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Gallipoli: 6th Bn Royal Munster Fusiliers - Long Shot


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Hello - does anyone have the published history of the RMF at Gallipoli, in particular the actions of the 6th Battalion.

On 15th Aug 1915 the 6th Bn RMF war diary recorded the names of six Officers who were casualties during the battle for KTS ridge. One was Maj J N Jephson whose name became permanently associated with the highest point consolidated by the British along KTS. The diary is very thin - the thinnest in the whole of the 10th Irish Division running for just three pages. It is also illegible in parts. I have the old TNA diary - no longer available for downloading. Unfortunately the relevant part of the image has TNA' reference number obscuring part of the (very small) handwriting. To further complicate matters, the Ancestry scanners managed to miss the critical page and their version of the diary is just two pages long. Dead end.

My transcription is below. There are two Officers - one a Captain and one a 2 Lt whose names are illegible in the diary. I have used the May 1915 Army List to try and narrow the field but none seem to fit as all are accounted for in other ways - mentioned elsewhere in the diary, or the name doesn't fit the feint shadow in the diary.

So...I am hoping that the casualties might be mentioned in the published history. It is one of the few gaps in my library. If anyone has access to it and can help fill in the two gaps, I would be grateful. Even if they are not mentioned, it at least eliminates this avenue of inquiry. Thanks. My transcription below, TNA image below that. Crown copyright shown under the fair usage clause of the Copyright, Designs and patent Act 1988.

6th Bn RMF War Diary.15th Aug 1915

13:00. Battalion took part in general assault with objective Point 103, 7th Bn ROYAL MUNSTER FUS on left, 6th ROYAL DUBLIN FUS in support. Attack held up by slow progress of attack on right.
16:00. A and D Coys under Maj M A TYNTE with Companies 6th Bn ROYAL DUBLIN FUS ordered to create a diversion 135 L 7. Attack succeeded, two lines of trenches being captured with about 12 prisoners and Point 103 was made good. In conjunction with parties of other units, position of Point 103 was consolidated. Remainder of Battalion held crest of ridge with 6th Bn and 7th Bn ROYAL DUBLIN FUS at JEPHSON'S POST.
Casualties:
Lt G W BURROWES ........Killed
Maj J N JEPHSON ............Wounded
Capt [illegible]..............................................Edit. Possibly Capt C Y BALDWIN (see post #3 below)
2 Lt J W L RATHBONE......Wounded
2 Lt [illegible]................................................Edit. I think this is 2 Lt E T HEARN (see post #3 below)
2 Lt H M CHAMBERS.......Wounded
Other Ranks: Killed [blank], Wounded [blank], Missing [blank]

post-55873-0-70679400-1434213293_thumb.j

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Here are the names of the 6th Bn RMF Officers from the May 1915 Army List. It is possible that the elsuive Officers are not on this list. It is notable that no Adjutant is listed and the ADjt of the 7th Bn was Indian Army (14th Sikhs). There is a possibility that they were 3rd or 4th Reserve Bn men, but none of the names seem to work. ...MG

Maj V T WORSHIP DSO (WIA 21st Aug 15)

Maj J N JEPHSON (retd. Indian Army) (WIA 15th Aug 15)

Maj M A TYNTE

Maj E P CONWAY (KIA 9th Aug 15)

Maj Viscount R G ENNISMORE

Lt (QM) M SEWELL

Capt J B T GRANT (MIA 16th Aug 15)

Capt R W OLDNALL (WIA 12th Aug 15)

Capt C YOUNG BALDWIN WIA

Capt H G LIVINGSTON (WIA 9th Aug 15)

Capt S W R WHATELEV

Capt B R FRENCH

Lt WALLER

Lt W M L BERETON (Hospital 9th Aug 15)

Lt E A THORNTON WIA

Lt W E McCLELLAND (WIA 16th Aug 15)

Lt J B LEE (KIA 7th Aug 15)

Lt G W BURROWES (KIA 15th Aug 15)

Lt J L CUNNINGHAM (Hospital 9th Aug 15)

Lt A T LEE (WIA 9th Aug 15)

Lt G W N R HAYNES (WIA 7th Aug 15)

2 Lt L A GAFFNEY WIA 12th Aug 15) DOW

2 Lt H M CHAMBERS (WIA 15th Aug 15)

2 Lt J W L RATHBONE (WIA 15th Aug 15)

2 Lt S C WEBB (WIA 23rd Aug 15)

2 Lt COMERFORD WIA 16th Aug 15)

2 Lt T E HEARN WIA

Lt J G BROWNLEE

2 Lt A CAIRNDUFF

2 Lt W S KIDD

2 Lt J D BIGGS

2 Lt J L G FASHOM

2 Lt G P COSTELLO

2 Lt D J B MURRAY

2 Lt C J DODDS

2 Lt A BROCK

2 Lt J E G O'BYRNE

2 Lt A G QUINNELL

2 Lt C M J RYAN

2 Lt C SHEEHAN

2 Lt F E BENNETT

2 Lt R E MARTIN

2 Lt C J MURPHY

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The 10th Irish Div DA & QMG war Diary - something I should have looked at before I posted - shows the following Officers recorded as casualties between 15th-18th Aug. Note the considerable 2-3 days time lag due to the conditions and intense fighting.

