Just in time for Israel’s 78th Independence Day on Wednesday, the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem has received the personal archive of Orde Charles Wingate, a British officer widely regarded as a formative influence on the development of Israel’s modern combat doctrine.
For many Israelis, Wingate’s name is most familiar through the Wingate Institute near Netanya, the national center for physical education and sport named in his honor. Yet Wingate, who was not Jewish, played a significant role in the history of pre-state Israel.
Wingate served in Mandatory Palestine during the Arab Revolt of 1936–1939, where he developed the concept of Special Night Squads (SNS). These joint British-Jewish counterinsurgency units operated in the Galilee and Jezreel Valley. Military historians say the SNS helped protect dozens of Jewish communities and influenced the development of later Jewish fighting forces.
“He was here during the difficult days of the Arab Revolt, and he gave the Jews the tactics of leaving their homes and moving outside to surprise the enemy, especially by working at night,” Hezi Amiur, curator of the Federmann Family Israel Collection at the National Library of Israel, told JNS. “That became part of the doctrine of the Palmach (in pre-state days) and then the army. It is very important that it be part of our collection.”
The archive includes Wingate’s Hebrew study notebooks, containing words written in both print and script, as well as a personal diary describing his activities in pre-state Israel. The collection also contains photographs, operational plans and intelligence reports.
Wingate developed a strong connection with the Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine and became an advocate for the establishment of a Jewish state. Some British officials considered him overly sympathetic to Zionist aspirations, and in 1938, he was transferred out of the country.
He later served in several other theaters, including Ethiopia, where he supported local forces seeking independence. According to Dr. Shlomi Chetrit of Bar-Ilan University’s Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Wingate became a respected figure there as well.
“In October 1939, the British government sought a way to appease the Arabs,” Chetrit told JNS. “Wingate advised David Ben-Gurion and Chaim Weizmann on how to try to change British policy. He did things that no officer should be allowed to do. He was demoted not because he was pro-Zionist but because he was insubordinate.”
During World War II, Wingate served in Asia and Africa, where he continued to develop unconventional military strategies. He was killed in a plane crash while traveling from Burma to India in 1944.
‘Contributes to understanding’
Rachel Misrati, an archivist at the National Library of Israel who is digitizing the collection, said that Wingate’s faith shaped his worldview.
“He was a very strong Christian, and his parents came from a strong religious background,” she told JNS. “He was very conscious about antisemitism and encouraged Anglo Jewry to speak up.”
Wingate’s family preserved the archive for decades before selling it to a private collector. The materials were later purchased for approximately $60,000 by a British philanthropist, who donated them to the National Library of Israel.
Salai Meridor, chairman of the National Library of Israel, thanked the donor for the contribution. “This is an archive of particularly important national and public value that contributes to the understanding of Wingate’s character, and his influence on the shaping of the country’s future security and defense forces,” he said.
