Jewell Brothers, RAMC

[jim_davies]

Came across the below entries in the CWGC by accident, sure there's a story behind it.

1)Pte Edward Jewell, 39795, "A" Section, 32nd Field Ambulance, RAMC. Died 17 Aug 1915, aged 20.

Son of Henry William & Mary Jewell, Of Galmington, Taunton, Somerset.

2)Pte Henry John Jewell, 39796, "A" Section, 32nd Field Ambulance, RAMC.

Died 17 Aug 1915, aged 21.

Son of Henry William & Mary Jewell, Of Galmington, Taunton, Somerset.

SD shows both to be KIA.

Both lads on the Helles Memorial.

While I realise that there's probably a fair number of brothers enlisting together and indeed dying together its the first example I've seen.

Anyone know which higher formation the 32nd F A was attached to, and what they were doing 17 Aug 1915.

Cheers,

Jim

[Hedley Malloch]

While I realise that there's probably a fair number of brothers enlisting together and indeed dying together its the first example I've seen.

There are the Holz brothers, a pair of Anzacs, who enlisted together, died together and are buried together in Motor Car Corner Cemetery, near Le Bizet, between Armentieres and Ploegsteert. They are Allan 39534 and Ernest 39535 of the 3rd Bn. Wellington Regiment NZEF.

Also the Robert brothers, Charles James and George Ernest, 2nd Munster Fusiliers buried in Etreux. They were both old contemptibles and regular army brother deaths and burials are quite rare.

There must be many others ...

[AndyR]

Jim

Sorry this reply is so long after the event - just came across the question very recently when doing a search.

In August 1915 the 32nd Field Ambulance was with the 10th Irish Division at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli.

A number of essentially eye-witness accounts are available as three members of the 32nd Field Ambulance have written about the incident.

The first is extracted from 1914-1919 Memoirs of the 32nd Field Ambulance 10th Irish Division by C Midwinter (who refers to the brothers as twin brothers - but this doesn't match their different ages on the Helles memorial?)

"The ridge of Kiretch Tepe during the 16th was an inferno. The Turkish artillery had its range to a nicety, and salvoes of shrapnel burst continually along it. There were few trenches, none at all on the reverse slope, and the troops suffered severely. On the night of the 16th the troops on the extreme left had to be withdrawn some distance from the ground so hardly won, and this withdrawal being unknown to us, led to a serious disaster to the Field Ambulance next day.

On the 17th Lt Smith, whom we had left behind sick, rejoined the unit only that morning. He was immediately sent out in charge of a party of stretcher-bearers, about 24 strong. Not knowing of the withdrawal on the left flank and thinking the ground was still held by us, he landed the squads between the opposing trenches. Lt. Smith was killed, together with the twin brothers Jewel. L/C. Parsons, Ptes. Lacey, C. E. Mitchell, and C. C. Mitchell were wounded. Believed killed or missing were the two brothers Keeping, Griffiths, Cpl. Mellor, Sgt. (Daisy) Bell, Watkins, Long, Flood, Vivian, Coulson, James, W. Griffith and W. Moore. We heard afterwards that one of the Keeping brothers and Vivian were wounded and taken prisoner to Constantinople. Twenty casualties in an afternoon constituted a severe blow to a small unit such as ours."

It may be that this list of names is not complete as William Knott states in his diary (held by IWM/NA):

"Tues Aug 17th – Out early this morning only to learn the sad news that 23 out of about 33 of our ambulance had either been killed or captured, having lost their way in the night and got in advance of our trenches."

John Hargrave wrote in some detail about the incident in two of his books.

First, from "The Suvla Bay Landing"

“Disaster hit the 32nd Field Ambulance on Tuesday, August 17.

Up to now we had been one officer short. Lieutenant Smith had been left behind in Egypt suffering from dysentery. He rejoined the unit this very morning, and was immediately put in charge of the party of stretcher-bearers, about twenty-four strong, due to go up to the Kiretch ridge. I remember him as though it were yesterday, pale and sickly, the fever still on him, his eyes burning in panda-dark sockets, his skin semi-translucent like eggshell china, his voice flat and lifeless.

As this was his first day at Suvla, and the first time he had been under fire, Captain Young, the adjutant, came up with us as far as the slope leading to Jephson's Post. A quick briefing took place at the final rest-halt, before the squads went up to the high ridge to collect the wounded. The adjutant himself, stocky as a tree-stump, looked as though he might fall asleep where he stood. On the third day of the Kiretch battle we were all ready to drop.

Alas, no-one knew that, during the night, the forward troops on the left of the ridge had been withdrawn two or three hundred yards.

It was some hours before we heard that Smith and most of the stretcher-bearers had vanished. Thinking the ground ahead of him was still held by the British, he led the stretcher-squads into no-man's land between the lines. Their Red Cross brassards did not save them. Lieutenant Smith was killed, and nineteen other ranks including a sergeant, a corporal, and a lance-corporal were either killed, wounded, or listed as missing (believed killed).”

“As soon as we got news of the calamity the adjutant told me to fall-in half a dozen stretcher-squads, and with them we retraced our steps to the spot where we had left Smith and the ill-fated stretcher-party. We found a cook and an orderly still up there. All they could tell us was that the squads had formed up and gone off under Lieutenant Smith along the goat-track overlooking the Gulf of Saros.

We went over the ridge to the seaward side, and some way along the track. There wasn't a sign of them to be seen. We picked up a little information on the way. A machine-gun section had seen them pass. Some officers had warned them not to go forward, but they went on. One of the party - the sergeant - had been seen lying on some rocks "riddled with bullets". That was about all we could discover.

We searched for two or three hours, but it was no use. There was nothing more we could do, except attend to the wounded fighting men, now nearing breaking-point but still clinging to the ridge after fifty-three hours of it.”

Even more narrative is available in Hargrave's "At Suvla Bay ..." which is easily found using a search engine

See CHAPTER XVI. THE ADVENTURE OF THE LOST SQUADS

A sad incident - but the whole story of the 10th Irish Division on Kiretch Tepe is much worse again (e.g. see Hargrave's "The Suvla Bay Landing", Bryan Cooper's "The Tenth Irish Division in Gallipoli", Henry Hanna's "The Pals at Suvla Bay", Tom Johnstone's "Orange, Green & Khaki", Philip Orr's "Field of Bones", Jeremy Stanley's "The Forgotten 10th", and no doubt others)

AndyR

[jim_davies]

Andy,

Very interesting, and sad. Thanks for sharing.

Jim

[jim_davies]

Andy,

Further to my PM, the account I referenced, would actually appear to refer to the same incident.

see;

http://www.archive.org/stream/atsuvlabaybe...2up/search/lost

Jim