The Unkai Maru No. 7 was a 2,143 gross tonnage steamer owned by the shipping company Nakamura & Co., of Osaka Japan.
LLOYD’S WAR LOSSES, The First World War, casualties to shipping through enemy causes 1914-1918 (ISBN1-85044-314-9 LLoyd’s of London Press) reports that the Unkai Maru No. 7 struck a mine on 16 June, 1917 at 18° 33′ N, 72° 10′ E, bound for Bombay carrying rice.
The mine was laid by the German Raider SMS Wolf in February 1917.
And the map below shows the relative position of the Unkai Maru No. 7 to Bombay when it struck the mine, approximately 45 nautical miles south west of Bombay Harbour.
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Pte. Monks took these photos of a “Japanese ship mined in Bombay Harbour” and labeled the date as Aug 1916, (although you can clearly see that he originally wrote 1917 and overwrote it).
However, research shows that this date that he wrote must be incorrect.
Only two Japanese ships were sunk through hostile actions in Q3 1916, the Kohina Maru (sunk August 2, 1916 near Alexandria by German Submarine UB46) and the Tenmei Maru (sunk Aug 10, 1916 off the south coast of France MED by German Submarine U35).
The VITA was in Bombay from June 4-22, 1917 (at Alexandra Dock No2 Shed) and it is reasonable to surmise that Pte. Monks was able to get out and about around the harbour during this extended stay. The Unkai Maru No 7 hit a mine laid by SMS Wolf on June 16 at 18° 33′ N, 72° 10′ E, bound For Bombay with a cargo of rice. It is recorded as being destroyed and the assumption was that it sank. However, rather than sinking, if it had in fact been able to make it into Bombay harbour (approximately 45 nautical miles) then it would have been there exactly during the time that Pte. Monks was also there. And it’s not difficult to imagine that any ship arriving at the harbour after striking a mine would have been of great interest to all sailors currently there, especially coming just 10-days after the SS City of Exeter also suffered the same fate and managed to sail into Bombay under her own steam.
So, the conclusion is that it was the Unkai Maru No7 that he saw, boarded and photographed in Bombay harbour and it happened in June 1917 rather than August 1916. It’s not difficult to imagine that several years later he could confuse the exact date (which he originally wrote as 1917 and then changed to 1916) but it is hard to believe that he would get the ship’s nationality (Japanese) and demise (striking a mine) wrong. The only Japanese steam ship listed in this region in Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, RETURNS OF VESSELS TOTALLY LOST, CONDEMNED, etc. during 1916 and 1917 is the Unkai Maru No 7. LLOYD’S WAR LOSSES, The First World War, casualties to shipping through enemy causes 1914-1918 (ISBN1-85044-314-9 Lloyd’s of London Press) further indicates that this was the only Japanese ship struck by a mine in this region and confirms the date and location of the incident.
This account is the only plausible version that fits with the information from Lloyds Register of Shipping (the definitive source). Regardless, the activities of the SMS Wolf certainly impacted the safety of the VITA and its crew and must have been a cause for grave concern for all shipping in and out of Bombay during this time.
The complete list of Japanese steam ships lost, missing, abandoned, etc. in 1916 and 1917 is shown below.
This page provides excerpts from the personal diary of Sgt. Thomas William Chisholm, of the 1/5th Northumberland Fusiliers which covers the events leading up to his capture on 27th May 1918 during the Third Battle of the Aisne and subsequently as a POW at Giessen, Darmstadt, and Lamsdorf camps, until his release on 1st January 1919. The excerpts are provided courtesy of Mike Orchard, (Sgt. Chisholm’s Grandson), and remains his exclusive Copyright. Please do not copy or reproduce any part without permission.
We can not know exactly what happened to Pte. Arthur Slater during his capture, transport and arrival at Giessen PoW camp but his experience must have been very similar to Sgt. Chisholm’s and they provide context to his story. The diary entries start in the early morning hours of of May 27, 1918 as the intense enemy artillery barrage was winding down before the German storm troops attacked the Allied lines.
Monday, May 27, 1918 Sgt. Thomas William Chisholm The Sgt writes:
There were very few casualties considering the shell fire, but the main part had been dumped on the front and support lines, the wind blowing gently from the direction of the enemy lines reeked of powder and the sickly tang of gas. By this time about 3am our gas masks were in a bad state, the glasses were dimmed with perspiration and the waterproof bag covering was sticking to our faces and very wet, but we dare not move them owing to the risk of getting a dose of the poison. This confinement was the worst part of it because anyone who has had to wear one will know how difficult it is to breath.
Somewhere near 8am our Company Commander decided to move forward, so we headed for the cross country track so well known to us, towards the road. But this was out of the question, because it was absolutely being plastered with all sorts of iron work, and a fly could not live on it, so we were content with moving across the piece of dead ground between Concevreux and the French cemetery, it being fairly well left alone. We succeeded in reaching the rear side of the cemetery and skirted round the left side nearest the road, when suddenly the enemy barrage lifted,and seemed to drop right amongst us. Then it was for who could get forward the quickest, earth, smoke, and the moans and yells all mingled with the deepening crashes of bursting shells tended to make everyone get behind even a blade of grass.
Finally we scrambled through the cemetery and moved about thirty to forty yards in front, and proceeded to dig in with as much speed as we could, because by this time we were under distant machine gun fire as well. Things were getting rather warm and unpleasant, and owing to the smoke and the morning haze visibility was very bad, and gas masks made it much worse. Being a platoon commander I tried to marshal my men into some kind of formation, and issued instructions with regard to entrenchments and they worked like Trojans.
Inside half an hour they were fairly well off under the circumstances, in regard to cover, my orderly stuck to me very well and was remarkably cool, owing to the fact that this was the first big fight he had taken part in. He had just been transferred from R.F.C. and was really too young to be where he was, so I decided to take him under my wing to save him more or less from the arduous duties of the trench.
By this time the sun was fairly well up and the heat was beginning to itself felt, the time being somewhere about 9am we were just feeling a little bit hungry, and the men were asking when it would be possible to get something to eat, when suddenly to my surprise we were hailed from the road which lay on our left and lo and behold there were the cooks with their field kitchen with smoke pouring out of the chimneys. To say the least it was shock to see them, as it seemed an almost impossible thing for anything to move up that road. Never the less they were there and the greeting they gave us was “Howay get all this stuff off do ye want us to all get blown to hell standin’ here all day?” So I called for volunteers which soon came in the form of eight men and with a mad rush we snatched up all the dishes and made back for the trenches. I managed to get hold of the bacon and forthwith proceeded to dish it out with my hand. The grease had become cold, and it was almost hard, but we could pick out the bacon from the fat. I offered some to the O.C. Coy but the sight of the cold fat turned him against it. I think he decided that a little libation from his flask would be more beneficial.
At this point in the defense suddenly we observed two dispatch riders on motorcycles literally tearing up the road towards the front line, (which had already been pierced), and were in grave danger of running into the enemy line, but we hailed them to stop and when told of the position they soon turned about and made back towards Head Quarters. They only got about quarter of a mile back when their machines were blown from under them and they were killed.
We got something to fire at but after killing one or two owing to the haze it was discovered that they were French troops.
A CSM of the Durhams dashed over and reported that the Germans were getting round the wood on our left but the O.C. Coy denied this and told him to go to hell (personally I thought we were there already).
By 9:45am they were well advanced, and on looking behind through the information of my pal Fred, it was to see two scouts come but from behind the wood, followed by his machine gun teams, then there was a scramble to get back, but it was pretty hopeless from the first. I called my platoon to follow me as there was still a chance to get clear, so taking a course straight through the cemetery directly behind, we dodged amongst the graves and head stones as quickly as it was possible, because the bullets from both rifles and machine guns were coming like hail amongst us, but we were rather lucky with regard to casualties as there were very few hit, some being killed outright, and so far as I could gather about three of the boys wounded, including my batman and runner through the left shoulder. On reaching lower ground these were dressed and we made straight for the River Vesle, where there were bridges at intervals. We scurried forward but when we were about a hundred yards from the first bridge a deafening report rent the air and our hopes were dashed as the bridge went skywards in a million pieces. Nothing daunted we made along the river bank towards the next one but our Royal Engineers were doing their work thoroughly and up went another three. There was nothing left to do but stand fast and await events.
The heat was almost overpowering, when an officer, one of the platoon commanders came forward to me to enquire as to what I thought we had better do next. Well on going through the trees which lined the river bank, we saw a rare sight and soon drew back under cover again to hold a short consultation. In the end he wanted to reorganize and make a bayonet charge, but that solution was out of the question, owing to the fact that on the other side of the trees were something like three hundred disarmed British troops being covered with three machine guns and three flame throwers or liquid fire machines, s that any attempt at attack would have meant wholesale slaughter of all those men, so I gave him my opinion, and acted upon it without his permission. In fact I ordered him to dump his revolver and equipment in the River Vesle and keep only what was required for personal use. The Lewis guns I had brought forward and placed on the ground, put a couple of round through the machine and pitched into the air.
This part of the program completed we rather gingerly moved once more through the trees into the open where all the captives we being horded together like a lot of terrified sheep, not knowing what was going to happen next. Also the very piece of ground I have already mentioned, was the natural basin, but the position of the troops being reversed, the enemy having a strong advantage over us, by having his formidable weapons mounted on the long wood tressle bridge, which being at a height just suitable for a massacre should his gunners and fire operators desire, and I may say it was expected every second. Owing to our numbers it was thought that they would not trouble to take us prisoners.
Meanwhile his troops were trying to get something like five to six hundred British on to this bridge, and when it began to creak and crack there was a panic, so he decided it would be better to form up on terra firma and march us onto the main road.
The time being about noon judging by the position of the sun, we were unceremoniously formed into fours on the main road moving in the direction of Guignicourt.
We had proceeded for about quarter of a mile, passing through the enemy lines of advancing troops. First came his infantry, followed by light mortars, heavy mortars, machine guns, pioneers filling up all shell holes as they came forward to enable the transport to come in comfort along the roads. Next came medical services, followed by fairly solid lines of artillery in order of merit, light field guns, howitzers, then all his heavy guns, and coming pretty close again were the observation sections mounted on motor lorries. The wheels of these lorries were not tyred in the usual way with rubber, but round the rim was a series of coil springs kept in place by an outer tyre of flat steel band, thus when moving over rough surfaces these springs could take the shock and jolt similar but not so good as the rubber tyre. Above us were the huge sausage shaped balloons hundreds of feet in the air watching with all eyes, the advance in the forward areas.
One incident which happened goes to prove some of the almost unbelievable atrocities which the enemy committed during the war and a few of our boys being almost in the rear of the column witnessed it without being able to give a helping hand so just had to bear it and keep moving.
It was when their Red Cross men were coming over the ground passing our killed and wounded and not offering to give a hand to relieve their sufferings in the least. (I might mention before going any further that these supposed Red Cross people unlike our R.A.M.C., were armed with an automatic revolver, cartridge pouch and bayonet.) This particular German walked over to a man lying with his guts hanging out having been hit with a piece of flying shell, the man was doomed in the first place as it was really no good trying to patch him up, but the German walked up to him, and trying to raise himself on one arm asked for water. The swine just shook his head saying ‘Nein, nein, nein nix wasser’. The tommy, who was a Durham man opened his breast pocket, took out his wallet and offered him a fifty franc note, again gasping out ‘Water, water’. At this the Gerry took everything from him and drawing his bayonet, slashed him across the mouth. The man then lost consciousness and with a howl, we started forward to attack but being without arms we could do nothing and our guards, for there were plenty of them and big ones at that, with a yell of “Rouse!” or words meaning to ‘get back’, we could do nothing but grit our teeth and with a few curses the German moved on his way, and we were marched in the opposite direction. We never saw our comrade no more, for he was sure to die a brutal and inhuman death.
We continued our journey along the river road and three hundred yards further on came across some of his General Staff mounted on horse-back. One gentleman in particular, having under his arm an English loaf of bread and a jar of jam. It seems hard to believe, but never the less quite true. There he sat watching prisoners move past, and he, every now and then tearing a handful of bread would dip it into the jam, and eat as if his very life depended upon it.
Another quarter of a mile or so and we were passing in the shadow of the great California Plateau, and on looking up to the top most point we could see a crowd of German officers and a few yards ahead of them there was standing a solitary man standing with his cape gently blowing in the breeze. This man proved later to be the great War Lord of Germany, the Kaiser himself watching his troops doing their work of destruction as they moved forward.
