Sedbergh School GA Bursary Trip Report

15th to 19th October 2026

By Mr Rupert Follett

Head of History, Sedbergh School, Cumbria

At the start of the October half term, nine pupils accompanied by two teachers, flew to Turkey to study the World War One Gallipoli campaign.

As part of the GCSE History syllabus, pupils study the First World War. Indeed, 67 Old Sedberghians are known to have fought in the Gallipoli campaign of 1915, of which 27 were killed. Sedbergh School has a longstanding link with the Gallipoli Association. Following their visit to the School in November 2025, as part of their remit to educate and inform young people, the Association very generously offered Sedbergh pupils their bursary travel scheme to visit Turkey. The trip was therefore part History, part pilgrimage and part cultural.

The tour party left Sedbergh on the Thursday morning, bound for Istanbul via Manchester airport. On arrival at Istanbul, we were met by Mr Clive Harris from Battle Honours Ltd and Mr Adem Bicer our local guide who was able to add invaluable insights from a Turkish perspective. From Istanbul we made the 3 hour drive south, following the western shore of the Sea of Marmara. This drive allowed introductions and a brief overview of the Gallipoli campaign to be made. We crossed the 1915 Çanakkale suspension bridge over the Dardanelles waterway. The bridge was completed in 2022 and is the longest suspension bridge in the world. This took us from Europe to Asia, where we were to be based in the Grand Anzac hotel in the university town of Çanakkale.

On the Friday morning, after breakfast in the hotel, we were joined by Mr Thomas Iredale the Gallipoli Association’s Overseas Liaison Officer. The tour party, then boarded the ferry that was to daily transport us the 2km across the Dardanelles to access the Gallipoli sites. First stop was the Ottoman Fort Rumeli Mecidiye. Here Mr Bicer introduced us to the Naval campaign, we were able to view the Dardanelles defences and listen to the story of Corporal Seyit who became a Turkish hero by showing superhuman strength by carrying a massive artillery shell on his back to enable his gun to keep firing.

[Composite image]

Left: The Sedbergh group at the Ottoman Fort Rumeli Mecidiye. Right: Corporal Seyit and his legendary feat of strength to enable the gun to keep firing after the ammunition hoist was damaged

We then drove the short distance to the Helles battlefield. Using a purposefully built viewing platform on the hill of Achi Baba, we were able to see the Helles battlefield spread out below us. ‘Is that it?’ was the comment of more than one pupil. The battlefield area is tiny, especially considering the hundreds of thousands of men that fought there. The Helles Memorial to the missing, was another opportunity to make this campaign human. The memorial has the names of over 20,000 allied soldiers who have no known grave, including 16 Old Sedberghians. Our expert guide Mr Harris brought the human drama to life. He has relatives on the memorial and had researched the stories behind a number of the fallen. We laid a wreath and paid our respects by stopping at the name of each Old Sedberghian and reflecting on their life.

[image]

The wreath for the 16 Old Sedberghians commemorated on the Helles Memorial

Each had significance, none more so that Lieutenant Francis Danson, a former head of School House and 1st XV rugby player, killed in action on 10th August 1915. He has a commemorative brass plaque in the School Chapel and the Danson building is named after him.

A short walk from the Helles memorial, took us to V beach, one of five landing beaches on Cape Helles. Standing in Turkish trenches looking at where the allies floundered ashore was a powerful lesson in how high ground and well sited defences can wreak enormous destruction on attackers. Lunch at the restaurant on V beach, allowed time for reflection and to watch a pod of dolphins. The four girls braved a swim in the sea. The five boys declined the chance for a dip in the cool waters!

[image]

V Beach as viewed from the diorama on the heights overlooking the beach

After lunch on V Beach, we visited an original French gun battery that helped support the allied efforts once ashore. The guns are remarkably preserved.

[image]

Emily doing a pull-up on one of the French guns

A short drive took us to the limit of the allied advance, which is now the site of Twelve Tree Copse Cemetery. Here we paid our respects to three Old Sedberghians; Geoffrey Deans who left Hart House in 1899, Kenneth Cobb who left School House in 1893 and Bartle Bradshaw who left Lupton House in 1901. All three were killed in action in the summer of 1915 in the allied attempts to seize Krithia village. Day one over, we crossed back over the Dardanelles on the ferry to the hotel. During the crossing, the boys took the opportunity to sing to the other passengers. A rather awkward silence followed! Having lost the ‘athletic high ground’ to the girls earlier in the day, the boys played a group of Çanakkale university students at basketball. To keep Anglo -Turkish relations sound, we generously allowed them to win 5 – 2.

