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Remembered Today:

Christmas 1915 on Imbros


Alan Bentley

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This is 2 Wing RNAS on Christmas day 1915.

My father is marked with a cross ,but who are the others?

A real puzzler for the experts!

Imbros with bomb.jpg

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Alan,

 

I'm afraid that I can't take you any further with the names you are searching for

However the incident was covered in Cross & Cockade International, Vol.38, No.2, 2007 

in an article edited by Mick Davis and based on the diary and photographs of PO William (Bill) Pollard

see inside the f/c for a coloured sketch of one of the bombs going off, and p.81 for that day's diary entry and a copy of your above photograph

Worth trying to get hold of if you haven't already got it - 25 pages & c.88 photographs

 

regards

Michael

Edited by michaeldr
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454293650_Imbrosbomb2.(2).jpg.b6d23576ac851508b4e940522aa8f3eb.jpg454293650_Imbrosbomb2.(2).jpg.b6d23576ac851508b4e940522aa8f3eb.jpgThanks for trying, I will follow this up.

Edited by Alan Bentley
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Alan,

 

Attached is the same (almost) view as featured in CCI Vol 38/2.  Congratulations on finding the very outcrop that your dad and his colleagues were gathered around.  Bill Pollard was likely sat on it when he took this image.

 

Great photo.  Thanks for posting it. 

001.jpg

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My photo, and my apologies to Alan for being so tardy in creating a proper then-and-now! I haven't forgotten, just haven't got around to it.

 

Actually the pic above is from my phone (sent to Alan when I was there, and excited to have found the same rock) but I took more photos with an SLR, in order to do a composite. I'll have a crack this weekend!

 

Pete-C, this is one of my favourite spots on Imbros. At the back of this hill can be found the footings of the windmill that gave the RNAS camp its name. 

 

To the right is a great view of the salt lake and Aliki Bay.

 

September doesn't look likely for another visit, but you never know... if any forum members would like to join me in the future, when next we can travel, it'd be great to explore the area together. There is plenty to explore, and more to find!

I photographed a map in the British Library just before Christmas, and some additional buildings are marked at the base of a nearby hill. Worth a gander!

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Thanks for that b3m. If I am spared (87 this year!). I would certainly join you on a trip to Imbros.

Please keep in touch!

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Fudged it a bit, and had to get rid of the background (sorry). I needed to be a few paces to the left, and a bit higher. Didn't realise the rock in 1915 was mostly covered, so my aiming points were off. I blame the harrying wind that makes any endeavour on these islands a trial. Will have to go back!

 

The hangars were left and right of  this hill, as you look out to Kephalo harbour (as in the photo above).

 

William 'Bill' Pollard was taking cover on this hill, hands over his head, during the Ottoman air raid, and a bomb landed 3 foot from him, but didn't explode... most likely the bomb pictured, as he took the photo! See C&C Vol. 38 No. 2.

 

 

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That is a stroke of genius, thank you so much. The Old Fella was a bit of a photo nut himself, he would have been very pleased with this.

Could I have permission to put it on my Facebook page, or that a bit of a nerve?

Best wishes

Alan

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This is Freddy Knowles who was "Blown up" in the raid according to Bill Pollard.

Taken from my fathers picture where he identifies "C" Flight 2 Wing in Nov. 1915.

Freddy Knowles.jpg

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No problem at all, Alan. In fact, an honour!

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2 hours ago, b3rn said:

Fudged it a bit, and had to get rid of the background (sorry). I needed to be a few paces to the left, and a bit higher. Didn't realise the rock in 1915 was mostly covered, so my aiming points were off. I blame the harrying wind that makes any endeavour on these islands a trial. Will have to go back!

 

The hangars were left and right of  this hill, as you look out to Kephalo harbour (as in the photo above).

 

William 'Bill' Pollard was taking cover on this hill, hands over his head, during the Ottoman air raid, and a bomb landed 3 foot from him, but didn't explode... most likely the bomb pictured, as he took the photo! See C&C Vol. 38 No. 2.

 

 

 

Fantastic job Bern - you're too hard on yourself.  It looks as though the farmer has made good use of the site of the Bessonneau hangar!

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Stunning, simply stunning ...

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