'Kantara' was
the Allie’s name for the northeastern Egyptian
town of Al Qantarah El Sharqiyya - a
northeastern Egyptian city on the eastern side
of the Suez Canal located in the Egyptian
governorate of Ismailia. During World War I,
Kantara was the site of Headquarters No. 3
Section, Canal Defenses and Headquarters Eastern
Force during the latter stages of the Defense of
the Suez Canal Campaign and the Sinai Campaign
of 1916. It became the main supply depot for all
British, Australian and New Zealand operations
in the Sinai from 1916 until final
demobilization in 1919. Beginning in January
1916 a new railway was constructed from the town
to Romani and eastwards through the Sinai to El
Arish and Rafa on the border with the Ottoman
Empire.
El Arish was
the scene of an action in the war, and the tune
itself is named for a march between the two. The
piece was composed by Pipe Major Willie
Ferguson. Ferguson saw action at Gallipoli with
the 7th Highland Light Infantry, where he was
Pipe Major.
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