Blizzard at Gallipoli.

[Guest]

On the night of 26th Nov 1915, a blizzard hit the Gallipoli peninsula. I have seen many references over the years to this event in War Diaries and personal accounts. The one below, by Capt R Gee * of the 2nd Royal Fusiliers is particularly harrowing - the Bn suffered nearly 90% casulaties. I found it buried in the National Archives [Ref CAB 43/224] . It is truly staggering what these men went through. The words speak for themselves....

"It was a dark night in the trenches at Suvla Bay and the 26

^th

Nov will long be remembered and perhaps spoken of in years to come. The men had just "stood to" and the Sgt Major reported "Garrison correct, Sir" when a terrible clap of thunder, worse than a bombardment of HE broke the stillness of the night. This was followed by zig-zags of lightening which appeared to split the heavens in two and then the rain fell as only it can fall in the tropics. Within half an hour the trenches held a foot of water rushing so quickly that it was difficult to stand. At 7 pm the Barricade gave way and a solid wall of water 7 ft high swept the trench carrying everything and everybody before it. By 8 pm the flood had reached its height and the force of the water had somewhat abated so that I was able to swim from a tree to No.1 Platoon. The men were on the parados of the trench up to their breasts in water, it was the same with No.2 Platoon,only about 9 rifles had been saved. No.3 Platoon had gathered on a high bit of land and having no trees to hang on to had formed groups and were clinging to each other. No.4 Platoon were fighting for their lives, their part of the line being a maze of trenches many of which had been washed away burying the men in the mud and making it v difficult for the man to retain a footing anywhere.

At 2 a.m.the water began to subside and the men were set to work to construct a breastwork behind the trenches. No tools being available we had to do this by scooping up handfuls of earth and by dawn a resemblance of cover had been formed and we found it useful for the enemy gave us about a dozen shrapnel. To add to our comforts it began to freeze hard and a snow blizzard came down and the whole of the place was soon covered by snow; many of the survivors of the flood died from exposure. With the help of the Sgt Major I counted the Company and of the 139, only 69 remained.

It was now discovered that the ration party had been drowned and all the food and drink we had was one gallon jar of rum, this we issued out and Pte Oldfield who had swumto HQ brought up orders that the line was to be held at all costs. This order was also afterwards brought to me by the Adjt. During this time – the first night – the cheerfulness of the men was marvellous, the slightest joke or mishap produced roars of laughter. By 8 o'clock I had a few rifles in working order and we were able to return the fire of the Turks, but I gave the order to cease firing as soon as the enemy ceased and during the whole of the 27

^th

v little r-fire took place. All day the weather was freezing & more men died; towards night it turned to rain & it was impossible to move.

At 2 a.m. 28

^th

the CO brought me half a bottle of whiskey and told me that the Adjt and himself were the only live persons at the Battalion HQ. At 3:30 a..m. the Adjt brought me two Officers to help me. All my own Officers and most of the NCOs had gone under, and told me to let the men who could not fight make their own way to the Red Cross station. I passed the order on to each Platoon & about 30 men left, hardly one of whom could walk upright, most of them having to crawl through the mud & water on all fours. I then counted up and found that Ihad only 27 living souls in the firing line & only 10 rifles in working order. About 5:30 the order to "Retire to Battalion HQ" came along and after waiting for X Company to get clear, the Company started in the following order:No.1 Platoon, No.4 Platoon, No. 2 Platoon, No. 3 Platoon. I stayed with the last 4 men. We had barely gone 30 yards before the 1

^st

, 3

^rd

and 4

^th

man were killed, the two first through the head, and the latter through the heart; 10 yds further on the other man got it and as I lifted him to dress his wound the breath rushed out of his body with an awful sound. I remember falling in the mud and sticking a bayonet in the ground to help me out and the next clear thing I remember was Lt Wilkinson rubbing myfeet and bending my toes and they did hurt.

On Tuesday the 30

^th

Nov the Corps Commander Sir Julian Byng inspected the Battalion – 84 strong:survivors of 661 Other Ranks and 22 Officers **. Poor W Company mustered Sgt Major Pascall and myself. Total [Company] strength 27: Distribution – 18 effective, 9 non-effective. Distribution of effectives: 1 Signaller, 4 Sgts, Regtl Dump 10 (8 reported unfit), Other Ranks 3(18-8=10)

Sgd. R Gee (Capt) "

I wonder if any GWF colleagues have other accounts of this event.....

Regards Martin

* Gee was later to win the VC in 1917.

** 88 % casualties

[Stephen Nulty]

Interesting post, Martin, thanks for bringing it up.

In the reserve trenches at Suvla, the history of the 6th Bn, South Lancs reads..…..

'From the middle of November onwards the weather began to deteriorate, culminating in the great storm on the night of 26th/27th November when the trenches held by the Battalion were flooded out, and the men soaked to the skin. Next day the rain ceased but the temperature dropped suddenly below freezing point and caused acute distress amongst all ranks who were still clad in their thin khaki drill. To quote the War Diary for this period, “The situation, however, was taken in hand by the officers and a serious state of affairs prevented by the immediate construction of braziers from old biscuit tins, and fires and hot meals were soon got going. No deaths from exposure occurred in this battalion. The temperature remained below freezing point until the 30th. The cheerfulness of all ranks during this extremely trying period was most notable and prevented the morale of the Battalion suffering in any way.”

As the storm referred to caused a high percentage of casualties from exposure throughout the other units of the expeditionary force, the fact that there were none in the Battalion is a fine tribute to the care of their men exercised by the officers, and provides a useful object lesson for young officers and non-commissioned officers serving today. At Suvla alone in the three day blizzard, there were more than 5000 cases of frostbite and over 200 soldiers were drowned or frozen to death; no words can depict the horror of the situation with no shelter for the sick, overworked doctors, no winter clothing, and the absence of any means of evacuating the stricken, as no boat could approach the Gallipoli beaches until the fury of the storm had abated.'

[michaeldr]

I wonder if any GWF colleagues have other accounts of this event.....

Martin,

There are some observations on this in pages 76 – 81 of 'Under fire in the Dardanelles – The Great War Diaries & Photographs of Major Edward Cadogan' Pen & Sword 2006 ISBN 1 84415 374 6

regards

Michael

[Guest]

Stephen, Michael... thanks for these. I shall dig out Cadogan. I have seen many Bn War Diaries with various accounts and I was also hoping to flush out some unpublished personal accounts. I note the cheerfulness of the troops in both the above accounts. Interesting that the 6th South Lancs did not have any casualties and the 2nd Royal Fusiliers (a seasoned Regular Battalion no less) had 88% casualties. I suspect their fate was largely due to the sector of the trenches a battalion was in and of course swift action as seen in the 6th South Lancs. I can not imagine swimming in freezing water and standing a chance survival.

