From Rugeley to Boulogne

On August 30^th 1915, Tom Hollins (My half 1st Cousin 3 times removed) who was serving as a Private with the 8^th (Service Battalion) Royal West Kent Regiment arrived in Boulogne, France.

Tom was born in Rugeley, Staffordshire in 1891, the third child of Thomas and Hannah Hollins (nee Wood). He had an elder sister Mary Ann (born 1880) and brother William (born 1889) and a younger brother Albert (born 1894). He was 5ft 7in tall, with a fresh complexion, blue eyes and fair hair.

In 1911 the family were living at Sandy Lane, Rugeley. Tom was working as a Clerk in the Grocery trade and his younger brother Albert working as a grocery shop assistant. His elder brother William was working as a Labourer with iron Ore and his father was working as a coal miner.

His brother Albert had also joined up and was serving with the 8th Battalion (Prince Albert's) Somerset Light Infantry and was also awaiting deployment to France.

Gallipoli - Lest We Forget

The Battle of Scimitar Hill had taken place on the 21st August 1915 and in one day of fighting, the British suffered 5,300 casualties out of the 14,300 soldiers who participated. Even for Alfred Bush, Regimental Sergeant Major in the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) attached to the 1/4th London Mounted Brigade, seasoned veteran who had served in the Army during the Boer War, it would have been a journey into hell.

The fierce fighting continued over the following days and the work for the RAMC was equally dangerous as the following abstracts from personal diaries highlight.

On the 23rd August Lieutenant George Davidson, 89th Field Ambulance, 29th Division, RAMC (who would have gone through similar experiences to Alfred Bush) commented in his diary.

"I ended my notes two days ago by remarking that we were all in good spirits over what seemed to us to be a victory. Soon after that some of us had to change our tune. Two officers were ordered up to Chocolate Hill, Towards the far end, as we neared the terrible hill, bullets were flying in hundreds- A few more hundred yards, at the double, took us to that absolute inferno, Hill 53. We got to the top through dead and dying men lined out everywhere. We at once looked up the A.D.M.S. who, along with the heads of the 29th Division, was in a deep and strongly protected dug-out. Now came the terrible and most unexpected news- Hill 72, which is separated from Hill 53 by a small dip, had been fought for all day and captured at immense cost, and was now about to be given up, it was impossible for us to hold it. "We are to give up Hill 72!" said the A.D.M.S., "And if the Turks make a night attack, as they always do after an engagement, we'll be pushed off this Hill (53) into the valley, and it is hard to say where it will end. In that case we want every stretcher-bearer we can lay our hands on to work with might and main to get the wounded back from the trenches, or they will fall into the hands of the Turks." 

This sounded terrible, but we had to face it, so we sent back for all our men who could be spared, and many regimental men had to help to carry the wounded back, which was a most difficult piece of work. In making communication trenches along which the wounded have to be carried from the firing trench, the carrying of stretchers is never considered. Traverses must be made certainly, and the narrower the trenches the better while fighting, but they should be made wide enough to let stretchers along, and the corners of the traverses should be rounded. As it was the stretchers could only be carried along the straight parts with the stretcher traverses "kicked in," and even then the backs of all the men's hands were peeled to the bone. Being- impossible to get round the corners the stretchers had to be raised above the top of the trench, and as a rule the bearers soon tired of doing this at every few yards, and got right over the parapets and carried in the open. We had a terrible night, and next morning as soon as the day began to break, although we were on the opposite side of the Hill from the enemy, they knew the range so thoroughly that they dropped their shells at the exact angle of the Hill, which was but a gentle slope, and raked it from top to bottom time after time. Those of us who escaped were lucky, but it was a bit trying to one's nerves.

The men of the 89th Field Ambulance behaved with admirable pluck, and worked hard, and up to evening we had eight men more or less badly wounded-one at least fatally, poor Adams. The 21st and 22nd were spent practically without food, and hardly a drop of water was to be had, and all suffered badly from thirst. 

For reference - poor Adams was Private Alexander Adams, 89th (1st/1st Highland) Field Ambulance aged 22.

