Gallipoli Campaign Commemoration
Sunday 26th April 2015
Brendon Farrell, Enfield Royal British Legion
To mark the 100th Anniversary of the start of the Gallipoli Campaign of the First World
War, Enfield Council held a ceremony in the Memorial Garden in Broomfield Park in
Palmers Green on Sunday 26th April 2015.
History of the Gallipoli Campaign
Although Gallipoli is thought of as mainly involving Australian and New Zealand troops many
other nations took part. One local man described to the Southgate Recorder that the troops
were truly international with English, Irish, Welsh, Scots, French, Jews, Indian and
Senegalese as well as the Anzac (https://enfieldatwar.wordpress.com/).
Gallipoli Casualties
Country
Wounded & Missing
Deaths
Australia
18500
8195
New Zealand
5150
2431
British Empire ** excluding Anzacs
198000
22000
France
23000
27000
India
Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
1700
109042
57084
By 1915 the situation on the Western Front was a stalemate. Churchill hoped to break the
stalemate by forcing Germany to fight on two fronts. By capturing Gallipoli on the western
side of the Dardanelles the Allies hoped to remove Turkey from the war and possibly
persuade some of the Balkan states to come in on the Allies side.
It was originally intended to be a naval operation. The attack began on the 19th February
1915. Bad weather caused it to be abandoned after three battleships were sunk and others
damaged. The delay allowed the Turks time to prepare defences and re-inforce their troops.
On 25th April troops started to land. The
Australian and New Zealand Troops
forced a bridgehead at Anzac Bay. The
British tried to land at five points around
Cape Helles but were only able to
establish a foothold on three before
having to call for re-enforcements.
French troops landed at Kum Kale after
launching a feint at Besika Bay.
After this very little progress was made. Anzac Bay was surrounded by steep cliffs which
kept the Australian and New Zealand troops penned up on the beach at the mercy of Turkish
shells and sharp shooters.
Conditions were appalling. In summer it was extremely hot and in the winter months freezing
cold. There was an inadequate supply of fresh water. It was difficult to bury the bodies of the
dead due to the rocky terrain and constant shelling by the Turks. Hot weather and putrefying
bodies produced swarms of flies. This and the lack of clean water contributed to the spread
of diseases such as dysentery, diarrhoea, and enteric fever. Of 213,000 British casualties
145,000 were from disease.
The end came with the evacuation of the ANZAC
bridgehead and Suvla Bay (10th-19th December
1915) and the evacuation of Cape Helles (10th
December 1915 – 6th January 1916).
We don’t know exactly how many local Enfield
men were at Gallipoli. We have the names of
some of those who died there:
Private John Robert Akers, 2nd Royal Fusiliers
Albert Howard Andrews, 6th Lincoln Regiment
Frank Gilderoy Batters
Sergeant Austen Campbell Dent
Private WH Hartridge
Ernest Verrill Nunn
Account of Gallipoli landing by
Private Eastaugh from Enfield
Jack Maller, New Zealand Army
Trooper Prytherck
Sergeant Garnett Arnold Baughan, 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Private WP Bryant of the 1st Lancashire Fusiliers from Edmonton
JM Findlay Dickson son of RS Dickson of Palmerston Road
Geoffrey Frangcon-Davies, Honourable Artillery Company
Lance Corporal AG Dring, 2nd Royal Fusiliers
Victor Gadd went down with the ‘Goliath off the Dardanelles
Private SV Loveday, 21st battalion Royal Fusiliers
Corporal William Ernest Miller, son of Daniel & Emily Miller of 6 Allandale Road, Enfield Wash
Frank Page
Sergeant WJ Piggott, 1st London Field Company
Corporal Gordon Robinson, RAMC son of Benjamin and Mary Ann Robinson of 160 Chase
Side, Enfield
Sub Lieutenant Eric Vyvyan
Rice son of Sir William Rice of
Grasmere, Bowes Park (one of
six brothers serving in the
armed forces)
Martyn Stogden, North London Brass
Cllrs Ali Bakir, Doug Taylor, Joanne Laban, Yasemin Brett and
Brendan Farrell, Enfield Royal British Legion
Consul Mr Murat Nalcaci
Turkish Consulate
Captain Ken Semmens,
Australian High Commission
Garry Manley
New Zealand High Commission
Ann Cable, MBE Deputy Lieutenant
Gallipoli Campaign Commemoration
War Memorial Garden in Broomfield Park,
Aldermans Hill, London, N13 4RB
Sunday 26th April 2015
Enfield Council will be marking the centenary commemorations of the Gallipoli
Campaign in memory of those who died. For Enfield Council this commemoration
service provides the opportunity to respect the diverse communities that reside
within our borough and to show our commitment to a cohesive society and what it
means in terms of tolerance and understanding.
