Frost bite in Gallipoli

 

Last week I was in Malta on holiday with Gill staying in a rented house in Pieta, a suburb of the capital Valletta. I will post another time on what a truly wonderful place Malta is to visit. 

By coincidence, just across the road from where we were staying was a Commonwealth War Graves cemetery.  Wherever I go, I always try to go and show my respects to these graves. 

The cemetery was as usual, kept in immaculate condition and walking along the graves and reading the inscriptions. There were many very sad and moving stories about so many young victims of the first and second world war, who were buried here and those who died in accidents or illnesses during the interwar garrison years.

I was struck by one memorial to Private E (Edwin) Marsh (see main picture) from the 7th Gloucester Regiment who "died in Malta on Dec 12 1915 from Frost Bite contracted in Gallipoli in the service of his country. This monument is erected by his mother".

Edwin was before the war a South Wales Coal Miner and died of gangrene to his feet from frost bite 

My maternal Grandfather (Taid in Welsh) Frederick Matthews, was also from South Wales (he was a  steel worker) and fought in Gallipoli (Royal Naval Division) and I knew from military records that he had been evacuated from that front to a hospital in Malta on Jan 1 1916 suffering from frost bite to his feet. Malta at the time was turned into a vast military hospital for all the many wounded from Gallipoli. 

He was lucky and survived and when he eventually returned to fight with his unit in mainland France, he was awarded on 10 June 2017 a Military Cross for "conspicuous gallantry" by attacking enemy positions and capturing prisoners. Incredibly he survived the whole war. 

These sort of things must make you be conscious of the role of chance or luck in life. It could have been Edwin who survived the frost bite and Fred who didn't. In such case I would not be here and there is a tiny probable chance that Edwin's Grandson, could have come on holiday and also pondered on Fred's grave in Pieta. 

Walter Tull & 11 November 2018

A couple of weeks ago I went to Folkestone (via the high speed rail link in 46 minutes) for a Friday night beer and curry with an old mate. The following morning hangover cure was a brisk walk along the beach and back along the prom.

Near the town War Memorial on the prom there was an information board which featured a Newham connection (above). Walter Tull was born in Folkestone 1888 but he was also one of the first UK black professional footballers and was first spotted playing for Forest Gate based (Now London Borough Newham) Clapton FC.

After the outbreak of the First World War he joined the British Army in 1914 and was commissioned as an officer in 1917. Arguably the first ever Black commissioned officer despite apparently military regulations forbidding it. He was killed in action in Northern France 8 March 1918. His body was never recovered.

My Taid (Welsh for Grandfather) Captain Frederick Matthews MC RND, another working class volunteer, also fought in the Western Front during First World War. He survived.

The Folkestone War memorial is next to what is now called the "Road of Remembrance". During the First World War troops used to get off trains at a nearby depot then march down that road to the port below then take the military ferry to France. I suspect that Walter and my Taid had marched at different times up and down that same road several times during the War.

On 11 November 2018 it is the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. Time to remember and reflect on everyone (regardless of class, race and nationality) who fought in this bloody, dreadful War. 

100th anniversary of my Grandfather arriving at Gallipoli

According to this history of the "Hawke Battalion" Royal Naval Divison (RDN) by Douglas Jerrold, my Grandfather ( Taid in Welsh) Sub-lieutenant, Frederick Matthews, first joined them on active service a 100 years ago yesterday on 18 July 1915.

The Battalion was "dug in" occupying trenches at the Gallipoli beach head only a short distance from Turkish Army positions.

It was the height of summer and apart from insanitary conditions and disease there was constant shelling, sniping, attacks and counter attacks. The Battalion stayed until the allied retreat in January 1916.

My "Taid" was an apprentice in a South Wales Steel works before he joined the RND. He served in the Battalion throughout the war and also fought in France and Belgium. He later became a Captain and was awarded the Military Cross in 1917.

I will try and post in chronological order upon the major events that he and the Battalion experienced in the course of the War. While Gallipoli must have been a terrible experience, some of the battles that the Hawke Battalion took part in later on were far worse and completely horrifying. 

The family picture above is of my Taid (sitting on the left with arms folded)  in the trenches with an unknown comrade which the family believe is probably Gallipoli in 1915.

The band played waltzing matilda

Today is the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War Gallipoli campaign.  The 8 month conflict was one of the most vicious of that war.

This song was written by Eric Bogle in 1971 and was today described by a good friend of mine (and who has a doctorate in History) as "the most powerful anti-war song I have ever heard".

Gallipoli is very important to Australians  and New Zealanders but British and French troops also served there. My maternal Grandfather, Frederick Matthews, fought there with the Hawke Battalion, Royal Naval Division. He arrived after the landing in July 1915. I will post further in July about him and his Battalion's experiences in Gallipoli and then later in France. 

