1914 and And this was 1905.

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1 1914 and 1915 For 40 years, since 1867, there had been growing hostility between the Great Powers of Italy, France, Germany, the British Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia: armies were growing. Germany resented Britain s navy guaranteeing her great economic power. There was also increasing civilian demand for political power. Russia s First Duma of 1906, though dissolved after 22 days, was formed in response to demands for democracy. The Balkan wars of had suggested that local conflicts could alter the balance of power without escalating into huge conflicts, thus arguably encouraging the Great Powers to think that wars could be controlled. Then there was the much better transport system: but this brought hazards. Not only could troops be taken to the front much more quickly than previously, but the complex transport logistics taking them to the front were difficult to stop, or even alter, once started. Better transport made it potentially more dangerous to commence hostilities. The military might, particularly of Germany - and the civilian unrest in Russia - evoked growing concern in the wider population. This can be seen in the Hayling Island Parish Magazine, of August In this issue, there are about a dozen letters, which were instigated by one from Lt Colonel Sandeman, under the title Practical Patriotism, and included one from A.E.Logan, then headmaster of Hayling Church of England school, in which a voluntary reserve of trained young men and boys would be made ready for the army and navy should the country need them. The handling of rifles would be included. Lt. Colonel Sandeman s lengthy letter even includes: safeguarding the nation against war by showing we are prepared for it so that should war break out, the whole National forces may be brought to bear in order to speedily re-establish peace And this was Growing armed forces and weaponry in the major countries, rising nationalism, a more sophisticated transport system and a pre-disposition in the population to take to arms should the need arise, plus a general feeling that the conflict would be short - all over by Christmas - only needed a spark to push the sparring factions over the brink into total war. That spark was the assassination in July 1914 of Frederick, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and his wife, by a Serbian. The ensuing uproar and outrage between the Great Powers caused havoc as alliances changed, were challenged and changed again Mindful of the Franco/Prussian war of 1870, fearing Germany s probable sweep through Luxembourg and Belgium, the probable flattening of France - thus leaving Germany not only able to face an isolated Russia, but more importantly, free to dominate the English Channel and threaten British shipping, Britain, after initially remaining neutral throughout July, declared war on Germany on August 4 th Twenty-two days later, 23 year-old Private William George Crassweller st Bn. Hampshire Regiment, member of one of the oldest recorded families of Hayling Island and former pupil of Hayling Church of England School, was missing, believed killed, at the Battle of Mons. He had been in France four days. The Crassweller name can be found on Hayling at Northney and South Hayling areas, at Warblington and in Portsmouth in 1900 and there was some inter-family movement. Bill Crassweller was the second son of George William and Harriet (sic) Crassweller of Manor Cottages, Manor Road. He also lived in Rails Lane. There was an older son,

2 Henry, and three daughters. Henry and his father were both farm labourers, but Bill had already joined the army - the 1 st Battalion (Bn) Hampshire Regiment, before war was declared and, in 1911, aged 20, was living with his regiment at the Badajos Barracks, Wellington, and Aldershot. The 1 st Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment was first moved to Colchester as part of the 4 th Division. But on August 17 th 1914, the 4 th division was relieved of its coastal duties taken over by the Special Reserve and the Territorials and followed the rest of the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.) overseas. On the 21 st -22 nd August, the 1 st Bn. was loaded on to their ships at Southampton heading for Le Havre, France. The German Army In 1914, Germany was recognised as having the most efficient army in the world. It included mass conscription for short-term military service, followed by longer periods in reserve. The training was of high quality and a large number of experienced officers were maintained. Hence, within a week of war being declared, the reserves had been called up and some 3.8 million men were in the German Army presenting the Allies, particularly the British, with unexpectedly huge numbers of opposing forces as though an extra, unknown, hidden army had been produced. In contrast, Britain s tiny pre-war army, experienced and trained for colonial conflicts such as the Boer War in South Africa, acquitted itself heroically, but was almost wiped-out in its first encounter with mass, industrialised 20 th Century war. The British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.) was already in contact with the Germans at Mons and, when the 1 st Bn. arrived in the area on 24 th August 1914, detraining at Le Cateau at 4:00 a.m. and walking the six miles to Solesmes, they found that the B.E.F. were being pursued by overwhelming forces and that they were covering the B.E.F retreat. The 1 st Hampshires, now included in the 11 th Brigade, were ordered to re-form in front of Ligny. They foiled two German attacks, but orders to retire from the Ligny position did not reach several parties and all the 11 th Brigade s units were broken up into disconnected detachments. 300 Hampshires were holding on at Ligny and eventually received word about the move. The wounded, collected at Ligny, had to be left behind. The 1 st Bn. went across country, stopping near Serain, its losses amounting to nearly 200 and then, on 27 th August, to Nauroy. No record of service exists for William Crassweller, presumably due to the loss of most WWI army records through fire. However, a Medal Rolls Index Card exists for W.G.Crassweller bearing his service number and date of death and shows the award of the Victory Medal and the 1914 Star. William s elder brother, Henry, then 26 and a gardener, promptly joined the army s Royal Regiment, of Artillery as on 8 th September 1914 and saw action in Mesopotamia and India, ending his service in His short service attestation survives, damaged, among some 5-7 documents being found in army records. Less easy to track has been Serjeant Francis Henry Howard st Battery, Royal Field Artillery, but he arrived in France on 15 th August, a few days before Bill Crassweller, dying on the 15 th September 1914 just 20 days later. It is probable that his unit was involved in an extension of the fighting after Mons. He was the son of Major Frederick Howard of the Cheshire Regt., and Mrs Lucia Frances Howard of Lakesi, Church Road, Hayling Island. Both Francis parents originated near Kilkenny, Ireland, but settled, after retirement, on Hayling and are buried in St Mary s Churchyard, South Hayling.