3.00pm
Welcome - Cllr Ali Bakir, Mayor of Enfield
3.05pm
Cllr Doug Taylor, Leader of Enfield Council
3.15pm
Cllr Terry Neville, Leader of the Opposition represented by Cllr Joanne
Laban, Deputy Leader of the Opposition
3.20pm
Ann Cable, MBE Deputy Lieutenant
3.30pm
Consul Mr Murat Nalcaci, Turkish Consulate
3.40pm
Garry Manley, New Zealand High Commission
3.50pm
Captain Ken Semmens, Australian High Commission
4.00pm
Cllr Yasemin Brett, Cabinet Member Community Organisations
4.05pm
Wreath Laying and Almond Tree Planting
4.15pm
Last Post and Dip Royal British Legion Standards
4.20pm
2 Minutes Silence and Reveille
4.25pm
Royal British Legion March from War Remembrance Garden
4.30pm
Refreshments at The Greenery Café in Broomfield Park
Cllr Ali Bakir – Mayor of Enfield
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. My name is Ali Bakir, and I am the Mayor of Enfield.
On behalf of the Council, I would like to welcome you and our distinguished guests to the
Enfield Gallipoli Commemoration event in memory of all those who lost their lives in Gallipoli
one hundred years ago.
Today’s event not only provides us with an opportunity to remember all of those who fought
and died for their countries in 1915, but also to promote greater understanding and
community cohesion between Enfield’s diverse local communities today.
I would now like to welcome the leader of Enfield Council, Doug Taylor, to say a few words.
Cllr Doug Taylor – Leader of Enfield Council
Good afternoon everyone.
As Leader of the Council I am pleased to welcome you here to this Remembrance Garden to
mark one of the saddest memorial occasions. Last year, in this garden, we commemorated
the start of the First World War 100 years ago and as we chart significant moments
throughout that four-year period of the war I am sure that we will come together again as
these events reach their centenaries.
Yesterday marked the memorial overlooking the beaches of Gallipoli. In Whitehall at the
Cenotaph the Queen led the remembrance. Events in Australia, New Zealand, Turkey and in
the UK have been attended by thousands of people.
We are joined today by representatives from Turkey, Australia and New Zealand.
Gallipoli took the lives of over 100,000 young men. A further 250,000 on each side of the
conflict survived; many with devastating injuries. The 1917 parliamentary commission
instigating the Campaign concluded that it was fatally compromised - flawed, insufficiently
resourced. But that does not prevent us recognizing and appropriately remembering the
sacrifices made.
An example, but not the only one, of courage of service personnel – courage on both sides
of the battles – giving the ultimate sacrifice for their county.
This conflict was in the most inhospitable environments. Flies and vermin flourished and
disease spread. Water was in limited supply with ground water too salty for consumption.
While 20 litres a day were needed by a frontline troop, only one pint a day was available for
ration to UK troops.
On the British side nearly 150,000 casualties were due to dysentery, diarrhoea and enteric
fever in a campaign destined to be fought in this most inhospitable environment. The close
fighting and rocky narrow terrain even prevented the burying of the dead. Even today human
bones are still found on the beaches of Gallipoli.
Our visitors and the Royal British Legion are here today to take part in a moving ceremony
that honours the young people who gave their lives at Gallipoli.
Savage fighting lasted nine months and contemporary reports say that the Aegean Sea
turned red. And at the end the evacuation by the allies left no change to the course of the
war. The military adventure did not deliver its objectives but many tales of valour remain.
Today we pay homage to those that died at Gallipoli and indeed throughout World War One
– but my sadness is that we shall return here as other centenaries are remembered.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – the founder of the Republic of Turkey after the fall of the Ottoman
Empire wrote in 1934: ‘Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives….You are now
lying in the soil of a friendly country. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the
Mehmet’s to us where they lie side by side in the country of ours. You, the mothers who sent
their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our
bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives in this land they have become our sons
as well.’
