of Arabs (each one officer and 34 men) recruited from tribes in the Western Protectorate states, they had 48 camels and 8 mules. The APL recruited from the various tribes which lived in the foothills or the higher mountainous regions of the protectorate. During the early years of the APL's existence a number of junior commissioned officers and senior NCOs were Indian.

Based in Aden Colony was the APL Depot Battalion, the Levies Base and Training Organisation. The Depot included married quarters, a neonatal clinic, a school for children, the APL Band and the APL Camel Troop. Air supply and other repair and supply units also were based there.

The APL Hospital (ALH), located near Khormaksar, was a 160 bed RAF general hospital where free medical care was given to the APL's 1,500 men active members and their families, and also to former members, about 10,000 people in all. The ALH also provided the medicines to the APL. The hospital CO was an RAF doctor assisted by two RAF warrant officers, and an administration and supplies staff. Medical coverage was provided by three RAF doctors and a surgeon who were assisted by local doctors. The other RAF personnel were two male nurses, two laboratory technicians and a Pharmacist. Local people made up the rest of the staff and all of them would have been trained on site.

Arab officers
Arab officers were called Bimbashis, with one in each battalion being responsible to the Commanding Officer for Arab Administration. They held Governor's Commissions as 2nd Lieutenant (MulazimIth Thani); Lieutenant (Mulazim Al Awal); Captain (Rais); and Major (Wakil Qaid Ith Thani). During the period of RAF control prior to 1957, a different system of Arab rank designations had been in place at all levels. The senior Arab rank was that of Lieutanant Colonel (Qaid Al Awal).

World War Two
During World War II the APL was expanded from 600 to 1,600 men. The Levies operated in Aden and the Western Aden Protectorate but also provided garrisons at Socotra Island and Sharjah. By 1939 an APL anti-aircraft wing had been created, which shot down an Italian plane in the course of the war.

In 1942 a six year process of replacing British Army personnel serving with the APL with RAF Regiment officers and airmen commenced. This policy led to the reorganisation of the Levies into a tactical force of two wings, each about the equivalent of a battalion, plus an administrative wing. A third infantry wing was added after 1948

Postwar
During the December 1947 anti-Jewish riots, some Arab personnel of the Levies proved ineffective in controlling inter-communal violence and fired indiscriminately into Jewish houses, killing several of the inhabitants.

The Levies reverted to War Office control in 1957 with British Army officers and NCOs replacing RAF secondees. The AFL headquarters was at Seedaseer Lines in Khormaksar. "Up country" bases and out-stations were maintained at Dhala, Mukeiras, Beihan, Zinjibar, Ataq and Lodar.

In 1958 the APL, supported by British troops and the RAF, repulsed border intrusions by Yemeni forces in the Jebel Jihaf region. Border clashes with Yemeni tribal groups continued through the late 1950s. By 1960 the APL consisted of four rifle battalions each of which had 3" mortars, medium machine guns and signallers, and a Mechanical Transport Platoon. The APL was a brigade-equivalent force with its own air supply and air liaison officers and the Senior Arab Officer. Additional units included the APL Armoured Car Squadron, the APL Signal Squadron, the APL Band and the APL Camel Troop. The APL Camel Troop was a ceremonial unit which conducted many public appearances.

On 30 November 1961, following the creation of the South Arabian Federation, the APL changed its name to the Federal Regular Army. After 1967 those British trained personnel considered politically unreliable were purged from the reorganised armed forces of the newly established People's Republic of Yemen.

Awards
Officers and other ranks of the Levies were awarded the following:

One Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.),

Seven Military Crosss (M.C.),

Two Military Medals (M.M.),

One Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.),

Three Member of the Order of the British Empires (M.B.E) and

One British Empire Medal (B.E.M.)

Insignia and uniforms
The badge of the APL, worn in various designs from the 1940s, on, included crossed jambiyas (double-edged Adeni daggers) under a crescent and star, with the motto "Peace be with you" in Arabic. Throughout its history the APL wore the khaki drill uniform of the British Indian Army, complete with a Punjabi style pagri (turban). When on service in the "up-country" hinterland of the Protectorate, a simple khaki head-roll or mashedda was adopted by all ranks, modeled on that of the Audhali tribe from whom many of the Levies were recruited. A white ceremonial uniform with green turban and waist sash was worn by both the Camel Troop and the Guard of Honour.