3 Both William Crassweller and Francis Howard are commemorated on the La Ferte-Sous-Jouarre Memorial, Seine et-marne, which commemorates nearly 4,000 men of the British Expeditionary Force, who have no known grave. Francis is also commemorated on the War Memorial in Chester Town Hall. It is possible, with his father s connections to the Cheshire Regiment, that the family lived in or near Chester at some point in their lives. o.o There appears to have been little recorded clamour over the outbreak of the War on Hayling. The Parish Magazine of September 1914 (which records events of the previous month, August) indicates greater support for the Soldiers and Sailors Families Association, particularly of those serving overseas, but, more significantly, there are last minute magazine inclusions a sale of work in aid of the forces and a letter from the Bishop of Winchester asking for clothing contributions at least two extra articles per donor to go to the forces, via the Red Cross - and Mrs Sandeman lists the many garments that are needed and has clearly organised a committee to supervise, help and collect. This all sounds very sensible and laudable, but there must have been conjecture and gossip as well, which gives a rather different slant on the attitude of the Hayling population, as there is a letter from Edward Cruttwell, M.Inst.C.E. from his London address in Westminster asking for space in the October 1914 Parish Magazine to contradict the lies circulating Hayling Island that he and his wife have been arrested as German spies and that their house at Sandy Point has been raided by the police. Mr Cruttwell tracks the genealogy of himself and his wife, insists that they are British born subjects and states that he has placed the matter in the hands of the police and that he will take proceedings against the person or persons for libel. The Naval Arms Race. Mahan s book of 1887, on how naval supremacy was the key to modern economic success, was highly influential and led to an explosion of new naval construction - the United States (US) ordered the building of 3 battleships - but the book made the most impact on Germany. The first German Fleet Act came in 1898: a second, two years later, doubled the numbers to be built to 19 battleships and 23 cruisers over the next 20 years. Britain was worried as to how she would stay ahead. The First Sea Lord, Admiral Lord Fisher, reckoned that, as Germany kept her whole fleet concentrated within a few hours (steaming) of England then the British fleet, twice as powerful, must be kept similarly within a few hours of Germany. To win, Fisher felt he had to hold on to Gibraltar, Suez, Singapore, the Cape of Good Hope and the Straits of Dover. Fisher s faith lay in such ships as the HMS Dreadnought, launched at Portsmouth in 1906 which, with steam turbine engines, made her faster than any threatening submarine and made all previous warships obsolete. His policy of 60% dominance over the German fleet was put into effect, but there was opposition and Fisher resigned, but Churchill, as First Lord of the Admiralty, continued the policy. The British battleship, introduced just before the war, was heavily armed but lacked armour, as opposed to the German version carrying less arms but more armour. The German torpedo boat caused worries as large numbers of these could attack in masses, overwhelming the opposition. Submarines were just as deadly in combat, but lacked range and speed, though several medium warships were lost to German submarines. German Admiral, Alfred von Tirpitz, also Secretary of State of the German Imperial Naval Office, responded to the British challenge, by forcing through the building of 3 dreadnoughts and a battle cruiser and put aside money for the building of 13 submarines. By the start of the war, Germany had an impressive fleet.

