Cpl Thomas PARTRIDGE

[michaeldr]

Cpl Thomas Partridge

1st/1st West Somerset Yeomanry

Died aged 22 on 14 Jan 1916

Buried, Lancashire Landing Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey

The CWGC Information Sheet, The Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey (05/99) gives the following details:

Lancashire Landing Cemetery (1252 Burials) stands on a cliff overlooking the beach on which the 1st Lancashire Fusiliers landed on 25th April 1915. It was begun immediately after the landings and some further burials were moved there after the armistice.

This must have been the case with Cpl Partridge as the West Somersets evacuated to Imbros during the night of 19th Dec 1915. Westlake gives the following information "December - Strength (2nd Dec) 294. Many men to hospital sick. Strength (4th Dec) 111."

Was Cpl Partridge one of the sick and did he die on Imbros?

Hoping to learn more

Michael D.R.

[michaeldr]

The CWGC site informs that Cpl Partridge's grave is in row 'K'

and the Holts' Battlefield Guide confirms that "Row 'L' and Row 'K' were made after the Armistice by graves brought from the islands of Imbros and Tenedos....."

[Guest Pete Wood]

Looking through Ray Westlake's book, British Regiments at Gallipoli, the severe storms at the end of November - and the bitterly cold weather of early December, was almost certainly the reason that so many men reported sick.

Since October, the flies (spreading disease) were no longer such a problem, but illness caused by exposure was prevalent.

More men died from Pneumonia at this time, than from Enteritis.

I must admit I was not aware of bodies being moved from Imbos, post-war. Does anyone know why this happened....??

[Guest Pete Wood]

Sorry, I have just noticed that his NoK details are recorded:

Son of S. I. and Louisa Partridge, of Hurlestone, Porlock, Somerset.

He was born and enlisted in Minehead, and was living in Allerford.

[michaeldr]

I must admit I was not aware of bodies being moved from Imbos, post-war. Does anyone know why this happened....??

RT,

It is not clear to me exactly why the bodies were removed from the islands however I strongly suspect that one of the reasons was international politics.

After the armistice between Britain and Turkey the first parties of the Graves Registration Unit arrived on Gallipoli in the winter of 1918-19 to commence their work. The islands however were not at that time under Turkish sovereignty, as they had been captured by the Greeks in the Balkan Wars of 1912-13. It may have been in order to simplify the administration that it was decided to bring the burials from the [at that time Greek] islands, to the Turkish peninsula. The islands of Imbros and Tenedos were not returned to Turkey until after the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923.

If someone has the book "Unending Vigil" then perhaps they can throw more light on this subject?

From the Holts' guide book:

"The British war graves on Imbros - in Kephalos British Cemetery (84 British, Australian and New Zealand soldiers and sailors, three Greek and one German prisoner), Kusu Bay Cemetery (forty-five officers and men, fourteen of them unidentified, of the monitors 'Ragalan' and 'M28', sunk by the German battle cruiser 'Goeben' and the cruiser 'Breslau' on 20 January 1918) and Panaghia Churchyard Cemetery (one officer and five men from the monitors and four airmen from the 62nd Wing, RAF), were then removed to Lancashire Landing CWGC Cemetery at Helles. A brass plate was placed on the church wall of Panaghia to commemorate the six sailors."

Regards

Michael D.R.

[Guest Pete Wood]

It makes sense to me now, Michael. Thank you.

Terry D, please can you check that the next of kind details for this man have been scanned correctly:

I think there may be a possibility that this man's father had the intials S J (and not S I).