Gallipoli Oak - recent Telegraph Article

[NigelS]

Gallipoli oak is a permanent legacy to a son's WW1 sacrifice

I'll leave others with more knowledge of the Gallipoli campaign than I to praise, or probably more likely, damn...

NigelS

[gilly100]

Great yarn, glad the oak survives. A fitting remembrance.

Ian

[michaeldr]

Quote: 70,000 men served in the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force

It was actually nearer to half a million; 410,000 British & Dominion + 79,000 French per the OH

As for the one British car seen there in two & a half years: when there are so many flights from the UK to Turkey, who the h*ll wastes time and money driving there? This surely cannot be a valid analysis of how many Brits visit Gallipoli.

Poor journalism from a very poor newspaper. One expects better, but one is not really surprised

[Mark Hone]

The article also fails to mention the excellent recent book 'The Gallipoli Oak' by Ian Purdy and Martin Dawson ( Moonraker Publishing 2013) which puts the story of the oak in the wider context of the experiences of 1/6th Lancashire Fusiliers at the Dardanelles. A very lazy piece of journalism from the increasingly tarnished Telegraph.

[John_Hartley]

I'd also recommend "The Gallipoli Oak" - the authors, Martin Purdy and Ian Dawson (not t'other way round, Mark), have both contributed to the GWF in the past. As Mark says, they've been able to put the tree in a wider context and it's certainly worth mentioning they've had access to letters held by the family, as well as other previously unpublished letters/diaries. Well written, IMO - something you might expect from a professional scribbler such as Martin.

[Mark Hone]

Sorry for the careless transposition, particularly as I know Martin quite well! I blame the lingering effects of my post op medication. It's also well worth catching Martin giving one of his excellent and thought-provoking talks on the subject.

[Dawson]

Thanks for the kind words, Mark, we are currently in dispute with the Telegraph for using our photos without mentioning the book, something they promised but didn't deliver.

I guess you live and learn.

Kind regards,

Ian