The heat of the day was at it’s worst now and we were beginning to feel the effects and wondering when we were going to get a halt and something to eat because the last good meal we had was about 4:30pm on Sunday afternoon and it was now 2:30pm on Monday. We had no water either to fall back on as a reserve having dumped all before being taken, so we just trudged along, Fred No 1 on the right, myself on the left and being supported by us was Fred No 2 my batman, as we had to carry our own wounded, and with no idea where we were bound for, what with our sore feet, parched throats, the heat together with the groans from Fred 2 it was a very unpleasant position to be in. Fred 1 cursed the square head fluently all the way.
This continued until 6:30pm without a spell, when we arrived at a fairly large barbed wire compound and being counted when passing through the gate, all this done the gate was securely locked and surrounded by guards. On looking round there was no chance of escape.
Next we were fed our first meal in captivity. Well, now came a problem. Having no small kit what were we going to get this meal in, and what to eat it with? Fred 1 came to the rescue, taking off his steel helmet, he tore out the lining and low and behold there was as good a soup bowl as one could wish to have. Many followed likewise and forming up in the line, arrived at the boiler from which a German with a litre measure, dished out a white liquid, which turned out to be nothing else but flour and water boiled, so putting our helmets to our lips we drank deeply. Hardly had this been done when we were moved into a more remote corner of the compound for the night, and it was a cold one.
Everyone huddled together in the open, without any sort of covering, in an endeavour to keep warm. The outside men, one of them being me, had to keep turning over from back to front as required.
So ended the 27th May as my first day as a prisoner of war.
Tuesday, May 28 – Friday May 31, 1918 Sgt. Thomas William Chisholm The Sgt writes:
At 5:30am the rouse came again, and with another drink of flour and water we were turned into a large field just over the other side of the hill. When this was done Fred 1 said ‘I wonder what they are going to do now Bill.’ ‘God knows, and he won’t split.’ say I.
So sitting for a short while we watched Jerry’s movements, until Fred 1 said ‘Billy if you want to keep anything you value get it smuggled quick because they are searching every man.’ But it had to be done under cover because Jerry was watching with an eagle eye, so covering each others movements, we transferred each articles we wished to keep, down inside our trousers, or in our boots. I happened to have in my possession four one mark notes, having taken them from a Jerry prisoner in a previous engagement, so Fred says ‘For goodness sake get rid of them or when they see them your days are numbered,’ so with my jackknife I dug a small hole in the ground and buried them, and with a sigh of relief joined the line to be searched.
The number to be searched being so large, it was surprising that the searching was such a short affair and when we had passed through we were minus our jackknives, and any other small articles that would be of any use to our guards. This being done we found ourselves on the road to God knows where, the order was given to march so off the column trudged, the time being about 10am.
After about four spells that day we came to a place called Lislet, this place boasted a proper prison camp, and all were put into huts no matter what rank they held, by the time this was done it was 10:30pm this practically ended our second day as prisoners. The huts were fairly large and roomy but they were packed to suffocation, however it was much better than being out in the open. The camp being a big one was built in the form of a hollow square and surrounded by a double wall of barbed wire twelve feet high. Outside this was a small embankment four feet above ground level which was used by our guards as their beat and they had to walk up and down towards each other.
By 12pm all was quiet, as we were dead tired and needed as much sleep as possible, owing to the fact that we did not know what the morrow would bring, but about 2am we were awakened by a loud whirring sound, so going outside to investigate, I found out that our aircraft were on the way and it proved quite true because when they came overhead and dropped their first bomb Jerry disappeared with a squeal and we saw no more of them until the raid was over. That caused us to get a good strapping from Jerry next day.
We rested two days in the camp. All there was to do was just walk round and get in touch with a few of the boys we had not seen since our capture, and feed upon the soup very kindly given to us by Jerry with the intention of keeping us alive but it was really just a long drink. We were also given a small piece of black bread, we looked at each other before starting to eat, however Fred and I thought we would sample ours but owing to its bitterness we could not finish it, so some of the less particular of the boys made short work of it.
By this time my wounded batman Fred 2 had been taken away from the party and put in a hospital somewhere. Whatever happened to him I never knew, for he was never seen again
This camp and the rest seemed to do us a good deal of good, but being unable to either wash or shave, we did look a grubby crowd. On the second day I happened to meet my old Company Commander who seemed in a very cheerful mood. We had a good chat over past events and parted, to see no more of each other until about twelve months after I returned to England.
That brought the day to the 31st May 1918 a Friday, and rumours that night, that we were to move again on the morrow.
Saturday, June 1, 1918 Sgt. Thomas William Chisholm The Sgt writes:
Up at 4am and partaking of coffee and black bread we marched off again, this time under the charge of a guard of stalwart but rather old Prussian Guards mounted on very pristine horses who continued to trot backwards and forwards along the column keeping a very sharp eye on all that happened.
Getting on for about noon this day, the column were passing through a series of small villages, and by this time, we were again in no fit state to march so far without a break, but our guards kept us on the move all the time. Owing to the bad state of the roads and intense heat, we were all covered with a good coating of white dust, with streaks down our faces where the perspiration had been running down. Our mouths parched with thirst, sore feet, stiff limbs and sick of heart through this heartless treatment, we were passing through the village of Liart. The peasants noticed our plight and seemed to take pity on us, as they put outside the houses, small wooden tubs of clean fresh water for drinking. Without attempting at any halt to enable us to refresh ourselves, our guards rode forward and willfully turned over the tubs and forced us back into the ranks again. We just trudged forward very little being said, owing I think, to the fact that we wanted to save our breath as much as possible for our exertions.
We continued moving past fields looking more cultivated than the ones we had left behind, and great woods of giant fir trees. The time was somewhere about 6:30 or 7pm, when we suddenly left the road and entered one of these dense woods. Moving across a beaten track, we continued for something like half an hour before coming into the open again. Then across country for about half a mile and then came to a halt.
We had arrived at Hirson, a fairly large French town dominated by a fortress on the Borden. It was into this, that we were to rest for the next 24 hours. The Fort de Hirson, being surrounded by walls built of huge pieces of rock, this retaining wall afforded very little chance of escape. Also last but not least a large moat about 35 to 40 feet deep and 30 feet across the top.
The time being somewhere about 7.30pm, the light had not begun to fail yet so we to set off to explore our prison, in an effort to find a decent resting place, before dark came upon us. Wherever we looked, it was all the same, great towering walls faced us, so we just had to be content with a place against the wall, wherever a space could be found. Just imagine what it would be like when something like 8 or 9 hundred people tried to line a wall and find a comfortable place to lie.
Fred and I squatted down in a place as near as possible to the entrance thinking of an early exit next morning. Hunger was growing at our stomachs as we had had nothing to eat all day and it looked as if nothing was forthcoming. Even if we could have got a smoke it would have been better than nothing, but not being in the possession of the necessary articles, we had to do without. Fred however, was not to be outdone. Having a supply of cig papers, as he always did make his own cigs (like all men in the service of the merchant marine) finding a large heap of the refuse in one corner of the moat, being a dump used by the Germans, for all scrap such as potato skins, tea leaves etc., Fred managed to manufacture a cigarette by using the tea leaves and powdered dry grass. As for myself I usually smoked a pipe, so I properly filled up and smoked, but the taste and smell was nothing on earth however I stuck at it until satisfied.
All this time the people up above (French and German sight seers), who had turned out in full force to see such a large batch of British prisoners, were talking among themselves and occasionally jibing at us, intending I suppose, in making us feel our position a little more acute. So when we did understand anything that was said, it did not take long for us to give them a suitable answer, which was not always in the best of English language (some people call it ”choice”).
Our visitors keep tormenting our hunger, by displaying large pieces of sausage, bananas, and black bread, but by only dropping the skins into the moat, they seemed to enjoy seeing the boys make a rush for them. Personally I have never been nearer to being an animal than at this particular period. All that we wished for, was that we had been shot dead in the first place.
Eventually with the darkness, the crowd up above drifted away, and quietude rained.
Sunday, June 2, 1918 Sgt. Thomas William Chisholm The Sgt writes:
The day passed without event, and on the night all that could be seen or heard, was the sentries feet and the figures of the guards moving along the stone coping round the top of our prison, and the groups of prisoners down below, on their damp cold ground beds, talking about anything that seemed to come into their heads.
Some talked of home and what their people would have to say when they heard of their sons or fathers plight. Others grumbled at the hunger and the cold, whilst some even tried to brighten our burden by singing the war marches that we had sung during happier days.
Eventually all was silent and the more contented slept fitfully throughout the night (which now seems a nightmare after all these years, but is as fresh in my memory as if it had happened last week).
Monday, June 3, 1918 Sgt. Thomas William Chisholm The Sgt writes:
Morning came bright and fresh, but no grub. At about 7am we were all hussled out of the hell hole to a railway station and put aboard the train and rolled away again, arriving about 3.30pm at the town of Giessen.
De-training here, we marched through the streets to the other side of the town and were put into a real and proper prison camp, which was fairly large, containing good huts.
During our march through the town, we noticed the streets were spotlessly clean, also proving as to what a state of depression and starvation the German nation had been reduced to, we noticed in a few instances concessionary shop windows with not the usual display of goods, but in their place were coffins, also in drapers, and bakers shops, the same thing meet our gaze.
We were met at the entrance to the camp by other prisoners who had been in captivity a good while, but who also looked as if had done them good. They had a well fed appearance and were very well clothed, being dressed in the regulation uniform prescribed for British prisoners of war. It was made of the same material as our usual service dress, only it was dyed black with a brown band around the right arm and a two inch brown strip down the sides of the trousers. Not having seen this before, we decided it looked rather funny, but all the same, comfortable, seeing as by this time our own uniforms were looking and feeling the worse for wear.
These men who had been prisoners for a considerable period welcomed us with the news that there was a feed ready for us. I might say that we all seemed as though we needed one, judging by our friend’s appearance, because he did look well fed.
As soon as we were put into our various barracks, the food was brought and placed between the huts, where we all formed into eager queues and a German Pastern or sentry issued out the soup with a litre ladle with a handle about four feet long. As soon as a man obtained his portion, he returned to the hut to which he belonged, to partake of the first substantial meal we had had for days, which also proved very much insufficient, for our most starved condition however, it had to do, as there was no more to get.
Following this meal we were again turned out on parade and this time an RSM who had previously belonged to the Rifle Brigade carried out a nominal roll of all men in our batch. That is the only name it is possible to find for such a mixed crowd.
Followed by the RSM, came a German officer with his followers. He spoke very good English, so before ever he got anywhere near to where Fred and I were, it was passed up the ranks that he was making enquiries with regard to what trade we worked at before the war, and also that he seemed to splitting us into distinct parties. Fred and I having being pals so long now, we did not feel inclined to part, and thinking that this officer was looking for tradesmen with a view to placing us in his factories, thus relieving more German soldiers to go to the front. Fred and I had a little talk and decided that I was to tell them that my trade was a blacksmith and also that Fred had in peace times, been my striker, although he had really never seen inside of a blacksmith’s shop. Nevertheless the gag worked and we were both put into the squad containing such tradesman as engineers, both mechanical and electrical, boilermakers, blacksmiths and motor mechanics etc., so we felt fairly safe for the time being.
When all this had been done, the complete roll was called, and not being content with this, the officer and the German Sgt. Major counted us three time in succession to make sure that it corresponded with his numbers in the first place, and the roll that the British RSM had made, ensuring that no one had escaped during the journey.
Finally the dismissal came and we were told that another meal would be forthcoming somewhere about 10.00pm but it never came yet so we laid down each beneath his one blanket and slept a good sound sleep also the first of its kind, as up till now we had to sleep without any covering at all.
No 21 BGH was located at the Ras-el-Tin barracks in Alexandria.
When it was decided to undertake operations in the Dardanelles, four general hospitals were sent to Egypt from the United Kingdom, to act as base hospitals for the force. Two (Nos. 15 and 17) arrived in March, and the other two (Nos. 19 and 21) at the beginning of June 1915. They were all opened in Alexandria, No. 15 in the ”Abbassia Schools,” No. 17 in the Victoria College, No. 19 in the Deaconesses’ Hospital, a German hospital, and No. 21 in Ras-el-Tin barracks. They were nominally under the administrative control of the D.M.S. of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, Surg.-General W. G. Birrell, whose representative in Egypt was Colonel Sexton, the A.D.M.S. of the Base at Alexandria.
