Fusiliers' Museum,
Lancashire
History : Time Line : Gallipoli 1915. Six VCs before Breakfast.
On the evening of 24th April, 1915, the transport steamed slowly out of the harbour at Mudros amid the cheers of the sailors. The 29th Division was bound for Tenedos, and the troops could see Achi Baba looming darkly on the horizon as the sun set in the cloudless sky. During the night nearly two hundred ships covered the waters of the Aegean. To the north were the ships bound for the Gulf of Saros, with the Royal Naval Division, led by the Canopus. Near Mudros lay the Anzac Armada, in readiness for their baptism of fire; at Tenedos were the ships allotted to the Helles landing, and further south again the French squadron heading for the Asiatic shore.
The plan of attack was by this time known to all ranks, and special “Orders of the Day” and a message from His Majesty The King were read out to all ranks. The battalion left the Caledonia in the ship’s boats and embarked on board HMS Euryalus, sending “D” Company to HMS Implacable. The men were eagerly welcomed on board by the sailors, while the officers were entertained in the wardroom. On board the Euryalus (Captain R Burmester) were the headquarters of the 29th Division. The officers of the ships were much impressed by the discipline and bearing of the men, and they remember it to this day, as will be told later.
Till a late hour the sinister outline of Achi Baba could be seen, and the calm of the evening could not dispel a certain feeling of expectancy which was discernible among all ranks, now that the battalion was to be put to the test after nearly fifty years without active service. The fleet silently weighed anchor and through the night the ships zigzagged on a changing course, in order to leave the watchers on the silent peninsula in doubt till the last moment. Before dawn the troops were roused and given a meal by the kind and anxious sailors, while the ships took up thei/final stations for the preliminary bombardment by nearly three hundred guns.
The Euryalus lay about two thousand yards from the shore, the Implacable a little nearer in. Then came the ship’s boats, in tows of six to each company. The men embarked by the gangways, but it was a tight fit to get them in, cumbered as they were with 70 lb weight of kit each. The young midshipmen in charge of steamboats came alongside and took the boats in tow, with the calm efficiency which they always display; and in a short time, to the cheers of the sailors, the attack was launched. As the steamboats drew off to get into formation the boats heeled over in what seemed a dangerous manner, and one of the men remarked to the cox of his boat, “I ’listed to get killed, not to get drowned”. When the boats were a safe distance from the ships the bombardment began again till it seemed as if nothing could survive as the shells tore up the ground near the troops’ destination.
“W” Beach, the 1st Battalion’s objective, was some three hundred and fifty yards in width with low cliffs on each side, perhaps one hundred feet high, and in the centre a mound which commanded the full extent of the beach. As the tows got nearer, a belt of wire could be seen stretching right across the beach and the order had been issued that the men were to lie behind this wire till the wire cutters had made gaps for them to pass through. The bombardment, delivered by HMS Swiftsure and HMS Euryalus, ceased as the battalion approached the shore and from the steamboats came the order to slip the tow ropes. The four naval ratings in each boat then began to pull on the oars to take the boats in, when a heavy and accurate fire was opened at the crew. It was impossible to miss such targets at close range, and the crews were speedily put out of action, while many soldiers were hit. “Overboard” was the order and the men scrambled out as best they could in anything up to four feet of water. Only two boats reached the shore, and the rest of the men waded ashore with great difficulty, as the dead weight was much increased by the wetting. All the rifles were soaked and amid much confusion the men reached the line of wire under very heavy fire enfilading it from both ends, while machine-gun fire met them in front. The silver sand and the sea water jammed the action of the rifles and it was impossible to return the fire. At last one or two rifles were forced open, and a lucky shot laid low one enemy sniper who was taking a heavy toll. The men crossed the wire anyhow, and began to scale the cliff on the left of the beach. The battle became for a time a regular “soldiers’ battle”, for the men were hopelessly mixed; but after a time “C” Company (Captain R R Willis) on the left emerged in some kind of formation and began to scale Hill 114, their objective.
Meanwhile part of “D” Company, (Major G S Adams), which had landed from the Implacable, directed by the latter’s captain (Captain Lockyer) and by the headquarter staff, had landed at salient rocks below Hill 114 with no great difficulty and, scaling the cliff drove back the Turkish outpost which had done so much damage. The attack on the left was then able to proceed, although the losses had been severe. On the right and centre matters were far worse. Behind the wire lay over three hundred men, and it was not at first realized that these were all casualties. Much time was spent in trying to bring them on, till the reality became apparent. Thus in the actual operation of landing, 63 out of 80 naval ratings were killed and wounded, and the brigadier was wounded, and 11 officers and 350 men of the battalion were out of action.
The attack on Hill 138 by “A” Company (Lieutenant R Haworth) and “B” Company (Captain H Shaw) met with a fresh misfortune after they had managed to reorganize and press forward. A naval shell struck the top of the cliff and exploded; throwing many men back on to the beach. Haworth was wounded in the back, but refused to allow himself to be carried back till more troops arrived.
