Current Information:

Enlisted-Victoria Park

Twelve Tree Copse Cemetery, Gallipoli

Gallipoli 1915

On 25 April, British, Australian and New Zealand forces landed on the Gallipoli peninsular . The plan was that these forces would soon defeat a demoralised Turkish army, knock Turkey out of the war, open up the Mediterranean to the Russian navy and threaten Austro-Hungary from the south. None of these things were achieved despite nine months of hard fighting in terrible conditions. It was an heroic failure.

By the middle of June 1915, there had been three attempts at Helles to capture the village of Krithia and the heights of Achi Baba beyond it and all three had failed at great cost of human life. Future plans now revolved around fresh divisions arriving from Britain but that was still six weeks off and in the meantime it was a matter of holding the line and through a series of small attacks and raids trying to undermine, often literally, the Turkish positions.

The 1/2nd London Field Company of the Royal Engineers was part of 29th Division which had landed at Helles on 25th April and had been involved in heavy fighting since that date. Frank Fishenden died from wounds on 19th June, 1915, but it is not known when nor in what circumstances he was wounded.