Tag Archives: Dardanelles

Diary entries which mention the Dardanelles.

7 June 1915; Monday

June 1915, ,

At work as usual. Busy all day. Took down summary. Fine day. Mr Lawson in at night.

Sub. Lt. Warnebrooke brought down a Zeppelin near Bruges12 . Success at Dardanelles.

  1. The name ‘Warnebrooke’ is clearly written in longhand, but appears to have been an error, on the part of ALL or of the report on which he relied, and should have been written as ‘Warneford.’ Sub-Lt. Reginald A J Warneford RNAS, based at Veurne on the Belgian coast and flying a Morane-Saulnier Type L over Ghent, on 7 June 1915 destroyed airship LZ37 by bombing it in the air. He was awarded the VC and Legion d’Honneur, but on the same day as receiving the latter (17 June) was killed in a flying accident. ↩

  2. More recently Reginald Warneford has been the subject of some controversy, apparently arising from a decision not to include him in the series of new memorials honouring those awarded the VC during the First World War which are planned to mark the centenary. According to The Telegraph, only VC winners born in Britain are to be included – Reginald Warneford was born in India. ↩

5 June 1915; Saturday

June 1915, , , ,

Busy as usual, finished about 2 o’clock. Had walk into town in the afternoon and bought a tie with Mother’s money for Charlie.

Russian Flag Day. Mr Churchill made a speech at Dundee1.

Had walk with Willie at night and a soldier stopped us in town and asked us if we thought of enlisting.

  1. The text of Churchill’s speech, seemingly defending his role in the Dardanelles, is available at WinstonChurchill.org. ↩

3 June 1915; Wednesday

June 1915, , , , ,

At work as usual. Had dinner at the office. Got well up to date. Went down to chapel at night and walked up with Blaikie and Willie Whittaker. Spoke to Billy Winter on the telephone and offered him to keep in touch about enlisting. Fine night. Kitchener received decoration of K.G.1

Turkish transport sunk by British submarine.

  1. From the London Gazette: “The KING has been graciously pleased, on the occasion of His Majesty’s Birthday, to appoint Field Marshal The Right Honourable Sir Horatio Herbert, Earl Kitchener of Khartoum, K.P., G.C.B., O.M., G.C.S.I.,G.C.M.G., G.C.I.E., to be a Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.” ↩

28 May 1915; Friday

May 1915, , , ,

At work as usual. Very busy all day. Stayed back until 8 o’clock.

“H.M.S. Majestic”1 sunk by German submarine in the Dardanelles & “Princess Irene”2 blown up at Sheerness with heavy loss of life. The 7th Durhams had rough time early in week.

  1. “H M S Majestic”: old (1895) battleship; torpedoed 27 May 1915 off Cape Helles, with the loss of 49 men. ↩

  2. “Princess Irene”: a 5,400 ton passenger vessel, built 1914 for Canadian Pacific for the Vancouver – Seattle route; requisitioned by RN on completion as auxiliary minelayer; exploded on 27 May 1915 while loading mines upstream from Sheerness, near Chatham; 352 killed: 273 crew, 76 dock workers, 3 others by debris including a girl of 9 on the Isle of Grain; large debris (including human body parts, near Hartlip, east of Gillingham) fell in 9 –10 mile radius. ↩

27 May 1915; Thursday

May 1915, , , ,

At work as usual. Busy all day. Received word that Sands1 & Jack Pallin2 are both wounded. H.M.S. Triumph3 sunk in Dardanelles by German submarine. Went to work at night, Came up with Blaikie and Willie Whittaker and was late in getting in.

  1. Most probably the same Sands as mentioned in earlier entries alongside Bob Brotherston who had subsequently died on 6th May. Nothing more is yet known about Sands. ↩

  2. This is the first and only occasion on which Jack Pallin is mentioned in the diary but it seems probable that this was also a work colleague from the paper mill. The 1901 census lists a John Y. Pallin living in Ryhope, quite near the Hendon Paper Mill, and gives his occupation as “Paper Finisher Paper Mill”; Jack was and remains a common alternative name for John. This John Y. Pallin was born in 1880 and was thus ten years older than Arthur Linfoot. The death of a John Y. Pallin at the age of 39 is recorded in 1919 and his name was listed on the war memorial at St Aidan’s Church, Ryhope Road, Grangetown, Sunderland. See also John Y. Pallin at Lives of the First World War – that life story appears somewhat ambiguous in its present form (as at 27 May 2015), but the Medal Index Card connected to it suggests that John Y. Pallin served with the Durham Light Infantry (service number 2650), as did Bob Brotherston (and probably Sands). ↩

  3. “H M S Triumph”: pre-dreadnought battleship, built Barrow-in-Furness for Chile but bought for RN before completion (1903); torpedoed by U-­21 off Gaba Tepe, 25 May 1915; 78 crew lost. ↩

13 May 1915; Thursday

May 1915, , ,

At work as usual. A lot of Roots† now to Lusitania1. Finished in decent time. Got work pulled up a bit. Received news of the loss of the “Goliath”2 in the Dardanelles, sunk by Turkish torpedo boats. Heavy loss of life, probably 800 men.

  1. Lusitania: See notes on 7 May. ↩

  2. “Goliath”: pre-dreadnought battleship, 13,150 tons, built in Chatham 1898, torpedoed as stated above in Morto Bay, near Cape Helles, 13 May 1915, with loss of 570 out of crew of 700. ↩

18 April 1915; Sunday

April 1915, , ,

At chapel and Sunday School as usual. Played organ in the chapel in the afternoon, and managed rather badly. Had usual walks. A boy sang at night, and a lady, and Charlie sang in the anthem. Both the other turns were off. Fine night.

Submarine E 15 lost in Dardanelles1.

  1. On 16 April 1915 E15 sailed from her base at Moudros and attempted to break through the Dardanelles to the Sea of Marmara. Early in the morning of 17 April, the submarine, having dived too deep and become caught in the current, ran aground some ten miles (16 km) in near Kepez Point directly under the guns of Fort Dardanus. E15 was (after some difficulty) eventually sunk by allied forces in order to ensure that she did not fall into enemy hands. ↩