4 Arguably, it was the difference in naval power which was the most decisive. Both sides had heavy losses of ships and men in well-known battles, but it was the blockade of German commerce through the North Sea which ultimately starved the German people, and contributed to Germany seeking the Armistice in The surge in warship construction and completion inevitably necessitated recruitment of more sailors and these, in turn, needed experienced men to train them. Shortage of the latter, caused former seamen, like Petty Officer 2 nd Class Henry Beckett Holland C.G. HM.S White Oak, Royal Navy, to be called out of retirement. Twenty-three year old Archibald G.C. Harding Mills M/6886, native of Hayling, was a ship s steward on board HMS Pathfinder. Pathfinder was the first ship ever to be sunk by a free running torpedo fired by a submarine. She was the flotilla leader of the 8 th Destroyer Squadron based at Rosyth and Leith. Pathfinder and her destroyers were patrolling the approaches to protect the shipping leaving the Firth of Forth with men and materials for France against a possible attack by the German surface fleet operating out of Kiel. The threat from U-boats was recognised, but, since Germany only had 10 submarines, not taken seriously. The 5 th September was sunny: a torpedo wake was spotted and avoiding action taken. At the torpedo detonated beneath the bridge, probably detonating the cordite charges, causing a second, massive explosion as the magazine blew up. No list apparently, but there was insufficient time to lower boats. Research indicates that 268 men, including Archibald Mills, were killed. o.o The Straits of Dover was one of Fisher s key areas to be safeguarded. Accordingly, shortly after the outbreak of war, the 7 th Cruiser Squadron was patrolling the Broad Fourteens of the North Sea in support of a force of destroyers and submarines based at Harwich, which blocked the eastern end of the Channel from German warships which were threatening to attack the supply route between England and France. The Squadron was made up of Cressy class armoured cruisers which had become obsolete and were mostly staffed by reserve sailors. Among them were the ships HMS Hogue, the HMS Cressy and the HMS Aboukir. Around on 22 nd September the three ships were on patrol and steaming at 10 knots in line ahead when they were spotted by the German submarine, U-9, which submerged, closed the range and fired a single torpedo at the Aboukir. The torpedo broke her back and she sank within 20 minutes with the loss of 527 men. The captains of Cressy and Hogue thought Aboukir had struck a floating mine and came to assist her. As they began to pick up survivors, the submarine fired two more torpedoes into the Hogue, mortally wounding her. As Hogue sank with the loss of 376 men, Cressy tried to flee, but the U-9 fired two more torpedoes into Cressy and sank her too, with the loss of 564 men. The entire battle lasted 2 hours and cost the British 3 warships and 1,467 men. It was arguably one of the most tragic naval actions of WWI. Among the men lost was Stoker Petty Officer William Charles Barter (RFR/PO/A/891) HMS Hogue, Royal Navy, son of Harry and Emily Barter of 3, Palmerston Road, who had started his working life as an agricultural labourer but became a regular in the Royal Navy. Harry Barter had been a bricklayer in the 1881 census, his wife proudly describing herself as a bricklayer s wife, but by the 1891 census, Harry was a labourer and Emily left her occupation blank. The difficulty of finding skilled work was a reason that many men joined up both before, and at the beginning, of the war. o.o HMS Hawke, accompanied by her sister ship, HMS Theseus and commanded by Captain Hugh P.E.T.Williams was employed in various operations in the North Sea. On 15 th October 1914 Hawke was sailing with Theseus when she was torpedoed by a German submarine U-9 one really intended for Theseus, but which missed and hit Hawke, igniting a magazine. There was a huge explosion which caused devastation

5 to the ship. Hawke sank in a few minutes with the loss of Captain Williams, 26 officers and 497 men. Only 70 of her 594 crew survived. One of the dead was Boy 1 st Class George Thomas Booth J/24708 HMS Hawke, Royal Navy, aged 18 whose mother, Emily Ireson Vesey, was from Hayling Island. Emily died on Hayling in 1940 and is buried in St Mary s Churchyard. Her gravestone pays tribute to her son. HMS Good Hope was a ton Drake-class armoured cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was originally planned to be called Africa. Laid down in September 1899 and launched in 1901, she became the flagship of the 1 st Cruiser Squadron, Atlantic Fleet in 1906 and then the flagship of the 2 nd Cruiser Squadron in She was brought out of retirement to replace warships sent to the North and Mid Atlantic to protect British interests during the Mexican Revolution. After further protecting British shipping as far south as the Falkland Islands, HMS Good Hope embarked on the search for the German East Asiatic Squadron off the Chilean coast and was sunk, along with HMS Monmouth, on 1 st November 1914 by the German cruisers, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, at the Battle of Coronel, the first naval battle of WWI. In this engagement, Good Hope lost her entire complement of 900 hands of whom three were Hayling Islanders Leading Seaman Victor Gordon John Boniface HMS Good Hope, Royal Navy, Petty Officer Ernest Joseph Smart HMS Good Hope, Royal Navy and Able Seaman Ernest Harry Twine (RFR/PO/B/4857). HMS Good Hope, Royal Navy. Victor Gordon John Boniface, born 25 th March 1884 in Hythe, Kent, was the fourth child of a large family of 13 children. His father, George Boniface, was a boatman and a coastguard, living at the Coastguard Station and various addresses on Hayling, including 4, St Leonard s Avenue South Hayling. Victor s younger siblings attended Hayling Church of England School. His brother, Cecil, was a submariner in WWI and survived being torpedoed. Victor was an experienced sailor. In 1911 he was 17 and the 1911 census shows that Victor was an Able Seaman serving with the Royal Navy in the China and East Indies. Victor Boniface and George Thomas Booth are listed consecutively on the Memorial Register on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial. Ernest Smart, also an experienced sailor, was also a member of a large family including 5 brothers. His parents Charles Meteor and Eunice Smart were publicans in South Hayling and his wife, Florence Maude Smart, lived in 14 Ariel Road Portsmouth. His nephew - and namesake - was killed in WWII. Ernest Twine was the son of William Twine of Manor Road, South Hayling and husband of Elizabeth Mary Twine of 13, Webster Road, Bermondsey, London. From the registers of Hayling Church of England School, Ernest had at least four siblings and there were also Twine cousins in North Hayling. In Hayling, disquiet about the competence of the Royal Navy and Army was expressed at an Open Meeting on October 1915 of the Church of England Men s Society. Admiral Sir James Startin K.C.B. was away on active service, his place being taken by Colonel Sawyer, who likened Britain s lack of preparation for war with that of France during the Franco-German war of Colonel Sawyer hoped the continued success of the Russians would cause a withdrawal of the Germans from the Western theatre.

6 Mesopotamia. At the outbreak of war, the 2 nd Bn. of the 2 nd Dorset Regt. was half-way through a tour of India. After hostilities started in Europe, orders came from London to mobilize on August 14 th. Initially destined for East Africa, the growing tension between Britain and Turkey sent them instead to the Persian Gulf - partly for protection of the oil refineries at Abadan and partly for strategic reasons, since control of this area afforded easier access to Afghanistan and Persia and also to Egypt and the Suez Canal. Although not yet in the war, Turkey s alliance with Germany made a British presence in the area highly desirable. After training and preparation, they embarked on October 18 th from Bombay in a convoy of 54 ships. There were approximately 1,000 men.

