how many of us are interested in gallipoli?

[bob lembke]

I see that this thread has popped back to life. My interest in Gallipoli is mainly due to the fact that my father actually fought there, and, interestingly enough (at least to me) in the Turkish Army. He had just entered the German Army and volunteered to dress in civvies and sneak thru the neutral but hostile Balkans to serve in a volunteer pioneer company at Gallipoli. (I believe that I posted this in this thread a couple of years ago.)

I, poking thru recent posts, noticed a Pal whose father also was there. I can't imagine that there still are great herds of students of Gallipoli whose fathers served there.

I am helping a friend who has done important research and publishing on Gallipoli enhance his material, and also get it published in English. I am also writing up my father's and grand-father's service in the Great War for publication, which will touch on Gallipoli.

About 30 years ago, when I read some of the standard works on Gallipoli in English, before I started my serious study, I got the impression that the Allies might have been fighting men from outer space at Gallipoli. There are of course serious problems in researching the Turkish/German side, not the least of which is the Turkish language, especially in its earlier Ottoman form, and the fact that most of the German WW I archives were burned in a RAF fire-bombing raid in WW II. (Gentlemen, please consider the future historians when planning air strikes. I understand that the Allies in Iraq recently burned up a warehouse storing 500 years of Turkish records on ruling Iraq, probably including WW I material.) But it is heartening to see the English language literature getting a better understanding of the defenders at Gallipoli.

Bob Lembke

[johnshep]

I, poking thru recent posts, noticed a Pal whose father also was there. I can't imagine that there still are great herds of students of Gallipoli whose fathers served there.

Hello again Bob

That somebody is me and I'm still alive and kicking - well nothing important has fallen off recently anyway. Yes, the written record is coloured by first hand recollections from an early age onwards. Father liked a good yarn and did not spare the detail. I never heard him say a bad word about the Turks though.

All the best

John

[pearsonica]

I might as well add to the list. my interest in the Dardanelles and Gallipoli campaign.My Gt Grandmothers's cousin married Eric Robinson who gained a naval VC in fact he nearly one two in one day. But in the end they put both actions into one citation. The other is my Grandfathers Brother Lt Alfred Christopher Pearson. He was shot through along with Lt William Slim later Field Marshall Slim of Burma. Both joined up together in August 1914 and after both being shot through many survived WW1. Slim moved to India and fame and fortune. Pearson stayed in Kurdistan and was killed in the peace keeping operation on 4th April 1919

Bigs

[CSMMo]

I, poking thru recent posts, noticed a Pal whose father also was there. I can't imagine that there still are great herds of students of Gallipoli whose fathers served there.

Bob, I am in touch with a few men whose fathers served in Gallipoli with the 4th Highland Mountain Brigade. They (you) are rare.

I am still interested in whatever Turkish and/or German records, official or unofficial (often the better of the two) might have reference to the mountain guns, both Indian and the 4th HMB and their effects. I know that many of the soldiers I am studying (still!) whose letters and diaries exist held their opponents in high esteem once they had been in contact.

Mike Morrison

[exdower]

My personal interest is that my father fought there in Batt B, 58th Brigade, RFA 11th Division. Such histories as I've read naturally tend to focus on the infantry but I keep looking for more detail as to how and where his unit served.

[purley]

There seems to be a lot of people with a very keen and personal interest in Gallipoli. My own interest however stems from chairing a working party to erect a memorial to Trooper Fred Potts VC of the Berkshire Yeomanry. It is going to be at least 2012 before we will be able to unveil the memorial in Forbury Gardens, Reading as we have a long way to go to raise the money. I hope I will be able to post a few progress reports on the Forum and that when the time comes, many of you will come to the unveiling ceremony. If there is enough interest I will try and arrange an event specially for Forum members to coincide with the civic ceremonies.

If any of you have any personal tales from the battle of Scimitar Hill from your relatives we would be very pleased to hear them

regards

John

[Guest jimcullen]

Hi

I am trying to trace a great uncle named Joseph Henry Smith RNLI He was from Liverpool and was last heard of on the hms Inflexible sailing to the Dardanelles on 15th February 1915. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jim Cullen

[Peter Doyle]

Hi

I am trying to trace a great uncle named Joseph Henry Smith RNLI

I guess you mean RMLI?

