Lewis Yelland Andrews

Lewis Yelland Andrews in the 1930s

Lewis Yelland Andrews (1896-1937) was an Australian soldier and colonial official who served as the District Commissioner for the city of Galilee during the British Mandate over Palestine. He was assassinated by Arab militants on his way to prayer services at Anglican Christ Church in Nazareth on 26 September 1937.

Biography

Lewis Yelland Andrews was a son of A.E. Andrews from Sydney, Australia. Andrews had fought in World War I for the Australian Imperial Forces. He later served as the District Commissioner for Galilee. His assassination on 26 September 1937 led the British government to respond by outlawing the Arab Higher Committee and ordering the arrest of its members. His assassination was considered to represent the apex of the Arab Revolt.

Before his murder, one of Andrews' last tasks was to organise a program for the Royal Commission. He allegedly used his influence in favour of partitioning the Palestine Mandate. Andrews was the object of particular hatred among Palestinians in the Galilee area for the repressive manner in which he carried out government measures after the outbreak of the general strike of 1936.

On 26 September 1937, Andrews, Pirie-Gordon (the assistant District Commissioner) and Andrews' bodyguard (a British police constable) were on their way from attending service at the Anglican Christ Church when they were gunned down by four masked militant followers of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam. Andrews died on the spot and hisbodyguard later died at the hospital.

Grave of Lewis Yelland Andrews in the Mount Zion Cemetery, Jerusalem

The British government immediately issued a warrant for the arrest of Hajj Amin al-Husayni. Shortly afterwards the Arab Higher Committee, of which al-Husayni was chairman, was declared illegal, and a warrant was made out for Husayni's arrest. Al-Husayni holed up in the Haram al-Sharif for some time and eventually slipped out under cover of dark and eventually made his way to Syria which became the committee's new base of operations. In the absence of the established leadership, more radical politicians assumed control of the resistance movement within Palestine itself. Anti-Jewish and anti-British attacks rapidly increased in the aftermath of Andrew's assassination.

Andrews was buried in Jerusalem and his grave is preserved in the Protestant Mount Zion Cemetery there. He left a widow and three children.

Further reading

• Sylva M. Gelber, "No Balm in Gilead: A Personal Retrospective of Mandate Days in Palestine," Carleton University Press (June 1989), pp. 100–101. ISBN 978-0-88629-104-4
• Martin Sicker, "Pangs of the Messiah: The Troubled Birth of the Jewish State" Praeger Publishers (30 January 2000), p. 134. ISBN 978-0-275-96638-6