7 Then, Turkey s further assistance to Germany caused Britain to declare war on her on November 5 th The Valera sailed to Kharag Island where the British took the fort at Fao Landing, taking 300 Ottoman prisoners. They reached Abadan on 7 th November, defeating light resistance and camped near there, repelling a dawn attack of 400 Turkish troops on 11 th November. Three days later 7,000 Indian troops joined the British. On November 15 th, British troops, including the 2 nd Battalion, advanced further up the Tigris and confronted 3,000 Turkish troops near Basra. Heavy rainfall made progress slow. Of the 60 British casualties, two thirds were from the Dorsets. On 17 th November the British attacked a Turkish army of about 5,000 troops at Sahil. There was fierce fighting and the Turkish fort was captured. Muddy conditions prevented them from being able to give chase and high winds caused the barges to break their moorings with the resultant loss of rations, forcing the troops to kill and eat the wounded Arab ponies the Turks had abandoned. In this battle, 22 Dorsets were killed and 149 wounded. It had only been two weeks since their arrival and they already had 25% of their force out of action. Among those killed from the 2 nd Dorsets on 17 th November 1914 was Private Reginald Barrett nd Bn., Dorsetshire Regiment, aged 22. Reginald Barrett was the third youngest of 12 offspring of Henry William and Elizabeth Barrett of Palmerston Road and later Sunnyside, Stoke. Henry was a butcher s assistant. All the children attended the Hayling Church of England School and Reginald won prizes there. In 1911, he was living as a boarder in Havant and although he says, on the census, that he was a labourer, when he signed on in Portsmouth for the army, he said that he was a caddy. It must have been a far cry from the links of Hayling Island to the heat and battle of Mesopotamia. Reginald is commemorated on the Basra Memorial, Iraq. o.o Despite the loss of these 8 young Hayling Islanders, the letter of Bde. Trptr. W.E. Grady, writing from Head Quarters 25 th Bde. R.F.A. to Mr. A. E. Logan, Headmaster of Hayling Churvh of England School and his former headmaster, on December 16 th 1914, was remarkably upbeat. We have been out here nearly five months now. we were almost the first brigade of artillery to land in France. We took part in the Retreat from Mons which will be handed down in the annals of the Army as one of the most skilful operations ever accomplished Our brigade has done things that any other brigade might rightly envy us for. Bde. Trptr. Grady then goes on to describe the enemy s shells called Jack Johnson *, and how they can tear a hole 20 feet deep and how proud they are of Sergt. Harlock of the 113 th Battery winning a V.C. He finishes by writing that there is so much to tell you that I should never finish and by wishing his former headmaster a Bright and Prosperous New Year. ( *Jack Johnson was the first African-American world heavyweight boxing champion,1908) But on Hayling, the preparation for Christmas 1914 was muted, the Vicar, Reverend Charles Clarke emphasising the turmoil and confusion: the sorrow and anxiety that so many families had.

8 And 1915 began no better. R.M.S Atra was a passenger steamship launched in 1888 for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. After her sale in 1912 to the Viking Cruise Company she was renamed S.S. Viking. At the outbreak of war she was requisitioned by the Admiralty one of 21 such ships and outfitted use as a naval auxiliary renamed HMS Vicknor, serving alongside the 10th Cruiser Squadron with a complement of 22 officers and 273 ratings. She sank with the loss of all hands on 13 th January 1915 while on active patrol duty in heavy seas off Tory Island about 20 miles off Bloody Foreland, part of the north western coast of Northern Ireland. It is thought that she struck a German Naval mine. Among the dead was 26 year-old Able Seaman James Samuel Coates SS/1771 HMS Vicknor, Royal Navy, son of James, a plumber, and Louisa Coates, and the third of six children, who lived first at Salterns Head and then at 2, Backwith Villas, North Hayling. James Samuel had made the navy his career. In 1911, he was living at the Royal Naval Barracks in Portsmouth. Although, the whereabouts of the wreck was not recorded and, hence his body not recovered for burial, Vicknor s wreck has now thought to have been identified. Petty Officer 2 nd Class Henry Beckett Holland C.G. HMS White Oak, Royal Navy (on right in picture) originally of 10, Palmerston Road, Haying Island had retired, but was called back into service from the coastguard service, in order to help train the new recruits responding to Kitchener s call. Married at St Mary s to Emma nee Bowers when he was 25, a seaman in the Royal Navy, like his father James, Henry, although over 60, had volunteered for active service at the start of the Great War and was promoted to PO because of his previous experience HMS White Oak was an important ship. She saw extensive service during the war as the tender to the Flag Ship of the Grand Fleet. She was the only ship to be painted all white. She was at the Battle of Jutland and had the distinction of having the same commander all her career. She was 4 knots faster than the rest of her class. White Oak carried King George V to Scapa Flow and Lord Kitchener from Scrabster to board HMS Hampshire. Distinctive in her white paint, the White Oak carried the German rear admiral, Admiral Hugo Meurer from the cruiser Konigsberg to surrender on the 15 th November 1918 to Admiral Beatty on board HMS Queen Elizabeth, in the Firth of Forth. Doubtless the crew would have been hand-picked, so it is a testimony to Henry Holland that he was among them. While training new recruits in Poole, Henry slipped into the water between two boats and was crushed. His son-in-law s kind employer paid for the taxi to enable Emma to visit Henry before he died on the 18 th May 1915 aged 62. Henry is buried in St Mary s Churchyard, South Hayling. o.o By the end of 1914, in France, the battles of movement in the first weeks of the war had been brought to a halt. There was deadlock. In 1915, taking advantage of favourable high ground, the German army began the construction of a strong defence line trenches, wire defences, mined dug-outs and deep bunkers and, usually, a reinforced farm. Gradually, this took place on both sides of the wire. Hence progress in warfare was carried out in phases and only over a short distance. Success counted in gains of hundreds of yards, rather than in miles. The human cost was enormous and thousands could die in the space of a single day and the Front Lines from the Swiss border to the Belgian coast remained more or less in the same location throughout the war with little ground gained by either side.