4 August 2014 - 100th anniversary of the start of World War One

This morning at 11am I went to the Cenotaph at East Ham Central Park for a Newham Council ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War One.

A British Legion representative laid the first wreath followed by the Mayor and representatives of the former boroughs of East and West Ham.

One lovely spontaneous touch was as the wreaths were being laid, a passerby stopped and started singing a beautiful lament to the fallen "Sleep on Beloved, Sleep on and take your rest".

My Grandfather, Frederick John Matthews MC, Royal Naval Division, fought in the First World War. On 5 August 1914 he was still an apprentice "mechanical engineer and draughtsman" in a South Wales Steel works. He left to join up on 2 September 1914 and returned to work (briefly) in January 1919.

I hope in the coming years to follow in his footsteps a hundred year later, starting off next  year at Gallipoli in Turkey then the trench battles of France and Belgium.

hat tip picture Cllr Ayesha Chowdhury,

Remembrance Sunday & Armistice Day

Yesterday morning I went to the Remembrance Sunday Service at West Ham Parish Church of All Saints. This is in my Council ward  and at 1,000 years is one of the oldest buildings in Newham.

The Church is currently undergoing a major programme of restoration with scaffolding everywhere but it still retained its solemnity and dignity.

The Revd Stennett Kirby led the service and our local MP Lyn Brown gave a Bible reading. Following Reveille, the Kohima Epitaph was given by an elderly veteran whose slow, deliberate rasping voice made all of us think of those who gave their today for our tomorrow.

Wreaths were laid with respect by the dignitaries, British Legionaries, serving soldiers and cadets. The most touching was the last which was laid by a little girl of 3 or 4 who had to "persuaded" by her Mum and encouraged by others, to go up and lay her little wooden cross with a red poppy on it.  But what was lovely is once she had finally done this, she turned round and skipped her way back to her Mum across the Church.

The address was made by Rifleman Franklin Anolue, 7 Rifles, G Company, West Ham who was in his Army Battle dress.  Franklin had recently served in Helmond Province in Afghanistan with his regiment. He told us he had always wanted to be a soldier ever since he saw the film "Saving Private Ryan". He was a student studying engineering and a part time soldier with the Territorial Army. He hadn't told his Mum he was going to Afghanistan until he was there, since he knew she would try and stop him! He had gone to Remembrance services before he went on his tour of duty but it is only now that he can really understand why it is so important to remember all those who put themselves in harms way for their country.

Remembrance Sunday takes place on the 2nd Sunday of November every year. This morning I went to the out door Armistice Day Service at the Central Park Cenotaph in East Ham which takes place at the anniversary of the end of World War One, at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th Month.  This was another very moving service. What was particularly important to me was the number of children from local primary and secondary schools who attended and participated in the service.

Also the emphasis on the "forgotten" Commonwealth and the absolutely vital role played in the First and Second World War by Africans, Asians and Caribbeans who defended our country and our freedoms.

The picture above is of my Taid (Welsh for Grandfather) in the trenches during the 1st World War.  He is sitting on the left and I think the picture was taken in Gallipoli where he served in Hawk Battalion, Royal Naval Division. This is a smashing photograph of my Taid. Dan Filson on FaceBook thought he looked like a 1950's teddy boy! Which I am not that sure about but having "attitude" may explain why he survived being on the front line in Gallipoli, Flanders and the Somme for 3 long years. He won the Military Cross in 1917.

The Fighting Temeraire (& the Fighting 63rd)

Off message: This simply gorgeous sunset by J M W Turner of the old Battleship being towed towards the breaker's yard was once voted the "Greatest Painting in any British Gallery". I agree - and a canvass print of the painting is one of my 50th birthday presents yesterday.

Last weekend I went to the Portsmouth Historic Docks and visited HMS Victory and HMS Warrior. I found that there was a 23 year old John Gray who served in HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar  in 1805. I'll post pictures on Facebook of this visit, including a boat trip to look at a £400 million modern day Naval Battleship and older ones awaiting the same fate as the "Temeraire".

This weekend I am going to Ypres in Belgium with my nephew Matthew, his mate Ashley and my brother-in-law Rob. We are planning to visit the First World War Battlefield sites and museums. On this forthcoming Remembrance Sunday, we are going to show our respects to the British and Commonwealth dead at Menin Gate.

My Taid (Welsh for Grandfather) fought in the First World War in the Royal Naval Division (63rd). There was too many men volunteering for the Navy at the beginning of that war so Winston Churchill who was in charge decided to form a land fighting navy division. The RND was constantly in the thick of it in France (and Gallipoli) during the War. It lost the equivalent of four times its numerical strength in dead and wounded (stop and think about this figure) .

