South Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK
The voyage to Gallipoli
One of our Scottish projects has been run from Low Parks Museum in Hamilton, near Glasgow, based on the history of The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), 7th and 8th Battalions, and the Lanarkshire Yeomanry; Squadrons A,B and C. The Cameronians went out to Gallipoli in May 1915, arriving on the 14th of June. The Yeomanry went out on the 26th of September, arriving on the 11th of October.
Gallipoli is etched into the history of The Cameronians. The battle of Gully Ravine on the 28th June marks the single greatest loss of men, on any one day during the entire First World War for The Cameronians. So great were their losses that the two battalions became one for the remainder of their time on the peninsula. They also brought up the rear of the evacuation, being amongst the last to leave on the night of the 8th/9th of January. (The Yeomanry had left on the 31st of December).
The museum worked with nine local primary schools. Workshops in the museum with costumed interpreters gave the children a feel for what the soldiers went through during recruitment and training, before going off to Gallipoli. Back in school the children looked at the story in more depth. Some pupils worked on a coordinated comic strip following the story right through to the evacuation. Others did creative writing activities, recreating letters and postcards sent home by the soldiers. Download a PDF of the project’s links to the Curriculum for Excellence here and read the evaluation report here.
The Cameronians in Gallipoli
These photos were used by the schools during the project. They were chosen to show children what life might actually have been like for the men of South Lanarkshire. They trace the story from recruitment (top left photo) right through to evacuation and recuperation in Mudros (bottom right). The Cameronians did not stop there though: their war continued in the Middle East, continuing the fight against the Ottoman Empire in Egypt and Palestine.
All photos © South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture
Comic strip
South Lanarkshire children from St. Paul’s, High Mill, Quarter, Spittal, St. Cadoc’s and Our Lady & St. Anne’s Primary Schools told the story of the Cameronians in Gallipoli using comic strips. Start with the image at the top left and follow the soldiers as they joined up, trained, travelled to Gallipoli, lived in trenches, endured terrible weather, poor rations and disease and were finally evacuated to Egypt.
Letters and postcards
Children in Beckford, Crawforddyke and David Livingston Memorial Primary Schools did creative writing activities on Gallipoli. They imagined what life was like for the soldiers so far away from home and wrote letters and postcards. Click on any image for a larger version, or scroll through each set.