9 The Second battle of Ypres, 22 nd April to 25 th May started with the trial of a new weapon a cloud of poisonous gas released by the German Fourth Army against the Allies, the violence of the attack forcing an Allied withdrawal. Captain George Amelius Crawshay Sandeman, 3 rd attd. 1 st Bn., Hampshire Regiment, aged 32, was declared missing in action just four days later, on the 26 th April. He was the son of Lt Col George G Sandeman of the Port family, a stalwart of Hayling Island Golf Club, and writer of the plea for youth training in 1905, and his wife Amy. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, George Sandeman was a barrister, his name appearing on the Temple church in London. His family had a home on Hayling as well as in London. George also played first class cricket for Hampshire and, in 1914, had played for the MCC. His name is on the Menin Gate at Ieper, Belgium. Gunner Frederick Alfred King th Siege Bty., Royal Garrison Artillery died on 15 th June 1915, aged 21 three weeks after the Second Battle of Ypres was officially over. Indeed, on the actual day of Frederick s death, Sir John French, British Army Commander in Chief, issued an account of the incidence of, and reaction to, the use of poison gas by the German army at Ypres and made quite clear his dismay and disgust at the German action, although the British were to resort to its use later in the war. As the Second Battle of Ypres ended some three weeks earlier, one fears that Frederick died the lingering death to which Sir John referred. Frederick s parents, Reuben and Rhoda King lived in Pine Cottage, Gable Head Hayling Island. His brothers were, George, Henry, Charles and William Ernest. Frederick is interred in the Divisional Cemetery, Ypres, Belgium. Gallipoli was one of the Allies greatest disasters in WWI. Because of the apparent deadlock in northern Europe, Winston Churchill thought to end the war early by attacking at the under-belly of Europe - where the Central Powers would not find it easy to reach as they were fighting to the East Russia - and to the West - the Allies. Churchill contacted Admiral Carden, head of the British fleet anchored off the Dardenelles, asking what he thought of a plan whereby the British fleet should attack the Turks who had newly joined the Central Powers in the Dardanelles, hoping to force the Germans to split their army and help the Turks and thus relieve the pressure off allied troops in northern France and Belgium. Admiral Carden advised caution and long term planning, but eventually Churchill got War Council approval. Initially envisaged solely as a sea battle, the commander of the ANZAC s, Lieutenant-General Birdwood, based in Egypt, felt that military support for the navy was essential. General Sir Ian Hamilton headed the new Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. This Allied force of 70,000 from Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand, together with troops from France, left for the Dardanelles on February 13 th 1915, arriving in the area on March 18 th, but knew very little about the military situation and very much underestimated Turkish fighting ability and their courage in combat. The Allies initially withdrew to Egypt, then returned to invade Turkey on 25 th April The Dardanelles, as a waterway, had been the scene of many battles. Crossing it, one goes rapidly from continent to continent from Europe to Asia or from Asia to Europe. It can be viewed either as a beautiful stretch of water or, arguably, if one were involved in the war on the side of the Allies on the Gallipoli peninsula in 1915, a harsh reminder of the ridiculous sense of confidence of the generals, of dreadful planning, of poor preparation, of lack of leadership and of wholesale loss of life Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Fisher, who was to resign following the debacle, wrote - Damn the Dardanelles: they will be our grave