As we came across the lake three more of our men were hit, bullets flying about for the first mile or so. To-day, after reaching our destination, and while in a shelter, a bullet hit another in the thigh, bringing our casualty list for this fight up to sixteen. All are agreed that it has been a very bloody affair, and the difficulty of seeing a way out of our present position has made all despondent, and a number of those in high positions are being torn to shreds. Our men are not grumbling, and look as if they could go through it again, but it was a very trying two days and nights. Fires broke out in the thick scrub almost at the very start of the battle, and after a few hours many acres were ablaze, and as it was largely from such places the men of both sides were firing many wounded were burned to death."

SOURCE: G. Davidson, The Incomparable 29th and the River Clyde (Aberdeen: James Gordon Bisset, 1920), pp.p167-170

On August 24th Captain Oskar Teichman, RAMC, Attached Worcestershire Yeomanry, 2nd Mounted Division – described the day:

"I obtained permission from the General for myself and orderly to walk over to Suvla " A " Beach, in order to fetch some warm clothes, as the nights were now cold. It was a distance of about 4 miles each way, by the route across the Salt Lake. We passed the position formerly held by the 32nd Field Ambulance, whose dugouts had been completely flattened out, and then followed the track over the lake, which was punctuated by dead mules. It had been found impossible to bury these animals, as the clay forming the bed of the lake was very hard and any party of men digging would have been immediately shelled. A tremendous thunderstorm suddenly came on, which made our progress across the lake very slow, as the dry clay became wet and slippery. In the evening an order was read out that we were to stand to arms every morning at 4.30 a.m., as that was apparently the usual time for a Turkish counter-attack."

SOURCE: Captain O. Teichman, "The Diary of a Yeomanry M.O. Egypt, Gallipoli, Palestine and Italy" (T. Fisher Unwin Ltd London, 1921), p.36.

Regimental Sergeant Major, Alfred Charles Morris Bush died of his wounds on the 25th August 1915, it is not known if his fatal wounds were received during the battle of Scimitar Hill on the 21st or in the days following the attack. He his commemorated on the Helles memorial (Stone No 199)

Alfred Bush, aged 38, was the son of Caroline Bush, of 11, Ashbourne Terrace, Wimbledon, Surrey and the late Charles Bush and was the husband of Ellen Bush of 59, Palmerston Rd. Wimbledon. He had two young children Amy (aged 7) and George (aged 5)

The attack at Scimitar Hill on 21 August was the last attempt by the British to advance at Suvla. The front line remained between Green Hill and Scimitar Hill for the remainder of the Gallipoli campaign until the evacuation on 20 December. For Alfred Bush, my Great War Ancestor, Gallipoli became his final resting place.

Sources :
G. Davidson, The Incomparable 29th and the River Clyde (Aberdeen: James Gordon Bisset, 1920), pp.p167-170
Captain O. Teichman, "The Diary of a Yeomanry M.O. Egypt, Gallipoli, Palestine and Italy" (T. Fisher Unwin Ltd London, 1921), p.36.
And with full acknowledgement of the excellent resources provided by the Gallipoli Association website.

Into Hell at Suvla Bay - The Battle of Scimitar Hill

Alfred Charles Morris Bush, Company Sergeant Major in the Royal Army Medical Corps attached to the 1/4th London Mounted Brigade had landed with the rest of the brigade at Suvla Bay on the morning of the 18th August and moved into reserve positions at Karakol Dagh. They then moved to "C" Beach, Lala Baba on 20th August and on 21st August it advanced to Chocolate Hill under heavy fire and took part in the attack on Hill 112.

The Battle of Scimitar Hill -21^st August 1915

The purpose of the attack was to remove the immediate Turkish threat from the exposed Suvla landing and to link with the Anzac sectors to the south of the Gallipoli peninsula and was to coincide with the simultaneous attack on Hill 60.

The plan was to attack Scimitar Hill with the 29th Division and the West Hills with the 11th Division, keeping the yeomanry in reserve near the beach. The preliminary artillery barrage looked impressive but achieved little. The British had no clear sight of their targets, which were obscured by mist and smoke, whereas the Ottoman artillery had a clear view of the entire Suvla battlefield.