[Will O'Brien]

Harrowing account indeed, however I did wonder whether the numbers were suspect. I did a quick & dirty review of 2nd Battalion fatalities over the days in question using Geoff Sullivan's fantastic search engine. 26th to the 29th fatalities were light with just a couple each day. The 30th was heavier with approximately 30 dying. The majority of these men seem therefore to have been wounded/injured/suffering from illness brought on by the conditions rather than deaths.

[RammyLad1]

The story of the 29th division by Captain Stair Gillon notes that the storm had one redeeming feature: not a fly survived.The Gallipoli plague rapidly disappeared.

Duncan

[Guest]

Harrowing account indeed, however I did wonder whether the numbers were suspect. I did a quick & dirty review of 2nd Battalion fatalities over the days in question using Geoff Sullivan's fantastic search engine. 26th to the 29th fatalities were light with just a couple each day. The 30th was heavier with approximately 30 dying. The majority of these men seem therefore to have been wounded/injured/suffering from illness brought on by the conditions rather than deaths.

Thanks Will. Very useful. I had intended doing the same exercise... It is important to note that "Casualties" does not necessarily mean Killed. It will include KIA, WIA, MIA, WAMIA, and also include Non-Battle Casualties many of who will recover. So in this case although there were allegedly 88% casualties, the vast majority would have recovered. From a military strategic point of view, a casualty is a what it says on the tin. It takes men out of the firing line, so in the short term a frost-bitten man has the same impact as someone KIA in terms of 'effective strength' of the unit. The Medical Services volumes have extremely detailed stats on the subcategories (including frostbite, exposure etc). I am not surprised that there are few KIA but this Battalion effectively ceased to exist immediately after the event. It will be interesting to try and establish how quickly the men recovered. . Part of my aim on this thread is to forensically dissect the casualty data for this episode. MG

Edit: From the War Diary on 1st Dec. Effective strength of the Battalion following the Corps commander's inspection....

Company........Strength......Effectives

W Coy..................3...................2

X Coy .................12...................7

Y Coy.................10...................6

Z Coy.................19...................7

HQ Coy..............26.................16

MG Section.......14...................4

Total...................82..................42

Within 6 days drafts totalling 210 ORs and 6 Officers had arrived.

[clive_hughes]

There is an account similar to Gee's by Lt-Col. F.W.D.Bendall of 2/3rd London Regt (attached 86th Brigade 29th Divn.) which is published in On The Front Line. True World War 1 Stories (Constable paperback edn. 2009).

He was nearly drowned by the flash flood and claimed a number of his men were killed this way, not to mention the MO and others frozen or succumbing to exposure. When eventually relieved he said that 45 out of an original strength of 500 made their way back to reserve near the Brigade HQ, and even then the adjutant was killed by a shell in the process.

LST_164

[David Porter]

The Wells Journal of January 21, 1916 (page 5) has a letter from L/Cpl. Oswald Rowland.

He was in 2nd Bn. Royal Fusiliers and survived the blizzard but describes finding his mates frozen to death from November 28th onwards.

On December 3rd he got shot in the foot and wrote the letter whilst recovering at Edinburgh War Hospital.

I only have these scant details as I was looking for other things at the time but I think the letter was quite detailed.

[Guest]

Some very disturbing stats from the 86th Inf Bde Bde War Diary show nearly 2/3rds of the men became casualties.

Effective strength on 26th Nov: 97 Officers and 2,817 ORs (total 2,914 all ranks)

Effective strength on 29th Nov: 69 Officers and 976 ORs (total 1,045 all ranks)

Total Casualties 26th-29th Nov: 28 Officers and 1,841 men

Total Casualty rate 26th-29th Nov: 28.8% Officers and 65.4% ORs.... Overall casualty rate of 64.1%

Unit..............................Strength (Off & ORs) on 25th Nov.......Strength (Offrs & ORs) on 29th Nov.... Total Casualties

Bde HQ..........................................5 & 67.......................................5 & 64..................................................0 & 3

2nd Royal Fus...............................22 & 677...................................12 & 105.............................................10 & 572

1st Lancashire Fus........................21 & 657....................................20 & 446..............................................1 & 211

1st R Munster Fus........................17 & 388....................................13 & 77................................................4 & 311

1st R Dublin Fus...........................15 & 599.................................. 13 & 220...............................................2 & 379

3rd London Regt...........................17 & 429.................................... 6 & 64................................................11 & 365

Total............................................97 & 2817.................................69 & 976 ..............................................28 & 1,841

Notes:

1. The 3rd London Regt seem to have suffered the most with 84% overall casualties.

2. The 2nd Royal Fusiliers War Diary for 29th Nov as 11 Officers and 105 ORs (of which 31 had been sent back from the Fd Ambulance in a state of near collapse) and on 30th Nov records 10 Officers and 84 ORs of which 70 were effective. Numbers slighly worse than recorded in Bde War Diary above.

3. Interestingly the 1st Bn R Dublin Fus War Diary records effective strength on 1st Dec as 12 Officers and 307 ORs, a number significantly higher than the Bde returns.

4. The War Diary for the 1st Bn R Munster Fus for Nov 1915 is missing.

5. The 1st Bn Lancashire Fusiliers War Diary does not record casualty figures for the period.

[Edit: by the accounts in the 1st Bn Essex Regt and 2nd Bn Hampshire Regt War Diaries - both in neighbouring 88th Inf Bde - the 86th Inf Bde suffered the most in the Blizzard...]

Any mistakes are mine. MG

[Guest]

88 Bde War Diary data for the period...Casualties seem to have been significantly lighter, except in the 4th Bn Worcestershire Regt where they suffered 42% casualties.

Unit..............................Strength (Off & ORs) on 25th Nov.......Strength (Offrs & ORs) on 29th Nov.... Total Casualties

Bde HQ..........................................4 & 38.......................................4 & 38..................................................0 & 0

Signals............................................0 & 23......................................0 & 24..................................................0 & 0

4th Bn Worcestershire Regt............17 & 738...................................11 & 426...............................................6 & 312

2nd Bn Hampshire Regt..................20 & 591....................................17 & 503..............................................3 & 88

1st Bn Essex Regt........................22 & 662....................................18 & 606................................................4 & 56

2/1st Bn London Regt......................8 & 348.................................. 7 & 322.................................................1 & 26

1st Bn Newfoundland Regt...............19 & 612.................................... 18 & 538.............................................1 & 74

Total...............................................90 & 3,012...........................75 & 2,457............................................15 & 555

By 1st Dec numbers had dropped to 71 Officers and 2,206 ORs implying overall casualty rates for the period of 825 or 26.6%

[Story]

An account by a New Zealander on the weather.