By 7.15 am a line of some sort was established, sufficient to protect the landing place from aimed fire. But the brigadier had been wounded, with the result that the brigade was without a commander; and the brigade headquarters were thoroughly disorganized, for the brigade major was killed in trying to lead some men on the cliff near Hill 138.
By this time the situation on the left was clearing up. “C” Company, with a party of men under Captain G E Tallents (who carried on in spite of a bad wound), reached a solitary tree on Hill 114 at the expense of many casualties, including Second-Lieutenant G Needham and a few men made temporary prisoners by some Turks who were eventually surrounded and themselves captured. Needham found the Turks quite cheery fellows, and they did not seem downcast even when captured themselves. They had been in deep dugouts near the edge of the cliff and so were untouched by the bombardment. Lieutenant B C H Keenlyside was wounded when leading his platoon about two hundred yards inland by a Turkish sniper who put up a great individual fight, as witnessed by the pile of cartridges round his body. Lieutenant L B L Seckham was also wounded during the attack, but he continued to lead his men on although the majority of them had been killed or wounded.
Lance-Serjeant F E Stubbs was killed near the solitary tree, his objective, to which he had succeeded in leading the remains of his platoon. Lance-Corporal J Grimshaw had distinguished himself by his coolness and gaiety while sending signals from the cliff top down to the beach and these two NCOs were subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross. Serjeant A Richards, formerly Serjeant-Drummer, had his leg almost shot off, but he dragged himself through the wire on the beach and continued to encourage others by voice and example till the attack swept on. He too was later awarded the Victoria Cross. Captain C Bromley and Private W Keneally also performed such outstanding deeds of gallantry that they too were selected to receive this highest of all decorations.
About this time the Royal Fusiliers, who were attacking Hill 114 from the north, “got their left shoulders too far up”; and they were just beginning a spirited attack on the Lancashire Fusiliers’ left when they were spotted by “C” Company’s observer and, after considerable signalling with a small flag, they were made aware of their mistake.
About 2 p.m. on the 25th, Colonel O C Wolley-Dod, formerly of the Regiment and at that time GSOI of the 29th Division, who had landed to take over the command at “W” Beach, organized an attack on Hill 138. After a bombardment, the 4th Worcestershire Regiment advanced, cut the wire and by 4 p.m. captured the hill and redoubt. Owing to the deadlock on “V” Beach it was not possible to effect a junction, in spite of attempts by the 86th Brigade to extend their right flank. As night fell the British positions in front of “W” Beach extended from Cape Helles lighthouse through Hill 138 to Hill 114, forming a rough semi-circle. Trenches were dug and were held by the weary troops, after such reorganization as could be carried out. There was no reserve available except working parties of the Anson battalion, and the enemy maintained touch at various points, so that the men were kept on the alert throughout the night.
The difficulty of collecting, collating and forwarding information from troops at five landing places was enhanced by the heavy casualties among higher commanders and staff officers; and the fact that divisional headquarters were on board HMS Euryalus made control more difficult.
During the night of the 25th April heavy firing was heard in the north, in the direction of “Y” Beach, and some units at “W” Beach kept up unnecessary fire, even to the extent of using all their ammunition. This was not the case with the XX and the returns show very little expenditure of ammunition - a strong testimony to the excellent discipline after such severe losses. The strength of the battalion was returned as 11 officers and 399 other ranks, so that the casualties were only exceeded by those of the 1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers, who had 1 officer and 374 other ranks left after the disastrous experiment of the River Clyde landing at “V” Beach.
The losses in some regiments of the Division were, however, trifling and the official historian lays stress on the fact that, with a little more co-operation on the part of the units which met with small opposition, a real success was quite possible. The value of time was not realized and the Turks, under their German commanders, were enabled to recover from their uncertainty and to bring up reserves.
The Turks, however, had only five battalions south of Achi Baba on the morning of the 27th April, and they occupied the night of the 26th/27th April in organizing a new position in front of Krithia, leaving a few posts only in touch with our troops. The Turkish casualties averaged about four hundred per battalion at this stage. Meanwhile the heavy task of landing the ordnance and supplies was being carried on at top speed under the Royal Navy, but as the beaches and anchorages were under continuous fire (fortunately, mostly shrapnel), it was found impossible to keep to scheduled time. Some ten days elapsed before the work was completed.
Five other battalions of Lancashire Fusiliers took part in the campaign. Four Territorial Battalions formed 125 Brigade in 42 (East Lancashire) Division namely 1st/5th (Bury), 1st/6th (Rochdale), 1st/7th (Salford) and 1st/8th (Salford). The 9th Battalion was a “Kitchener” Battalion and took part in the Suvla Bay Landings.
Battles in which the regiment was involved included, the Landing, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battles of Krithia, Gully Ravine, The Vineyard, Suvla Landing, Scimitar Hill and Boyd’s Crater.
