Current Information:

Born & Enlisted-Marylebone

Lancashire Landing Cemetery, Gallipoli

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.

147 Brigade, Royal Field Artillery were attached to 29th Division which landed at Gallipoli on 25th April, 1915. Whilst in action they had been hampered by two important factors. First was the acute shortage of shells which meant that their support for infantry attacks and counter battery activity were sorely limited. But even if there had been plenty of ammunition it may not have made a great difference because the positions held by the Turks were largely unknown. Nevertheless they fired away whilst at the same time being vulnerable themselves to the enemy artillery and snipers. James Urry died of wounds on 17th June, 1915, but as yet there is no information as to when and where he was wounded.