And on all sides of a conflict war in reality creates loss – brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers,
sons, daughters.
I cannot attempt to match the words of Ataturk but I share the spirit and sentiment.
The campaign started in the waters of the Dardanelles and ended with evacuation in the
same waters in January 1916. A short but bloody period.
It is fitting that we think about Gallipoli in this garden which opened in 1929. It was envisaged
as a memorial to those from Southgate who lost their lives in the First World War but sadly it
now also displays the names of servicemen and women who died in the Second Word War.
Let this garden commemorate two World Wars – and that’s more than enough. Lest work for
world peace and in this borough, with its large Turkish community and many other ethnic
groups – lets respect and link all of our communities.
And today, above all, let us remember those fallen comrades in arms, and those injured in
the campaign. To remember, to honour, to learn, and not to repeat. Is the best and fitting
tribute we can pay to those who showed courage, valour and gave of themselves – often the
unlimited sacrifice.
Cllr Joanne Laban - Deputy Leader of the Opposition
Good Afternoon. This is an important occasion for Enfield – and I am pleased to have been
invited to say a few words.
The centenary of Gallipoli is an anniversary that deserves our attention. What was started
there 100 years ago still resonates with people all over the world today.
We can only imagine how the news of the mass slaughter of young people on both sides of
the conflict affected people at the time.
The sudden knowledge that their loved ones would not be coming home or that those who
did survive sustained terrible injuries shocked nations at the time.
Indeed its memory has haunted world leaders for 100 years.
Of course the Gallipoli centenary is not just a national occasion but it is also an international
event.
It is therefore fitting that we have representatives here today from both the Australian and
New Zealand High Commissions. Australian and New Zealand Army Corps also fought and
died alongside the British.
Many Turkish soldiers also died in the ferocious battles and they too made sacrifices on their
side.
Today 100 years later we gather here today to bring some meaning to a terrible military
campaign and to honour the memory of the young men and women who took part in it.
Ann Cable, MBE Deputy Lieutenant
Good afternoon, my name is Ann Cable and I represent Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant for
Greater London. It is an honour to attend here today to remember the hundreds of
thousands of people who fought and lost their lives in one of the most savage conflicts of the
First World War. Indeed it is said that it was at Gallipoli that the Great War became a World
War.
The Gallipoli Campaign took place in a quiet, beautiful peninsula in what is now modern day
Turkey but a century ago, soldiers came from every continent to fight there and it was a
scene of violence, pain and horror, with thousands of men dug into the cliff-sides, smoke and
shrapnel filling the air and the dark menacing shapes of warships along the horizon.
It was a combined invasion involving all three services working together for the first time as
well as the first time submarines were used effectively by the Allies. The Allies and
Germany had reached a stalemate on the Western Front and Britain and France thought
they could help Russia on the Eastern Front by defeating Germany's Turkish allies and
securing the Dardanelles Strait.
After a failed naval attack, the Allies tried to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul) by land
assault. Troops from Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, India and Newfoundland took
part. Although their origins and uniforms were diverse no one on either side was spared the
nightmare conditions. Death made no distinction and both sides were united by the horrors
and challenges they faced – months of shelling and sniper fire, the dreadful diseases that
added to the death tolls, the searing summer heat which brought plagues of insects, and in
winter, the biting cold, floods and blizzards that many wrote were almost worse than the
shelling itself. Finally, the campaign was abandoned. The human cost of the nine months’
campaign was some half a million casualties and more than 140,000 troops died.
The campaign in Gallipoli is a story of appalling sacrifice, bravery, brutality, death,
destruction, heroism and loss.
This weekend, Her Majesty the Queen and leaders of governments and communities across
the world paid their tributes to all those involved in this tragic campaign. We too remember
the fallen from all nations, but we must reflect that we also have a shared duty to combat
prejudice and injustice and commit to strive for peace and harmony in our community. In this
way, we can truly say we have honoured the sacrifice of all those who fought and died on
the battlefields of Gallipoli and elsewhere.
Consul Mr Murat Nalcaci, Turkish Consulate
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity to thank
organisers of this meaningful event.