THE MONTHLY DIARIES OF Lt RALPH. D. DOUGHTY. M.C.

Note the photo of the gun & crew here -

http://thekivellfamily.co.nz/military_history/ralphs_diaries/monthly/03_november_15b.html

"The first fall of snow at "Anzac" Sat. evening and. Sunday Nov 27th 1915. This is one of the eighteen pounder guns with which our Australian Artillery is equipped. The temp was 12 deg below freezing point. Note the wire netting with brushes on top to hide the gun from enemy aircraft. Sid"

[Guest]

All - thank you for your continued contributions....

In the History of the Great War - Medical Services: Casualties and Medical Statistics - "Admissions to Hospital, British Troops only" (p.206) for the Dardanelles shows 6,602 cases of frostbite of which 68 died in hospital (1.03%) These stats will only capture those who made it to hospital.

MG

[bob lembke]

Note only 1% of frostbite cases were fatal, but many of the cases would never return to active duty; loss of digits, even feet, etc. Any figures on this?

Bob Lembke

[RammyLad1]

Bob

From the 42nd East Lancs history,

" During the 27th the rain came down steadily, then the wind veered to the north and brought snow and cruel blizzards.A hard frost followed, and at Anzac and Suvla men were frozen to death; others lost their limbs- some their reason- and cases of fostbite were very numerous.

From the 29th division history,

" The north- east blizzard on the morning of the 27th had a velocity of 80 miles per hour and a temperature 25 degrees below freezing point. Three solid inches of ice stood in the trenches."

It goes on to say,

" Many were frozen to death at their posts; still more were frost-bitten, necessitating 400 amputations,and all were at the utmost of endurance.

[Guest]

On trawling the War Diaries it seems that some units clearly experienced much higher concentrations of frostbite etc than others despite close proximity, particularly at Suvla. The differences between the 88th Bde and 86th Bde are notable despite their relatively close location to each other. Local geographic peculiarities must have been major factors. Everyone would have experienced sub-zero temperatures but the flooding would not have been uniform. Those who were submerged by the flash floods and then froze would have been in the worst state I suspect.

Trench systems on higher ground would have fared better than those in the diluvial plain - for instance the trenches that were an extension of the main arterial deres running off the mountains would have taken the full force of the water-shed, whereas trenches in the broader Suvla plain beyond the main deres would have experienced less of a flash flood. I suspect that some of the 86th Bde units' trenches were in the direct path of one of the main deres. The barricade would also have been a major factor. It would appear that it acted as a (temporary) dam, giving way under the immense pressure of 7 feet of water and bursting in an instant, More than a few diaries describe a 'tidal wave' suggesting something more sudden than a gradual build up of flood waters in some areas.

It is easy to locate the main arterial deres on the maps and not difficult to imagine how they would have channeled the water in strong torrents. Any trench systems incorporating these deres would have been inundated and we know from the trench maps that many of the trenches did run along the route of the deres - see an example below where the deres run directly into the trench system - purple asterisk. Note that this is just south of Dublin Castle which was the central defensive position of 86th Bde on the night of the 26th Nov. It seems a distinct possibility that the Bde's trenches in this vicinity were in the direct path of the deres running off the ridge line to the immediate East dominated by Kavak Tepe [Edit: The 2nd Royal Fusiliers War Diary (WO 95/4310 page 80) has a map of the Dublin Castle area showing the Bn holding the trenches in this exact area from 13th Oct 1915. It seems pretty conclusive that their designated area of the trench system was (and remains) the exact place where the deres running off the surrounding mountains converge. Their trenches were effectively at the mouth of a natural funnel.] Regards MG

[Guest]

To expand on the horrors of those few days, here is the 2nd Bn The Royal Fusiliers' War Diary:

Nov 26th. Fine day until 5 pm when it started to rain heavily, soon developing into a regular tropical downpour. Water stood 2 feet deep in the trenches after 1 hour's rain. A tremendous flood of water poured into our trenches from the hills behind theTurks, washing away our barricade completely and drowning several men. A mule,a pony and 3 dead Turks were actually brought into our trench by the water. In the space of about 2 minutes our entire section was converted into a regular lake, communication trenches being transformed into swirling streams of muddy water. The entire ground between us and the main communication trench became to all intents a river. All that could be seen above water was an occasional tree and a few banks of mud where the parapet or parados had been particularly high. All the battalion with the exception of about 6 or 8 men who were drowned in the first rush of water had managed to scramble out of the submerged trenches and were standing about on the pieces of ground remaining above water, soaked to the skin and the majority without overcoats or rifles as the flood had come so suddenly that they had been unable to get them out with them.The flood reached its zenith about 9 p.m. when the trenches were full and the intervening terrain about 1 foot deep in water and mud. The moon came out and lit up the scene – a waste of water with clusters of men standing about on little banks in an even worse state than we were. At a rough estimate 50% of the battalion had rescued their rifles and about the same number their overcoats. One telephone was rescued and the signallers succeeded in getting through to Bde, whence came orders to hold on to the line at all costs, where practicable and to dig in as well as possible. In the meantime two orderlies (Pte Frost & James) made their way to the Bde with a message having to swim a part of the way. CO went up to the firing line and Adjutant to the Munster Fusiliers and Lancs Fusiliers to tell them to hang on. It was necessary to take a plank to cross the trenches. About 10 p.m. the water started to go down slightly and as soon as it was possible the men started to throw up breastworks of mud as cover, working with anything which came to hand which was practicallynothing but their hands. A bitter North wind got up, gradually increasing inviolence.

Nov 27

^th

. The water subsided slowly all night until by morning it stood about 4 or 5 feet in the trenches and the intervening ground was nearly a foot deep in thick mud and clay. By daylight moderate cover from shrapnel had been made. A few rifles were retrieved and a few raincoats. Rations of bully beef and biscuits were brought up with great difficulty owing to the muddy ground. A certain amount of rhum [?] was brought up. A cheerless dawn with a grey sky and a bitterly cold wind disclosed low lines of breastworks with men huddled shivering behind them. An attempt was made to clean rifles but with only moderate success. Anyone who walked about after daylight ran a good risk ofbeing sniped. Capt Shaw, Lt Ormesher and 2 Lt Fenall [sp?] were hit by snipers. The former being killed and Lt Ormesher as it turned out later mortally wounded.Two or three men were also hit. There was a good deal of shrapnel fired during the day, chiefly at men who were struggling back to ambulances or going backwards and forwards with messages or for other reasons. Of the men who went back to hospital several died on the way from exposure and exhaustion. Several Turks were accounted for as they left their trenches and some tried to surrender, nearly all failing to do so because of the state of the ground. The GOC Division came up at midday and ordered Dublin Castle to be held at all costs and the entire line where practicable. The wind got up steadily all day and eventually became a tearing/searing [?] gale, intensely cold and with scudding [?] snow. Sniping seemed to cease in the afternoon by mutual consent. A large number of men were forced to go back during the day from sheer exhaustion and cold. By evening very few were left in the reserve line. The GSO III 29

^th

Division came up at dusk with a bottle of whisky and three or four men actually succeeded in bringing up a certain amount of rhum (sic) of which some was successful in getting to the [illegible...survivors?] in the firing line, although some never reached its destination.