The 11th Divisions attempt to capture the Western Hills, collapsed in confusion when confronted by an Ottoman strong-point and artillery fire. The Irish retreated from the summit while the undergrowth around them was set ablaze by the shellfire, incinerating the wounded as they lay helpless.

Around 5:00 p.m. the troops of the 2nd Mounted Division were ordered forward from their reserve position on Lala Baba, near the beach. They advanced, marching in formation, across the bed of a dry salt lake. By this time the air was clouded by mist and smoke so that they had little idea of where they were going. The 5,000 men of the five brigades formed in columns by regiment and, marching in extended order, were easy targets for the shrapnel.

Captain William Wedgwood Benn, 1st County of London Yeomanry, 4th Mounted Brigade, 2nd Mounted (Yeomanry) Division recorded the following.

"At 3.30 pm the 2nd Mounted Division, was ordered to advance from Lala Baba. One by one the five brigades, each consisting of just under a thousand men, began to cross the open expanse of the dry Salt Lake. Reminiscent of a parade, they advanced; regiments followed each other in squadron order, each squadron then in line of troop order at set regular distances. This would be their baptism of fire; their journey "Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell".

Painting: The Yeomanry crossing the Salt Lake, 21 August 1915 by Norman Wilkinson.

Captain Wedgwood-Benn, continued his account:

"After about half-an-hour's progress we reached the enemy's shrapnel, through which, of course, we were bound to pass if we were to attain Chocolate Hill. As each line of the Division advanced into the beaten zone, the shells did their part, being timed to burst just ahead of our march. Casualties began, but our orders were strict, and forbade us to stop for anyone. When men fell they had to be left for the stretcher parties, which were following”.

It would seem likely that Alfred Bush would have been involved in some way with the stretcher parties and with the crossing of the salt lake.

By 5.00 pm the whole Division had reached the cover of Chocolate Hill, an advance of almost two miles. Within half an hour the brigades were on the move to their new jumping off positions, with little knowledge of the task ahead of them or of what had already befallen the other divisions.

Captain Wedgwood Benn, continued:

"During the next advance we had no shell fire to meet, only rifle and machine-gun fire, a new experience for us, and one which inspired more fear than it really merited. We ran across the first field and jumped into a line of trench supports of our own, then out again and forward into the next trench, leaping in on top of the men of the Division ahead of us, whose reserves we were. They nearly all, I recollect, shouted to us as we approached to take cover and get down, but almost always tried to wave us away from the particular part they themselves were occupying. The fact was they were packed tight, I should say one man to every fifteen inches. From here we got into a communication trench filled with men of the Irish Division [probably Irish troops from the 86 Brigade] whose gallant attempt earlier in the day had failed. We had to stand aside to let pass a pitiable, ghastly procession of maimed, most of whom had been half-stripped to have their wounds bound by their friends. The horror of that scene will bear no describing”.

 
The Mounted Division was now firmly committed to the attack. Bodies were lying all over the ground in front, whilst wounded continued to dribble back from the mist ahead. The scrub was still aflame in many places and the acrid smoke added to the general haze that still covered the battlefield. The continuing din of battle only added to the confusion. All knew that there was only an hour of daylight left; progress had to be made quickly.

Sir Ian Hamilton, who had sailed over from Imbros to watch the battle from the Karakol Dagh, wrote:

"By 6.30 it had become too dark to see anything. The dust mingling with the strange mist, and also with the smoke of shrapnel and of the hugest and most awful blazing bush fire formed an impenetrable curtain. As the light faded the rifles and guns grew silent."

The night of 21 August brought utter chaos to the British lines, as Captain William Wedgwood Benn recalls

"A young officer ran along the trench shouting that the orders were to retire at once. I can remember how foolish I thought his conduct, for the effect on our troops under fire for the first time and completely fatigued by ten hours of fighting, was of the worst."

But the night was terrifying for the Turks too. Not sure what exactly was going on, they feared a renewed night attack or perhaps a British breakthrough.

Lieutenant Ismail Hakki Sunata, 2/35th Regiment remembered the tension of the night.