Source: Medical Services General History Volume III (Medical Services during the Operations on the Western Front in 1916, 1917 and 1918; in Italy; and in Egypt and Palestine), by Major-General Sir W. G. MACPHERSON.
No 3 British General Hospital, Basra
No. 3 B.G.H. is in the Sheikh of Mohammerah’s town palace. It has some fine rooms off the main hall, which make excellent wards. Adjoining the palace are large hut extensions. They are solidly built to resist the heat. The roofs are thick and sun-proof, the wards are high and airy, with electric lights and fans. So far as structure and conveniences go this Hospital is as good as any one could hope to find in Mesopotamia. A very competent Staff of Doctors and Nurses maintain a high standard of efficiency. Here there is a very nice officers’ ward, to the furnishing of which the Red Cross has done not a little.
Source: A MESSAGE FROM MESOPOTAMIA, by THE HON. SIR ARTHUR LAWLEY G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E.
Beit Nama Officers Convalescent Hospital, Basra
The Officers’ Convalescent Hospital at Beit Nama was opened on July 26, 1916 and was situated just downstream of the No. 3 British General Hospital.
Medical History of the War, Volume IV, Page 262: A British convalescent depot was established at Mohammera. This depot received the first batch of 100 convalescents on 24th October 1916, and, as it had been decided to abandon Ashar barracks as a convalescent depot, it was extended to accommodate greater numbers. The site of the new camp on the right bank of the river, about three miles above the Persian town of Mohammera, was ideal. It had a pleasant outlook on the river and on the Bamashia channel leading from it. Steep turf banks and scattered palms gave to the camp a rural appearance, enhanced by well-made gravel paths, rustic seats, fences and flower-beds. Patients were conveyed to and from it by river boats twice weekly. During November 1916 a similar convalescent depot was opened for Indians on an adjoining site.
33 British General Hospital, Makina (Basra)
Personnel of 33 British General Hospital (BGH) arrived at Basra on June 11, 1916 on the HS VITA from Bombay. The hospital was initially deployed at TANOUMAH (on the right bank of the river) in 40 European Pattern tents. Within a month, the hospital was split between two locations; TANOUMAH and in the old Liquorice Factory at Makina which had been vacated by the 32 BGH.
No. 33 B.G.H. is in the liquorice factory, not nearly so happily situated as No. 3. It is shut in and airless. There is a mule depot just across the creek which brings an ” infinite torment of flies,” and on the occasion of my visit I found the wards somewhat topsy-turvied by the discovery of plague-infected rats, and consequently of course of plague-infected fleas. The O.C. and the Staff have, however, been well trained to cope with difficulties, and as in the past, so in the future, their cheery optimism, skill and courage will carry them through every difficulty.
Source: A MESSAGE FROM MESOPOTAMIA, by THE HON. SIR ARTHUR LAWLEY G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E.
Foreign gallantry awards were sometimes given as a “consolation” if a British medal was not awarded. In some cases men were recommended for a Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) and it was downgraded to a Mentioned in Despatches (MiD) as it passed up the chain of command. Foreign awards were slightly different in that they generally passed down the chain of command and therefore there was more certainty over their award. The Military Medal was not established until March 1916 and although it was possible to make a retrospective award, it often didn’t happen and of course was not available in 1915.
Some foreign medals seem to have been made available to the British on a reciprocal basis, and were awarded to men who were chosen by British commanders as being particularly deserving, but who did not, for some reason, qualify for a British gallantry medal.
One particular feature of some of these foreign awards (which was in effect an MiD with related medal) was that they could be awarded posthumously. The French Croix de Guerre as an example. This made it especially useful for awarding to men who had lost their lives in gallant circumstances but who fell short of the requirements for the Victoria Cross, the only British gallantry medal that could be awarded posthumously. Confusingly, one hears sometimes of apparently posthumous awards of ‘lesser’ British gallantry medals, but on investigation these turn out to be confirmations after the recipient’s death of awards for which they had already been recommended.
Pte. WILLIAM SHEEKEY (2231) 1/9th Manchester Regiment was one such man who was awarded the Silver Medal, otherwise known as the Serbian “Milos Obilic” Silver Medal of Valour. In the London Gazette, the Serbian Silver Medal was listed under the heading of “Decorations and medals conferred by HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF SERBIA” and awarded for “gallantry and distinguished service in the field” which is the only citation available. [Gazetted Feb 15, 1917]
Silver Medal Background:
Milos Obilic was a medieval Serbian knight, considered an epitome of bravery and honesty, and who, legend has it, was captured by the Ottoman Turks at the end of the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. Presented as a prisoner of war to the Turkish Sultan Murad I, Obilic produced a hitherto-hidden dagger and stabbed and killed the Sultan, an act for which Obilic was beheaded. Ever since he personified the fearless, heroic Serbian warrior, ready to sacrifice own life in face of threatening defeat.
In the summer of 1913, the Kingdom of Serbia was overhauling its gold and silver Medals for Bravery, both in design and regulations, and opted to use the name and image of the great Serbian hero, Milos Obilic, in the design.
Award Criteria:
The medal was awarded for valour on the battlefield:
The gold version of the medal could be awarded to officers for “valour tested in battle” and, in exceptional cases, to NCOs for “fearless bravery in battle”.
The silver version could be awarded to NCOs and enlisted men for “bravery in battle”.
Description:
On one side of the medal is an ideal portrait of Milos Obilic in profile, wearing his armour and, near the edge, his name in Serbian Cyrillic, ‘MИЛОШ ОБИЛИЋ’.
On the other side of the medal, a cross with a pair of diagonal swords and, in the centre, the Serbian Cyrillic text, ‘ЗА ХРАБРОСТ’, which transliterates as ‘Za Hrabrost’, and translates to ‘For Bravery’.
Serbian recipients of the Milos Obilic Medal were exempt from taxes and it was the highest ranking Serbian medal at the time, which meant that, for a set of Serbian medals, it was worn in the leftmost position of the medal group, with the lower-ranking medals in their respective, regulated order or rank, being worn to the right of the Obilic medal.
References:
‘Serbian and Yugoslavian Orders and Decorations, 1859-1941’ by Pavel Car and Tomislav Muhić, 2009.
Between 1906 and 1912 a series of sweeping changes were made to the British Army and named after the then Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. These “Haldane Reforms” were the first major reforms since the “Childers Reforms” of the early 1880s and were based on shortcomings uncovered during the Second Boer War.
Along with changes to the Regular Army, the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907 completely restructured the reserve forces to ensure a properly trained set of units and recruits for the Regular Forces in times of war and to provide a more efficient force for home defence. The act called for the old Volunteer Force and Yeomanry to be reorganized into a new Territorial Force, administered by County Territorial Associations, and the old Militia was formed into the Special Reserve. The result was that the Territorial Force was established on April 1, 1908 and the men who joined agreed to be liable for service with the regular forces in wartime but the Act stipulated that ‘they could go abroad if they wish’.
Additionally, to help provide a ready supply of militarily trained potential officers, the Halden Reforms also established an Officer Training Corps, (OTC), in public schools and Universities. Many of the men commissioned into the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment after the outbreak of war came directly from, or had previously belonged to, an OTC.
In Ashton, the 9th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, Territorial Force was duly formed and the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, the Manchester Regiment was dissolved. Each of the NCOs and men of the old Volunteer Battalion were assigned a new service number starting at ‘1’ for the longest serving man and increasing up to the most recent recruit. Additionally, some of the men had their Territorial service dates reset to April 1, 1908 and they signed up for a period of one year. After the 1st year of service, on April 1, 1909, they were eligible to sign for a further period of four years, and thereafter for additional 4 year periods. The London Gazette belatedly announced in November 1908 that:
“Officers from the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, The Manchester Regiment, are appointed to the battalion with rank and precedence as in the Volunteer Force. Dated 1st April, 1908.”
Territorial Pre-War Training Camps
One of the requirements was to attend annual training camps and the following were those attended by the 9th Manchesters:
From
To
Camp Location
07-Jun-08
14-Jun-08
Ramsey (Isle of Man)
25-May-09
13-Jun-09
Salisbury Plain
14-May-10
28-May-10
Salisbury Plain
20-Aug-11
03-Sep-11
Dolphinholme, Lancs
28-Jul-12
11-Aug-12
East Marton, Yorks
10-Aug-13
24-Aug-13
Aldershot
ENGLAND 1914
On July 1, 1914 the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment, TF (Ashton Territorials), found themselves still substantially below their required strength, (of 29 Officers and 980 men), having only 24 Officers and 888 men despite a recent surge of over 150 new recruits from a very successful recruiting drive at Ashton Town Hall on February 14.
When War was declared on August 4, 1914, in Ashton-under-Lyne, another wave of recruits queued to join up and within a week at least 75 men had enlisted who were later to serve overseas; many with prior military service in the battalion.
On the 10th August, 1914 Lord Kitchener announced that the Territorial Force could volunteer to serve overseas and just 2 days later the Ashton Battalion accepted the invitation for Foreign Service, (with 858 men volunteering for overseas service) and became one of the four infantry battalions of the 126th (East Lancashire) Brigade. The complete list of Officers and Men of the 1/9th Battalion Manchester Regiment as listed by the The Cheshire Reporter August 15th 1914 is here.
On the 20th August, the Ashton Territorials, 9th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, marched into Chesham Fold Camp, Bury (a tented camp at Chesham Road). Bury was the divisional headquarters of the East Lancashire Infantry Brigade, which included, the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment, the 4th East Lancashires, (from Blackburn, Darwen and Clitheroe), the 5th East Lancashires, (from Burnley, Accrington, Haslingden, Baccup, Padiham and Ramsbottom), and the 10th Manchesters (from Oldham), three sections Signal Company, Headquarters Company of Engineers, Lancashire Brigade Company A.S.C., Transport and Supply, and the 2nd Field Ambulance.
On Wednesday Sept 2, 1914 the Battalion was visited by Brigadier-General D. G. PRENDERGAST commanding the East Lancashire Infantry Brigade. The following Saturday (Sept 5th) the men were asked to volunteer for overseas service by Lieut. Col. D. H. WADE, the Commanding Officer of the 9th Battalion. The Battalion entrained for Southampton, bound for Egypt, on Wednesday September 9th. The following day they boarded HMS Aragon, leaving at midnight bound for Egypt.
Egypt 1914
They arrived at Alexandria on the 25th September, and were transported to the Citadel and Kasr-el-Nil barracks, Cairo. The previous day they suffered their first casualty when Private John Bridge (1705) died of pneumonia and was buried at sea, (commemorated at the Chatby Memorial, Alexandria).
Back home, recruiting continued at a healthy rate with more than 475 new recruits volunteering in October and November alone.
On Nov 1st martial law was declared throughout Egypt and Sudan and on Nov 5th war was declared against Turkey. The following promotions were Gazetted on November 4, 1914 in connection with the Ashton Territorial Battalion:
Captain R.B. NOWELL to be Major.
Lieut. F.W. KERSHAW to be Captain.
Second Lieuts. R.G. WOOD, W.T. FORSHAW, T.G. HYDE, J.A. PARKER and W.H. LILLIE to be Lieutenants.
Later that month the Battalion’s second death occurred when 15 year old Private Frederick Finucane (1845) died of dysentery on the 27th and was buried at the Cairo War Memorial Cemetery.
On December 14, 1914 the Battalion left Kasr-el-Nil for Abbassia main barracks.
On the 20th December the Khedive was deposed and Prince Hussein Kamel became the new Sultan of Egypt. British Troops stationed in and around Cairo lined the streets as an honour guard and a show of strength to the local populace. The contingent from the 9th Battalion taking charge of a section of Soliman Pasha Street, close to the Kasr el Nil barracks.
For months the Division had undergone strenuous training and by the end of 1914 the men were drilled, acclimated and thoroughly fit.
EGYPT 1915
From the beginning of 1915 the training became even more strenuous with long marches in the desert, in full marching order. And as part of their duties, from time to time, the East Lancs Divisional troops found themselves guarding the Suez Canal.
