Troops going over the top at Gallipoli
Padraig Walsh, Vice Chairperson of Kinsale Cultural and Heritage Society, delivers a lecture on Gallipoli at Charles Fort on Friday, April 25th at 3pm to mark Anzac Day.
The poorly planned effort pursued by the then First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, sought to shorten the First World War by landing on the Dardanelles Straights in April 1915 and marching on Istanbul.
Led by Sir Ian Hamilton, a hastily gathered force, that included Australians and New Zealanders, but the majority of the soldiers were drawn from the British Isles, including men of the Munster Fusiliers, Dubliner Fusiliers and Connaught Rangers.
Charles Fort was no stranger to both the Munster Fusiliers and Connaught Rangers, as a Munster reserve battalion had been based at the Fort before war broke out in 1914 and the Connaught Rangers arrived to take up residence in August 1914.
Landing on the V Beach from the SS River Clyde, men from the Munster and Dubliner Fusiliers emerged from the ship to be met with a wuthering wall of machine gun fire from the Turks.
It wasn’t long before the soldiers landing on the beach were forced to dig trenches, similar to those on the Western Front. Indeed, the digging of the trenches earned the Australians their nickname ‘the diggers’
Despite several attempts to push the Turks off the heights, the campaign became bogged down, with many losing their lives to diseases, a visit from Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of War, sealed the fate of the campaign. As did the reporting of Rupert Murdoch’s Grandfather, a war correspondent with the Australian Press Corps.
The British withdrew from the peninsula in January 1916, leaving over 34,000 dead and forcing Winston Churchill to resign from his position and take up a commission on the Western front.
Padraig has long been fascinated with the story of Gallipoli and his lecture will not just cover the overview of the campaign, but it will also include the story of those from the locality, who took part in the ill-fated adventure.
The event is free, but limited seating is available. No pre-booking required. Pop into the Ticket Office at Charles Fort when you arrive to register.