Nov 28

^th

. The wind got colder and the snow thicker during the early hours of the morning. About 2 a.m. an order came through from Bde to send back all the men to the Ambulance who would be unable to fire a rifle next day. Accordingly a certain number from each company were sent back ,of which a few never reached the Ambulance. About 4 a.m. the CO and Adjutant were the only survivors in the reserve line and decided that not 50 men could live through the next day. Accordingly they went back to the Bde and the CO got permission to bring back the battalion to the Bde nullah which was higher ground and was also sheltered.They then went back to the firing line and ordered the battalion of which there were about 300 left to come back. This was accomplished with difficulty as hardly a man was able to walk properly, and the going was very bad indeed with three trenches to cross, each by means of a narrow plank. Very few men were able to do more than get back themselves let alone help others. A few were shot leaving the line and a few failed to get back at all or had to be kicked into some semblance of life. There was no shelling as the blizzard was too thick for the Turkish gunners to see what was happening. A small party was left at the Regimental dump in a fairly dry dugout as a sort of guard. The whole battalion was back in the nullah by 7 pm where they were given warm food, blankets and150 sheets of corrugated iron. The majority were taken to hospital during the day [mostly?] with exposure or frostbite. 2 Lt Camies went to Dublin Castle to holdit until the next evening with 12 men.

Nov 29

^th

. A very cold day – freezing hard and a bitter wind but no snow. Many men were sent down to Ambulances. 350 men had returned to [the] nullah but the strengthof the Battalion as about 4 p.m. was 105 men (of which 31 had been sent back from Ambulances in a state of semi-collapse) and 11 Officers. Hard work all day for the doctor who had himself collapsed for a few hours during the last 24.

Nov 30

^th

.The party from another Regiment which were supposed to have relived 2 Lt Cames at dusk on the previous evening lost their way. 2 Lt Camies was discovered at 4 a.m. unrelieved with nearly all his men in a helpless condition. Sgt Major Paschall was sent up to take relieving party to Dublin Castle and to bring the other party back which he succeeded in doing.2 Lt Camies and entire party went sick. Cold frosty day. No wind. Several men went away with frost bite – some with boat tickets who preferred to stay. 4 p.m. roll call showed 10 officers and 84men, of which 70 effective. The Battalion went out by night to search the ground and brought back 150 rifles, several sets of equipment etc.

Dec 1

^st

. At an inspection of the 9

^th

Army Corps Commander the strength of the Battalion was shown as follows:

Company........Strength......Effectives

W Coy..................3...................2

X Coy .................12...................7

Y Coy.................10...................6

Z Coy.................19...................7

HQ Coy..............26.................16

MG Section.......14...................4

Total...................82..................42

[Myrtle]

Captain Peter Ashton 1/1st Herefordshire Regiment account:

"I was in my dugout, opening out of the rear line trench, and found the trench setting rather puddly, as I only had a waterproof sheet roof. I remember I had a sort of doorstep to prevent paper and rubbish blowing in, about a foot high, the floor level of the dug-out being the same as the trench. Suddenly, without warning, my doorstep entirely dissolved and a brown flood poured in. The water rose as you watched, until it was about 3 1/2 feet deep, and then stopped. As I didn't want to drown, I struggled out of the trench, and met the C.O. emerging from next door where the same thing had happened. It was quite obvious what had occurred. The very heavy rain, probably still heavier back in the hills, poured down from the high ground behind the Turks till it got caught up behind their barricade. This, presumably, had held until there was a respectable weight of water behind it, when it collapsed and the whole tearing flood came rushing down at ours. It didn't gather or pause for the twinkling of an eye at ours, it simply swept it away as it hadn't been there, and swept on to the sea, a solid river, 20 yards broad and 8 or 9 feet deep. All our trenches opened out of the Dere, and though their floor level was higher than the bottom of the stream, they were still deep enough to take in about 4 feet of water. As the ground sloped slightly upwards towards the front line, the rear lines were the worst.

Our first consideration being the front line, I at once started off to see if it were still there...I went on till I got to the support line, about half way up. As I couldn't cope with about 3 feet of rapidly flowing water any longer, I got on top and reached the front line.

There I found they had only about 18 inches of water, and though the first onrush had washed away a good deal of kit and some rifles, there was nothing much the matter. After talking to Barker for a bit, I determined to get across to the other side, where we had two vital machine guns . It wasn't possible to cross anywhere near the front line, so I went downstream about 300 yards, to wade at a pebbly place I remembered, and managed to get across. The water was about waist deep and running very strong.

The RE's two wooden bridges had absolutely disappeared. On my way downstream I heard something snorting and blowing in the dark in the water, and i found it came from a little Turkish ammunition pony, which had come downstream and got caught in a bush. I put two men on to get him out, and he continued his career in the British Army.

When I got across I walked overland to the front line, and found our two precious guns intact. It had now stopped raining, and the Dere was running down fast."

Lt-Col. Hill explains in "Manu Forte":

It was then 10 p.m. All the troops had got out of the trenches and were wandering about "on top", but the Turks were doing the same and not a shot was fired. The night passed and it was not too bad as regards cold. A general drop in the temperature had occurred some days before, with occasional cold winds, but this night was not so cold. About 6, however, the wind changed, and it began to freeze, and continued all through the next day. The rations were got up somehow during the night with the loss of one cart stuck in the mud, and all were distributed early the next morning. At about 9 p.m. The Fife and Forfar Regiment came up to relieve the Battalion, and received the distressing intelligence that they would have to bivouac among the open sand dunes about Lala Baba.It was blowing hard, and snowing - a regular blizzard.

Captain Ashton continues:

" Men were pretty badly knocked about by now, as we hadn't much food all day, on top of the previous night, and they slept and fell all over the place. We even had some casualties from this. We arrived some time and were directed to a resting place, a bleak stretch of snow covered sand dunes, with sundry clumps of a sort of gorse. When I had shepherded in the last straggler, I felt like lying down and dying...