On January 30, 1915 the battalion moved from Abbassia and deployed to tents at Heliopolis in preparation for possible deployment to the Suez Canal.
In the early hours of February 3, 1915 12,000 Turks & Germans attacked the Canal defences South of Ismailia between Serapeum and Toussoum. They were repulsed and 1,600 prisoners taken by the Indians, Anzacs and East Lancs Division but the 1/9th were not directly involved in the hostilities. A contemporary newspaper report is provided here.
Ferry Landing at Ismailia. [Source: Australian War Memorial]
Sadly, in February and March the Battalion lost two of its senior Officers. Major WILLIAM HENRY ARCHBUTT suffered a heart attack on February 8, 1915 and Surgeon-Major ALBERT HILTON, the Battalion’s Medical Officer (M.O.), died of disease on March 4, 1915 while the 9th Battalion were under canvas at Heliopolis. Both are buried at the Cairo War Memorial Cemetery. Major Hilton was replaced as the battalion’s M.O. by Major Thomas Frankish, RAMC.
On Palm Sunday, 28th March 1915, General Sir Ian Hamilton, (the newly appointed commander of the Allied Mediterranean Expeditionary Force), reviewed the Division in Cairo. Verbal orders were received for the 9th Battalion (as part of the East Lancashire Division) to prepare to move to the Dardenelles at short notice.
According to the 126th Brigade War Diary, the 1/9th arrived, by train, at Kantarra from Cairo with 32 Officers and 912 men on April 16, 1915. They spent the rest of the month defending the Suez Canal from Turkish attack.
On the 2nd May, 1915 the 9th Battalion received their firm orders to leave for Gallipoli and were concentrated at Port Said by the evening of the 4th. On 5th May, the men of 9th Battalion (and 1/2 of the 10th Battalion) embarked on the HMT AUSONIA. The transport section which included horses, mules, one cart and two machine-gun carriages, along with the recently promoted Major RICHARD BOTTOMLEY NOWELL, Lt. JOHN BROADBENT* and 26 other ranks of the 1/9th embarked on HMT COMMODORE.
*Lt. JOHN BROADBENT was commissioned in 1895, served in the Boer War, reaching the rank of Major. He resigned his commission with the 1/9th in 1912 but rejoined in 1914 at the outbreak of war. He was 42 years old when he landed in Gallipoli.
Approximately two dozen men were discharged from service, (primarily due to sickness making them not physically fit enough to serve in combat), during the 3 months leading up to the battalion’s embarkation for Gallipoli.
Rank
No.
1st Name
MI
Surname
Discharged
Pte
2136
JAMES
DOOLEY
15-Mar-15
Pte
2213
ABRAHAM
J
HADGETT
15-Mar-15
Pte
2214
CHARLES
PARKER
15-Mar-15
Pte
2194
HARRY
SPEAKMAN
15-Mar-15
Pte
1699
ROBERT
THORNTON
15-Mar-15
Pte
1526
FREDERICK
WALLWORK
15-Mar-15
Pte
1349
ROBERT
BELL
23-Apr-15
Pte
2185
THOMAS
BOWDEN
23-Apr-15
Pte
1362
THOMAS
SMITH
23-Apr-15
Pte
2164
JAMES
ASHTON
03-May-15
Pte
2082
JOHN
A
BLACK
03-May-15
Pte
2157
SYDNEY
BURTON
03-May-15
Pte
1577
WILLIAM
CONSTANTINE
03-May-15
Pte
471
WILLIAM
FOGG
03-May-15
Pte
2023
WILLIAM
HUNTER
03-May-15
Cpl
2163
JOHN
IRVING
03-May-15
Pte
2017
ROBERT
KING
03-May-15
Pte
1912
JOHN
P
MILLWOOD
03-May-15
Pte
1707
HARRY
OLDFIELD
03-May-15
Pte
2114
BENJAMIN
RENSHAW
03-May-15
Pte
2144
LAWRENCE
SCHOFIELD
03-May-15
Pte
2233
WILLIAM
WHEATLEY
03-May-15
Pte
2215
WILLIAM
WHITTLE
03-May-15
Cpl
1992
JOSEPH
WILSHAW
03-May-15
And at least three more men were discharged after returning home from Egypt in the following months without ever serving in Gallipoli.
Rank
No.
1st Name
MI
Surname
Discharged
Pte
2188
WILLIAM
G
COLLIER
31-May-15
Col. Sgt
160
THOMAS
BURGESS
11-Jun-15
Pte
1932
JAMES
WATERS
28-Jun-15
Additionally, a member of the pre-war permanent staff of the Battalion, 2673 Col. Sgt. James Holt, returned from Egypt in March and did not land in Gallipoli. It is very likely that upon Col. Sgt. Holt’s departure, Sgt. John Alexander Christie, of the 5th East Lancashire Regiment, became permanently attached to the 9th Manchesters.
Note: First-hand, contemporaneous accounts of the battalion’s time in Egypt in late 1914 and early 1915 have been transcribed and are available here, here and here.
GALLIPOLI 1915
On the 9th May the 9th Battalion landed under heavy fire at Sedd-el-Bahr, (V Beach), and moved quickly from the beach into bivouac (the Commodore with the Transport section and Brigade HQ arriving on the 10th).
Context from Despatches:
The following short section seeks to put the landing of the 1/9th Manchesters into context from the selected despatches of Sir IAN HAMILTON, General, Commanding Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.
At the close of the ten days and ten nights described in my first despatch our troops had forced their way forward for some 5,000 yards from the landing places at the point of the peninsula. Opposite them lay the Turks, who since their last repulse had fallen back about half a mile upon previously prepared redoubts and entrenchments. Both sides had drawn heavily upon their stock of energy and munitions, but it seemed clear that whichever could first summon up spirit to make another push must secure at least several hundreds of yards of the debatable ground between the two fronts. And several hundred yards, whatever it might mean to the enemy, was a matter of life or death to a force crowded together under gun fire on so narrow a tongue of land.
The net result of the three days’ fighting had been a gain of 600 yards on the right of the British line and 400 yards on the left and centre. The French had captured all the ground in front of the Farm Zjimmerman, as well as a redoubt, for the possession of which there had been obstinate fighting during the whole of the past three days.
From nightfall till dawn on the 9th-10th efforts were made everywhere to push us back. A specially heavy attack was made upon the French.
On the 11th May, the first time for eighteen days and nights, it was found possible to withdraw the 29th Division from the actual firing line and to replace it by the 29th Indian Infantry Brigade and by the 42nd Division, which had completed its disembarkation two days previously.
The Nominal Roll of men of the 1/9th Manchesters landing on that day included at least the following 914 men listed below.
2/Lt. J.M. Robson remained in Egypt commanding the base depot and did not land at Gallipoli until June 2, 1915.
Capt. F.W. Kershaw arrived with the Battalion at Gallipoli on May 9, 1915 but was immediately invalided to Malta due to sickness and did not rejoin them until June 20, 1915.
Major T. Frankish RAMC landed with the Battalion as their Medical Officer.
On May 11th, the 42nd Division received orders to take over the front line. The 9th Battalion, as part of the 126th East Lancashire Brigade, were now in reserve positions behind the (127th) Manchester Brigade and the (125th) Lancashire Fusilier Brigade.
The 1/9th went into the line on May 21st and remained there until the 26th. At this time, the “line” was actually three lines; the firing line, the redoubt line and the support line each one further back from the Turkish trenches. Divisional orders for the 126th Brigade were to advance the line by digging new trenches under cover of darkness.
On May 23, Lt. Col. DOCTOR HERBERT WADE, commanding officer of the 1/9th, was shot by a sniper while stepping over some sleeping men. He was evacuated from the peninsula and did not return to the regiment until March 1916, when the Battalion was in Egypt. During his absence the 1/9th went through half-a-dozen temporary C.O.s. Major RICHARD BOTTOMLEY NOWELL temporarily assumed command on the 23rd.
On the evening of May 23/24 the 1/5th East Lancs battalion on the right and the 1/9th Manchesters in the center both advanced 100 yards by digging a series of rifle pits but the 1/10th Manchesters on the left failed in their attempt. During the night’s digging 1358 L/Cpl. GEORGE JAMES SILVESTER saw that 1413 Pte. THOMAS PENNY had been wounded and brought him back to the trenches and then went back out and returned to digging even though he himself had been wounded. Pte. PENNY died of his wounds in hospital in Malta two weeks later.
The following day, on May 24, 2/Lt. FRED JONES was shot and killed and became the first of the 1/9th Battalion’s Officers to die in Gallipoli. He would not be the last. Also on that day, Lt. Col. ARTHUR FREDERICK EGERTON, DSO (9th Royal Scots) took over command of the Battalion.
The 1/10th having failed to advance their line under cover of darkness were forced to try again during the day. The Divisional war diary reports that they were able to advance the firing line by 50 yards. The following day, on May 25, Lieut. ROBERT GARTSIDE WOOD brought back a wounded man of the 1/10th Manchesters but was seriously wounded in the leg. Evacuated by hospital ship to Malta, he declined to have his leg amputated en route, and surgeons managed to save it after two operations. Lieut. WOOD was awarded the Military Cross in November 1915 for his actions that day.
On May 25th, the designation of the Division was changed and as the 42nd East Lancashire Division it took precedence in numerical order over the other Territorial Divisions.
Meanwhile, on May 24, Lieutenant-General Sir Aylmer Gould Hunter-Weston was promoted to acting Lieutenant-General and placed in command of VIII Corps (29th Division, the Royal Naval Division, 42nd Division and the 49th Indian Infantry Brigade). On May 27 he issued orders to immediately and simultaneously advance the front line trenches across the whole of the British and French fronts to within assault distance (200 yards) of the Turkish trenches. This they mostly accomplished over the following days.
May Fatalities:
Rank
No.
Forename
MI
Surname
When
How
Pte.
1178
MATTHEW
REDFERN
23-May
DoW
Pte.
1524
JOHN
W
JENNEYS
23-May
DoW
Pte.
1809
ISAIAH
SMITH
28-May
DoW
Pte.
1690
ANDREW
GEE
30-May
KIA
Pte.
2175
FRANK
L
FAVIER
31-May
KIA
2/Lt.
FRED
JONES
24-May
KIA
Note: The primary difference between Killed in Action (KIA) and Died of Wounds (DoW) is that men designated as Died of Wounds were deaths recorded in the medical evacuation chain rather than on the battlefield. Also note that some of the men listed as Killed in Action were actually Missing in Action and their bodies were never recovered or otherwise identified.
May Casualties:
Note: The list of Casualties provided here (and in the tables below for each month) is the list of men appearing in the Times of London daily casualty lists published throughout the following month. Anecdotal evidence from local newspaper reports indicate that many more men were wounded but they are not listed here.
Rank
No.
Forename
Middle
Surname
Pte.
555
WILLIAM
BARKER
Pte.
1837
JOHN
ROBERT
NIELD
Pte.
781
W
TAYLOR
Pte.
1727
ROBERT
ALLEN LEWIS
THOMAS
May Honors:
1358 L/Cpl. GEORGE JAMES SILVESTER, DCM For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Although wounded on 20th May 1915, he continued to perform his duties, and showed the highest courage on 25th May in aiding the wounded under fire. [Gazetted Sept 15, 1915]
Additionally, 1904 Pte. J. E. TAYLOR, 1155 Pte. W. BURKE and Lt. R. G. WOOD were all recommended for gallantry for their actions on May 25th. Pte. Burke carrying Lt. RG Wood from the trench to the Field Ambulance and Pte. Taylor rescuing another man while under fire. All three men were subsequently mentioned in despatches, as reported in the London Gazette of November 5, 1915.
June Operations:
Now that the 8th Army Corps front line had been painstakingly moved closer to the Turkish front lines, orders were issued to attack them on June 4th, the attack to be preceded by heavy artillery fire. This action was to become known as the Third Battle of Krithia. This action and the subsequent operations in June resulted in the deaths of at least 110 Officers and men of the Battalion.
Context from Despatches:
This brings the narrative up to the day of the general attack upon the enemy’s front line of trenches which ran from the west of the Kereves Dere in a northerly direction to the sea. Taking our line of battle from right to left the troops were deployed in the following order: -The Corps Expeditionnaire, the Royal Naval Division, the 42nd (East Lancs) Division and the 29th Division. The length of the front, so far as the British troops were concerned, was rather over 4,000 yards, and the total infantry available amounted to 24,000 men.