Day two of the trip was devoted to understanding the significant contribution of the Australians and New Zealanders to the Gallipoli campaign. The landscape where the Australians and New Zealanders landed is very different to the British landings at Cape Helles.

[image]

ANZAC Cove with the Sphinx

Stunningly beautiful, yet tortuous to attack with its steep cliffs, deed sided ravines and thick, bushy scrub. We began with a walk on the landing beaches, visiting Ari Burnu Cemetery and the Ataturk reconciliation Memorial. We were able to visit the grave of Old Sedberghian, Thomas Evans in Shrapnel Valley Cemetery and pay our respects. There is a story in the School Archives that Thomas Evans whilst exploring the fells around Sedbergh, rescued a fellow pupil that had fallen into a fast-flowing ghyll and suffered a broken arm. Evans carried the boy three miles back to school. At his grave side we saw how his desire to help others persisted as we recounted the manner of Evans’ death on the 26th April 1915, in which he was shot whilst trying to help a wounded comrade.

[composite image]

Left: The group at the grave of 2nd Lieutenant Thomas Evans in Shrapnel Valley Cemetery. Right: Commemorating Lieutenant Thomas Evans at his gravestone

In the beautiful Beach Cemetery, we saw the grave of Lieutenant Colonel Clarke, at 57, one of the oldest soldiers to die in the campaign. Later that day, at Lone Pine Cemetery we were to see the memorial to 14-year-old Australian soldier Jim Martin, one of the youngest.

After a traditional Turkish lunch at the Gözleme Café, we moved up on to the Anzac Ridge. Lone Pine, Johnston’s Jolly, Quinn’s Post, The Nek are sites whose names are deeply etched into the Australian psyche. The pupils enjoyed exploring the Australian trenches around Lone Pine. It was powerful to hear the Ottoman perspective and consider their attacks in mid-May and the ceasefires that resulted so both sides could bury their dead. We ended the day on the heights of Chunuk Bair, which hold a special place for New Zealanders and Turkish alike. From the heights we could gaze down on the Dardanelles and see Suvla Bay, the site of the ill-fated landings of August 1915.

[composite image]

Left: Statue of Mustafa Kemal and the New Zealand Memorial on Chunuk Bair. Centre: The trenches at Chunuk Bair. Right: Impressive statue of an Ottoman infantryman, known as a “Mehmetçik”

For our final full day on Gallipoli, we studied the Suvla landings of August 1915. First stop was the grave of Old Sedberghian John Marshall, who left Hart House in 1908 and joined the Essex Regiment, he was killed by a sniper on 23rd October 1915 aged 24. A good walk around the Suvla Bay area allowed the pupils to understand the importance of momentum, initiative and high ground. At Hill 10 Cemetery we paid our respects to Old Sedberghian Basil Jennings, killed in action aged 25 and at Green Hill Cemetery to Claude Darwell, who was killed aged 21. The Sedberghian magazine of 1915 recorded that ‘He played 1st XV rugby and 1st XI cricket for two years and was a school prefect. Having only left Sedbergh in 1913, Claude Darwell’s death affected the school more than that of almost any other Sedberghian’. Finally, we stood on the tactically significant W Hills to understand why the Ottoman defence was able to beat the allied attacks and how and why the allies eventually evacuated the Gallipoli peninsula. The last visit of the tour allowed the group to meet Mr Burak Gündoğan, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s head of mission to Turkey. He explained his role and the challenges his team face in caring for the cemeteries.

For three days, pupils and staff walked the battlefields, stood in the footsteps of previous generations and gazed upon the final resting place of Old Sedberghians. Mr Clive Harris and Mr Adem Bicer were brilliant with their detailed explanations, which helped us develop a much deeper understanding of the events that took place on Gallipoli. We were all so impressed by their ability to bring history to life. Letters, medals, poems, diaries and personal reflections brought colour and the human story to this campaign. It was a privilege to be in the company of these experts, and we extend our grateful thanks. The last word goes to the Gallipoli Association, without their generous help and support this trip would not have taken place. Thank you.