Bursaries
For details of the bursary system, please email bursaries@gallipoli-association.org
In 2008, the Gallipoli Association Bursary was awarded to Rugby School. In August that year, pupils Xander Morgan and Harry Miller travelled to the peninsula and visited sites with particular links to the School. A presentation was subsequently made on 18th March 2009 in the Memorial Chapel at Rugby School. The following is Xander’s report.
“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives. You are now lying 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 their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears. Your sons are now living in our bosom and are in peace. Having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.” –Ataturk
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| Xander and Harry before the Rugby School roll of honour |
When it was mentioned to me that I would be undertaking the Gallipoli Association bursary tour, I had to stop and think where is Gallipoli? Being of Australian descent it had always been a very big deal in my house. But no-one seemed to know where Gallipoli actually was. Being a classicist, I was somewhat shocked to see that it was only a stones throw from Troy, which must make the peninsula one of the most bloodied shores throughout the ages, where many a hero has fallen. Many of my friends knew nothing of Gallipoli and those few who did presumed it was a small and insignificant place, where only a small battle had been fought. Having been and seen the names, it is obvious that this is not so and that every effort must be made to remember the battle that bled two nations for the first time and drained yet more of two dying Empire’s, and, even more importantly for Rugby school who lost 9 men on one day and had many others die, including Rugby’s highest ranking officer to be killed on the peninsula, Lieutenant Colonel A.O.Thompson. We had also noticed having studied maps of the area and read books that some of the cemeteries in the area were little visited, so Harry and I being of an inquisitive and energetic nature decided to visit these. To this end I would say that Harry an I had 3 main goals: firstly to get a real feel for one of the more forgotten battle fields of the great war, secondly to find as many ORs as possible and thirdly to visit the four most remote cemeteries on the battlefield: The Farm, Plugge’s Plateau, Shell Green and 4th Bn Parade Ground Cemetery.
On our first day in Gallipoli we visited the southern most tip of the British landings, Helles and looked at both the Helles memorial a Navy and Army memorial, the point from which the British forces were evacuated in the only successful part of the campaign and W beach otherwise know as Lancashire Landing. At Helles the sheer number of names was enough to shock, but what to us was the most unusual thing was that as we scanned the endless names we came to a list of names on which appeared a Miller and directly below it a Morgan. It is strange to think that nearly 92 years ago two young men fought and died sharing the same names as us and possibly the same friendship. This was probably the most spin chilling moment of the trip, but certainly not the first. In the coming days we would both get used to seeing our last name on graves and even an A. Morgan in one cemetery, which is exactly my name, and heralding from Wales making him a possible relative, as my family lost two brave young men in the Gallipoli conflict.
The next site we visited was W beach, we had the privilege of being able walk up the beach and see, to an extent what the men who landed were able to see. The beach is a superb defensive location, there are cliffs that overlook the landing site, on three sides, meaning that there is nowhere on the beach where it possible to be covered from fire. This highlights the blinding incompetence in intelligence and leadership that permeated the whole campaign. One thing that this taught us to appreciate was the sheer bravery of the men involved to get off the poorly made boats and to advance “winning six VCs before breakfast”, If there ever was a perfect example of “lions led by donkeys” Gallipoli is it.
The French cemetery near Zimmerman’s farm was by far the most beautiful cemetery. The setting gave a spectacular view over the aqua blue water of the Dardanelles, the white marble memorial with the words “Glory to our eternal France. Glory to those who died for her: to the martyrs, the brave, the strong, to those who are inspired by them who wish a place in the temple and who will die as they died”. The white walls, and black crosses gave the cemetery a different feel to the others, instead of the sunken stones, the upright black crosses gave an impression of ordered pride almost like the soldiers lined up in their ranks. Whilst the French comparatively few men in a diversionary attack on the mainland bank of the Dardanelles their cemetery was one of the best kept.
The Redoubt cemetery is very important to Rugby School as it contains the Duckworth memorial. This is a solitary English oak tree planted by the father of 2nd Lieutenant Eric Duckworth who died on the 7th of August aged 19. Whilst this is the centre piece of the cemetery and is very impressive there are 4 other Old Rugbeians buried in this officers graveyard, AC brook, Kesler, Walker, Edgar, and the grave of Corderon was supposed to be in the same cemetery but could not be located.
The next day was spent visiting the cemeteries in and around ANZAC bay and the four remote cemeteries, including Lone Pine which I felt was incredible important given my Australian heritage. The first of the cemeteries that we visited was “The Farm” this is a very small cemetery dedicated to only 7 men. The walk down was about 1Km but provided spectacular views of Suvla bay. The first thing, and one to become a common them was the feeling of peace and the utter utter silence that one was almost oppressed by, a very eerie sensation. The next grave-yard which we visited was “Plugges Plateau” which is near the aptly named “sphinx” but ANZACS who had spent the weeks before the landing training in Egypt under the Sphinx’s watchful stare. A scene immortalized by the 1981 movie Gallipoli. “Plugges Plateau” was a command post when the landings happened and is now a cemetery containing 17 men, and again the eerie silence prevailed, and a superb view of ANZAC cove was provided. One very touching moment was the grave of private G.Bell of Scotland who had a tartan scarf wrapped around his grave and a photo of him as a young man wearing his uniform, with pride and steely determination in his eyes. 4th BN Parade ground was not too much of a remote cemetery, but, one that contained a man very important to the school and the highest ranking Old Rugbeian officer killed, Lieutenant Colonel A.O.Thompson of the 4th battalion Australian Imperial Force. Finally the largest of the remote cemeteries “Shell Green” with 408 Australians and 1 UK airman, the area so called because of the frequent Turkish shelling. This cemetery due to its size had a slightly different effect as it was less moving on an individual scale due to the increased number of graves but it saddening to see so many young men who had died in such a small, desolate area.
Once again thank you to the Association for providing the trip of a life-time, Much has been learnt.
Xander Morgan