Dawn, Sunday 28th November, I found it still snowing. We rose with considerable difficulty and started a little circulation back into our frozen limbs. A great many people were unable to get up at all; Holman for one, was practically unconscious, and we thought he was dead. But worse was to follow. Overnight, our rations had been sent to us in a lorry. The folk who sent them out, presumably sorry for those unfortunates in the snow, sent with them a double ration of rum. The wagon drivers who brought the stuff - apparently before we arrived - finding no one to hand it over to, had simply dumped the things by the side of the road and gone home. When morning broke, men began wandering about, as men will, and unhappily found the dump. Instead of telling somebody, or even eating the food, which would have been sensible, they broke open the rum jars and started in. The effect on empty stomachs and in that cold was simply devastating. Filled with a spurious warmth, they lay on the ground, and in many cases took off their coats, boots and even tunics!

Those in the immediate vivinity of the dump were quickly put in the "bag", but unfortunately the majority had filled their mess tins, and water bottles, and crawled into the bushes to enjoy themselves. We fairly combed those bushes all the morning, but by the time we found them all a certain number were dead. I remember finding one man in particular in only his shirt and trousers, holding an empty mug in a perfectly stiff arm, quite dead. Coming on top of everything else, it was heart rending. Luckily there were ambulances quite close, and we evacuated Officers and men in a steady stream. When it was all over and the M.O. had gone too, there were left, Rogers, 77 Other Ranks, and myself!

[Alan Tucker]

Second Lieutenant Philip Gething,9th Battalion,Royal Warwicks,on the storm at Suvla on November 28 1915.

“It took us about an hour to make sure that each man had a rifle and to get them on to drier land. When I returned along the trench, which was still unfit to stay in,I found six men had crawled back and were huddled together on a firing step frozen to death. We then found about twenty men lying by a hedge with ground sheets over them more or less frozen stiff; we got them up, after a lot of groaning and complaining, and made them hop round in a circle to restore their circulation”

(Cited in ‘Gallipoli’ by Peter Hart. Profile. 2011. Page 406. Originally published in ‘The Gallopian’ No 11,page 20 as ‘The Flood' - a fuller account

[michaeldr]

A newpaper report by Bean which covers the snow topic: see http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/1585420#pstart388589

Duggouts at Anzac seen under snow here http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/P02023.014

Frost-bitten Ghurkas waiting to be evacuated: see http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/C02448

Several other photographs of Anzac/Snow can be seen here http://trove.nla.gov.au/picture/result?q=Snow+Gallipoli&s=0

[Auimfo]

My Grandfather's diary reads as follows:

(he was with the 4th Field Ambulance AIF at Walden Point)

Friday 26th November, 1915

Enemy seem to be uneasy, put shells over last night, unusual for them after dark

and have been doing some today, can't understand our silence, but our guns have

not replied and our rifles are remarkably quiet. Warships have fired few shots. Up

at 6.30 a.m. on duty at 7.30 a.m. breakfast for patients and on parade at 9 a.m. and

half an hours marching up and down track. Cleaned up hospital and did sick parade

with Captain Welch, took till dinner time. One of our boys hit today. Turks shelled

our lines this afternoon. This evening heavy thunder storm, lightning and rain most

violent. Pitch black night, hill side slippery, hardly walk or climb, have to wait for

lightning to see way. Off duty 7.30 p.m. in bed 8.30 p.m.

Saturday 27th November, 1915

An awful night last night. Thunderstorm and rained in torrents, got washed out of my

dugout and had to sleep in hospital tent. Woke at 6 a.m. and on duty at 7.30 a.m.

Breakfast for patients and cleaned up, then did sick parade with Captain Furber,

took till dinner time. The mud is awful and am plastered with it, also very cold and

raining of and on all day. Our batteries gave enemy lively half hours shelling about

midday. This afternoon made my dugout little more secure against rain and made

my bed up off the ground which is wet. Finished duty at 7.30 p.m. and turned in

about 8.30 p.m. Cold again tonight.

Sunday 28th November, 1915

Up at 6 a.m. this morning, my 25th birthday and found about two inches of snow all

over, looked pretty but bitter cold. On duty at 7.30 a.m. and got patients breakfast.

The ground under snow all soft and up to knees in mud, hard to keep your feet. Did

sick parade with Captain Welch and was busy tramping about through mud and

snow all morning, stopped snowing about midday but blowing very strong and sharp.

Not much doing this afternoon, trying to keep warm. Toes feel nearly frozen off, not

been warm all day. Came off duty at 7.30 p.m. and turned in about 8 p.m. Freezing

very hard tonight and wind biting.

Monday 29th November, 1915

Very cold night, managed to sleep although not too warm, up about 6 a.m. and

jumped about to warm my feet, ground frozen as hard as iron. On duty 7.30 a.m.

Breakfast for patients and cleaned up afterwards doing the sick parade with Captain

Furber which kept me busy till dinner time. After dinner was not quite so busy, so

took a trip to some old dugouts and got a few sand bags and a couple of waterproof

sheets for roof of my dugout. Back in time for temperatures, medicines, etc. at 4

p.m. then got patients tea and finished duty at 7.30 p.m. Been a very cold day with

strong sharp wind. Turned into bed about 8 p.m.

Tuesday 30th November, 1915

Very cold night again and frosty this morning when I got up about 6 a.m. Went on

duty at 7.30 a.m. Patients breakfast, cleaned up and did sick parade with Captain

Welch. Heard today that several English soldiers had died from exposure this last

day or two, also the Indians seem to be feeling the cold badly. Turned out a lovely

day. During afternoon had quiet spell so put couple of hours in altering my dugout to

stand the weather, also two Cruisers and battleship Agamemnon heavily bombarded

enemy a little to the south of our position. Enemy put few shells very close to us

today. Off duty at 7.30 p.m. turned in 9 p.m.

Cheers,

Tim L.

[stevem49]

Fred Greaves who won his VC in October 1917 put down his survival at Suvla to his pals. He was taken seriously ill after the storm and his pals basically 'force fed' him, their rum ration, despite Fred being a non-drinker who had signed 'the pledge'

SM

ps - wonderful excerpts once again Martin. I am an avid reader of your Gallipoli posts.

