Within Range: Gallipoli 1915 - 1916

WITHIN RANGE

An O

ffice

r’s 26

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CU

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RT

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LUC

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RE

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EN

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Luca

s: B

rigade M

ajo

r8

7th B

rigade, 2

9th D

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n

29

th Div

ision O

ffice

r W

asta

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April 1

91

5 – Ja

nuary

19

16

29

th Div

ision O

ther

Ranks W

asta

ge

April 1

91

5 – Ja

nuary

1

91

6

On X

Beach

m

orn

ing 2

5th A

pril

19

15

The landing of the 87th Brigade headquarters differs from some others. I recollect a bright, sunny morning, dead calm sea, not a shot fired. I had a bag in one hand, a coat over my arm, and was assisted down a plank from the boat by an obliging sailor, so that I should not wet my boots. The only thing missing was the hotel.’

The Story of the 29th Division

On X

Beach

2

5th A

pril 1

91

5

WITHIN RANGE

An O

ffice

r’s 26

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on th

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Dia

ry p

age e

xam

ple

Writte

n in

pencil

Dia

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Writte

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I heard two shells go over, thought they were shrapnel and did not worry. The next one burst in the room I had left, the front portion came through the wall between my servant and myself as I was handing him my razor, a bit hit him between the eyes and penetrated just short of the brain. The shell had come through the roof 2’ above where I was sitting a moment before. The general’s servant was kneeling in a corner of the room making his bed and was not touched except for torn clothes etc.

UN

DER

FIRE:

Dia

ry e

ntry

May 2

nd 1

91

5

87

th Brig

ade O

ffice

rsX

Beach

April 2

6th 1

91

5

Early casualty

“Col Casson has been very seedy lately”

Dia

ry e

ntry

June 2

4th 1

91

5

87

th HQ

Gro

up

May 1

91

5

At 11.30 inspected the 87th Brigade of the 29th Division. Lucas, of the Berks Regiment, commanded. Saw …. the renowned Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers under Major Pierce, the full strength of the Battalion on parade “all present” was 220!… The men were in rags and looked very tired. This is the first time in the campaign our rank and file have seemed sorry for themselves. Ten days of rest had been promised them and now they are being hurried back to the trenches before they have had a week. My heart goes out to them entirely. Were I they I would feel mad with me.

Ian H

am

ilton’s G

allip

oli

Dia

ryO

ctober 1

st 19

15

January 5th 1916The 29th Divn hd qrs get a lot of shells round them... There was quite a lot of shelling during the afternoon. I don’t know who started it. It was mainly confined to a section of the line & caused very few casualties. January 6th 1916The Turks have not shelled much today.  January 7th 1916The Turks started the heaviest bombardment I have ever seen at about 3pm on the 13th Divn on our left & and on the extreme left of our brigade, and damaged the trenches a good deal. They then were supposed to attack but very few showed themselves. We only had 3 casualties. Two men of the KOSBs were buried one for 2 ½ hours and one for 2 hours, both were alive when they were dug out.

The new ground we have got is in a filthy state with rotting bodies, and Turkish dirt and there a lot of bodies out in front we cant get at; and they don’t improve with keeping in this tropical sun. There must be an epidemic of some sort here sooner or later. The flies are getting bad and cover the food…. Tell Dorothy to send me linen shorts …Send me a mosquito curtain and rods, if possible a frame that will stand on its own on the ground, so that one can get away from the flies in the daytime….It is getting very hot here now, and the scenery is being spoilt by being burnt up and by the dust…

The new ground we have got is in a filthy state with rotting bodies, and Turkish dirt. There a lot of bodies out in front we cant get at; and they don’t improve with keeping in this tropical sun. There must be an epidemic of some sort here sooner or later. The flies are getting bad and cover the food…. Tell Dorothy to send me linen shorts …Send me a mosquito curtain and rods, if possible a frame that will stand on its own on the ground, so that one can get away from the flies in the daytime….It is getting very hot here now, & the scenery is being spoilt by being burnt up & by the dust…

Otto

man A

rtillery

‘Asia

tic Annie

’

They were very active with their guns all day. It is hopeless sitting here and hardly being allowed to fire a gun because of shortage of ammunition, it is that we want, not men. If we had it, we could get along all right.

