Woodhouse Cliff location and information

[Bennett]

Researching more exact location and information on ‘Woodhouse Cliff’. I have a photo is from the New Zealand War Memorial which is dated September 18, 1915, indicating photo is “looking toward Hill 971 from Canterbury Mounted Rifles Hill with Turkish trenches looped along top”. I believe this cliff is located near Sandbag Ridge, Bulgar Bluff and Bedford Ridge. Any maps & info would be greatly appreciated

I am researching 2/Lt. HUGH EGERTON WOODHOUSE of the 5^th Beds. The 5^th Beds were in this area from August 28, 1915. Woodhouse was WIA near Sandbag Ridge September 4^th and was evacuated to Alexandria. I had assumed that the Bedfords had named the cliff after him before or after his WIA and move to Alexandria. However here is some naming confusion for me. The Beds UWD states that on October 24, 1915, “ 2/Lt.  WODEHOUSE went out to the cliff named for him and did some excellent reconnaissance” for which he was congratulated by GOC. Name of cliff is Woodhouse not Wodehouse and Wodehouse did not join the 5^th Beds until early October, so?? Interesting in that while not related these two Lieuts. were school mates at Malvern College.

   Thanks for any assistance

[steve fuller]

Second Lieutenant Charles Reid Wodehouse joined the 5th Bedfordshires on the peninsular 6/10/1915 and took the patrol out to the cliff named after him, not your chap or Evelyn Charles Wodehouse who joined early in 1916!

On balance Wodehouse Cliff seems to be either:

• Around the southern of the Turkish trench running diagonally SE from Sandbag Ridge / Hill 100 on the map below? I'm thinking the trail running from Stafford Gully was the exit point from allied lines towards it, referred to as the 'nullah' below?
• My favourite is the ridge with the Turkish trench line running along it, which ends due east of Franklin's Post, as a 21 October diary entry below refers to reaching the northern end 

In case any of this helps later:

• The Battalion war diary entry on 24 October definitely says 2Lt WODEHOUSE went out to a cliff named after him.
• The Brigade war diary records patrols going out to WODEHOUSE CLIFF regularly from 21 October
• 21 October brigade diary; "patrol went out from near no 21 Post and east towards WODEHOUSE CLIFF and reached its foot at the northern end." Knowing where 21 Post was would help.
• 28/10 diary refers to guns doing good work on Turkish trenches between Sandbag Ridge and Wodehouse Cliff
• It also records that "another patrol worked up nullah N.E. from 92.D.8. The Officer succeeded in concealing himself at a point near WODEHOUSE CLIFF" from where he recorded details of Turkish working parties carrying materials behind the cliff. I don't have a map with a grid but like you have always taken the area to be south of Hill 60 as Bulgar Bluff and Franklins Post all feature in the diaries. Plus the Bedford Ridge in the official history, perhaps the original Wodehouse?
• Could it be that a former Wodehouse was the namesake, maybe an ANZAC, and that the diary just refers to it in passing? Coincidence if so but possible?

Could do with a grid map really

(NZ Official History)

(Official History)

Edited 15 December , 2022 by steve fuller
merging posts

[Howard]

Sandbag Ridge can be seen on TrenchMapper.

Right click and choose Gallipoli

Right click and choose Map ID Jump and use ma_003150

Add a marker from the right click menu then jump to ma_003130 which shows the location of Hill 971. Add a marker to that.

Alternatively, use Advanced Search and enter just Sand. That gives Sandbag Ridge. Use Take Me There. Right click and choose Maps at Centre then swap maps in the lower left.

Howard

[Bennett]

Thanks to Howard and Steve. Just what I needed and the best map I have seen of that area. The collective knowledge of GWF members is amazing. My confusion about naming came from the 15/09 photo calling it 'Woodhouse Cliff", but your post seems to clarify my question Thanks again Ralph

[emrezmen]

Wodehouse Cliff is marked on a map in the WD of the 54th Div. 

On Google Earth:

Edited 15 December , 2022 by emrezmen
Addition

[Bennett]

Thank you so much. Your maps provide the definitive answer to my research question Ralph

[Howard]

By comparing the map above with those on TrenchMapper, one can set the co-ordinates to 40.262894, 26.306546 (or 40°15'46.42"N, 26°18'23.57"E for Google Earth)

In TrenchMapper, not forgetting to set the front to Gallipoli first, right click and choose Lat/Lon Jump and put in 40.262894, 26.306546.

Then you can change opacity top right, set other base maps, look at other Great War maps etc. Be careful of Great War maps of Gallipoli, very few are much better that diagrams, i.e. the planimetry is nowhere near as accurate as western front maps.

As this is a cliff one can rely on aerial images and to some extent, the Turkish post-evacuation Sevki Pasa maps at the top of the list.

Howard

[Bennett]

My sometimes Love/Hate relationship with Technolgy just shifted toward love. That is a neat tool.  Thanks Howard      Ralph

[steve fuller]

19 hours ago, emrezmen said:

Wodehouse Cliff is marked on a map in the WD of the 54th Div. 

I must have looked right at it and missed it emrezmen, thanks for adding that!

(Correction - I didn't take a photo if it which explains why I missed it at least! But I have them now, courtesy of Ancestry!)

Edited 16 December , 2022 by steve fuller

[aconnolly]

 

One Wodehouse in NZEF and one in AIF in WW1 but NZer did not join until 1917 and the Australian forces Wodehouse joined in 1916 so not a Anzac "Wodehouse" 

Edited 16 December , 2022 by aconnolly
typo

[steve fuller]

12 hours ago, aconnolly said:

 

One Wodehouse in NZEF and one in AIF in WW1 but NZer did not join until 1917 and the Australian forces Wodehouse joined in 1916 so not a Anzac "Wodehouse" 

Nice, thanks for having a look and eliminating an option. Must have been Wodehouse in an earlier patrol then, I'll have a look in a day or so ..