On the stroke of noon the artillery increased their range and along the whole line the infantry fixed bayonets and advanced. The assault was immediately successful.
The attack, timed for 3 p.m., was twice postponed at the request of General Gouraud, who finally reported that he would be unable to advance again that day with any prospect of success. By 6.30 p.m., therefore, the 42nd Division had to be extricated with loss from the second line Turkish trenches, and had to content themselves with consolidating on the first line which they had captured within five minutes of commencing the attack.
Although we had been forced to abandon so much of the ground gained in the first rush, the net result of the day’s operations was considerable- namely, an advance of 200 to 400 yards along the whole of our centre, a front of nearly 3 miles.
The Manchester Brigade of the 42nd Division advanced magnificently. In five minutes the first line of Turkish trenches were captured, and by 12.30 p.m. the Brigade had carried with a rush the line forming their second objective, having made an advance of 600 yards in all. The working parties got to work without incident, and the position here could not possibly have been better.
By 1.30 p.m. the whole of the captured trenches in this section had been lost again, and the Brigade was back in its original position, the ”Collingwood” Battalion, which had gone forward in support, having been practically destroyed. The question was now whether this rolling up of the newly captured line from the right would continue until the whole of our gains were wiped out. It looked very like it, for now the enfilade fire of the Turks began to fall upon the Manchester Brigade of the 42nd Division, which was firmly consolidating the furthest distant line of trenches it had so brilliantly won. After 1.30 p.m. it became increasingly difficult for this gallant Brigade to hold its ground. Heavy casualties occurred; the Brigadier and many other officers were wounded or killed; yet it continued to hold out with the greatest tenacity and grit.
The 1/9th went into the line on June 3rd and remained there until they were relieved on June 22nd.
June 7th:
The result of the recent actions were that on the morning of June 7th the 125th Brigade reported that the 1/6 Lancs Fusiliers were not able to be relieved due to a Turkish machine gun flanking their position. The Brigade proposed an attack, supported by artillery, along a line from the S.E. corner of the Vineyard to the Western Nullah. The objective of the 1/9th in the center was to capture trench G.11.
After dark on 7th June 100 men of C company of the 9th Battalion, along with two Companies of the Chatham Battalion of the Royal Marine Light Infantry, Royal Naval Division engaged in a frontal assault of the Turkish front line trenches. Although the 9th battalion succeeded in taking the Turkish trench, the Royal Naval Division failed to achieve their objective. Consequently, the 1/9th had to relinquish the trenches they had just captured at dawn.
Capt. GEORGE HAROLD OKELL and Lieut. ALBERT EDWARD STRINGER led the charge against one trench, and Capt. FRANK HAMER and 2/Lieut. JOHN (JACK) MAYALL WADE against the other trench. Capt. HAMER fell before reaching the trench. Lieut. STRINGER succeeded in reaching the trench but was subsequently killed by the enfilading fire from a machine gun. At least 20 men were killed and many more wounded.
Context from Despatches (Continued):
From the date of this battle to the end of the month of June the incessant attacks and counter-attacks which have so grievously swelled our lists of casualties have been caused by the determination of the Turks to regain ground they had lost, a determination clashing against our firm resolve to continue to increase our holding. Several of these daily encounters would have been the subject of a separate despatch in the campaigns of my youth and middle age, but, with due regard to proportion, they cannot even be so much as mentioned here.
On June 9th 2/Lt. PHILIP SIDNEY MARSDEN was reported wounded and on June 12, 2/Lt. ALLAN HARRISON HUDSON was reported missing (later reported to have been killed). Three days later Major MICHAEL HENRY CONNERY, the Battalion’s Quarter Master was slightly wounded when a Turkish shell hit his dug-out.
June 18:
An attack was planned to retake trench H.11 which had been partially re-taken by the Turks. However, 30 minutes before the attack the Turks heavily shelled the position causing the 88th Brigade to withdraw from the left. The allied attack was repulsed by the Turks who were already massed in the trenches for their own attack. They then counter-attacked causing trenches H.10 and H.11 to be entirely lost along with one machine gun and one trench mortar.
The initial attack was undertaken by B Company and included 2/Lt. JOHN MAYALL WADE and 2/Lt. ARTHUR WILLIAM FIELD CONNERY of C Company who had both volunteered to join them. Capt. HAROLD SUGDEN lead the attack and was mortally wounded. 2/Lt. WADE was seen jumping into a Turkish trench with six men and was never seen again.
The Turkish counter-attack was against a trench held by some men of C Company along with men of the 1/10th Manchesters. By the end of the fighting 2 Officers and 30 men had been killed, with dozens more wounded.
On June 22, 2/Lt. EDWARD BALMFORD and 16 men arrived from England, the first reinforcements to do so. An additional four men arriving on the 25th.
The Battalion left the line on June 22nd but the next day the bivouac was heavily shelled requiring the 1/9th to move a further 600 yards back to their old bivouac but not before 9 men had been wounded. This just after they had suffered so heavily in the line.
July was a month of consolidation for the 42nd Division. The 1/9th were in the trenches from July 2 to July 18, then going to bivouac at divisional reserve. However, the number of deaths due to sickness and disease started to rise.
C company lost two Officers in early July. On July 5th 2/Lt. ARTHUR WILLIAM FIELD CONNERY was badly wounded in the mouth by shrapnel and went to hospital. Shortly after, on July 7th, 2/Lt. JOHN MATLEY ROBSON went to hospital with fever and died of enteric fever on July 17 in Egypt.
On July 10 2/Lieut. OLIVER JEPSON SUTTON and 969 Sgt. HARRY GRANTHAM made a reconnaissance at night, using string to measure their distance from their trench, and discovered that the Turks were digging to the S.E. of trench G12. They repeated their reconnaissance the following night to verify their observations.
On July 14, the recently arrived, 2/Lt. HARRY YORSTON DIXON was killed by shrapnel during an advance by 52nd Division and 2/Lt. EDWARD BALMFORD and 15 men were wounded. Two weeks later, on July 27, Lt. JOHN KNOWLES and 14 men were wounded.
On July 23, reinforcements arrived from England for all Infantry units of the 42nd Division. The 1/9th received 5 Officers and 222 men. The Officers arriving that day were:
Lt. DOUGLAS BUCHANAN STEPHENSON
2/Lt. WILLIAM MARSDEN BARRATT
2/Lt. SYDNEY WILLIAM RUTTENAU
2/Lt. HARDOLD INGHAM
2/Lt. WILLIAM GILBERT GREENWOOD
July Fatalities:
Rank
No.
1st Name
MI
Surname
When
How
Pte.
2202
JACK
HAGUE
03-Jul
Fever
Pte.
1457
JOHN
BRADY
09-Jul
Fever
Pte.
419
FREDERICK
O
WYATT
12-Jul
DoW
Sgt.
1271
JAMES
TAYLOR
12-Jul
DoW
Pte.
1501
GEORGE
MARKHAM
12-Jul
KIA
Pte.
1922
EDWARD
KELLY
12-Jul
KIA
Pte.
1218
JAMES
HOLLINGWORTH
14-Jul
Fever
Pte.
1688
JAMES
WILSHAW
15-Jul
KIA
Pte.
2207
BEN
THOMPSON
15-Jul
Died
L/Cpl.
1957
JAMES
ROWBOTTOM
18-Jul
Died
Sgt.
31
THOMAS
LOMAS
22-Jul
KIA
Pte.
1557
ISAAC
WALKER
22-Jul
KIA
Pte.
1787
FRED
JONES
26-Jul
DoW
L/Cpl.
1155
WILLIAM
BURKE
28-Jul
Fever
Lt.
JOHN
M
ROBSON
17-Jul
Fever
July Casualties:
Rank
No.
Forename
Middle
Surname
Pte.
1972
GEORGE
BARRATT
QMS
5
GEORGE
BOOCOCK
Pte.
1576
WILLIAM
PETER
BRIERLEY
Pte.
2138
JAMES
GARSIDE
BROADHURST
L/Cpl.
1665
HARRY
BYROM
Pte.
2036
ALBERT
COMMERFORD
Cpl.
1120
THOMAS
FORREST
Cpl.
2127
SIDNEY
GARSIDE
Pte.
379
THOMAS
GHENTY
Pte.
1369
ALBERT
GIBSON
Pte.
1368
WILLIE
GIBSON
Pte.
1909
WILLIAM
SIMPSON
HALL
Pte.
2160
THOMAS
JACKSON
Pte.
1334
CHARLES
LEE
Pte.
2013
ARTHUR
LILLEY
Sgt.
1310
HERBERT
MORRIS
Pte.
512
JOHN
MORGAN
L/Cpl.
1313
JAMES
WILLIAM
RAMSDALE
Pte.
1271
JAMES
TAYLOR
Pte.
2086
TIMOTHY
TIPTON
Pte.
1688
JAMES
WILSHAW
Pte.
1150
FRED
ARMITAGE
Pte.
680
THOMAS
HARGREAVES
Pte.
1954
JAMES
ALBERT
TRUEMAN
Pte.
1597
ERNEST
HAWKRIDGE
Pte.
1388
WILFRED
LOCKWOOD
Pte.
1755
EDWARD
SPRAGG
Pte.
2197
SAMUEL
YARDWOOD
Pte.
2018
WILLIAM
WILLIAMS
July Honors:
969 Sgt. HARRY GRANTHAM, DCM For conspicuous gallantry and ability south of Krithia, Gallipoli Peninsula, on 10th and 11th July 1915, when making a reconnaissance of the enemy’s new trenches under very dangerous circumstances. He gained valuable information and located the hostile positions. [Gazetted Sept 15, 1915].
Capt. OLIVER JEPSON SUTTON, MC
The War Diary for the 1/9th Battalion notes that both Sgt. GRANTHAM and Capt. SUTTON were congratulated by the Division Major-General for their reconnaisance work. Capt. SUTTON was subsequently awarded the Military Cross. [Gazetted Feb 1, 1916].
August Operations:
August saw the Battalion heavily engaged in the Battle of Krithia Vineyard from the 7th – 9th August and the rigours of front line trench warfare throughout the rest of the month.
Context from Despatches:
Once the date was decided a certain amount of ingenuity had to be called into play so as to divert the attention of the enemy from my main strategical conception. This-I repeat for the sake of clearness-was: – (1) To break out with a rush from Anzac and cut off the bulk of the Turkish Army from land communication with Constantinople. (2) To gain such a command for my artillery as to cut off the bulk of the Turkish Army, from sea traffic whether with Constantinople or with Asia. (3) Incidentally, to secure Suvla Bay as a winter base for Anzac and all the troops operating in the northern theatre. My schemes for hoodwinking the Turks fell under two heads: First, strategical diversions, meant to draw away enemy reserves not yet committed to the peninsula. Secondly, tactical diversions meant to hold up enemy reserves already on the peninsula.
But upon the 6th of August attacks in the south were only to form a subsidiary part of one great concerted attack. Anzac was to deliver the knock-down blow; Helles and Suvla were complementary operations.
As the aim of my action in this southern zone was to advance if I could, but in any case to contain the enemy and prevent him reinforcing to the northwards, I persevered on the 7th with my plans, notwithstanding the counter-attack of the Turks which was actually in progress.
On the right and on the centre the first enemy line was captured, and small parties pushed on to the second line, where they were unable to maintain themselves for long. On the, left but little ground was gained, and by 11a.m. what little had been taken had been relinquished. But in the centre a stiff battle raged all day up and down a vineyard some 200 yards long by 100 yards broad on the west of the Krithia road. A large portion of the vineyard had been captured in the first dash, and the East Lancashire men in this part of the field gallantly stood their ground here against a succession of vigorous counter-attacks.
Two specially furious counter-attacks were delivered by the Turks on the 8th August, one at 4.40 a.m. and another at 8.30 p.m., where again our bayonets were too much for them. Throughout the night they made continuous bomb attacks, but the 6th Lancashire Fusiliers and the 4th East Lancashire Regiment stuck gamely to their task at the eastern corner of the vineyard. There was desperate fighting also at the northern corner, where the personal bravery of Lieutenant W. T. Forshaw, 1/9th Manchester Regiment who stuck to his post after his detachment had been relieved (an act for which he has since been awarded the V.C.), was largely instrumental in the repulse of three very determined onslaughts.