The First World War left a huge mark in world history together with the tremendous loss of
human life. The destiny of a number of nations around the world was affected.
One of them is the Ottoman Empire who lost an entire generation of its population on many
fronts extending from the Caucasus to the Middle East and the Balkans in those years.
Yet, Turkey maintains today amicable relations with all of the combatant countries
regardless of the circumstances and location of the confrontations.
From this perspective, The Çanakkale Sea and Land Battles occupy an exceptional place in
the history of Turkey as well as in the history of Australia and New Zealand by illustrating
how friendship is born out of war.
Gallipoli Campaign has always been defined and remembered as the “War of Gentlemen”
down the years.
Gallipoli which was so far a barrier, is a bridge today that links our nations with friendship
and peace. Once we were fighting each other but today we are allies and we are aware of
the enormous cost of peace and the responsibility we should hold to maintain it.
Garry Manley, New Zealand High Commission
My name is Garry Manley, I am an ex service man who recently arrived in the UK and now
work for the New Zealand Government here in London. I am truly honoured to be able to
speak here at Enfield on this historic day when we remember and acknowledge the sacrifice
made by many nationalities both living and dead who have served in military conflicts.
Gallipoli was the first major combat role for New Zealand Forces in the First World War. It
has come to be regarded as a hugely significant moment in the forging of New Zealand’s
national identity. Great suffering was caused to a small country by the loss of so many of its
young men, but the Gallipoli campaign showcased attitudes, attributes, bravery, tenacity
practicality, ingenuity and loyalty that has helped New Zealand define itself as a nation even
as it fought unquestioningly on the other side of the world in the name of the British Empire.
It was here where the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp (ANZAC) relationship was
founded.
The Gallipoli campaign – NZ’s account: On the 25th of April, eight months into the First
World War ANZAC solders landed on the shores of Gallipoli peninsula. They and other
Allied troops were there as part of a plan to open the Dardanelles Strait so that the Allies
could threaten what is now called Istanbul, capital of Germany’s ally the Ottoman Empire.
This, it was hoped would force a Turkish surrender.
The Allies encountered unexpectedly strong resistance from the Turkish Army. Both sides
suffered enormous loss of life and after nine months the Allies abandoned the campaign and
withdrew the surviving troops. A total of 100000 Allied and Turkish soldiers had died.
Nearly 3000 of them were New Zealanders. A further 250000 on each side of the conflict
survived, many with devastating injuries.
The Gallipoli campaign had a similar effect on Australia’s emergence as a nation and also
would have influenced the foundation for modern Turkey. The bond between the ANZAC’s
and Turkey has continued to grow, the ANZAC Memorial poem recited earlier is very
appropriate and a testament of the relationship between the countries. Yesterday over 2000
New Zealanders were in Gallipoli attending commemorative services to mark this significant
occasion.
As you can imagine this was a significant event in New Zealand’s history, the anniversary of
the Gallipoli landings has been commemorated as ANZAC day in NZ since 1916. On this
day New Zealanders acknowledge the sacrifice of all those who have died in warfare, and
the contribution and suffering of all those who have served.
I will finish with a poem written by a young lady aged 10 from Auckland. Ilana was born in
NZ her mother is Turkish and Father is a Kiwi.
The attached is an extract from One News New Zealand which is where I obtained the
poem:
My People
Embarking is hard, Leaving is worse
We march up the road, Line after line, rifles in our hands
Awaiting our fate, The sea
Oh the sea, The endless sea
Months we wait, On end, on end, on end
The bullets roar, No voices are heard
Only screams, The screams
The saddening scene, How still you lie
When you're dead, How still you lie when you're gone
Remember these men, Brave and true
Young and bold, They now lie in my land
I know both sides, Both stories
Both losses, I know both sides.
Captain Ken Semmens, Australian High Commission
Councillor Ali Bakir, Mayor of Enfield, Mrs Anne Cable MBE, Deputy Lieutenant,
distinguished guests, members of the Enfield community, on behalf of the defence staff at
the Australian High Commission, thank you for your welcome today to your Gallipoli
Campaign Commemoration in this lovely setting.
Yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli. Like hundreds of
thousands of our fellow citizens, who gather at memorials in locations across the world, we
have come here to commemorate one of the most significant events in the first world war.
