Lieutenant Arthur Marshall Oakden

[dorrie]

Arthur Marshall Oakden was a member of the Field Coy Engineers RND, part of the Royal Naval Division. He died 21st May 1915 at gallipoli and is buried at the Lncashire Landing cemetery Gallipoli. Was there any action on that day that might have resulted in his death? Where were the battalion on 21st May 1915?

Any information will be greatly received

Dorrie

[michaeldr]

Dorrie

The RM Brigade [less the Plymouth Bn] was at Anzac from 28th April to 13th May 1915 and Douglas Jerrold’s history of the RND has the No.1 Field Co of the Divisional Engineers as amongst the first of them to land there

The RMs returned to Helles on 13th May 1915 and disembarked at W Beach [Lancashire Landing] then proceeded to bivouacs 400 yards SW of RND Headquarters. They were here from 14th to 24th May 1915, however the Brigade War Diary notes that two battalions were forced to move further west on account of casualties suffered from shell fire.

Caveat: the diary does not specifically mention the 1st Field Co Divisional Engineers, however I am supposing that they were biv’d with the rest of the force.

This is supported by Jerrold [page 129] where he mentions these casualties from shell fire

“If however the losses in specific operations were miraculously few, the daily wastage from shells in the camps and trenches was high.” Jerrold then goes on to give a list of the officer casualties including “Lieut. A. M. Oakden, of the Divisional Engineers.”

Gallipoli had no rear or back areas and was in modern parlance, all front line everywhere 24/7

[The War Diary was published by Len Sellers in his magazine ‘RND’ No.23 Dec 2002]

Regards

Michael D.R.

[dorrie]

Thankyou very much for the information

Dorrie