The 1/9th went into the trenches on Aug 7, remaining there until Aug 13, and were divided into two separate groups.
On Aug 22 a draft of 4 Officers and 145 men (formerly of the 2/9th Battalion) arrived from England as reinforcements for the 1/9th. The Officers arriving that day were:
* Another son of Major M.H. CONNERY the Battalion’s Quarter Master.
August Fatalities:
Rank
No.
1st Name
MI
Surname
When
How
Lt.
SAMUEL
PORTER
7-Aug
DoW
Pte.
1850
WILLIAM
NUTTALL
7-Aug
KIA
Pte.
2946
WILLIAM
B
FORRESTER
7-Aug
KIA
Pte.
745
ARNOLD
BOOTH
8-Aug
KIA
Pte.
1189
HAROLD
NEWTON
8-Aug
KIA
Pte.
1324
JAMES
S
MILLAR
8-Aug
KIA
Pte.
1568
ALBERT
V
GODDING
8-Aug
KIA
Pte.
2089
PERCY
STONES
8-Aug
KIA
Pte.
2514
ALFRED
MOLYNEUX
8-Aug
KIA
Pte.
2742
JAMES
SPEDDINGS
8-Aug
KIA
Pte.
2971
ALBERT
G
HARLING
8-Aug
KIA
Pte.
1999
ALBERT
SMITH
9-Aug
KIA
Pte.
2330
HAROLD
CHADWICK
9-Aug
KIA
Pte.
2616
JOHN
BARDSLEY
9-Aug
DoW
Pte.
2182
GEORGE
H
WALKER
11-Aug
Died
Pte.
1342
HERBERT
BRADBURY
12-Aug
KIA
L/Cpl.
1423
ALBERT
BURGESS
12-Aug
DoW
Pte.
2095
JOHN
J
O’CONNOR
12-Aug
KIA
Pte.
1252
ERNEST
SMITH
13-Aug
KIA
Pte.
2625
JAMES
WALKER
13-Aug
KIA
Pte.
2718
BENJAMIN
SHATWELL
13-Aug
DoW
Pte.
1863
WILLIAM
ADSHEAD
15-Aug
DoW
Pte.
1535
JOHN
H
CONNOLLY
16-Aug
DoW
Pte.
2941
JAMES
H
BROWN
26-Aug
DoW
Pte.
1314
JOHN
W
ANDREWS
29-Aug
DoW
Pte.
2195
HARRY
KENYON
29-Aug
KIA
Pte.
1402
CEPHAS
TURNER
30-Aug
DoW
August Casualties:
Rank
No.
Forename
Middle
Surname
Pte.
2109
JAMES
JOYCE
Pte.
1305
JAMES
WRIGHT
Pte.
1300
JOHN
KINSELLA
Pte.
1570
WILLIAM
ANDREWS
Pte.
3118
WILLIAM
BOOTH
Pte.
3048
SAMUEL
CASE
Pte.
1294
FRANK
CHEVALIER
Pte.
1353
JOHN
WILLIAM
DODD
Pte.
1770
BEN
G
DRANSFIELD
Pte.
2994
ERNEST
GEORGE
ELLIS
L/Cpl.
1627
GEORGE
FRATER
L/Cpl.
3016
GEORGE
FULLARD
Cpl.
2049
CHARLES
WILLIAM
GIBSON
Pte.
2328
WILLIAM
S
GODDARD
Pte.
1936
ARTHUR
SAMUEL
GROSVENOR
Pte.
1397
JOHN
HANSON
Pte.
2345
ALFRED
HARDING
Pte.
1656
EDWARD
HENNESSY
Pte.
1470
THOMAS
HEWITT
Pte.
1829
JOHN
WILLIAM
JUBB
Pte.
2102
DAVID
KIRK
Pte.
2694
JOSEPH
MANCLARK
Pte.
2702
SAMUEL
MATLEY
L/Cpl.
1553
HAROLD
MORRIS
L/Cpl.
1133
ALBERT
MULLEN
Pte.
2341
PERCY
NICHOLSON
Pte.
2227
THOMAS
ORMESHER
Pte.
2605
ERNEST
SHAW
Pte.
1831
JAMES
SMITH
Pte.
1727
ROBERT
ALLEN LEWIS
THOMAS
Pte.
2014
HAROLD
VICKERS
Pte.
3066
WILLIAM
WALKER
Pte.
2260
THOMAS
WELLENS
Pte.
1895
GEORGE
WRIGHT
Pte.
2186
PERCY
BORWICK
Pte.
2465
HARRY
CHAPMAN
Pte.
1511
ALFRED
CLEGG
Pte.
1536
LEWIS
LOGSON
GRIMSHAW
Pte.
1952
HAROLD
HARGREAVES
Pte.
2107
ABEL
HUGHES
Pte.
1662
HARRY
OWEN
Pte.
1682
ERNEST
PEPPER
Pte.
2249
WILLIAM
RABY
L/Sgt.
1978
ARTHUR
SPURRETT
Pte.
2382
ARTHUR
STALEY
Pte.
1317
JAMES
WILLIAM
STOCKTON
Pte.
1820
JOHN
TAGGART
Pte.
2985
ROBERT
THEWLIS
Pte.
2485
FRANK
CUMMINS
Pte.
2831
WILLIAM
THOMAS
LOMAS
Pte.
1539
MATHEW
SHEA
Pte.
2808
WILLIAM
WOOD
Pte.
1863
WILLIAM
ADSHEAD
Pte.
2434
REGINALD
BENNETT
Pte.
1448
JOHN
HALL
Pte.
1381
ERNEST
LOWNDS
Pte.
2244
ABEL
ROBINSON
Pte.
1305
JAMES
WRIGHT
August Honors:
Lt. WILLIAM THOMAS FORSHAW, VC For most conspicuous bravery and determination in the Gallipoli Peninsula from 7th to 9th August, 1915. When holding the north-west corner of the “Vineyard” he was attacked and heavily bombed by Turks, whoi advanced time after time by three trenches which converged at this point, but he held his own, not only directing his men and encouraging them by by exposing himself with the utmost disregard to danger, but personally throwing bombs continuously for 41 hours. When his detachment was relieved after 24 hours he volunteered to continue the direction of operations. At three times during the night of 8-9th August he was again heavily attacked, and once the Turks got over the barricade, but, after shooting three with his revolver. he led his men forward and recaptured it. When he rejoined his Battalion he was choked and sickened by bomb fumes, badly bruised by a fragment of shrapnel, and could barely lift his arm from continuous bomb throwing. It was due to his personal example, magnificent courage and endurance that this very important corner was held. [Gazetted Sept 9, 1915]
180 Cpl. SAMUEL BAYLEY, DCM For conspicuous bravery on the 7th and 9th August 1915, at Cape Helles (Dardenelles), Cpl. BAYLEY remained with Lt. FORSHAW, VC; holding a barricade for forty-one hours continuously. On the evening of 8th August his party was relieved by another unit, but he volunteered to remain on. He displayed the greatest gallantry and endurance under the most trying circumstances in repelling many severe attacks, and when the barricade was at last broken through he was the foremost in the successful counter-attack, led by Lt. FORSHAW, which regained it, and finally retained it. On being ultimately relieved he was utterly exhausted by his arduous and gallant work of bomb-throwing. [Gazetted Nov 16, 1915]
2148 L/Cpl. STANLEY PEARSON, DCM For conspicuous gallantry on the 7th and 8th August 1915, at Gallipoli, when acting as a look-out man and sniper. He displayed great bravery and skill and although enfiladed from both flanks he remained at his post and by his example gave great encouragement to all with him. [Gazetted March 11, 1916]
2103 L/Cpl. THOMAS PICKFORD, DCM For conspicuous gallantry on the 8th August, 1915, at Gallipoli, when he rallied his party, which had been driven back by bombs in the Barricade of the Vineyard, and by his bravery and example was largely instrumental in saving a precarious position. [Gazetted March 11, 1916]
1347 Pte. REGINALD POTTS
On August 12, Pte. POTTS volunteered to join the bombing party of the 1/4th East Lancashire Regiment and subsequently was issued a Congratulatory Card for gallantry. [War Diary Aug 26th]
2/Lt. CHARLES EARSHAM COOKE, MC
The Battalion War Diary notes that the Brigadier-General of the 126th Brigade personally congratulated the commanding officer of the 1/9th Manchesters on the gallant behavior of Lt. FORSHAW, 2/Lt. COOKE and the 2 platoons under them. 2/Lt. COOKE was subsequently awarded the Military Cross. [Gazetted Feb 1, 1916]
September Operations:
September brought a welcome relief from the intense fighting of previous months but for the first time the number of sick exceeded those of the killed and wounded. As the number of men reporting sick increased, the 126th Brigade began to record the numbers of sick per Battalion, starting on September 14th. In the second half of September 104 men of the 1/9th went onto the sick list.
On Sept 1, Capt. FRANK WOODHOUSE went to hospital sick.
On the evening of Sept 2, Lt. ARTHUR CLAUDE VYVYAN-ROBINSON and a party of 14 men were detailed to dig a trench joining the current Firing Line with the Northern Barricade. As they made their way in the dark they lost their bearings, going too far East, and were fired on by the Royal Naval Division. Lt. VYVYAN-ROBINSON was wounded, one man was reported missing and three were wounded. A court of enquiry was held and the details passed to the Division.
The next day, on Sept 3 at around 2pm, the Turks exploded a mine right under a sap known as FOUR HOLE POST in the Firing Line where the 1/9th were located. The explosion destroyed the Sap and 12 yards of the Firing Line, killing 2 men and wounding 3 others. Four additional men were extracted suffering from shock.
On Sept 10 Lt. Col. ROBERT WORGAN FALCON, temporary commanding officer of the 1/9th reported sick. He was replaced the next day by Major RODERICK LIVINGSTONE LEES of the 1/6 Lancs Fusiliers who had distinguished himself in August at the Battle of Krithia Vineyard.
The 1/9th went into the trenches on September 18th and remained there until October 1st. A few days later on Sept 20 Capt. GEORGE WILLIAM HANDFORTH reported sick. He was quickly followed by Lt. WILLIAM GILBERT GREENWOOD on the 22nd and by Lt. HAROLD EDWARD BUTTERWORTH on the 25th.
On Sept 27 Major RODERICK LIVINGSTONE LEES was awarded the DSO and on Sept 30 he relinquished command of the 1/9th and Major WILLIAM JAMES ANDERSON (of the 33rd Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regiment) assumed command.
September Fatalities:
Rank
No.
1st Name
MI
Surname
When
How
Pte.
2063
THOMAS
PORTINGTON
3-Sep
KIA
Pte.
2304
PERCY
GARSIDE
3-Sep
KIA
Pte.
1618
CHARLES
L
HIGGINS
4-Sep
DoW
Pte.
2897
HARRY
CLEGG
4-Sep
KIA
Pte.
2306
PERCY
RIDINGS
6-Sep
Died
Pte.
2356
FRED
SMITH
6-Sep
DoW
Pte.
1947
HAROLD
RHODES
7-Sep
DoW
Pte.
2965
ISAAC
THOMPSON
7-Sep
KIA
Cpl.
921
HARRY
BOLTER
10-Sep
DoW
Pte.
2642
WILLIAM
BRAMALL
13-Sep
Died
Cpl.
2049
CHARLES
W
GIBSON
15-Sep
DoW
Pte.
2710
FREDERICK
J
BACON
28-Sep
Died
2/Lt.
PERCY
A
WOODHOUSE
11-Sep
Fever
September Casualties:
Rank
No.
Forename
Middle
Surname
Pte.
3055
JOSEPH
BARLOW
Pte.
2174
HARRY
PRATT
Pte.
1624
ELLIS
HARTLEY
Pte.
1374
JOE
DUTTON
Pte.
2451
ARTHUR
HAYNES
Pte.
2479
TOM
KILSHAW
Pte.
3135
WALTER
ROGERS
Pte.
2672
ARTHUR
SLATER
Pte.
1287
WILLIAM
THORNTON
October Operations:
October saw the number of men reporting sick spike to 143 even as the number of killed and wounded dropped to the lowest levels of the campaign.
The 1/9th were relieved from the trenches on October 1st and moved to Divisional Reserve at GEOGHEGAN’S BLUFF. Here they were mostly engaged in fatigues supporting the extensive mining and digging work going on in the trenches. They later moved to Bivouac at GULLY BEACH.