Eighty-eight officers and 1,728 other ranks lost their lives. The decorations awarded to the Regiment were: 6 Victoria Crosses, 3 Companion of the Bath, 8 Distinguished Service Order, 25 Distinguished Conduct Medal and 10 Military Cross.
Tributes, Decorations and Praise
Many were the tributes paid by independent and impartial witnesses to the deeds of the battalion on that day. The Commander-in-Chief, General Sir Ian Hamilton, in his official despatch dated 20th May, 1915, wrote:
“… so strong, in fact, were the defences of W beach that the Turks may well have considered them impregnable, and it is my firm conviction that no finer feat of arms has ever been achieved by the British soldier - or any other soldier - than the storming of these trenches from open boats on the morning of 25th April. The landing at W had been entrusted to the 1st Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers (Major Bishop) and it was to the complete lack of the senses of danger or of fear of this daring battalion that we owed our astonishing success … . Gallantly led by their officers, the Fusiliers literally hurled themselves ashore and, fired at from right, left and centre, commenced hacking their way through the wire. A long line of men was at once mown down as by scythe, but the remainder were not to be denied …”
He ordered “W” Beach to be re-named “Lancashire Landing” and it was his intention that this name should be as much the official title as “Anzac” was in the case of “Z” Beach; but alas! rigid adherence to the report of a War Office committee deprived the Regiment of it as a battle honour.
Vice-Admiral de Robeck, in his official despatch dated 1st July, 1915, on the naval aspect of the operation, said:
“… it is impossible to exalt too highly the service rendered by the 1st Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers in the storming of the beach; the dash and gallantry displayed was superb …”
Another naval tribute was a much appreciated signal from HMS Euryalus:
“We are as proud as can be to have had the honour to carry your splendid regiment. We feel for you all in your great losses as if you were our own ship’s company, but know the magnificent gallantry of your regiment has made the name more famous than ever.”
Nor did the appreciation of the Royal Navy stop at the end of the operations. For Rear-Admiral Stuart Nicholson, Captain Lefroy and the officers of HMS Swiftsure presented to the officers of the battalion a large and beautiful silver bowl, having in bas relief on one side the crest of the ship and a representation of the covering fire which it gave and on the other the regimental crest and the troops leaping from the cutters and struggling ashore. This bowl has the place of honour in the centre of the dining-table of the officers’ mess of the 1st Battalion at every guest night and is one of its most treasured possessions. What must be a unique tribute from one Service to another is the fine marble tablet, of which a full description appears in Volume II, erected in the Parish Church of Bury after the War by Admiral of the Fleet Lord Wester Wemyss and the officers and ship’s company of HMS Euryalus
“to commemorate the officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the First Battalion The Lancashire Fusiliers who fell in action at Gallipoli.”
To mark its sense of the honour thus done to it, the 1st Battalion laid up its old Colours over this tablet when the time came to part with them in 1934. And, wherever it goes, the battalion always hears the bell which marked the passing of the hours before the landing; for, in 1934 also, Admiral Sir Rudolf Burmester, who commanded HMS Euryalus at the Landing, presented the ship’s bell to the 1st Battalion on behalf of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and it stands with a generous inscription outside the 1st Battalion guard-room and still gives out the time, albeit not in the naval way.
Even the enemy paid his tribute to the deeds of the 29th Division that day. The late Mr Maurice Healy, MC KC related how, when on a visit to Constantinople in 1929, his guide told him he had fought in the Gallipoli campaign, and when he learnt that Mr Healy had served in the Division at a later stage, he said,
“The 29th British Division? Then you are my brother. Come with me and I will show you what we think of your Division.”
The guide led the way to the Turkish Military Museum in which had been set up, in the two most conspicuous places, two tableaux skillfully lit so as to make the scenes more vivid. In Mr Healy’s words:
“The first of these two chosen set-pieces represents the Battle of Vienna, fought in 1683, marking the highest point of the Turkish advance into Europe.
The other shows in the foreground the interior of a Turkish fort. Shells are bursting in mid-air and throwing up the ground where they strike. Turkish guns are firing also, and one can see the waters churned up into foam by their shells and by a hail of machine-gun bullets. Amidst that churning foam can be discerned a steamer and a lot of little boats between her and the shore. In the boats are khaki-clad figures; others run along a gangway from the steamer to the shore. On the one hand, the Turk thundering at the gates of Vienna: on the other, the 29th Division landing at Gallipoli!”
The honours awarded to the battalion for the Landing were as follows:
Captain C Bromley
Captain R R Willis
Serjeant A Richards
Lance-Serjeant F E Stubbs
Corporal J E Grimshaw
Private W Keneally
Distinguished Service Order
Captain R Haworth
Military Cross
Lieutenant L B L Seckham
Second-Lieutenant G Needham
Mentioned in Despatches
Major H O Bishop
Captain G E Tallents
Second-Lieutenant G Needham
Private W H Schofield
and those listed above
