Current Information:

SDGW-LOCK

Born-Fulham

Gallipoli 1915

On 25 April, British, Australian and New Zealand forces landed on the Gallipoli peninsula. 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 in 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.

2nd Royal Fusiliers, 86 Brigade, 29th Division had been in the thick of the fighting since the landings. Between 12th and 17th June, 1915 they were in reserve trenches near White House. Sergeant Locke died of wounds on 16th June, 1915, having been evacuated from Gallipoli to Egypt but there is no information as yet as to when he was wounded. The records show Sergeant Locke as being in 3rd Royal Fusiliers but that battalion did not go to Gallipoli.