Military History

George is listed as dying of wounds on 7th August 1915 during the Battle of Chunuck Bair. The Wellington Rifles war diary entries for the period 5th to 8th August are transcribed below. The full war diary can be found by clicking here.

05 Aug 1916 – Battle of Chunuk Bair: The WMR takes part in the biggest offensive undertaken by the Allies at Gallipoli. This has three main components:

1) A large-scale British landing at Suvla Bay, 8 km north of Anzac Cove;
2) An attack by New Zealand, Australian and British forces from Anzac Cove aimed at linking up with the British at Suvla and capturing the strategic heights of the Sari Bair range;
3) Diversionary attacks by the Australian Division at Lone Pine and British forces at Cape Helles.

The NZMR is assigned to the Right Covering Force of the Allied attack on the Sari Bair range. This force is to clear the way for the Right Assaulting Column to capture the ridge at Chunuk Bair (part of the Sari Bair range) by taking six key features: Old No. 3 Post, Big Table Top, Destroyer Hill, Little Table Top, Bauchop’s Hill and Walden Point. The WMR is to capture Destroyer Hill and Big Table Top.
The WMR moves to a new bivouac area at No. 1 Post.

6th – Battle of Chunuk Bair: After resting all day at No. 1 Post, the WMR concentrates in the Sazli Beit Dere after nightfall and at 9.30 p.m. begins to move out to attack.

The 6th (Manawatu) Squadron overruns Ottoman positions on Destroyer Hill in a close-quarters action using bayonets and grenades. The squadron suffers just three casualties in this action, but one of those wounded is the squadron commander, Major Charles Dick. The 2nd and 9th squadrons now pass through the 6th Squadron and Destroyer Hill to attack Big Table Top. The 6th Squadron remains behind to consolidate its possession of Destroyer Hill and mop up any remaining pockets of Ottoman resistance.

The planned route up the western slopes of Big Table Top is found to be too exposed and Lieutenant-Colonel Meldrum decides to continue around to the eastern side of the base of this feature and take the Ottoman garrison by surprise from the rear. Distracted by the ongoing fighting at Old No. 3 Post and Destroyer Hill, the Ottoman troops on Big Table Top fail to detect the New Zealanders. The lead elements of the 2nd and 9th squadrons use entrenching tools to cut steps in the north-east face of the steep escarpment until they reach more gentle ground just below the crest. An advance guard overpowers a nearby Ottoman night post, the rest of the assault force is quickly brought up and the trenches on Big Table Top are overrun in a matter of minutes. By 11.15 p.m. Big Table Top is securely in the possession of the 2nd and 9th squadrons, which have taken 150 Ottoman prisoners.

The NZMR has achieved all its objectives. Casualties have been very few for the WMR, but heavy for the Otago and Canterbury mounted rifles regiments.

7th – Battle of Chunuk Bair: Overall Allied progress has slowed and the advance of the main assault columns has fallen badly behind schedule. Two WMR troops move to Old No. 3 Post to relieve the Auckland Mounted Rifles. Most of the WMR consolidates its position on Big Table Top under constant Ottoman machine-gun and sniper fire. Major Chambers, commander of 9th Squadron, is shot and killed. The 6th Squadron moves up from Destroyer Hill to rejoin the rest of the regiment in the morning. The two platoons of the Maori Contingent originally assigned to support the regiment also rejoin it at Big Table Top during the day.

8th – Battle of Chunuk Bair: In the early hours of the morning the Wellington Battalion captures Chunuk Bair. The Ottoman counter-attack them repeatedly.

In an attempt to renew the general attack on Sari Bair, the Allied troops are reorganised into three columns. No. 1 Column consists of the New Zealand Infantry Brigade, the Wellington and Auckland Mounted Rifles regiments, 8th (Pioneer) Battalion, The Welsh Regiment, the 7th Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment, and the 26th Indian Mountain Battery. No. 1 Column is to consolidate the ground already taken on the south-western slopes of Chunuk Bair and, in conjunction with the other two columns, gain the whole of Chunuk Bair and extend out from it as far as possible to the east and south.
At 12.15 p.m. the WMR is warned that it is needed to reinforce the firing line at Chunuk Bair. At 3 p.m. Lieutenant-Colonel Meldrum and the 2nd and 6th squadrons leave Big Table Top and move to the head of Chailak Dere, where Meldrum reports to the commander of No. 1 Column, Brigadier-General F.E. Johnston. The 9th Squadron remains behind to garrison Big Table Top. The total effective strength of the WMR at Chailak Dere is 173 all ranks.
Lieutenant-Colonel Meldrum is ordered to attach his force to Lieutenant-Colonel Athelston Moore’s Otago Infantry Battalion (effective strength approximately 400) and to hold Chunuk Bair at all costs. After Chunuk Bair is reached at 10.30 p.m. the WMR occupies the central position – the ‘Cockpit’. At 11 p.m. Moore is wounded and evacuated. Meldrum assumes command of the post.