My Taid (who also survived Gallipoli) received this citation in 1917 "Temporary Lieutenant Frederick John Matthews RNVR for conspicuous gallantry and devotion in leading his company forward with ammunition under a heavy machine gun fire. He also attacked and captured a machine gun position, seizing the gun and taking about forty prisoners for which he was awarded the Military Cross".

I think this action took place in or around Ypres and I will try and find out further information. How on earth can any infantry unit under heavy fire attack machine gun positions? It would be fascinating to work out when and where this action took place and to visit the location.

My Auntie Di (daughter-in-law of Taid) wants to visit Flanders. I have promised her that this weekend will be a tester and if it all goes well then perhaps the wider Matthews Clan can organise a similar gathering next year?

My Taid in the Trenches

I was really pleased yesterday to receive this photo from my Auntie Diane in South Wales (via my Auntie Rose in North Wales).  On the back she had written "Taid as a young man in the Trenches". 

My maternal Taid (Welsh for Grandfather) Frederick Matthews, is sitting on the left of the picture alongside an unknown soldier. The family believe it is from First World War, during which he served in the Royal Naval Division in France and Gallipoli.

There are only two photographs of Taid that have survived from this time, so I assume that the Soldier he is sitting with must have been a good friend. They seem very relaxed and comfortable together. I wonder who he was and what happened to him?

She also sent me the original Apprentice Indenture dated 7 February 1910 that my Taid and his father signed with the Uskside Engineering and Rivet Company. Which is an equally fascinating piece of Labour history which I will post upon another time.

Captain Frederick John Matthews MC: Royal Naval Division

This is the scanned picture of my Teid (my Welsh maternal grandfather) which I received yesterday morning.  In the beginning of the First World War there were too many volunteers for the Royal Navy. So Winston Churchill created the Royal Naval Division which fought on land but retained Naval ranks and traditions.  

"It was regarded as a highly efficient fighting force and played a prominent part in some of the bloodiest battles of the war".

Teid had volunteered to join the Navy in 1915 and was sent to the RND.  He eventually became a Captain (temporary wartime commission RNVR). He fought in Gallipoli and on the Western front in the First World War. In 1917 he was awarded a Military Cross for attacking and capturing a German Machine Gun post and taking 40 prisoners.

After the War he became a Regular Warrant Officer in the Royal Welch Fusiliers and in the Second World War he was a Warrant officer in the Royal Air Force.  So he served in all three Armed Services.  I was 9 when he died in 1971.

This picture is important to me.  I have waited a long time to get a copy.  It was obviously displayed in pride of place in my grandparents' home in Denbigh, North Wales.  Together with the actual Military Cross and the Certificate of Honour from his hometown of Abercarn.  All my (seven) maternal aunties and uncles also had copies displayed prominently in their homes.  I am sure that many families can relate to this experience.

However, equally important to the Mathews family, Teid, was also known as someone who would stand up for ordinary people in the local community.  Someone who write and send letters to Landlords, employers, the Bank, the Council or whoever - on behalf of those who could not express themselves in this way.

In our family we took pride in him representing ordinary working people as well in his bravery in Battle.

The Last Fighting Tommy - my Taid’s Last Comrade

The recent death of the last surviving British World War One veteran Harry Patch has I think made many of us stop and stare for least a moment or two. There is a real sense that we have witnessed the end of a historical era.

The last living unwilling British participant and witness of trench warfare in the so-called Great War has now died.

Harry was a plumber who was conscripted into the army and fought in the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. After months of combat he was wounded in a shell explosion which killed 3 of his close friends. More than 70,000 British troops died in this one awful battle. By the time that Harry was fully recovered from his wound the war was over.

My Taid (my welsh grandfather, my mum’s dad) also served in the First World War. Like Harry, he was a machine gunner in the trenches. His division (The Fighting 63rd - Royal Naval Division) also fought at Passchendaele where they lost 2,000 men. I am not sure if my Taid was at this battle since he never talked about this or any of his war experiences (he volunteered in 1915). He had won a Military Cross shortly before the battle. Ironically this award which was for risking his life to capture a German machine gun post and sizing forty prisoners may have actually saved him. Since military records show he was given leave for the investiture at Buckingham Palace at the height of the Battle.

I remember my Taid even though he died when I was 7. My memory is of a very gentle man in a wheelchair reading me aloud childish children’s stories with great relish.

His Military Cross and picture of him as a young confident solider held absolute pride of place in the living room of my Nain’s Council flat in Denbigh. It was next to the “Certificate of Honour” from his home town of Abercarn. A copy of which I stare at now.

Goodbye then Harry Patch, if there is an afterlife, (which sadly of course I doubt) then hopefully my Taid, your comrade at arms, Frederick John Matthews, will be there to welcome you with your long lost mates.

Shall we shed a tear or two at the thought of that meeting?