Under-age Territorial Force soldiers at Gallipoli

[Mark Hone]

I am currently researching the story of 1/5th Lancashire Fusiliers at Gallipoli. In the battalion's first action on 7th May 1915, 28 men were killed. Two of them were 17 and four 18, i.e. officially too young for overseas service. We all know that thousands of under-age young men served in the British Army in the Great War, but prima facie I would have thought it would have been more difficult for them to do so as Terriers, given that they had originally enlisted in peacetime and remained living at home and then had to sign forms once war was declared volunteering for overseas service. Clearly any vetting procedures were pretty ineffective, but I would be interested to hear evidence from other Pals' research.

[Muerrisch]

drummers buglers pipers and trumpeters exempt from usual age rules.

[eltoro1960]

Echoing what Grumpy said, the TF could legitimately take 14 year olds as boys.

The 8th Royal Scots had a number of 14,15 and 16 year olds in their ranks went they went to France in 1914. I have no evidence that I can recall about Gallipoli other than I saw a picture of bugler from the 7th Royal Scots killed at Gallipoli, from memory I think he was 16.

I have a few pages on my website about James Marchbank MM, he was 14 and served through the war , his Grandson is a forum member He was still only 18 1/2 when the war ended.

John

[Myrtle]

I have read an account written by a man who was at Gallipoli with the Lancashires when he was 14. He manged to go at that age because his father,a NCO, was there as well.

[Dawson]

Hi Mark.

I am researching the 1/6th Lancashire Fusiliers, and there is an awful lot of underage members of that battalion that served in gallipoli.

Like the previous post said, buglars and such like, there is one account of the 1/6th that recalled the aftermath of the landing and the fighting at second Karithia, and later finding out that two boys of 15 were in the thick of it, and then they were sent back to the base lines crying their eyes out wanting to stay with their mates in the firing line. by all accounts they helped out with the wounded and such like and were never sent back home again. and by checking the medal rolls I think both survived the war.

Ian.

[Charles Fair]

Underage TF soldiers serving overseas were more common than you might think in 1915. It's not Gallipoli, but of the 93 men with the 1/19th Londons who were killed in 1915 and for whom I have the age at death (as per CWGC records), 6 were age 16 or 17.