Peter

[michaeldr]

I am trying to trace a great uncle named Joseph Henry Smith RNLI He was from Liverpool and was last heard of on the hms Inflexible sailing to the Dardanelles on 15th February 1915. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Jim,

there is a Joseph H Smith RMLI who was a casualty at Gallipoli, but the info from the CWGC suggests that he came from Glasgow and not Liverpool

Could this be your man?

From the Naval History Net see http://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1915-12Dec.htm

RND, 1st RM Battalion

SMITH, Joseph H, Private, RMLI (RFR B 1928), 12771 (Ch)

From the CWGC see http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_detail...casualty=601224

Name:SMITH

Initials: J H

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Private

Regiment/Service: Royal Marine Light Infantry

Unit Text: 1st R.M. Bn. R.N. Div

Age: 36

Date of Death: 20/12/1915

Service No: CH/12771

Additional information: Son of Joseph Humphrey Smith and Margaret Walker Smith. Of Glasgow.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: Sp. Mem. B. 60.

Cemetery: REDOUBT CEMETERY, HELLES

You can now ignore the above post as H2 has kindly supplied the full names - Chatham/12771 is Joseph Humphrey SMITH, not Henry.

Edited 19 March , 2010 by michaeldr

[horatio2]

Chatham/12771 is Joseph Humphrey SMITH, not Henry.

There were only two Joseph Henry SMITHs in the RMLI:- a short service man born in Skegby in 188 and a long service man born in Blackfriars in 1872.

[Guest jimcullen]

I guess you mean RMLI?

Peter

Hi Thanks to those who responded to my query re; my gret uncle JH Smith. Epecially Horatio2 and Michaeldr. Of course i should have typed RMLI apologies for the mistake.

I hav a copy of a letter he sent to my Grandmother, his sister in which he states he was in a battle in South America and expected to return home but when the ship got to Gibralter it was ordered to the Dardanelles. He was definitely from Liverpool. Maybe i'm barking up the wrong tree but he does also state in the letter that he is JH smith RMLI 16 mess/mass? H.M.S. Inflexible Mediterranean. Sorry for any confusion. Is there any way i can find out what happened to him?

Once again thanks for your help.

Jim Cullen

[horatio2]

Jim

It is quite possible that he enlisted as plain Joseph SMITH, in which case there are about a dozen additional possibilities, in both long- and short-service RMLI. A date and/or place of birth would help to identify the man.

It sounds as though he was serving in INFLEXIBLE at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914 and was probably a long-service RMLI man, perhaps recalled from the Reserve. INFLEX was later at the Dardanelles where she struck a mine on 18 March 1915 while trying to force the Narrows.

Edit: This man must have been eligible for the 1914-15 Star. The RM Medal Roll enables the above dozen to be narrowed down to only two: Chatham/8172 and Portsmouth/6983.

Their records are on-line here:-

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...p;resultcount=1

and

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...p;resultcount=1

[brendanwyatt]

Both of my grandfather's brothers were at Gallipoli in the 63rd Royal Naval Division. The eldest brother, Louis Joseph Wyatt was returned to England with enteritis and nervous exhaustion and spent the remainder of the war at the Royal Naval Division depot at Blandford in Dorset. The second brother, Samuel Wyatt received a bullet wound to the hand. I beleive the Royal Naval division were one of the last units to leave Gallipoli and they went straight to France - no break. Samuel was killed on 13 November 1916 at Beaumont Hamel.

Regards,

Brendan

[phil andrade]

For anyone who is interested in history, and military history in particular, I would apply the old adage " If you're tired of Gallipoli, you're tired of life!"

Phil

[Matt Dixon]

I shall be there 6 weeks today!

[Bingo794]

My interest started with some old photos of a young chap in a new, crisp uniform. Another with his young wife and four children, the last of whom has just died in the last year. Other pics of the same man with friends, all uniformed, at the local railway station off on their great adventure.

The man was my grandmother's brother in law and his best friend lived in the same alley/courtyard.

Both lads in the 6/Lincs and both KIA 09/08/1915.