10 And Sir Edward Carson, first Lord of the Admiralty from December 1916 until July 1917, told the House of Commons: The Dardanelles operation hangs like a millstone about our necks, and has brought upon us the most vast disaster that has happened in the course of the war Carden attacked the Turkish positions in the Dardanelles on February 19 th Initially, attacks went well, but the Turks had heavily mined the water in the Straits and the mine- sweeping trawlers were ineffective in clearing them. Carden s ships were mostly old: the attack halted: Carden collapsed through ill health and was replaced by Rear Admiral Robeck. Then the Allies had a naval disaster: three British battleships were sunk: three were crippled. The minesweepers had failed. Using destroyers for mine clearance needed time to organise and the Turks held the higher ground. The army took over and Hamilton and Robeck re-routed the naval fleet to Alexandria for re-organisation and Hamilton prepared his force for a land battle. Churchill attested that this decision was taken without the knowledge of the government. Hamilton s strategy seemed based on the premise that the opposition was not of the standard of the Allies but Allied leadership appears to have been poor - even the command of the forces was split no one was in overall charge. The strategy of the commander of the Turks, German General Liman von Sanders, in defending a coastline of 150 miles with just 62,000 men, was to place them away from the beaches and use the height of the cliffs to Turkish advantage. There were some Allied successes, but the balance went to the Turks. The landing at Sedd-el-Bahr was disastrous, many British troops could not get ashore, being shelled by guns from Turkish positions, or were picked off while trying to disembark and subsequently died in the sea. The Anzacs, landing at tiny, quickly-congested ANZAC Cove, were faced with steep cliffs and pinned down and mown down by the Turks who were led by Colonel Mustafa Kemal, eventually the Turkish leader. Birdwood asked Hamilton for permission to withdraw his troops. Hamilton refused. By May, in Helles, the British had lost 20,000 men out of 70,000. Six thousand had been killed: medical facilities were overwhelmed. One British soldier wrote that Helles looked like a midden and smelled like a cemetery. Among the dead was Lance Corporal Henry William Durrell nd Bn., Hampshire Regiment, who died on 8 th May 1915, aged 21. A member of another old Island family, Henry was the eldest son of Henry James and Sarah Anne Durrell, nee Ward, of 6, Sunnyside, Stoke. Like his siblings, he attended Hayling Church of England. School where he received prizes for good attendance. His name is recorded on the Helles memorial. Henry s younger brother, Frederick Charles also served in the Great War, as a stoker in the Royal Navy. He survived. Commemorated on the Dorset Regiment Gallipoli Roll of Honour is Captain George Edward Montgomery 5 th Bn. Dorset Regiment, aged 22 years, a member of the Community of the Resurrection (Anglican Religious Community) Mirfield, Leeds, who was killed in action during the assault on Turkish trenches between Kayak and

11 Susak, Suvla on August 21 st He was the ward of Miss Katherine Twining of Beach Holme, South Hayling and his name also appears on the Helles Memorial. Gallipoli also claimed the life of Sub-Lieutenant Francis Henry James Startin, Nelson Bn., Royal Naval Div. Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. This last was formed at the instigation of Winston Churchill, as the existing ships could not accommodate all the volunteers. Churchill had had the idea of a land-based force, but with all the traditions of the navy. Francis was the eldest son of Admiral Sir James and Lady Startin of Wyndlawn, Hollow Lane, South Hayling. He was educated at Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, gazetted Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, but, due to illness, resigned his commission. On the outbreak of war, he applied for, and was granted, his commission. He was mentioned in despatches. He was mortally wounded during an assault on Turkish trenches east of Achi Baba Nullah, Helles and transferred to HM Hospital Ship Grantually Castle where he died on 19 th July He was buried in Lancashire Landing Cemetery, Helles and there is a plaque to his memory in the chancel of St Mary s Church, Hayling Island, where his father was a churchwarden beneath the window dedicated to his mother, Alice. Only by standing on the cliffs at Gallipoli and looking down where the ships had landed the troops, is it possible to fully comprehend the impossible task that they all faced. They were caught in a trap: hardly a wonder that the casualties were enormous. The Turkish leader, Mustafa Kemal s, moving words have been engraved on the memorial which stands there THOSE HEROES THAT SHED THEIR BLOOD AND LOST THEIR LIVES YOU ARE NOW LIVING IN THE SOIL OF A FRIENDLY COUNTRY THEREFORE REST IN PEACE THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE JOHNNIES AND THE MEHMETS TO US WHERE THEY LIE SIDE BY SIDE HERE IN THIS COUNTRY OF OURS YOU, THE MOTHERS WHO SENT AWAY YOUR SONS FROM FARAWAY COUNTRIES WIPE AWAY YOUR TEARS YOUR SONS ARE NOW LYING IN OUR BOSOM AND ARE IN PEACE AFTER HAVING LOST THEIR LIVES ON THIS LAND THEY HAVE BECOME OUR SONS AS WELL

12 The failure of the Gallipoli campaign was the reason behind the spectacular resignation in May 1915 of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, who had been brought back out of retirement by Winston Spencer Churchill, the First Sea Lord. Fisher s surprise replacement was Henry Bradwardine Jackson later Sir Henry Bradwardine Jackson G.C.B. K.C.V.O. FRS. one of the First World War s famous Naval scientific pioneers. In 1895, he had become commanding officer of the torpedo school training ship HMS Defiance at Wearde Quay, near Saltash. Here, he established an early reputation as a pioneer of ship-to-ship wireless communications. He worked with Marconi to develop a fleet wireless system and this achievement was recognised with his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society. Jackson was eventually replaced, in December 1916, by Sir John Jellicoe. Jackson was appointed a Knight Cross of the Order of the Bath on 4 th December Admiral Sir Henry Jackson lived in Salterns House on Hayling Island which is where he died on December 14 th 1929 aged 75. He was buried in the churchyard of the Priory Church of St Mary s, Hayling Island after his funeral on 17 th December o.o Beuvry Communal Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France, is the last resting place of Lieutenant Edmund John Macrory Robertson, Royal Field Artillery, aged 23, son of Lieutenant-Colonel J.R.S Robertson of Ellarona, Hayling Island, Hampshire, R.A.M.C. (TF) and his wife, Elizabeth Manisty, daughter of the late Edmund Macrory, K.C. He was born in London, 29 th May 1891; educated at Parkfield and Bradfield College, Berkshire; gazetted 2 nd Lieut., R.F.A. December 1910 and promoted to Lieut., December, He went to France with his Battery (70 th ) in the 2 nd Division in August 1914; was wounded at Mons, Sunday 23 rd August and was killed in action at Festubert, 22 nd May 1915 by a shell, while mending the telephone wire at the observation station. He was buried at Bouvry near Bethune. A former Major of the Battery wrote I shall never forget the way he stuck it out at Givry (Mons) on 23 rd August when we got such a gruelling. Although he was hit in the leg and head, he carried on. I admired his grit in getting away from hospital.. and rejoining the battery. Edmund Robertson was mentioned in Field Marshall Sir John French s Despatch of 17 th September [London Gazette, 19 October, 1915 Edmund was unmarried. Battles took place in the French Flanders and Artois area during all 4 years of WWI, covering the ground from the French-Belgian border at Armentieres, to Arras. This area of Beuvry, was largely occupied during WWI by the Royal Engineers. It remained in British possession even during the German offensive of April Beuvry Communal Cemetery was used by units and field ambulances from November, The Extension to the Cemetery was begun in March 1916, and used by units and field ambulances until October After the Armistice, other graves in the area were relocated to Beuvry. o.o The war at sea continued. The Spittles were a family of shepherds working at Tickner Farm, Eastoke. They were not an old Hayling family the parents, Francis and Elizabeth Bessie, had moved from Kent, to Surrey