Capt C Y BALDWIN ......note Capt C Young Baldwin in the Army List

2 Lt T E HERN

2 Lt JR RATHBONE

2 Lt J T C COMERFIELD... not not shown in the Army List but does have a MIC confirming dates and theatre

Lt G W BURROWES

2 Lt H M CHAMBERS

Lt W E McCLELLAND.......note shown in 6th RMF war dairy as being wounded on 17th Aug

Which seems to indicate that the captain in the war diary is probably Capt C Y Baldwin, whic I am struggling to resolve with the image.

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  • 1 year later...

Have you another link to the 6th Battalion war diary at Gallipoli, my grandfather James Connell was there, I have his service record and it states he was MIA but returned to his battalion a couple of days later and I wondered if there was any reference to him at all.

Many thanks,

Paul

miuk1914g_131425-00331.jpg

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The RMF soldier with the next sequential serial number 3015 was a 6th Bn KIA Lawrence Condon who enlisted at the Curragh camp where the battalion trained in Ireland so good chance Connell did so also. We can also have a good guess at his enlistment date if of interest (Silver War Badge rolls)  
 

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Staunton, I found his service record and it says he enlisted 14th Sep 1914 in Dublin, the day before his 19th birthday. Then moved to Curragh, picked up in Finglas for going awol in the early days. Hes on ancestry but under the number 301.

That's him on the census, the younger brother Simon joined the army several times under age, he ended up in the Connaught Rangers as James Connell, he was in the 1920 Mutiny in India. That link says page unavailable.

Thanks,

Paul

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  • 6 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Thanks,

I found them on there earlier this year and bought them. Not much info but much better than nothing!

Paul

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  • 8 months later...

I'm also trying to get hold of the RMF 6th Battalion diaries for August 1915. I've subscribed to Ancestry but their link to the relevant diaries has failed - takes me to an area that contains a collage and nothing else!

 

I've asked Ancestry to sort out the link  ....  but have now come across the post above from Guest of 13 June  2015 which says "To further complicate matters, the Ancestry scanners managed to miss the critical page and their version of the diary is just two pages long. Dead end."

 

Long shot, but does anyone recall if Ancestry's version of the diary was ever corrected? 

For I could be waiting for them to fix a link that takes me to the incomplete diaries.

 

Thanks

 

Liz

 

 

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As mentioned in post 12, there is a transcribed diary available only  £2.99 Kindle edition, but you can download a free Kindle app, so you don't need Kindle.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gallipoli-Diaries-Royal-Munster-Fusiliers-ebook/dp/B01N7VLWLP/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1520200205

 

Assuming the original diary is handwritten, frankly, why would you want to go to the bother of trying to decipher the handwriting, when someone has already done it for you, at a modest cost.

 

Cheers

Maureen

 

 

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Thanks Maureen.

I didn’t follow up on the Kindle suggestion as I’m tracing 120+ of the fallen, for my local church & I can’t seem to get Ancestry access on a large number of the war diaries I’ve tried so far (just the collage/broken link) -  so feared the modest fee multiplied many times may not be so modest! And I've also already paid an Ancestry subscription in order to access the war diaries. 

 

I’m not an app user (laptop only) so will try and find a way around this.

 

Liz

 

Edited by SwanseaWW1
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  • 2 weeks later...

I downloaded them and the kindle to read them ok on the laptop. I found a book called Galipolli by Richard Van Emden and Stephen Chambers which has a few letters in it written by a Staff Captain Henry Goodland, only a few but a bit more insight into what they went through. Theres also a bit in Peter Hart's book saying a few of the 6th bn were lost off and attacked and took Chocolate Hill with a few soldiers from other regiments, mainly the 8th Northumberland Fusiliers, Lincoln regt and Royal Irish. I am wondering if my Grandfather was a part of this with him missing from his bn for a day or so?

Does anyone know if any more of these letters exist to get an accurate idea exactly what the 6th bn was doing?

Paul

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  • 4 weeks later...

One thing I have found is that there are a few mentions of the 6th Bn in the 7th Bn war diaries also on Amazon, not loads but worth a couple of quid to download.

Paul

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  • 1 year later...

Apologies if this correction is too late for your purposes. The name of one of the wounded officers is incorrectly listed: he was Lt J W L RATHBORNE not Rathbone. (A common mistake, not merely of spelling, as it denotes a different family name entirely. I'm fussy about it because I am proud of an old Irish family connection). The officer in question later served in Egypt and was a Major during WWII. He was my grandfather. He died before I was born. His wound at Gallipoli was regarded by family members as an explanation for later temperamental and alcoholic issues. His elder son, my father, also served in the Durham Light Infantry in last years of WWII. And was wounded in Burma.

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