D Coy Royal marine Light Infantry

[private78245]

Hi,

can anyone help me to find out if he embarked on the "Braemar Castle" on 6/2/1915, and also help me identify when he may have got wounded. I believe that (so the story goes) he received a bayonet wound in the backside as he was passing what he thought was a dead soldier.He was advancing uphill. Was he on "Y" beach? Did he land at Sedd-Ul- Bahr? My father was in Ply.Bn. "D" Coy. Pte H.L.Trailor. RMLI. He was a twelve year man so was able to transfer to ship in Nov.1917. ( The main reason why i'm here i think.) Can anyone shed any light on the movements of Ply Bn "D" Coy. Through that period ? Any help would be much appreciated

Dave

[michaeldr]

Dave,

Can you recheck his records please as you mention ‘D’ company while my impression is that at this stage the companies were known by numbers and not by letters of the alphabet?

If he was with the Plymouth at Gallipoli then he was most probably at ‘Y Beach’ as this involved the whole battalion. As far as I recall the raid at Sedd-ul-Bahr on 4th March 1915 involved only companies Nos. 3 & 4 of the Plymouths.

The Plymouth Battalion landed at ‘Y Beach’ at 5.30 a.m. on the 25th April 1915.

Two companies were on the left flank. The KOSB and 1 company of the SWB were in the centre. And the other “two companies of the Plymouth Battalion were on the right a mile and a half or two miles from the landing place.”

The above is from the report of Tempy. Surgeon R. M. Meller dated 25th May 1915

[see PRO ref WO95/4290]

According to Meller the landing went well at the beginning and the first Plymouth casualties came in between 5.00 and 6.00 p.m. At midnight a signal was sent to HMS Goliath for a boat and a cutter to take off the wounded; these boats arrived at about dawn. Later more boats came in from other supporting ships. Meller says most of the wounded went either to the Goliath or the Sapphire. Later, after the Plymouth Battalion was evacuated from ‘Y Beach’ Meller worked in the sick bay of the Goliath when wounded were transferred to ‘Transport B1 and Hospital (ship) Cecelia.’

[from Meller’s report as reproduced by Len Sellers in his magazine ‘RND’ Issue No.5, June 1998]

After re-boarding the Goliath on the 26th, the Plymouth Battalion was re-landed at ‘W Beach’ on the 28th April 1915.

Regards

Michael D.R.

[private78245]

Hi Michael, thanks for the info, I've checked on my fathers attestation records and yes it states that he was posted to Ply.Div. "D" coy. on 20/11/1914. Perhaps coys 1,2,3,4. were a,b,c,d. I have emailed the museum asking the questions concerning embarkation lists for the RMLI fingers crossed. i'd be pleased to receive any other bits of info that you may come across

Dave