Saturday 30 June 2007

17. Tpr KE Watt, 10th ALH Regiment

This is actually Tpr Keith E Watt 824 of the 10th Australian Light Horse. He was killed in action on 11 July 1915 and rests in Ari Burnu Cemetery.

16. A Group of the 8th Light Horse Regiment

The six men in this grave originally at Beach Cemetery were killed in action on 7 August 1915. Note, their ages recorded on the plaque prove to be contemporary estimates. The men are:
Trpr Archibald H Moreton 542 aged 21.
Trpr William Tosh 551 (born in Scotland) aged 28.
Trpr Victor E Blakeney 575 aged 22.
LCpl James A Anderson 235 aged 25.
Trpr Thomas A Dudderidge 693 aged 21.
Trpr Frank L A'Beckett 678 aged 33.

All rest in Ari Burnu Cemetery.


15. Capt JE Sergeant, 8th Battalion AIF

Jack Duffy has four photos of this grave in various parts of his album. This grave commemorates Capt John E Sergeant who commanded B Coy 8th Battalion AIF at the Gallipoli landing on 25 April 1915. He was killed that day leading his troops onto Pine Ridge, aged 45. He is buried in Shell Green Cemetery.

Below are the other three images of this grave in its dramatic setting.

14. Pte A McCann & Pte TE Haylock

Pte Albert McCann 436 of D Coy 8th Battalion AIF was killed in action on 17 June 1915 during heavy Turkish shelling of Steele's Post trenches. He was aged 21.

Pte Thomas E Haylock 866 of D Coy 21st Battalion AIF was killed in action on 12 October 1915.
Both men are in Shrapnel Valley Cemetery.

13. Sgt PWG Moon, 8th Battalion AIF

Sgt Phillip WG Moon 63 of A Coy 8th Battalion AIF was killed in action 19 June 1915, aged 22. He was observing Turkish lines through a loophole when an enemy sniper saw movement and with a single shot killed him. He is buried in Shrapnel Valley Cemetery.


Friday 29 June 2007

12. Comrades of C Coy 6th Battalion AIF

Duffy's mournful caption - "Left Behind" - resonates through all the images in this site.

This group of crosses in Shrapnel Gully Cemetery is clustered around a group commemoration to, I think, C Coy of 6 Battalion, although it is not easy to discern. It records that "They Gave Their Lives for Their Country. " Behind it are three discernable crosses.

On the right is Pte J King - possibly Pte John L King 357 5th Batalion AIF KIA 27 June 1915 aged 19. This man is, however, buried at Beach cemetery. There is no obvious candidate in the records for Shrapnel Gully Cemetery.



More centrally are two men killed in action on 18 July 1915: Lt Herbert A Biggsley of 6th Battalion AIF and LCpl James T Lilburne 1569 of 5th Battalion AIF.

Thursday 28 June 2007

11. LCpl D Lees, and some early casualties

This location showing graves of some of the first Anzacs to be lost at Gallipoli has already appeared in Image 4 below, where the names are mostly recorded. Here we see a group of presumably 8th Battalion men standing at the graveside.

On the far right is a cross not in the previous photo - of LCpl David Lees 318 of B Coy 11th Battalion AIF. He was killed in action on 2 May 1915, aged 45.

10. Capt LR Hartland & Pte GFJ Gascoyne

Lt Hon Leslie R Hartland of B Coy 8th Battalion AIF was killed in action on 26 July 1915 when a trench collapsed owing to heavy Turkish shelling of Steele's Post. Beside him rests Pte George FJ Gascoyne 1942, also of 8th Battalion, who was killed in action on 21 July 1915. Both men are in Shrapnel Valley Cemetery.

9. Pte LG Wallis & Pte CE d'Alton

"In Loving Memory..." both inscriptions begin.
The two 8th Battalion soldiers' graves pictured here are Pte Lindsay G Wallis 614 aged 19 and beside him a cross for Pte Charles E d'Alton 769 who was 24 when killed in action along with Pte Wallis on 6 August 1915 at Lone Pine. Duffy refers to "StElroy d'Alton" which may allude to his full name although he enlisted as simply d'Alton, his father's name being given as St Eloy d'Alton. Both men are buried at Shrapnel Valley Cemetery.

8. Pte W Mellor & Pte PM McDonough

The foreground plot contains English-born Pte William Mellor 1842 of the 8th Battalion AIF. He was killed by Turkish shell shrapnel on 2 August 1915 at Steele's Post, aged 26.