Nothing special about Gallipoli, thoasands died just as futile a death elsewhere. To most of the lads who had to go, it was probably a wonderous and beautiful place. Something new and not one of those horrible cold, permanently wet trench jobs that had appeared in France and Flanders.

Just as deadly, however.

Dick

[kjharris]

G'day

My four relatives (all brothers) all came home from Gallipoli in one piece so I'm lucky.

Just for a point of difference, I am interested in women who served at Gallipoli - those sisters from Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada working for the allied services who nursed on hospital and transport ships off the coast and thus who could see the fighters/fighting and I'm following up reports that some women temporarily landed on shore.

Any references in primary source material by the boys on their memories of nurses and treatment on ships leaving Cape Helles, Suvla Bay or Anzac Cove would be appreciated.

cheers

Kirsty Harris

[jscott]

A very appropriate adage PJA! I find Gallipoli fascinating, and whilst I have visited twice (ANZAC and Helles) I would love to go back for an extended period. My initial interest came from the fact that my great-uncle was killed at Lone Pine, and when I went I found the combination of the history, natural beauty and solitude of the peninsular addictive. Im reading Les Carlyon's 'Gallipoli' for the second time and highly recommend it.

[bob lembke]

A very appropriate adage PJA! I find Gallipoli fascinating, and whilst I have visited twice (ANZAC and Helles) I would love to go back for an extended period. My initial interest came from the fact that my great-uncle was killed at Lone Pine, and when I went I found the combination of the history, natural beauty and solitude of the peninsular addictive. Im reading Les Carlyon's 'Gallipoli' for the second time and highly recommend it.

J. Scott;

Do you know of or have read "Lone Pine Diary", a published diary of a Turkish company commander on Lone Pine? Amazingly, it is also out in English! My wife's library has it, but I was also offered it in a bazzar in Istanbul.

(As I mention occasionally) my father, a German, fought at Gallipoli in the Turkish Army as a volunteer. At 18 he spoke six languages, which might be why he was asked if he wanted to volunteer for that place; he had a background and training in construction and seemed to have helped the Turks with mining warfare there, languages would have been helpful.

Bob Lembke

[jscott]

Bob

Thank you for your suggestion - I am trying to hunt down the book, it sounds like an interesting read. I will let you know if I manage to find it somewhere.

Thank you, Jonathan

[shootdown1]

Two G/uncles and a cousin in the 1/6 Manchester Regt started my interest in Gallipoli.

[louvain]

Interested in Gallipoli because of Henry - see this link.

[judy7007]

Gallipoli is a place like no other I have ever been to (and I have travelled all my life - born a wanderer and explorer). It is hauntingly beautiful and very sad and brings out in me emotions I am still learning about. In less than 12 hours I will be on my way there...

All the bags are packed and I am just sitting here reflecting. The taxi comes at 4.00 am. Somehow I don't think I'll be able to sleep very well just thinking about it all.

Judy

[GlenBanna]

I'm interested in Gallipoli because my Grandfather landed with the 5th Royal Scots.

Glen

[bluedog]

J. Scott;

Do you know of or have read "Lone Pine Diary", a published diary of a Turkish company commander on Lone Pine? Amazingly, it is also out in English! My wife's library has it, but I was also offered it in a bazzar in Istanbul.

(As I mention occasionally) my father, a German, fought at Gallipoli in the Turkish Army as a volunteer. At 18 he spoke six languages, which might be why he was asked if he wanted to volunteer for that place; he had a background and training in construction and seemed to have helped the Turks with mining warfare there, languages would have been helpful.

Bob Lembke

Bob

Is that the diary of Lt. Fatih "Bloody Ridge"?

A good read.

Peter

Gallipoli is a place like no other I have ever been to (and I have travelled all my life - born a wanderer and explorer). It is hauntingly beautiful and very sad and brings out in me emotions I am still learning about. In less than 12 hours I will be on my way there...

All the bags are packed and I am just sitting here reflecting. The taxi comes at 4.00 am. Somehow I don't think I'll be able to sleep very well just thinking about it all.

Judy

Judy

When do Trevor and yourself arrive at "Gallipoli Houses"?

Peter