"It is getting dark. With the ceasing of the artillery fire some calm has descended on the scene. But the infantry fire continues. The sound of the artillery has given way to other sounds. From our left come shouts, moans, groans and screams, and orders are given. The rear of the trenches is full of wounded and moaning men, there are dead also. In the twilight some are coming, some are going, total confusion. Nothing can be understood of what is happening. There are many dead and wounded. The enemy wounded are also calling out in front. The enemy was completely repulsed. The night passed with carrying the wounded and burying the dead. We were all awake. The day’s events had made us so nervous we had forgotten even what sleep was."

Alfred Bush had served in the RAMC during the Boer War but one must wonder if anything could have prepared him for this day. In one day of fighting on the 21st August, the British suffered 5,300 casualties out of the 14,300 soldiers who participated.

SOURCES:
W. William Wedgwood Benn, In the Side Shows (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1919),

I. H. Sunata translated by ‘Reha’, Geliboludan Kafkaslara, (Is Bankasi Publications) Axis History Forum: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=153416&start=15

A. Herbert, Mons, Anzac and Kut (London: Hutchinson, 1919).

S. Chambers, Suvla: August Offensive (Pen & Sword, Barnsley, 2011)

and with full acknowledgement of the resources in the Gallipoli Association website.

*Latest Research update August 2021

The War Diary for the 1st London Mounted Brigade provides the following information

The Brigade had been stationed at the Nasrieh School Hospital in Cario and following orders had arrived at Alexandria on 14th August then embarking to Mundros arriving on the 17th in the morning and setting sail again in the afternoon to Suvla Bay arriving at 1.50am on the 18th. Assembling at A beach at 9pm on the 20th and from there proceeding to Lala Baba reaching their destination at 3am on the morning on the 21st.

At 1.30pm they were ordered to follow the division at 3.30pm and open an advanced dressing station at Chocolate Hill.

At 4pm the Field Ambulance Brigade left their bivovac and marched following the division over a plain covered with scrub and grass.

5pm - After marching about two miles forward there were many casualties so they opened an advanced dressing station about one mile from Chocolate Hill and one other east of that place. The Sgt. Major and 3 other men were wounded early (all seriously).

Alfred was evacuated to a hospital ship but died of his wounds a few days later on the 25th August. He was buried at sea. (Source : Pat Gariepy info supplied to www.ramc-ww1.com regarding Alfred Bush)

America Bound

On August 7th 1915, my Great Uncle, Solomon Charles Wraight, boarded the White Star Liner S.S. New York in Liverpool bound for New York, USA.

Solomon Charles Wraight Circa 1910

Solomon Charles Wraight was born on the 22^nd May 1895 in Lambeth, Surrey. He was the eldest son of Solomon (Solly) and Alice Wraight (Nee Uden) and had three sisters Alice (born 1897), Elsie (born 1903) and Ivy (born 10 Oct 1904) and three brothers William (AKA Bill born 1899), Arthur (Born 1907) and Frederick (Fred Born 1911).

Solomon and William were at school together in 1908 at the Gideon Road School, Wandsworth and by 1911 the family were living at 14 Eland Road, Lavender Hill, Battersea. Solomon Charles aged 15 was now an apprentice Joiner. His father Solly being a Builders Joiner (Shop Foreman). Alice, William, Elsie and Ivy were all attending school. His younger sister Alice died in 1911 aged 14. 

The Wraight Family

The passenger list for The S.S.New York lists Solomon Charles as 20 years of age and a carpenter. Solomon travelled 3^rd Class paying the fare himself and arrived at Ellis Island on the 15^th August 1915. 

SS New York

His final destination being Philadelphia, where he was due to join the Carpenters Union in Philadelphia. Solomon was 5Ft 7 inches, fair complexion with brown hair and brown eyes and no distinguishing marks. His health was good and he was able to read and work.

His uncle, Albert Uden, who had emigrated to Canada in 1907, had joined the 4^th Field Company, Canadian Engineers, whose regiment had recently made the opposite journey to Solomon across the Atlantic arriving in England on 29^th April 1915. (the records are not currently available to confirm if Albert was among their number). For Solomon though a new life awaited in America.