WITH THE 29th DIVISION IN GALLIPOLI

The padre of the 86th Brigade, 29th Division, gives an account of his experiences at Gallipoli where he landed on 25th April 1915 to his evacuation on medical grounds on 12th August. The author was Church of England chaplain to the 86th Brigade and his account is sub-titled "A Chaplain's Experiences"; it covers the period 27th January 1915, when he reported to the HQ of the newly formed 29th Division in Leamington, to 12th August 1915 when he arrived in Alexandria having been evacuated sick (diphtheria) from the Peninsula. The 86th Brigade was a Fusilier Brigade with 2nd Royal Fusiliers, 1st Lancashire Fusiliers, 1st Royal Munster Fusiliers and 1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers, and it was the first to land on 25th April 1915. It was with the first two mentioned that Creighton had most contact and they feature prominently in this account. The other two battalions, being recruited mainly from the south of Ireland, were predominantly Roman Catholic. This account is based on his diary and he took pains to write only what he got first-hand and from personal observation, and he has tried to be as accurate as possible. The interesting photographs were borrowed from the Commanding Officer of 2nd Royal Fusiliers and his narrative does give a feel for the conditions and fighting on the Peninsula. At one stage he gives vent to his feelings after a fruitless attack by a brigade of the newly arrived 52nd (Lowland) Division which cost over fifty per cent casualties: "These things seem to happen every battle. The amount of unnecessary lives simply thrown away is appalling." The account was written just after he had left Gallipoli and security was clearly uppermost in his mind - hardly any names are given of ships and men. Two other chaplains are C-- and D-- and at one point his ship comes alongside the B--, sister ship to the A--. This sort of thing can get very trying! The book closes with a chapter by the BM, Major H M Farmer, on the landing of the 86th Brigade and the subsequent operations till 3rd May. Reprint of the 1916 original edition.