13 to Chichester, Sussex and, finally, to Hayling, where the youngest eight of their fifteen children were born. Their son, Thomas Robert was their fourth child, born in Surrey in Those of Francis and Elizabeth s children, who were of school age while they lived on Hayling, attended Hayling Church of.england School. The family lived at Tourner Cottages, South Hayling. On 9 th August, 1915, Thomas was serving in HMS Lynx, an Acasta-class destroyer, when she struck a mine in the Moray Firth 24 miles South East of Wick. Sixty-three crew died and there were 26 survivors. Thomas was in the navy before the war. In 1911, he was in HMS Prince George, a battleship that later was to serve in the Dardanelles. He had married Alice G.M.Locks in November 1914 and they had had one child. Stoker 1 st Class Thomas Robert Spittles K/726 HMS Lynx, Royal Navy is remembered on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Southsea Common. He was 27. Four soldiers, with connections to Hayling Island, lost their lives in just two days in August Captain Craig Nelson 1 st Bn., 3 rd Brahmans attd., 69 th Punjabis, Serjeant Arthur Chadwick th Bn., Highland Light Infantry both died on 25 th September 1915 and Colonel Frederick Howard Fairtlough CMG, Colonel Commanding 8 th Bn., The Queen s (Royal West Surrey Regt.) and Sapper Frederick Claydon 944 Royal Engineers, 1 st /2 nd (Hants) Army Troops Coy, both died on 26 th September Serjeant Chadwick and Colonel Fairtlough are both commemorated on the Loos Memorial, Pas de Calais, France: Sapper Frederick Claydon at Vermelles British Cemetery and Captain Nelson also in Pas de Calais, but on the Neuve-Chapelle Memorial. Captain Nelson was part of the Indian Expeditionary Force (I.E.F.) on the Western Front. Just four days after the British Government declared war on Germany, two infantry divisions and a cavalry of the Indian Army were mobilised for overseas service. Units of the I.E.F. arrived in France in September. By October, they were involved in heavy fighting on the Messines Ridge in Belgium. The Indian Corps went on to fight in some of the bloodiest battles of the first year of the war. At Neuve-Chapelle in March 1915, Indian soldiers made up half of the attacking forces. They continued distinguishing themselves, before being deployed back to the Middle East in December 1915, although their cavalry regiment stayed later. In the course of the war, India sent over 140,000 men to the Western Front: they hailed from all over India. The officer corps was composed mainly of men of European descent. Almost 5,000 soldiers of the Indian army are commemorated at Neuve-Chapelle. Captain Nelson, too, was killed at the Battle of Loos, leading the 69 th Punjabis. The 69 th started the day with 11 officers and ended it with 3. They also lost 1,788 Indian other ranks. Captain Nelson, who was a Free Mason, his Lodge being Beauchamp No 1422 West Kent, was 36 years old. He is also commemorated on the memorial at Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. He originally enlisted in the Royal Irish Rifles, of which his father was surgeon major, and served in the Boer War. He was the husband of Lucy Irene Nelson and had two small sons. His wife was the daughter of Colonel Sawyer, Indian Army. Craig and his wife owned Norman Cottage, The Salterns, Hayling Island.

