Transjordan Frontier Force

The Trans-Jordan Frontier Force was formed on 1 April 1926, to replace the disbanded British Gendarmerie.

It was a creation of the British High Commissioner for Palestine whose intention was that the Force should defend Trans-Jordan's northern and southern borders.

However, the local commanders thought it unnecessary to form an additional force, believing that the expansion of The Arab Legion would be a better action.

The Transjordan Frontier Force (TJFF) was established at Sarafand on 1 April 1926 with a cadre drawn from the Arab Legion and quickly grew to three cavalry squadrons, each of 120 men each, and an infantry unit.

The TJFF would be equipped in a conventional manner, with modern weapons, whilst the Arab Legion would, initially, remain a traditional force, looser in structure and without training in technology.

In the post-World War II era, with the independence of the Transjordan and of Palestine looming, there was no longer a requirement for an Imperial Service unit in the region.

On 9 February 1948 the 3,000 man Trans-Jordan Frontier Force was disbanded and most of its members transferred to the Arab Legion.

The TJFF spent its first six months training in Palestine at Sarafand then at Shunet Nimrin (from October 1926) in the Jordan Valley.

George Townsend Paley was a Great War veteran who had earned the DCM and had been commissioned as a quartermaster, or Lt.(QM).