On October 6th a small draft of 25 other ranks arrived. The following day a draft of 5 Officers from other regiments (Essex and South Lancs) arrived and were assigned temporarily to the 1/9th.
2/Lt. JOHN BROADBENT of the transport section also reported sick this day followed by Capt. DOUGLAS BUCHANAN STEPHENSON on October 10th.
On October 14th the Battalion moved back to the line; half the Battalion with the 1/10th Manchesters and half with the 1/5th East Lancs. The split made for tactical reasons to maximize the use of senior Officers and NCOs across the Brigade. A & C companies attached to the 1/5th East Lancs under Capt. FRANK WOODHOUSE and B & D companies to the 1/10th Manchesters under Capt. FREDERICK WILLIAM KERSHAW. The Battalion remained in the trenches until October 29th.
On October 16, Capt. ERIC RICHARDSON was appointed Staff Captain of the 126th Brigade and left the Battalion.
On October 19th Major WILLIAM JAMES V. ANDERSON was killed by a bomb while visiting the trenches. He was temporarily replaced by Lt. Col. GODFREY WALKER ROBINSON of the 1/10th Manchesters.
On October 23 a draft of 3 Officers and 139 men, of the 2/9th Battalion, arrived from England. The Officers arriving that day were:
October brought only three fatalities at Gallipoli, Pte. Armitage dying at home from sickness contracted overseas.
Rank
No.
1st Name
MI
Surname
When
How
Pte.
1998
SAMUEL
ARMITAGE
3-Oct
Died
L/Sgt.
2139
GILBERT
HIGHAM
7-Oct
DoW
Pte.
2630
HARVEY
THOMPSON
17-Oct
KIA
Pte.
1343
TOM
HALL
20-Oct
KIA
October Casualties:
The only man listed in the following month’s London Times casualty lists was 1179 Pte. SAMUEL E. BOSNALL.
November Operations:
Disease, sickness and heavy rain that turned to snow blizzards and frost in November of 1915 created new hardships and claimed yet more casualties. The 9th Battalions numbers were dwindling fast despite three significant drafts of reinforcements from England arriving in July, August and October.
In November 117 men reported sick, a slight reduction from the previous month. Nevertheless, 3 Officers (Capt. FREDERICK WILLIAM KERSHAW, Lt. L. G. NASH, RAMC (attached) and 2/Lt. WILLIAM NEVILLE BROADBENT BURY) all reported sick on the same day, November 9th.
The Battalion moved into the line again on November 12th and remained there until November 26th. On the 15th a very heavy rainfall occurred filling some parts of the trenches to a depth of 3 feet. Despite the terrible conditions the Turks were relatively quiet until the 23rd when heavy shelling and a large number (40-50) stick grenades were fired at the trenches. 2/Lt. IRVINE DEARNLEY was killed this day.
On the 26th November the Battalion was relieved and went into Bivouac in GULLY RAVINE. A period of heavy fatigues followed for the remainder of the month. On November 29, 2/Lt. SYDNEY NAYLOR, recently arrived the previous month, was wounded.
Context from Despatches:
During the month of November, beyond the execution of very clever and successful minor enterprises carried out by Corps Commanders with a view to maintaining an offensive spirit in their commands, there remains little to record-except that an increased activity of the the Turkish artillery against our front became a noticeable factor.
On the 21st November the Peninsula was visited by a storm said to be nearly unprecedented for the time of the year. The storm was accompanied by torrential rain, which lasted for 24 hours. This was followed by hard frost and a heavy blizzard.
November Fatalities:
Rank
No.
1st Name
MI
Surname
When
How
Pte.
1641
EDWARD
GREEN
13-Nov
DoW
Pte.
3321
JOHN
BALLAGHER
15-Nov
KIA
Pte.
2297
SAM
MATHER
22-Nov
Died
Pte.
3090
JESSE
LAWTON
22-Nov
DoW
Pte.
3291
AARON
JONES
23-Nov
KIA
Pte.
2282
JOHN
FINUCANE
27-Nov
Died
Pte.
2757
WILFRED
LILLEY
27-Nov
DoW
2/Lt.
IRVINE
DEARNALEY
23-Nov
KiA
November Casualties:
Rank
No.
Forename
Middle
Surname
Pte.
2855
ROBERT
ANDREW
Pte.
1293
THOMAS
BELL
Pte.
3203
A
BOOTH
Pte.
2505
TOM
KENDRICK
LLOYD
Pte.
3427
HARRY
MARSLAND
Pte.
3211
ROBERT
OGDEN
Pte.
1134
FRANK
ERNEST
ORTON
L/Cpl.
2148
STANLEY
PEARSON
L/Cpl.
3334
THOMAS
RIDLEY
Pte.
3398
WILLIAM
RUSSELL
Cpl.
2190
JOHN
THOMPSON
December Operations:
In December 54 men reported sick. 2/Lt. ARTHUR JAMES SOUTHCOTT reported sick on December 5th, returning to the Battalion (from 17th Stationary Hospital) on the 10th. The next day he reported sick again. In the meantime, 2/Lt. GEORGE FREDERICK BARKER, (who arrived with 2/Lt. SOUTHCOTT in November), also reported sick on December 8th.
2/Lt. LAIRD KIRWAN and 2/Lt. GEORGE GREENE-KELLY were transferred to the 1/10th Manchesters on the 8th December.
The Battalion went into the Line on December 10th and remained there until December 24th, moving to Divisional Reserve at GEOGHEGAN’S BLUFF. On December 17th Brigade Operational Order 28 was issued outlining a plan to explode a mine in front of the Turkish trenches with the objective of creating a crater. Men of the Brigade would go out the the crater and secure it by building barricades. The purpose of these small offensive operations carried out by the 52nd and 42nd Divisions was to act as a distraction during the evacuation of troops elsewhere on the peninsula.
Unfortunately, the mine that was exploded (600lbs at a depth of 40 ft) failed to produce a crater, the force of the explosion creating a ridge of earth only about 1 ft high. 16 bombers, a working party under 2/Lt. ALFRED GRAY and 26 men of B company dutifully went over the top and occupied the depression. With the Turkish trenches untouched, they were mercilessly shot at from the front and the right. Finding the position untenable the troops eventually were forced to retire. The casualties reported for the 1/9th on the day were 3 killed, 1 missing and 11 wounded. 2/Lt. GRAY, Sgt. GREENHALGH and Cpl. BARKER were mentioned in the Brigade war diary for showing “great courage and ability remaining out and covering the retirement of the parties although fired at from 12yds range.” Sgt. GREENHALGH and Cpl. DAVIS subsequently received DCMs for their acts of bravery that day.
A letter from Sgt. GREENHALGH was subsequently published in the Ashton Reporter on Saturday July 15, 1916 providing a version of the events in his own words:
“No doubt it came as a surprise at home when they heard that I had got theD.C.M. I can tell you it was a surprise to me also. The first I heard about it was in a letter I had from home, but the day following our commanding officer told me about it. As you are all wanting to know what I did to get it, I will try to tell you.
It was on the 19th December, 1915, I was ordered to take a party of men over the top, and we got to within ten yards of the Turkish trench. At the same time there was a mine blown up. It should have made a big hole in the front of the Turkish trench. The intention was for us to have got in this hole, but when we got to the place no hole had been made, and we had to lie in the open, and the Turks potting at us from ten yards away. It was a good job the Turks were nervous, or else there would have been none of us left to tell the tale.
The object was for us to get in the crater and build it up with sandbags, and then our bombers could have bombed the Turks out of their trench, but it didn’t come off as we expected. Anyway, we all got back to our trench except one poor lad who was killed.
Lance-Corporal Davies, D.C.M. was with the same party of men.”
On the 26th December, orders were received to leave the Peninsula, and on the 27th a Turkish shell made a direct hit on the Battalion bivouac killing a number of men in a cruel last minute reminder of the constant dangers they were leaving behind. Pte. Arthur Slater was buried alive and only survived because he was dug out by his comrades. The next day the 9th Battalion embarked on H.M.T. Redbreast bound for Mudros West.
Context from Despatches:
The following is taken from Sir Charles Monro’s Gallipoli Despatch, who was sent to replace the sacked Sir Ian Hamilton as Commander in Chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.
On the 8th December, consequent on your Lordship’s orders, I directed the General Officer Commanding Dardanelles Army to proceed with the evacuation of Suvla and Anzac at once.
Lieutenant-General Birdwood proceeded on receipt of his orders with the skill and promptitude which is characteristic of all that he undertakes, and after consultation with Rear-Admiral Wemyss, it was decided, provided the weather was propitious, to complete the evacuation on the night of the 19th-20th December.
On the 24th December, General Sir W. Birdwood was directed to make all preliminary preparations for immediate evacuation, in the event of orders to this effect being received.
At least 192 men of the 1/9th Battalion died from the fighting, sickness or disease they encountered at Gallipoli in 1915. Many more men were wounded or otherwise hospitalised and approximately 100 men were awarded the Silver War Badge and discharged from service due to sickness or wounds they were unable to fully recover from.
Pte. 3765 Fred Dickinson serves as an example. He was discharged as permanently unfit for any kind of military service and awarded the Silver War Badge on March 23, 1916 suffering from Nephritis. His Service Record shows that his medical issues “originated on December 18, 1915 in Gallipoli. Sent into hospital in Cairo on account of general dropsy and discovered to be suffering from Nephritis. No history of previous illness of a similar nature. States that while on active service in the trenches he had to stand waist deep in water for a considerable time during a severe storm. Heart sounds fine but there is an accentuated sound heard at the apex. Urine contained albumen and blood is still present. Result of active service, exposure to cold and wet. Permanent [Disability].”
Pte. Dickinson only arrived in the Dardenelles on October 22, 1915 and was admitted to the Red Cross Hospital in Giza, just over two months later, on December 26 suffering from oedema to the legs (a swelling due to the accumulation of excessive fluid in the tissues). He was subsequently invalided to the UK leaving Alexandria on January 17, 1916 sailing on the Hospital Ship GLENGORN CASTLE. He was subsequently treated in the UK for 38 days at the 4th Scottish General Hospital, RAMC (Territorial Force) at Stobhill, Glasgow. He received a small, and decreasing, military pension over the next nine months following his discharge.
December Honors:
The Battalion War Diary on December 18 reports that three Congratulatory Cards from the Major-General Commanding the Division were received for:
No 5 QMS G BOOCOCK
400 Sgt. Mjr. Cook JOHN CHAPMAN
1659 Pte. P. WOODRUFF
And, in a rather belated recognition of their efforts, the Battalion War Diary for March 1916 reported that Cards of Congratulation were received from the Major-General Commanding the 42nd Division, for good work done in Gallipoli for the following men:
341 Sgt. JOHN LEE 2146 Cpl. PLATT A.
728 L/Cpl. GREEN A.
2826 Pte. SMITH A.
2231 Pte. WILLIAM SHEEKEY
2067 Pte. JOSEPH S. SWINDELLS
The battalion was formed at the Armoury in Ashton-under-Lyne in August 1914 after the 1/9th Battalion left for Chesham Fold Camp in Bury.
The 2/9th moved from Ashton to Southport on Friday November 13, 1914, where they were billeted in digs, mainly on King Street. In May 1915 they moved to Haywards Heath, in Sussex. A little over a month later, on June 26, 1915 they made the short move to Pease Pottage and they stayed there until September 21st when they moved again, this time to Burham Camp, near Maidstone, Kent. On October 31st they moved to Crowborough Camp.
Their original purpose was as a feeding battalion for the 1/9th, providing much needed drafts of men to replace their mounting casualties in Gallipoli. In this capacity they supplied significant reinforcements for the 1/9th Battalion on three separate dates; July 23, 1915, August 22, 1915 and October 22, 1915 and through three much smaller drafts on June 22, June 25 and December 1, 1915.
The training carried out by the men consisted of Squad Drill, Platoon Drill, Rifle Exercise, Care of Arms, Physical Exercises, Outpost Exercise, Company Exercise (in attack and defence), Company Exercise (in Fire Control), Judging Distance and Visual Training, etc. , Entrenching, Route Marching, Bayonet Fighting. Musketry & Lectures.