14 Sapper Frederick Claydon aged 19, son of George Isaac and Edith Claydon of The Olives, Stoke, North Hayling, is commemorated at Vermelles, roughly 30 miles south of Ypres and miles north of the Somme battlefields. Close by is Cuinchy, immortalised by Robert Graves autobiography Goodbye To All That. In September 1915, the British launched their largest offensive to date on the Western front at Loos. There were pounders, an increase in howitzers and other weapons. Loos also saw the first use, by the British of poison gas, first used by the Germans at 2 nd Battle of Ypres, 5 months earlier and then its use critically attacked by the British. The attack began at 11:45 am, on 26 th September. The Battalion advanced under heavy machine gun fire, which became heavier as they proceeded. They reached the enemy trenches but as the barbed wire had not been cut, it was impossible to get through and the Brigade retired. There was no panic, but Colonel F.H. Fairtlough was killed and several officers were wounded. Col. Frederick Fairtlough and Serjeant Arthur Chadwick are remembered on the Loos Memorial, where nearly 3000 WWI casualties are remembered.. Serjeant Arthur Chadwick, born in 1891 in Manchester, was the son of John and Martha Chadwick of 3, Russell Street, Heaton Park, Manchester and husband of Lillian Annie Chadwick of Clifton House, Gosport Road, Fareham. Arthur s father, John, was a bricklayer and he had four sisters, Clare, Agnes, Annie and Florence and one brother, John. In April 1915, Arthur married Lillian Annie Wallace. Arthur Chadwick enlisted into the 10 th Bn., Highland Light Regiment in 1914, as part of Kitchener s Armies, and came under the command of the 28 th Brigade in the 9 th Division. They moved to Bordon in March 1915, on to Bramshot and landed at Boulogne on the 12 th May The 9 th Division was one of the British Divisions that took part in the first day attack the first day of the Battle of Loos 25 th September 1915 and Serjeant Chadwick No11607 was killed in action on that day. Loos was referred to as the Big Push as, compared to the small scale efforts of the Spring of 1915, this attack of 6 divisions was a mighty offensive. It took place on ground, not of the British choosing, and before their stocks of ammunition and heavy artillery were sufficient. Despite heavy casualties, there was considerable success on the first day and they broke deep into enemy territory. Succeeding days were less successful as the reserves had been held back too far from the battle front to be able to exploit the above successes, and they were bogged down in attritional warfare for minor gains. The Battle of Loos went on until the 8 th October. Serjeant Chadwick s body or grave was lost in the battle. Colonel Frederick Howard Fairtlough CMG and his son, Gerard ( killed later in the war) came from a long line of soldiers originally from Drogheda, County Louth, though both Frederick and Gerard were born in Surrey. Frederick s father was Colonel Charles E. Fairtlough of the 63 rd Regiment of Foot, who started as an ensign in 1837 and finished as a Lt Colonel. The Regiment of Foot was incorporated into the Manchester Regiment in In 1886, Frederick married Maud F. Lynch-Staunton Sandeman. Her family had houses in Guildford and London and also at Whinhurst, Beach Road, Hayling Island. The family had made their fortune from importing fortified wine. Hayling was important to them. In 1883, a meeting hosted by Lt Col. John Glass Sandeman, Maud s father, gave rise to the founding of Hayling Island Golf Club. The family was also heavily involved with St Mary s Church and several charities, including Meath Homes and Mrs Brenton s Home for Crippled Children on the Seafront. This last used to advertise in each month s Hayling Parish Magazine. Frederick s name, like his son s, is on the Shackleford Memorial, near Guildford. An extract from the War Diaries of the Royal West Surrey Regiment (RWS) regiment, 8 th Battalion reads:-

15 Battle of Loos, trenches at Vermelles. 26 th September, C.O. Called to Brigade H.Q. At 9.45 to Receive orders for the attack. Returns at 10.30am with them. Attack begins at am and the Battalion advances under heavy machine gun and shrapnel fire in lines of platoons in extended order. As the advance continues over the Lens-La Basee road, the machine gun fire from the flanks was very heavy on reaching the enemy trenches it was found to be protected by barbed wire, which had not been cut and it being impossible to get through it, the Brigade retired. There appeared to be no panic and the men walked back still under machine gun and shrapnel fire Colonel F.H. Fairtlough CMG and two other Officers were killed and seven other Officers were wounded. One other officer was wounded and captured, two other Officers were missing and 409 Other Ranks were casualties. At the time of his death, his widow, Maud, lived at 7, The Crescent, Hayling Island. Colonel Frederick Howard Fairtlough CMG Colonel Commanding 8 th Battalion the Queen s (Royal West Surrey Regiment) died on 26th September 1915 aged 54. He is remembered on the Loos Memorial, Pas de Calais, France. In October came the news of the local death of Quartermaster Serjeant John Bishop Elmer RMA/1304 (RMA/A/0321), Eastney Barracks, Royal Marine Artillery who died on 1 st October of post-operative shock at Haslar, aged 50. His probate has his home as the Golf Club House: his widow was Anne Maria Elmer nee Toghill, who he married on 29 th December 1900 and who was living at the Golf House when he died. He was interred in St. Mary s Churchyard. It is of interest that there appears to be no announcement in the Parish Magazine of John Elmer s death, nor an announcement that Stoker Petty Officer Frank Frederick Boncey HMS Victory, Royal Navy, had died the following month, 16 th November. Frederick was the husband of Susannah Boncey of 26, Hawke Street, Portsmouth. His parents, James and Sarah Boncey, were a North Hayling family, although they later moved to Hill View, Titchfield Lane, Wickham. Frederick is commemorated at Haslar Royal Naval Cemetery as well as at St Peter s Churchyard Memorial, North Hayling, where his brothers, Frank, Joseph and Louis are also commemorated. In contrast, the previous April, there was an obituary in the Hayling Parish Magazine of a Mrs Mary Whicher, aged 92, who was born on the old Bellerophon in Portsmouth Harbour on August 12 th Her father, Lt Gibbs, had charge of the French prisoners of war confined on the vessel. She came to Hayling when she was 15, spent her whole life on the Island and, at one time, kept a boarding house. Another century: another war.