We are still sitting in the same place, and are getting very tired of it. there was a lot of talk when we came out that the Turks were short of ammunition but they certainly have a good deal more then we have.

Exce

rpts fro

m le

tters

hom

e

June 1

91

5

CR

ITIC

ISM

OF

HU

NT

ER

-WE

ST

ON

,H

AM

ILTO

N &

DE

LIS

LE

CR

ITIC

ISM

OF

HU

NT

ER

-WE

ST

ON

,H

AM

ILTO

N &

DE

LIS

LE

Hunter Weston: a ‘theoretical’ not a practical general and responsible for rushed offensives delivered without proper planning

Hamilton: ‘fatuous’ communications wit the troops that Lucas censored

De Lisle: prone to ‘tinker’, occasionally guilty of inflicting his bad moods on subordinates and capable of irresponsible ideas and actions

‘Loss’

A p

erm

anent

bedfe

llow

Offi

cer D

eath

sLa

ndin

g to

3rd

Krith

ia

Officer

Deaths

Landing

to 3rd Krithi

a

29

th Div

ision

Com

mand D

irecto

ry

March

19

15

Mem

oria

l Sto

ne

Lt Colo

nel G

B S

toney

DSO

October 15th 1915Stoney killed by a 6” shell which fell in the KOSB mess. Rather a shock to everyone as everyone knew and liked him. Mills, a boy who had just joined was killed at the same time. They were buried this evening. Major-General Lawrence, Brigadier-General Indway and a large crowd of officers & men were present.

When I was just short of the Inniskilling Hd qrs, they suddenly opened with a shower of shrapnel which lasted about 10 minutes… The Inniskilling  Sergt Maj was just in front of me, and before we could reach a place of safety he got a bullet (shrapnel) through his clothes just across the chest…Going out after dark… a bullet passed somewhere under my chin and buried itself in the parados. Kelly had his arm grazed by a bullet this morning throwing a bomb , his arm showing over the parapet. Morgan was hit by a spent shrapnel bullet this afternoon, no harm done.

Dia

ry e

ntry

Dece

mber 1

1th

19

15

CH

TL o

n rig

ht o

f pictu

reC

O o

f 87

th Brig

ade

August 1

91

5

Offi

cer Lo

sses

Scim

itar H

ill August

19

15

Oth

er R

anks Lo

sses

Scim

itar H

ill August

19

15

Post-S

uvla

Entre

nch

ed S

tale

ment

The Turks desert at the rate of about 2 a day, but it will take a long time to catch the whole army at that rate…

DIA

RY

EN

TR

YD

EC

EM

BE

R 1

4T

H 19

15

SEPTEMBER 12th 1915

There is as usual no news. The same thing happens every day. In the morning I go up to the trenches and walk down the line, go to all the battalion head quarters, where one generally finds some one to talk to, and sometimes finds a paper one hasn’t seen, and then back to lunch. After lunch read & sleep till tea time. From tea to dinner spent in loafing. After dinner the supply & the transport officer both turn up with the next day’s food and water and amuse us with beach rumours. Then to bed. One gets very sick of looking at the same trenches every day, they never seem to get any better as they are mostly being blasted out of solid rock.

STANDARDS & A ‘TEACHING BRIGADE’

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE…

Lucas had a view of soldiering that had been fashioned in the 20 years prior to his deployment to Gallipoli. Sandhurst, a commission in the Royal Berkshires, service in South Africa, secondments in Egypt and Sudan, service in India and then into Staff College… before a Flanders baptism of fire in the Autumn of 1914… all meant that he had a very skewed perspective about other services, Allies and Territorials and Kitchener’s Army…

APRIL 25th

The covering fire from the ships’ guns was not nearly helpful as we could have wished, it is not accurate enough, difficult to regulate from the shore and no good against trenches. 

French

Senegale

se

Troops

Ste

ele

’s Post

AN

ZA

C M

ay 1

91

5

‘Lucas was, in fact, an ideal staff officer, capable, determined, and cheery under all circumstances’

General William Marshall

When I, unfortunately had to relinquish command the choice fell on Major Lucas, and that without a dissentient voice, though there were many officers senior to him serving with the brigade.I mention this (probably an unique instance of a Brigade Major succeeding to the command of a Brigade) as showing the degree of confidence placed in Major Lucas by his seniors and juniors alike.

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