BRANCH GALLIPOLI TOUR MAY 2010

by Roger G. Coleman
 
The tour members gathered at Wareham and left there for transportation by taxi for an overnight stay at Gatwick Travel Lodge. Rising very early on Saturday morning our party checked in at the airport for the 0630 flight to Sabiha Gokeen airport Istanbul. On arrival we were greeted by old friends and boarded a coach for the trip to the Pensiyon Helles Panorama at Sedd-ul-Bahr and welcomed by the proprietor and staff.

Walking The Walk - Suvla

After a splendid Sunday morning breakfast we set off for a walking tour passing firstly through Sedd-ul-Bahr village to V Beach and then onto the Helles Memorial. The first stage of a five year plan to refurbish the memorial by the CWGC has begun on the eastern side which has been fenced off on both sides of the curtain wall. Our walk continued on around field boundaries towards W Beach where a packed lunched was enjoyed in the warm sun and a refreshing sea breeze. After lunch our walk took us across the top of X Beach and Bakery Beach and on towards Pink Farm cemetery. Nearby were the remains an entrenched gun position which had a commanding view over the fields below. The objective for the day was Twelve Tree Copse from where our coach picked us up for return to the Pensiyon.
 
Monday morning we alighted from the coach at Beach Cemetery bright and early. After a short walk across the road to Shrapnel Valley Cemetery we ascended up to Plugge's Plateau from where the wonderful panoramic views of the Anzac topography can be observed. Descending from Plugge's Plateau and back along the road we walked upwards to Shell Green Cemetery and then continued on up to Lone Pine. It was a beautiful day enhanced by the lush and green undergrowth there but there was a distraction too - that of bagged rubbish and discarded litter lying in heaps around the memorial grounds! From Lone Pine we walked via Johnson's Jolly, Courtney's Post, and Quinn's Post towards the Turkish Memorial to 57 Regiment following the original frontline.

Sunset Over Imbros

Tuesday's walk began at Gully Beach from where we gradually ascended up Gully Ravine. A number of artifacts were found including human remains of the fallen which brought into focus a reminder of why we were there and of those of both sides who still lie where they fell and were never recovered. Taking a short detour on to the lower slopes of Gully Spur we were able to see the remains of a trench system before continuing up the ravine and then branching away to cross the football field where some 'locals' were encountered - large tortoises - enjoying their lunch. At the top of Y Beach a short rest was taken before walking across Gurkha Bluff and Fusilier Bluff to the Nuri Zamit Memorial. Adjacent to the memorial the local authorities have completed an enclosure which was formerly an unmarked mass grave of Turkish soldiers. Rejoining the coach for a short journey we visited another recently completed memorial at Sari Tepe where over two thousand Turkish soldiers who were killed in the fighting at Gully Ravine lie buried. The remainder of the afternoon was spent at the museum in Alcitepe (Krithia) followed by afternoon tea and cake at Little Anafarta.

Lighter 'W' Beach - Helles

After breakfast on the Wednesday we were taken by coach to Suvla, firstly to A Beach and then began a walk from the Salt Lake to follow the advance taken by the Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry to Scimitar Hill. We skirted around Chocolate Hill to Hetman's Chair and up past Green Hill to Scimitar Hill where lunch was taken. This was a particularly memorable walk as The Grandfather of one member of our group Phillipa Fortescue, had fought his way across the same fields in 1915. Our coach arrived shortly after lunch to take us back to the Pensiyon by mid-afternoon for a boat trip. On leaving the harbour at Sedd-ul-Bahr the sea was calm and the sky blue. The boat trip enabled us to observe a completely different aspect of the heights and undulating landscape of Gallipoli from the sea. Somehow the beaches appeared to be smaller, cliffs steeper, the terrain more complex. Perhaps with some imagination we sensed the excitement and fear that the troops in 1915 initially experienced as they approached the shore before the horrors of war engulfed them and for many never to make the return trip. It was noticeable how quiet the party was as we passed Helles, V Beach, X Beach, Gully Beach and Y Beach before returning via the wreck site of HMS Goliath. Maybe thoughts of remembrance of those who had endured so much, was percolating through their minds.

Trenches at Pink Farm

The final day on the peninsula began at Skew Bridge from where we followed the advance of the RND during the Third Battle Of Krithia to the final allied line at Helles. Friday was an early departure from the Pensiyon at 0500 hours for the return coach trip to Istanbul, arriving there at our hotel the Zeugina by 1100 hours. Leaving an hour later by coach, a kebab lunch was taken at a roadside café in Istanbul before crossing over the Bosphorus to Scutari. Our friends in Istanbul had arranged prior to our arrival a visit to the Florence Nightingale Museum which is located within the Turkish 1st Army's Headquarters Barracks. Turkish sensitivity about security required us to surrender our passports and we were escorted to the building where the museum is located. Coincidentally a party of ex-nurses who had trained at St. Thomas's Hospital in London, known as 'Nightingales' were undertaking a pilgrimage tour and together we were taken through colonnaded corridors used as wards for those wounded in the Crimean War to the museum. The museum has three rooms of material and artifacts about Florence Nightingale and our party was invited to join in a short service of prayer in the room used by Florence Nightingale.
 
From the museum a short coach journey took us to the Haidar Pasha Cemetery where some 6,000 military personnel from the Crimean War lie buried. The majority are now unmarked and grassed over but the few surviving headstones record those who fell during the war and died in the Scutari hospital. Moving on through the cemetery is a civilian section and war graves section of WWI and WW2. Within the later is the Haidar Pasha Cremation Memorial commemorating those of the Indian Army who died in 1919 and 1920 who were originally commemorated in Mashiak and Osmanieh Cemeteries. The Haidar Pasha Memorial commemorates those who died in the South Russian Campaign whose graves could no longer by maintained by the CWGC. Haidar Pasha Cemetery is kept in impeccable condition by two CWGC workers and is a fitting tribute to all who lie and are commemorated there.

Janissary Band

Saturday morning was free for us to enjoy the attractions in Istanbul. After lunch the coach took us once more across the Bosphorus to the National Army Museum. A splendid museum but it posed a dilemma as a choice had to be made either to proceed through the museum to look at the displays and exhibits or watch the world famous Janissary Band - the latter won out. Anyone visiting this museum should take the opportunity to see this marvelous, colourful, enthralling and entertaining band, from which originate all modern military bands. For the last day of this memorable tour the Janissary Band put the icing on the cake with a cherry.
 
The magnetic effect of Gallipoli worked its magic once again for all, who thoroughly enjoyed the trip and have expressed a desire to return. The experience of walking and visiting areas fought over some 95 years ago vividly brought it to mind the hardships endured by the troops, many of whom unlike us can never leave Gallipoli. Perhaps it is their invisible spirit that they left behind which draws so many back to ensure that their sacrifice is not forgotten.