Harder to discern is the cross behind, commemorating Pte Patrick M McDonough 835 of the 7th Battalion AIF KIA 5 July 1915. Both men are buried in Shrapnel Valley Cemetery.

Wednesday 27 June 2007

7. Sgt DJ Anderson, 8th Battalion AIF

Sgt David J Anderson 1175 of A Coy 8th Battalion AIF was killed in action on 16 June 1915 as a result of Turkish shelling of Steele's Post. He is buried in Shrapnel Valley Cemetery. The cliffs and sea can be seen in the distance.







6. Cpl WH Blake, 9th Battalion AIF

Cpl Walter H Blake 961 of D Coy 9th Battalion AIF, KIA 2 Nov 1915. The annotation places the cross in the Casualty Point cemetery. He is now buried in Shell Green Cemetery.
Note the soldier tending another grave.





5. Group of 10th Battalion crosses, Shrapnel Gully

The annotation to this image describes the graves as belonging to the 7th Battalion AIF but all 11 crosses which can be identified are in fact from the 10th Battalion AIF and were killed either on the 19th or 29th May 1915. The location is Shrapnel Gully Cemetery.
Note the soldier tending the graves in the background. Those in the first detail image, from the left, are:
Dvr Albert H Davey 894 KIA 19 May 1915 aged 26.
Pte Joseph Gurry 1751 KIA 19 May 1915.
Pte Charles H Allen 984 KIA 19 May 1915 aged 19.
The fourth very faint cross almost certainly shows the name Beswick. Pte John Routledge 1558 served under the name Beswick with the 10th Battalion and he was KIA 19 May 1015 aged 19.
Cpl Walter B Seaman 101 KIA 19 May 1915 aged 20.
The second detail image shows the three grave crosses of:
Almost certainly Pte Arthur S Johnson 801 KIA 19 May 1915. There is no W Johnson reported killed to match the cross inscription.
Pte Sydney B Holt 1357 KIA 29 May 1915.
Pte Thomas A Atwill 299 KIA 19 May 1915.
The third detail image shows:
Pte Benjamin T Thorpe 1184 KIA 19 May 1915.
Pte John G Murphy 1163 KIA 19 May 1915 aged 20.
Pte William Altree 1452 KIA 29 May 1915.

4. Some of the first to Fall.


A group of graves of some of the earliest ANZACs to be killed in the campaign.

The main panel contains four names from C Coy 8th Battalion AIF as follows:
2Lt Maurice Leslie McLeod was killed by a sniper's bullet leading his men from the Wheatfield on Bolton's Ridge up onto 400 Plateau on 25 April 1915. He was 21.
Pte James W Reynolds 710 and Pte Richard Preston 1065 were both KIA between 25 - 26 April 1915.
Pte Frank McC Moorehead (correct spelling) 691 was killed between 25 - 28 April 1915. He was 24.

Note the small grave beside the larger panel.
This is Pte Augustus A McDowall 225 of the 6th Battalion AIF who died of his wounds on 25 April 1915. He was 22.

All are buried at Shell Green Cemetery, Artillery Road Plot.

3. Cpl WD Roberts & Pte J McDougall

Two NSW Comrades.
The two soldiers of the 4th Battalion AIF buried here are Cpl William Donald Roberts 183 aged 25 and Pte Jack McDougall 1303. Both men were killed in action on 23 July and are buried in Shrapnel Valley Cemetery.

Monday 25 June 2007

2. 55 Of Our Comrades

The inscription reads "In Memory of 55 of our comrades 2nd Inf Bgde 7/8/15." The location is uncertain.

1. Maj WW Ellis & Lt Col GF Braund VD

Maj Walter W Ellis, 13th Battalion, was born in England before moving to NSW. He was killed in action on 3 May 1915 during the 4th Brigade's attack at Bloody Angle.

Lt Col George F Braund VD was also born in England before migrating to NSW. He commanded 2nd Battalion AIF from August 1914 and was involved in the fighting at Anzac from the outset. He was killed by a sentry in the early hours of 4 May 1915 when he failed to respond to a challenge.

Both men are buried in Beach Cemetery.


Please note that many annotations to these photos, such as the ones above, draw in part from the captions to the images in "Where Anzacs Sleep" and as such I am indebted to the very considerable research its author Ron Austin has undertaken.

Sunday 24 June 2007