Ben Shemen was a youth village near Lydda. It was first established in 1906 and abandoned, then reestablished in 1927 as a training farm for youth. The first Mandate postal agency was established in Ben Shemen on May 21, 1944. Its population in 1948 was approximately 1,000 children and 100 adults. Because of its location, Ben Shemen was immediately cut off from the outside world in early 1948, with fighting on all sides. The situation had deteriorated to such a degree that it was decided to evacuate the administration and all the children up to the age of 16, and to leave the rest of the staff and the older boys and girls as a defense force. This partial evacuation began on March 12, and was completed in April 1948, with pupils and staff transferred to a former British Army camp near Nataniya. Ben Shemen stood firm until re¬lieved by the Jewish Forces, who took the Lydda-Ramle sector in July 1948. During that time (March – July 1948) mail was received and dispatched by convoys until mid-April and later by Piper Cub ("Pri¬mus") planes for which a primitive airstrip had been prepared at Ben Shemen