As young nations of the British Empire, Australia & New Zealand sent many young men in
their prime into harms’ way. This mission was perceived at the time to be a great adventure
and critical role, assisting British forces to secure a piece of land thought to be critical in
turning the direction of the war.
100 years later we gather to commemorate the sacrifice of not just servicemen and women
in this conflict, but to honour those men and women who have committed themselves to the
service of their country to protect their fellow citizens.
I have often thought that perhaps the term ‘ANZAC’ has been misunderstood. It is
not a place, nor is it a campaign or a war. It is not a ceremony or a parade either.
The term ANZAC comes from words Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The term
ANZAC has transcended the physical meaning to become a spirit – an inspiration that
embodies the qualities of courage, discipline, sacrifice, self-reliance and in Australian terms,
that of mateship and a fair go.
As Australians, our natural disposition is to stick together in adversity and support each
other. I like to think that this flows from the deepest springs of our national character and a
belief that happiness is the right of all people in this country. Importantly, the notion of
tolerance and respect is a critical aspect in our communities and one need only look to the
ceremony that took place in Whitehall yesterday where Australian, New Zealand, British and
Turkish soldiers marched together in remembrance of fallen comrades as an example that
groups who were once determined enemies are able to reconcile their differences and
respectfully remember their sacrifices in the hope that future conflicts can be avoided.
These days we do not glorify war. All we ask is the simple recognition of the sacrifice,
commitment and unselfish devotion by those men and women who served so valiantly for
their country and what they believed in, so much so that many knowingly went to their
deaths.
Future generations need to be reminded that happiness has a price. For surely if
happiness is the product of freedom, then freedom is the reward of courage.
We should be grateful to those that have helped preserve our nation and way of life
through their sacrifice. In doing so, we keep bright the memory of those lives. It is in
the remembrance of these things that communities across the nation come together on this
day.
On 16th December 1918, just a few weeks after the Armistice that marked the end of that
war, the English statesman and architect of the Gallipoli campaign, Sir Winston Churchill,
said: “We must look forward one hundred, two hundred, three hundred years to the time
when that vast continent of Australia …. will look back through the preceding periods of time
to the world shaking episode of the Great War, and when they will seek out with the most
intense care every detail of that struggle; when … every family will seek to trace some
connection with the heroes who landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula, or fought on the Somme,
or in the other great battles in France.”
Today and yesterday, we pause so as to remember our forebearers as Sir Winston
envisaged.
Lest we forget.
Cllr Yasemin Brett, Cabinet Member Community Organisations
Good afternoon everyone, I am Cllr Yasemin Brett with a special responsibility for the
communities living in Enfield. On this important day it is a privilege to be planting a tree for
peace together.
People from many nations were involved in the Gallipoli campaign some of whose families
live in Enfield. By planting this tree we show respect to their parents and grandparents.
I would now like to finish with a poem written by M. Kemal Atatürk which was written in 1934.
Ataturk was the founder of the Turkish Republic in 1923. His poem is a tribute to the, British,
Australian and New Zealand soldiers who are now buried in Turkey. It is called ‘The ANZAC
Memorial’.
THE ANZAC MEMORIAL
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives...
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country.
Therefore, rest in peace.
There is no difference between the Johnnies
And the Mehmets to us - where they lie side by side,
Here in this country of ours.
You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries...
Wipe away your tears.
Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace.
After having lost their lives on this land, they have
Become our sons as well.
And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
We sailed off to Gallipoli
How well I remember that terrible day
How the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He chased us with bullets, he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again
Now those that were left, well we tried to survive
In a mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
But around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me
So they collected the cripples, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
Then turned all their faces away
And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
And I watch my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams of past glory
And the old men march slowly, all bent, stiff and sore
The forgotten heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men answer to the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
And their ghosts may be heard as you pass the Billabong
Who'll come-a-waltzing Matilda with me?
Captain Ken Semmens, Cllr Doug Taylor, Cllr Ali Bakir, Cllr Joanne Laban, Ann Cable
MBE, Cllr Yasemin Brett, Consul Mr Murat Nalcaci, Garry Manley and Brendon Farrell
Contact Enfield Council
Civic Centre
Silver Street
Enfield
EN1 3XY
Tel: 020 8379 1000
www.enfield.gov.uk