[stevenbecker]

Mate,

I don't record this in all cases but I have these on record who suffered from frost bite,

JEFFERS Clarence John 33 Sgt 13 LHR C Sqn reduced to Cpl (G) RTA MU frost bite relist A/Sgt 9R/ICC (R33) to L/Cpl CSqn/4 LHR (CSqn CMF) later WWII Sqn Ldr RAAF HQ DArm

DYER Leonard 183 Pte 13 LHR C Sqn (G) frost bite disch 3-8-16 MU flat foot

FOWLER William David 208 Pte 13 LHR C Sqn (G) frost bite to Com depot UK 5-16 to 1 Anzac LHR 11-17 to Gnr 104Bty/4 FAB 12-17 to V2A MTMB 1-18 rtn 2 DAC 3-18 F&B

LEATHAM Clyde 220 Pte 13 LHR C Sqn (G) frost bite to CSqn/1 Anzac LHR to 13 LHR WIA 8-9-18 leg F&B brother John 6Bn

HAMILTON Allan 269 Pte 13 LHR C Sqn frost bite 12-15 (G) to 5 Div Cav 3-16 to CSqn/1 Anzac LHR 7-16 to Gnr 113Bty/13 FAB 11-17 to 51Bty 6-18 rtn 113Bty 1-19 F&B

KELLY Horatio Joseph 278 Pte 6 LHR B Sqn to Cpl (G) WIA 16-11-15 leg disch 21-9-16 MU cardiac & frost bite brothers Lindsay 7 LHR and Victor GSR

KELLY John 290 Pte 13 LHR B Sqn (G) frost bite to BSqn/1 Anzac LHR to Gnr 2 DAC to Dvr 11Bty/4 FAB F&B

CHEERS Stanley Alfred James 487 Pte 02 LHR C Sqn WIA 26-11-15 frost bite (G) att WFF to Sgt 11-17 to T/SSM 10-18

BARR John 634 Pte 13 LHR 1R to C Sqn (G) WIA 15-12-15 frost bite to CSqn/1 Anzac LHR MM - WIA 18-3-17 thighs to 13 LHR F&B (British RNVR)

BOWD Henry William 643 Pte 13 LHR 1R to B Sqn 11-15 frost bite 12-15 (G) to 2 Div Cyc Co 3-16 to 1 Anzac Cyc Bn 5-16 F&B disch 7-2-17 MU AKA served as Gabriel Brassey Aarons

DeWARREN Francis Joseph 713 Pte 05 LHR 2R to Cpl 2-15 tos B Sqn 7-15 WIA 10-12-15 frost bite feet at Ryries Post (G) killed at Bir el Abd buried Kantara War Memorial Cemetery Egypt brothers Joseph 15Bn and George GSR

HENNINGSEN Hans Peter 719 Pte 05 LHR 2R tos B Sqn 7-15 to C Sqn? 10-15 WIA 10-12-15 frost bite feet at Ryries Post (G) to 2 LHFA 16 to Dvr 4-16 to 14 AGH 6-18 to UK leave born Russia

CREAGHE John Weldon 800 Pte 05 LHR 3R to C Sqn 7-15 shown WIA 31-7-15 arm at Beach Post or ration fatigue WIA 6-8-15 shown one of 4 guarding stores on beach in war dairy WIA 1-12-15 frost bite (G) to Remt depot 6-16 att Camel School 11-16 disch to Egyptian CTC prom 2/Lt to Prince Albert's Somerset Light Infantry Regt (Boer War British Sth African Police 2 years)

HARDLEY Herbert 923 Pte 3 LHFA Tos 7-15 evac frost bite 16-9-15 (G) to 12Co AASC 3 LH Bde Trn 3-16 to ADMS Anzac MD HQ 3-16 to Cpl - S/Sgt 7 San Sect 6-16 disch 9-8-17 family reasons (British 3Bn The Duke of Wellington's (West Riding Regt) 3 years)

ELLIOTT Alwyne 1058 Pte 05 LHR 6R tos B Sqn 11-15 WIA 10-12-15 frost bite at Ryries Post (G) disch 23-8-16 MU trench feet AKA Alwyne Guy Elliott

LARKIN Stanley Colin 1100 Pte 02 LHR 7R to A Sqn WIA 28-11-15 ankle & frost bite at old No 3 Post (G) att WFF to T/Bugler/Sgt RHQ 2-17 to Sgt A Troop to T/SQMS 8-18 died malaria pneumonia buried Gaza War Cemetery Palestine Ex AN&MEF 2Bn (1790)

LEE George 1717 Pte 18Bn 2R to ACo (G) disch 5-8-16 MU frost bite toes amputated (BSqn CMF) brother Sidney 1 LHR KIA

MAYNES George Michael 326 L/Cpl 13 LHR C Sqn (G) disch 29-12-16 MU frost bite feet

McLEAN William Alexander 363 Dvr 13 LHR RHQ to L/Cpl MG Sect (G) disch 3-9-16 MU rheumatism & frost bite

McMAHON William Joseph 740 Pte 7 LHR 2R (G) WIA 2-12-15 frost bite

MORGAN William Ernest Lewis 1384 Pte 13 LHR 7R to Dvr 3 sect/2 DAC WIA 18-12-17 frost bite ear F&B

PITMAN John Lang 555 Pte 13 LHR A Sqn 8-15 WIA 8-12-15 trench feet/frost bite (G) to L/Cpl 1 Div Cyc Co 3-16 to 1 Anzac Cyc Bn 5-16 to Aust Corps Cyc Bn 1-18 att Chemical adviser F&B

POMROY Reginald Bertram 393 Pte 13 LHR A Sqn frost bite (G) to ASqn/1 Anzac LHR rtn 13 LHR F&B

PRATT Arthur Rex 136 Pte 05 LHR C Sqn (G) disch 31-5-16 MU cardiac & frost bite

ROULSTON James 413 Pte 13 LHR B Sqn (G) WIA 7-12-15 frost bite to 8Bn WIA 16-12-16 ankle F&B disch 3-5-18 MU TB

RYAN John Francis 350 Pte 11 LHR B Sqn att 05 LHR (G) disch 31-5-16 MU frost bite foot

SMITH William 1030 Pte 7 LHR 6R (G) RTA MU frost bite disch 6-11-16 MU reemb 24R (3133) to A Sqn? to L/Cpl

SMITH William Thomas 21 Sgt 13 LHR C Sqn to T/SQMS 10-15 WIA 13-12-15 trench feet/frost bite (G) to Sgt 2 Anzac LHR (21a) 8-16 to Troop Sgt 4 Troop BSqn/XXII Corps MR 1-18 WIA 26-4-18 shell shock near Mount Kemmel MSM for his services during operations April 1918 to T/SSM 10-18 to 13 LHR 12-18 F&B to APostC Admin HQ London UK 1-19 married Valentine Fauvergue at St Omer France 14-4-18 (CSqn CMF 4 years)

WICKHAM Thomas Bond 667 Pte 13 LHR 1R to A Sqn 9-15 (G) RTA frost bite & enteric reemb 12R to 1 Anzac LHR 5-17 to 13 LHR 1-18 F&B

S.B

[yardley]

The Keep Military Museum in Dorchester, Dorset has a web page http://www.keepmilitarymuseum.org/gallipoli/gallery that includes a number of images taken at Gallipoli. One photograph shows a group of men recovering from hypothermia, following the great ice storm. The men are huddled together in a hut made from biscuit crates

Yardley

On the night of 26th Nov 1915, a blizzard hit the Gallipoli peninsula. I have seen many references over the years to this event in War Diaries and personal accounts. The one below, by Capt R Gee * of the 2nd Royal Fusiliers is particularly harrowing - the Bn suffered nearly 90% casulaties. I found it buried in the National Archives [Ref CAB 43/224] . It is truly staggering what these men went through. The words speak for themselves....