June 22-25, 1915
The first draft of men to arrive in Gallipoli from England was a small group of 16 men along with 2/Lt. EDWARD BALMFORD on June 22, 1915, as reported in the 126th Brigade war diary. These men were taken on the strength of the Battalion as they embarked ship on June 4, 1915. Fourteen of the 16 men are listed below.
Rank
No.
Forename
Middle
Surname
Pte
2447
ALBERT
BUTTERWORTH
Pte
3027
JAMES
CALDERBANK
Pte
2492
OWEN
CONNOLLY
Pte
3035
TOM
COOPER
Pte
2802
REGINALD
JONES
Cpl
3025
JOHN
KELLY
Pte
2408
JOHN
LEECH
Pte
2496
WALTER
LEECH
Pte
2456
ARTHUR
REDFERN
Pte
2718
BENJAMIN
SHATWELL
Pte
2326
THOMAS
SMITH
Pte
3033
SAMUEL
STOPFORD
Pte
2506
EDWIN
WHITE
Pte
2689
FRANK
WRIGLEY
Shortly after this draft arrived, on June 25, a small group of other ranks also arrived. It is almost certain that these men travelled from England with the original draft and were for some reason detained for a few days at Mudros before travelling to Cape Helles and joining the Battalion.
Rank
No.
Forename
Middle
Surname
Pte
2713
JOSEPH
TAYLOR
Other men with disembarkation dates of June 1915 but who don’t exactly match the above dates are shown below:
Rank
No.
Forename
M.I.
Surname
Date
Cpl
2765
WALTER
TRACEY
02-Jun-15
Pte
2605
ERNEST
SHAW
24-Jun-15
July 23, 1915
The War Diary for the 1/9th Manchesters indicates that a draft of 222 men and five officers arrived in Gallipoli on July 23, 1915. They left Devonport on July 3, 1915 sailing on the Transport Ship IONIAN. The following list of 215 men has been pulled mainly from the 1914-1915 Star Medal Roll and includes men with “disembarkation” dates of July 1 (when they embarked the ship), July 5 (when the men were taken on strength), July 21 (when the IONIAN arrived at Mudros) and July 23 (when they actually joined the Battalion in Gallipoli). The vast majority of men belonging to the latter group.
Another 5 men with disembarkation dates of July 1915 but whose dates do not exactly match the known dates of the July 22 draft are shown below:
Rank
No.
Forename
M.I.
Surname
Date
Pte
3135
WALTER
ROGERS
13-Jul-15
Pte
2815
HAROLD
CHATTERTON
15-Jul-15
Sgt
3009
HARRY
ROBERTS
15-Jul-15
Pte
2047
HARRY
ANDERSON
18-Jul-15
Pte
2640
HARRY
BENNETT
22-Jul-15
August 22, 1915
Although there is no mention of this draft in the Battalion war diary, the 126th Brigade War Diary states that a batch of 4 Officers and 145 men joined the 1/9th Manchesters in Gallipoli this day. The 1/4th East Lancs and the 1/5th East Lancs each recorded the arrival of reinforcements of 120 men and 123 men on the 20th and 21st respectively). From this batch, the following 139 men includes men with “disembarkation” dates of August 2 (when they embarked the ship and were taken on strength), August 19 (when the HMT ARCADIAN arrived at Mudros) and August 22 (when they actually joined the Battalion in Gallipoli).
2/Lt. PERCY ASPDEN WOODHOUSE who joined the Battalion with this draft of men died of Dysentery a few weeks later on the Hospital Ship DELTA on his way back to England.
Honorary Lt. JOSEPH MICHAEL CONNERY was commissioned from the 2nd Battalion Manchester Regiment and was the son of Major MICHAEL HENRY CONNERY, the Battalion QM.
The six men below all have disembrkation dates of August but their dates do not exactly match those associated with the draft. However, it is likely that they arrived with, and were part of, the draft and their dates differ due to clerical inconsistencies and errors.
Rank
No.
Forename
M.I.
Surname
Date
Pte
2870
FRANK
S
CHARLESWORTH
14-Aug-15
Pte
3007
HERMAN
DEAN
14-Aug-15
Pte
2302
CLIFFORD
PROCTOR
14-Aug-15
Pte
2386
AUSTIN
O’NEILL
16-Aug-15
Pte
2712
ROBERT
HATTON
20-Aug-15
Pte
2339
HERBERT
DAWSON
21-Aug-15
October 22, 1915
On October 22, 1915 a final large Draft arrived from England consisting of 3 Officers and 134 Other Ranks. This draft of men left Devonport on October 8, 1915 sailing on the Transport Ship DEMOSTHENES. The following list of 117 men have “disembarkation” dates of September 30 (when some embarked the ship), October 8 (when the majority embarked and were taken on strength) and October 22 (when they actually joined the Battalion in Gallipoli).
Rank
No.
Forename
Middle
Surname
Pte
3255
JAMES
ALBINSON
Cpl
3408
FRED
ALLEN
Pte
3358
HARRY
ANDREW
Pte
3360
ARTHUR
APPERLEY
Pte
1328
WILLIAM
NOEL
BEACON
Pte
3321
JOHN
BALLAGHER
Pte
3341
EDWIN
BEECH
Pte
3391
HORACE
BENNETT
Pte
3203
A
BOOTH
Pte
3340
CLARENCE
BOOTH
Pte
3422
JOHN
JAMES
BOOTH
Cpl.
3346
CHARLES
BOTTOMS
Pte
3423
ERNEST
BRADBURY
Pte
3329
NORMAN
BRAMWELL
Pte
3802
JAMES
HARRY
BROADBENT
Pte
3368
LEONARD
BROADHURST
Pte
3201
JOHN
BROCK
Pte
3224
JAMES
BUCKLEY
Pte
3206
JOHN
ALFRED
CHADWICK
Sgt
3411
JAMES
CLARE
Pte
3314
JAMES
CUNCAR
Pte
3376
MICHAEL
CUNCAR
Pte
3355
ALEXANDER
DAVENPORT
Pte
3765
FRED
DICKINSON
Pte
3317
WALTER
DONE
Pte
3389
PHILIP
DONNELLY
Pte
3386
JOHN
DORAN
Pte
3365
JOHN
DUNKERLEY
Pte
3347
WALTER
EASTWOOD
Pte
3208
JOSEPH
EVANS
Pte
3222
JAMES
FALLON
Pte
3379
THOMAS
FARRELL
Pte
3414
WILLIAM
FEATHERSTONE
Pte
3281
JAMES
RALPH
FERNLEY
Pte
3223
JOHN
FLETCHER
Pte
3192
JAMES
FRATER
Pte
3335
MARTIN
GATELEY
Pte
3258
ARTHUR
GREEN
Pte
3312
HAROLD
GREEN
Pte
3383
WILLIE
GREEN
Pte
3367
JOHN
GREENHALGH
Pte
3396
HARRY
GREGORY
Pte
3406
WILLIAM
HACKWELL
Pte
3378
WILLIAM
HADFIELD
Pte
3284
NIMROD
HAGUE
Pte
3399
FRANK
HAMER
Pte
3243
DAVID
HANSON
Pte
3361
ROBERT
HARRISON
Cpl
3322
JOSEPH
SIDNEY
HOLT
Pte
3210
THOMAS
MULLEN
HOWARD
Pte
3416
JOHN
HUGHES
Pte
3248
WILLIAM
HULIN
Pte
3353
JOSEPH
HYDE
Pte
3291
AARON
JONES
Pte
3608
ALFRED
JONES
Pte
3311
ERNEST
JONES
Cpl
3359
HARRY
JONES
Pte
3216
WILLIAM
KINDER
Pte
3246
HARRY
LAWLER
Pte
3377
JAMES
LEAH
Pte
3356
SAMUEL
LEES
Pte
3295
EDMUND
LOMAX
Pte
3420
HARRY
LOWE
Pte
3260
JAMES
WILLIAM
MANSFIELD
Pte
3268
JAMES
MARLAND
A/Cpl
3196
PERCY
MARLAND
Pte
3427
HARRY
MARSLAND
Pte
3225
HAROLD
MAYALL
Pte
3410
EDWARD
MERCER
Pte
3241
ALFRED
METCALF
Cpl
3364
JAMES
MILLER
Pte
3417
THOMAS
MITCHESON
Pte
3237
HARRY
NAISH
Pte
3338
WILLIAM
NALLY
Pte
3218
EDGAR
NEWTON
Pte
3232
ERNEST
NOKES
Pte
3387
JOHN
O’BRIEN
Cpl
3413
HENRY
OGDEN
Pte
3211
ROBERT
OGDEN
Pte
3415
GEORGE
PARKER
Pte
3296
FRED
PEMBERTON
Pte
3288
THOMAS
PENNY
Pte
3190
RALPH
PLATT
Pte
3194
TOM
PLATT
Pte
3276
WILLIAM
FREDERICK
POTTER
Pte
3297
ALBERT
POTTS
Pte
3305
HARRY
RAYNER
Pte
3320
CAMPBELL
REECE
L/Cpl
3334
THOMAS
RIDLEY
Pte
3357
FRANK
ROBERTS
Pte
3315
HARRY
ROBERTS
Pte
3294
ARTHUR
ROWE
Pte
3398
WILLIAM
RUSSELL
Cpl
3426
IRVINE
SCHOFIELD
Pte
3418
RALPH
SCHOFIELD
Pte
3220
ROBERT
SHANDLEY
Pte
3286
ALBERT
SHAW
Pte
3193
WALTER
SILCOCK
Pte
3394
JOHN
STANDRIN
Pte
3279
HAROLD
SUGDEN
Pte
3343
JOHN
EDWIN
TATE
Pte
3395
FRANK
TAYLOR
Pte
3269
ALBERT
THOMAS
Pte
3351
ROBERT
WILLIAM
THOMAS
Pte
3266
HAROLD
TOMLINSON
Pte
3729
HENRY
THOMPSON
Pte
3400
JOHN
THOMPSON
Pte
3369
WILLIAM
WALKER
Pte
3323
HAROLD
WARBERG
Pte
3301
CHARLES
WARD
Pte
3302
JAMES
WATERFORD
Pte
3283
JAMES
WHITEHEAD
Pte
3217
NORMAN
WHITTAKER
Pte
3397
WILLIAM
WILKINSON
Pte
3290
SIDNEY
WILLIAMS
Pte
3262
THOMAS
WILMOTT
Pte
3392
RICHARD
WRIGHT
One of these men, 3301 Pte. Charles Ward, has a Medal Index Card disembarkation date of October 25th but an examintaion of his service record reveals that his B.103 form was missing the disembarkation date and, upon request, the Manchester Regiment provided the next dated entry which was when he joined ‘B’ Company on October 25th. This neatly illustrates the problems inherent in compiling nominal rolls of men from inconsistently created medal rolls. Nevertheless, he was clearly a member of the October 22, 1915 draft.
On October 26, 1915 a draft of 11 Officers arrived from England, via Alexandria, along with 110 Other Ranks returning from hospital treatment in Egypt. The Officers embarked HM TS SCOTIAN at Devonport on October 13th, 1915 arriving at Mudros on October 24th, finally joining the Battalion on the 26th.
On December 1, 1915 a draft of 7 Other Ranks, (machine gunners), arrived from England.
Rank
No.
Forename
MI
Surname
Pte
3705
MATTHEW
ELLISON
Pte
1084
JOHN
JACKSON
Pte
3594
ERNEST
RILEY
L/Cpl
3853
ALBERT
SHEPLEY
Pte
3697
JAMES
G
WHITEHOUSE
Additionally, 3289 Pte. Charles Henry Brown has a disembarkation date of December 10, 1915.
1916
At the end of 1915, their role as a feeding unit ceased and they were brought up to strength from recruits drawn mainly from the Chester and Merseyside areas and became part of the 66th Division. On May 18, 1916 they moved from Crowborough Camp to Colchester.
1917
In March 1917 they landed in France and fought on the western front. They fought at Nieuport and in the battle of Passchendaele, in October 1917, where they achieved their objectives after suffering heavy losses and were relieved by the Australians on 13th October.
1918
On the 19th February 1918 the 2/9th were amalgamated with the 1/9th Battalion. In March 1918 the 1/9th was reduced to a training cadre and in April 1918 many of the men from the 1/9th (and 2/9th) were assigned to other front line regiments such as the 1/Sherwoods.
Note: The original text for 1916 – 1918 was taken from the www.themanchesters.org and is their copyright.
