EACH April there is a small gathering in Worcester Cathedral to Remember the brave mounted men from Worcestershire who fought in the actions at Oghratina and Qatia, during the First World War.

This small service was cancelled in 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic but the Friends of the Worcestershire Yeomanry Museum declared that this year the commemoration will take place.

A small gathering, following Covid guidelines, will take place at the Yeomanry Memorial in Cripplegate Park this weekend.

To allow everyone to take part from home, Qatia Day Online will also take place on the Friends Facebook Page. In 1916 a detachment of Yeomanry were ordered to guard a small party of Royal Engineers, tasked to dig wells at Oghratina.

This small Force was attacked by over 3,000 Turks in the early hours of Easter Sunday, April 23 1916. The County men were soon overrun and the victorious enemy then charged the main body of Yeomanry based at Qatia.

Aided by the Warwickshire Yeomanry and the Gloucestershire Hussars, the Worcestershire Yeomanry were soon involved in battle.

By the end of the day 85 per cent of Worcestershire Yeomanry had been killed or captured (nine officers and 101 other ranks killed with a further 235 officers and other ranks captured).

Qatia Day Online will take place on Saturday, April 24 between 10am and 6pm. This will involve a number of posts on the Friends Facebook page explaining the action, plus a free Zoom talk delivered by historian Stuart Hadaway.

Stuart has written many books on the campaign including the popular book Pyramids and Fleshpots.

For further details on how to register for the Zoom talk, visit the Friends of the Worcestershire Yeomanry page on Facebook.