"It was a dark night in the trenches at Suvla Bay and the 26

^th

Nov will long be remembered and perhaps spoken of in years to come. The men had just "stood to" and the Sgt Major reported "Garrison correct, Sir" when a terrible clap of thunder, worse than a bombardment of HE broke the stillness of the night. This was followed by zig-zags of lightening which appeared to split the heavens in two and then the rain fell as only it can fall in the tropics. Within half an hour the trenches held a foot of water rushing so quickly that it was difficult to stand. At 7 pm the Barricade gave way and a solid wall of water 7 ft high swept the trench carrying everything and everybody before it. By 8 pm the flood had reached its height and the force of the water had somewhat abated so that I was able to swim from a tree to No.1 Platoon. The men were on the parados of the trench up to their breasts in water, it was the same with No.2 Platoon,only about 9 rifles had been saved. No.3 Platoon had gathered on a high bit of land and having no trees to hang on to had formed groups and were clinging to each other. No.4 Platoon were fighting for their lives, their part of the line being a maze of trenches many of which had been washed away burying the men in the mud and making it v difficult for the man to retain a footing anywhere.

At 2 a.m.the water began to subside and the men were set to work to construct a breastwork behind the trenches. No tools being available we had to do this by scooping up handfuls of earth and by dawn a resemblance of cover had been formed and we found it useful for the enemy gave us about a dozen shrapnel. To add to our comforts it began to freeze hard and a snow blizzard came down and the whole of the place was soon covered by snow; many of the survivors of the flood died from exposure. With the help of the Sgt Major I counted the Company and of the 139, only 69 remained.

It was now discovered that the ration party had been drowned and all the food and drink we had was one gallon jar of rum, this we issued out and Pte Oldfield who had swumto HQ brought up orders that the line was to be held at all costs. This order was also afterwards brought to me by the Adjt. During this time – the first night – the cheerfulness of the men was marvellous, the slightest joke or mishap produced roars of laughter. By 8 o'clock I had a few rifles in working order and we were able to return the fire of the Turks, but I gave the order to cease firing as soon as the enemy ceased and during the whole of the 27

^th

v little r-fire took place. All day the weather was freezing & more men died; towards night it turned to rain & it was impossible to move.

At 2 a.m. 28

^th

the CO brought me half a bottle of whiskey and told me that the Adjt and himself were the only live persons at the Battalion HQ. At 3:30 a..m. the Adjt brought me two Officers to help me. All my own Officers and most of the NCOs had gone under, and told me to let the men who could not fight make their own way to the Red Cross station. I passed the order on to each Platoon & about 30 men left, hardly one of whom could walk upright, most of them having to crawl through the mud & water on all fours. I then counted up and found that Ihad only 27 living souls in the firing line & only 10 rifles in working order. About 5:30 the order to "Retire to Battalion HQ" came along and after waiting for X Company to get clear, the Company started in the following order:No.1 Platoon, No.4 Platoon, No. 2 Platoon, No. 3 Platoon. I stayed with the last 4 men. We had barely gone 30 yards before the 1

^st

, 3

^rd

and 4

^th

man were killed, the two first through the head, and the latter through the heart; 10 yds further on the other man got it and as I lifted him to dress his wound the breath rushed out of his body with an awful sound. I remember falling in the mud and sticking a bayonet in the ground to help me out and the next clear thing I remember was Lt Wilkinson rubbing myfeet and bending my toes and they did hurt.

On Tuesday the 30

^th

Nov the Corps Commander Sir Julian Byng inspected the Battalion – 84 strong:survivors of 661 Other Ranks and 22 Officers **. Poor W Company mustered Sgt Major Pascall and myself. Total [Company] strength 27: Distribution – 18 effective, 9 non-effective. Distribution of effectives: 1 Signaller, 4 Sgts, Regtl Dump 10 (8 reported unfit), Other Ranks 3(18-8=10)

Sgd. R Gee (Capt) "

I wonder if any GWF colleagues have other accounts of this event.....

Regards Martin

* Gee was later to win the VC in 1917.

** 88 % casualties

[alantwo]

Hi Martin

As you know the HM Hospital Ship Assaye was one of many hospital ships evacuating men from Gallipoli. I thought you may be interested in the casualties evacuated from the peninsula from (around) the 8 December 1915 who were suffering from frost bite. I have a list of 337 Other Ranks casualties and of those 78 had frost bite, about 23%. Clearly it is somewhat of a snapshot of the casualties; however I think it does illustrate that there are definite clusters from particular Regiments and Battalions, even companies, and thus reflect the theme of the discussion. I'm fairly sure that they would have been evacuated from Suvla Bay as my Grandfather was one of them, though not with frost bite.

Some casualties were disembarked at Mudros on 11 December 1915, the majority disembarked at Malta on 13 December 1915. One casualty died at sea.

As we know the handwritten diaries can be difficult to read and I have marked with an (*) anything I wasn't sure of but I am sure that friends of GWF with access to service records will be able to advise and I will be happy to amend. Places indicated with a (–) indicates no information was given.

The information is listed in the following order

Regiment, Battalion, Corps or other Unit; Squadron, Battery, or Company; Regimental Number; Rank; Surname with Initial; Completed years of Age; Completed years of Service; Completed months with Field Force. Where appropriate I have indicated where the casualty disembarked at Mudros.

All casualties had Frost Bite

(1) 6 S Lancs; A; 12253; Serg; Walton PH; 28; 1; 6/12.

(2) 8 RWF; B; 31641; Pte; Roberts B; 24; 1; 5/12.

(3) 8 RWF; C; 12105; Pte; Barnard C; 20; 1; 5.

(4) 6 LNL; C; 11966; Pte; Smith R; 22; 1; 3.

(5) 6 E Lancs; D; 5743; Pte; Astin H; 19; 1; 3.

(6) 8 RWF; B; 18076; Pte; Davies RJ; 17; 1; 2.

(7) 9 W Yorks; A; 21387; Pte; Dunn J; 29; 6/12; 3.

(8) 1 RDF; X; 23790; Pte; Simpson - ; 32; 3/12; 11 days.

(9) 6 Yorks; A; 10556; Pte; Robinson C; 22; 2; 5.

(10) 9 W Yorks; C; 11755; Cpl; Metcalf W; 20; 1; 3.

(11) 4 Worcs; X; 21762; Pte; Mackay AH; 19; 10/12; 4.

