South Warwickshire Family History Society War Memorial Transcription Project |
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Military History |
| Theatre of War | Medals | Commonwealth War Grave or Memorial |
|---|---|---|
| Gallipoli | 1914-15 Star, British War & Victory Medals | Helles Memorial |
| Arrived in Theatre | Medal Citation (if app) | SWFHS Area Memorials |
| 21 Jul 1915 | ~ | Cherington & Stourton |
| Action, Battle or Other Reason Killed | Date and Place Enlisted | Other War Memorials |
| Battle of Sari Bair | October 1914 at Worksop | |
| Place of Death | Previous Regiments or Units | |
| Sari Bair, Turkey | ~ | |
Circumstances Leading to Death (Normally from War Diary)
No war diary exists online and in the absence of any official records the following is taken from the Small Town, Great War, Hucknall FaceBook page and we are grateful to them for all the research they conducted to compile it. At times it is not pleasant reading! “I shall never forget the 9th of August, for we made an attack about six in the morning… My God, it was like hell to see them shot down, and hear the cries of the wounded. A chum of mine dragged one of our chaps into the hedge bottom, and we bandaged him up as well as we could, but we could not do much as he was shot through both thighs by explosive bullets, and they had ripped half of his thighs off. We stayed with him all day, and at night we had to retire and leave him.” But as men fell wounded and others stopped to help them whatever cohesion the attack had broke down. Within an hour of the attack commencing, most of the officers had been killed or wounded, compounding the sense of confusion shared by all ranks, as evidenced by a sadly anonymous account from a member of the battalion. “At seven o’clock that morning they had the other two companies up in support, and at 8.30 the officers left were Major Blackburne, Captain [Francis Fetherstonehaugh] Lloyd [sic], and Lieut. A.E. Scothern, although the last named had been wounded, but stuck to his only machine-gun. The remainder were either killed or had been carried off wounded.” The Turks had done their work well, picking off officers and NCOs. The anonymous account continued. “Bill Annison [20] was the first one killed on that day, and it seems strange that all the sergeants and corporals that were seen that day [on the parade through Nottingham on 3rd April 1915] were shot straight through the head.” It was hardly strange, was certainly no accident, and it had the desired effect. The surviving unwounded senior officer, Major Blackburne, was unclear as to the precise nature of his orders, as he wrote himself after the action. “B Coy under Capt SQUIRES reached the AZMAK DERE, the left being about H in HETMAN CHAR, C Coy under Capt RANDALL. ”These Coys formed the original firing line and supports, A and B Coys being in second line. C Coy had orders to get on the left & B Coy on the right of the new lines. The remaining Coys had a small reserves having orders to align as reserve. A Coy on the Left of B Coy and D Coy less reserve on Right of C Coy. This was I believe the plan tho' it was not communicated to me in detail, my orders being to bring up the second line when sent for.” The advance foundered on the right and centre in the vicinity of Hetman Chair, near an orchard. It proved impossible to advance beyond there and the priority now became holding on to what ground had been captured, as Turkish 35th Regiment pressed home their advantage. Some men, barely trained, parched, in battle for the first time, seeing close friends killed in front of them panicked, as Major Blackburne’s report makes clear. “The Right of A Coy were for a moment unsteadied, all their Officers being killed or wounded but it was only for a moment as Lt SCOTHERN seized a rifle and with it threatened to shoot any man who did not form up along a ledge about 50 yards in rear. This had an immediate effect and A Coy retired well in hand, D and C Coys returning also about 100 yards in an orderly manner.” Blackburne was not the only man to report a loss of discipline amongst the men. Signaller John Stenson was with the Machine Gun Section during the action and witnessed one man break under the strain. It is almost certain that the officer he refers to was the same Lieutenant Scothern, a former England footballer, as mentioned in Major Blackburne’s account. “A corporal of the machine gun section, drunk and behaving in a mad manner, giving the position away, was promptly ordered to be shot by the officer, and when a stretcher bearer got up to shoot him, he was shot himself.” To the noise of the battle, the heat, dust, the sights before their eyes was added a new and particularly gruesome sound, as Pte. John Stenson recalled. “I think if ever my heart was in my mouth it was that day. The moans of the men were awful, for many were burnt to death where the grass had caught fire.”The tinder-dry scrub had been set alight by artillery fire. Pte. Walter Braddow helped one of his corporals but others were beyond his aid. “Our corporal was leading us when all at once he got a piece of shrapnel; he was between me and another. I bandaged him up and carried him to a place of safety and I stayed with him all night… When we got to the trenches it was like a hell in flames, and when daybreak came you could see the poor fellows lying dead and wounded. Some of our fellows got burnt to death. I shall be very glad when the job is all over; it is not war but murder.” Almost all the officers had been either killed or wounded, including the commanding officer, Lt. Colonel Bosanquet. The Foresters held on after a further adjustment to their line, as Major Blackburne reported. “At about 19:00 Lt Col BOSANQUET went to have his wound dressed and upon being sent back by the Medical Officer handed over command to me. ...I proceeded at once to start a permanent defensive line which necessitated a further retirement of my centre and left. The whole line then ran from X Rd South of 92 A3 to 105 W 1...... During the night we were threatened by parties of enemy but no serious attack was made. The men were made to dig in and the 1st HEREFORD Territorials prolonged our line to the R along the AZMAK DERE"
So ended the 9th Sherwood Foresters’ first attack. It cost them 8 officers killed; 11 wounded; 1 missing; and 78 other ranks killed; 167 wounded; and a further 12 missing, a total of 20 officers and 257 other ranks.
| Personal & Family History |
| Birth Date/Place | Baptism Date/Place |
|---|---|
| Oct Qtr 1890 Cherington | 11 Jan 1891 at Cherington |
| Parents Names | Abode |
| Frank and Annie Julia Fletcher | Cherington |
| Schools | Colleges |
| ~ | |
| Address History | Employment History |
| 1891 - Cherington | 1911 - House Painter |
| 1901 - Cherington | |
| 1911 - Not found | |
| 1916 - Cherington | |
