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Yorkshire
Regiment War Graves, - Lala Baba Cemetery, Turkey |
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Lala Baba Cemetery (1)
Photo : Edward Nicholl
The eight month campaign in Gallipoli was fought by Commonwealth and French forces in an attempt to force Turkey out of the war, to relieve the deadlock of the Western Front in France and Belgium, and to open a supply route to Russia through the Dardanelles and the Black Sea.
The Allies landed on the peninsula on 25-26 April 1915; the 29th Division at Cape Helles in the south and the Australian and New Zealand Corps north of Gaba Tepe on the west coast, an area soon known as Anzac. On 6 August, further troops were put ashore at Suvla, just north of Anzac, and the climax of the campaign came in early August when simultaneous assaults were launched on all three fronts.
The aim of the Suvla force had been to quickly secure the sparsely held high ground surrounding the bay and salt lake, but confused landings and indecision caused fatal delays allowing the Turks to reinforce, and only a few of the objectives were taken with difficulty.
Lala Baba, a low hill between the southern side of Suvla Bay and the salt lake, was stormed by the 9th West Yorks and the 6th Yorkshire Regiment on the early morning of 7 August 1915. The cemetery was formed after the Armistice by the concentration of nine smaller cemeteries and a few isolated graves from the surrounding area.
There are now 216 servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 53 of the burials are unidentified but special memorials commemorate 16 casualties known or believed to be buried among them.
8 soldiers of the Yorkshire Regiment are buried in this cemetery.
Photographs of their headstones are below. A larger sized image, which opens
in a new window, can be obtained by selecting the thumbnail image. All photos
by Edward Nicholl.
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Lance Corporal John William Buckle. 8439. 6th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment 32nd Brigade, 11th Division. Son of Charles and Emma Buckle, of Aiskew, Bedale, Yorks. Killed 7 August 1915. Aged 33. Born Bedale, Enlisted Atherton (Probably Northallerton), Resided Bedale. "AT REST" |
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Private James Dawkins. 10660. 6th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment. Died 7 August 1915. Born Middlesbrough, Enlisted Middlesbrough. (Note Middlesbrough War Memorial has "James Edwin Dawkins", but both CWG and SDGW only have "James Dawkins"). |
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Private Thomas Gregory. 11654. 6th Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment. Born at Wandsworth. Son of Thomas and Susannah Gregory, of 36, Durham Buildings, York Rd., Battersea, London. Killed 7 August 1915. Aged 24. Born Wandsworth (London), Enlisted Battersea. "GONE FROM US BUT NOT FORGOTTEN" |
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Private William Pickford, 11066. 6th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment. Killed 21 August 1915. Born Penshaw (Houghton-le-Spring), Enlisted Houghton-le-Spring, Resided Fencehouses. (Information from David Sloan (<david.sloan@btinternet.com>) is that the correct family name is "Pigford" but that this is transcribed in records as "Pickford"). |
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Captain Robert Randerson. 6th Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment. Son of Robert and Annie Randerson, of 114, Haxby Rd., York. Died 7 August 1915. Aged 24. |
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Private Albert Shellin. 10596. 6th Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment. Killed 7 August 1915. Born South Bank (Yorks), Enlisted Thornaby-on-Tees, Resided Hardwick (Manchester). |
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Private Robert Storey. 11623. 6th Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment. Killed 23 August 1915. Born Sunderland, Enlisted Sunderland. |
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Private John Willis, 10559. 6th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment. Killed 7 August 1915. Born North Kensington (London), Enlisted Middlesbrough, Resided Grangetown |
Lala Baba Cemetery (2)
Photo : Edward Nicholl
Lala Baba Cemetery (3)
Photo : Edward Nicholl
The headstone for Brigadier General Kenna, VC, DSO, ADC in Lala Baba Cemetery
Photo : Edward Nicholl