(12) 9 Sher For; A; 22989; Pte; Bailey G; 21; 10/12; 3.

(13) 5 Wilts; A; 9394; Pte; Billet - ; 22; 1; 5.

(14) 5 Wilts; C; 9768; Pte; Smith EG; 26; 1; 5. [1]

(15) 6 N Lancs; C; 18898; Pte; Hart W; 24; 11/12; 2.

(16) 7 N Staff; A; 15597; Pte; • C; 35; 1; 2.

(17) 5 Wilts; C; 12571; Pte; • W; 24; 1; 5.

(18) 5 Wilts; B; 21051; L Cpl; Eden G; 22; 5/12; 2/12;

(19) 5 Wilts; B; 20756; Pte; Grant J; 22; 1; 2/12.

(20) 5 Wilts; B; 18044; L Cpl; Horrell A; 28; 1; 5/12.

(21) 5 Wilts; A; 9606; Pte; Westwood C; 26; 1; 6/12.

(22) 5 Wilts; C; 19163; Pte; • J; 20; 9/12; 3/12.

(23) 5 Wilts; B; 11525; Pte; Coles H; 20; 1; 5/12.

(24) 8 RWF; C; 23557; Pte; Webb W; 29; 1; 8/12.

(25) 8 RWF; B; 31550; Pte; Shaw N; 28; 1; 4/12.

(26) 8 RWF; C; 31213; Pte; Haddon - ; 24; 1; 2/12.

(27) 8 RWF; B; 27576; Pte; Howard E; 20; 1; 3/12.

(28) 8 RWF; C; 23850; Pte; • F; 24; 7/12; 3/12.

(29) 8 RWF; C; 23594; Pte; Bennett A; 20; 8/12; 3/12;

(30) 8 RWF; C; 17940; Pte; Whitcombe H; 45; 1; 6/12.

(31) 8 RWF; B; 28309; Pte; Jones J; 19; 1; 2/12.

(32) 9 Worc; D; 4916; Pte; Hatton C; 25; 1; 6/12.

(33) 9 Worc; C; 19519; Pte; Clay E; 23; 1; 4/12.

(34) 9 Worc; C; 19220; Pte; Ashley H; 19; 1; 2/12.

(35) 9 Worc; D; 17415; Pte; Taylor H; 32; 1; 2/12.

(36) 9 Worc; D; 9104; Sgt; Crawley JH; 19; 1; 4/12.

(37) 9 Worc; D; 14138; Cpl; Deeming H; 25; 1; 4/12.

(38) 8 Cheshire; C; 12797; Pte; Stubbs E; 25; 1; 6/12.

(39) 8 Cheshire; E; 10890; Pte; Rameden J; 18; 1; 6/12.

(40) 7 Glosters; A; 9582; LCpl; Eaketts F; 23; 5; 7 days.

(41) 7 Glosters; D; 18854; LCpl; Wellington D; 22; 1; 4.

(42) 7 Glosters; D; 21482; Pte; Morgan *; 21; 7/12; 4.

(43) 7 Glosters; B; 22182; Pte; Atkins AJ; 20; 1; 4.

(44) 7 Glosters; D; 11293; Pte; Harvey FH; 26; 1; 5.

(45) 6 S Lanc; C; 11491; Serg; • P; 31; 1; 3/12.

(46) 6 Lanc; B; 18328; Pte; Turlon C; 19; 1; 2/12.

(47) 6 Lanc; C; 17456; Pte; Mareden J; 22; 1; 3/12.

(48) 6 Lanc; A; 12373; Pte; Danson G; 24; 1; 6/12.

(49) 8 Cheshire; A; 10764; Pte; Woods J; 29; 1; 5.

(50) 5 Wilts; D; 10773; Pte; Turner WJ; 20; 1; 6.

(51) 5 Wilts; B; 19152; Pte; Wicks J; 21; 9/12; 3.

(52) 5 Dorsets; D; 10222; Pte; Cheeseman G; 22; 1; 4/12

(53) 5 Dorsets; D; 9953; Pte; Clark PJ; 21; 1; 4/12.

(54) 6 N Lanc; B; - ; L Cpl; Edwards E; 23; 1; 2.

(55) 6 N Lanc; A; 3018; Pte; Tattersall R; 18; 1; 3/12; (Mudros).

(56) 6 S Lanc; C; 16682; Pte; Obrien E; 30; 1; 5/12; (Mudros).

(57) 6 S Lanc; D; 19234; Pte; Taylor R; 19; 6/12; 1/12; (Mudros).

(58) 6 S Lanc ; B; 1408; Pte; • J; 22; 5; 3.

(59) 6 S Lanc; D; 2036; Pte; Scott W; 20; 1; 1.

(60) 6 S Lanc; A; 17501; Pte; Burns J; 19; 8/12; 2/12.

(61) 6 E Lanc; A; 19929; Pte; Wood G; 29; 9/12; 3/12.

(62) 5 Wilts; B; 19916; Pte; Nutt *; 19; 1; 2/12.

(63) 5 Wilts; C; 11344; Pte; Blake A; 23; 1; 5/12.

(64) 5 Dorset; B; 10689; Pte; Fox WH; 19; 1; 3/12.

(65) 1 RDF; W; 10063; Pte; Byrne G; 29; 8; 8/12.

(66) 1 M Fus; X; 9056; Pte; Small *; 26; 6; 8/12.

(67) 9 Warwick; D; 12299; Pte; Hudson J; 20; 1; 2/12.

(68) 9 Warwick; B; 12366; Pte; Brookes *; 32; 1; 8/12.

(69) 8 RWF; D; 27209; Pte; Rimmer J; 19; 9/12; 3/12.

(70) 8 RWF; A; 5651; Pte; Humphries J; 20; 1; 5/12.

(71) 8 RWF; D; 12294; Pte; Williams J; 22; 1; 6/12.

(72) 9 Warwick; C; 10219; Pte; Day J; 18; 1; 2/12.

(73) 9 Worc; A; 10703; Pte; Rowlinson W; 30; 11.5 (Eleven point five years); 3/12.

(74) 4 SWB; D; 25549; Pte; Kay A; 38; 7/12; 2/12; (Mudros).

(75) 7 Gloster; B; 22148; Pte; Bailey DW; 21; 1; 4/12; (Mudros).

(76) 7 Gloster; B; 10724; Pte; Reeves G; 23; 1 ; 6/12; (Mudros)

(77) 6 LNL; D; 11731; Pte; Cuff R; 24; 1; 6; (Mudros)

(78) 6 LNL; D; 18623; L Cpl; Holstead H; 24; 1; 4; (Mudros)

[1] Died, 10 Dec 1915, 4.30pm, At Sea, Lat 39°4'N, Long 35°0'E

Kind regards

Alan