On the morning of 25th April 1915, soldiers from the 1st Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers, landed on a beach at Cape Helles, at the southwestern tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey, under a murderous fire. Despite suffering appalling losses, they pushed on towards their objectives with great determination, and six men from the battalion were later awarded the Victoria Cross - Britain’s highest award for valour in battle. These six medals would soon be dubbed the 'six VCs before breakfast', due to them having been won early in the morning, whilst many people in Britain were still in bed.
Background to the Gallipoli Campaign
1914 had seen the start of World War One, and in early November, the Ottoman Empire joined the fray on the side of the Central Powers. Soon after, Britain and France devised a plan to knock the Ottomans out of the war. In January 1915, a naval attack on the Gallipoli peninsula was given the go-ahead. Gallipoli guards the entrance to the Dardanelles Strait, and by securing it, the Allied Powers hoped to open a path for an attack on Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire.
Yet, naval attempts to silence the guns at Gallipoli - an important prerequisite before Allied ships could pass through - proved disastrous. Several British and French warships were sunk or put out of action by shelling and naval mines. As a result, it was decided to carry out amphibious landings to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. Once ground troops had secured the coastal forts, the way for the navy would be open.
The Plan
General Sir Ian Hamilton was appointed to command the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, which consisted of the British 29th Division, the Royal Naval Division, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), and the French Corps Expéditionnaire d'Orient.
The main landings were to be carried out by the 29th Division at Cape Helles, where the troops were to advance rapidly inland and seize the village of Krithia and the heights of Achi Baba on the first day. From there, they would push northwards to capture the forts guarding the Strait. Simultaneously, the ANZACs would carry out a second landing at Gaba Tepe, further north along Gallipoli’s western shore, from where they could advance eastwards to secure the Sari Bair ridge, thereby cutting off the southern half of the peninsula to prevent the arrival of Ottoman reinforcements.
Five beaches were selected for the landing at Cape Helles, designated S, V, W, X, and Y from east to west. Although the landings were initially intended to take place at night, the plan was changed after naval commanders complained that the strong currents and the difficulty of manoeuvring ships in a confined space made this impracticable. Following a naval bombardment of the shore defences, the troops were to be transported by rowing boats, towed close inshore by steamboats. The covering force was to be ashore by 7 am to secure the beach, enabling the main body to start landing by 8.30 am. By midday, the whole of the 29th Division would be on dry land, allowing the men on the various beaches to link up and begin moving towards their first-day objective - Achi Baba.
1st Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers
The 29th Division was composed entirely of regular British infantry battalions that had been brought back from colonial postings following the declaration of war in August 1914. This included the 1st Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers, previously stationed in Karachi, British India. The battalion returned to the United Kingdom in January 1915, joining the 86th Brigade of the 29th Division. As part of the covering force, the Lancashire Fusiliers were given the task of landing on W Beach.
W Beach, towards the western end of Cape Helles, was about 320 metres long and from 14 to 37 metres wide, with steep cliffs at both ends and a small ridge overlooking it in the centre, a short distance inland. It was defended by around 240 men - a single company from the 3rd Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment. The Ottomans had mined the beach and laid extensive barbed wire entanglements, including one directly along the waterline. Trenches had been dug on the high ground overlooking the beach, while two machine guns were hidden in the cliffs, covering the wire in enfilade. A short distance to the southeast lay Hill 138, with a fortified redoubt overlooking W Beach.
The Landings at W Beach
The landings were scheduled for 25th April 1915. The invasion fleet sailed from the island of Tenedos the night before, timed to arrive off Cape Helles an hour before sunrise. By 6 am, the Lancashire Fusiliers - embarked on the armoured cruiser HMS Euryalus and the battleship HMS Implacable - had transferred to 32 cutters, which were towed to an area around 50 metres from the shore. The naval crews then started rowing towards W Beach.
As the boats approached the shore, shells from the British warships screamed overhead. No movement could be seen up ahead. 'A' and 'B' companies were to assault the redoubt on Hill 138 on the right, while 'C' Company was to attack the trenches overlooking the beach. 'D' Company was to be landed at the beach's western end with Battalion HQ, to act as battalion reserve. Roughly ten minutes before the boats were due to reach the shore, the naval bombardment was lifted, enabling the Turkish troops to show their heads above the trench parapets. As the first boat hit the beach, all hell was let loose.
Rifle and machine gun fire swept the boats, causing horrific casualties amongst the tightly packed troops. Most of the men leapt into the water, with many being drowned by the weight of their equipment. Others got caught on the barbed wire, which had clearly not been cut by the preliminary bombardment, and found themselves being fired upon from three sides. Yet, despite the carnage, small parties of Fusiliers managed to get through the entanglement, and, despite the horrendous losses, reached the cliffs on either side of the beach, where they quickly regrouped.
The Turkish trenches overlooking the centre of the beach were swiftly captured and by 7.15 am, the landing area had been secured. By 7.30 am, the second wave had landed with much fewer losses, and together with the survivors of the first wave, the reinforcements were preparing to attack the redoubt on Hill 138. On the left, the troops advanced towards Hill 114 to link up with X Beach. At 9.30 am, the main body started to land. The capture of Hill 114 was completed by 11.30 am, although Hill 138 on the right was not secured until 4 pm. By this point, the 950 Lancashire Fusiliers that had attempted to land had suffered casualties of 189 killed, 283 wounded, and 61 missing. The total of 533 casualties easily exceeded 50% of the battalion’s strength.
The Other Beaches
Further east from W Beach, another disaster was unfolding at V Beach. The Turks were well entrenched in high ground overlooking the beach and in the remains of an old fort. While some troops were to be landed in boats, others were to be transported ashore by the requisitioned collier SS River Clyde, which was to be used as a sort of Trojan Horse. Once again, as the men disembarked, they came under heavy fire. Many were trapped on the beach, while the attempt to disembark from the River Clyde was suspended until after nightfall after only 21 men from the first wave of 200 made it ashore.
X Beach was only guarded by 12 Turkish soldiers, who were left stunned by the naval bombardment. By 6.30 am, the landing party had reached the shore and climbed to the top of the cliff with no casualties. One company was sent towards W Beach, but this success was not exploited due to a lack of communication and proper instructions. Instead, the men were ordered to dig in and defend the beachhead, giving the Ottomans time to organise their defences and bring up reinforcements.
Y Beach also proved to be relatively undefended, and the troops managed to advance to within 500 metres of Krithia, where they settled down to wait for the rest of the division to arrive from the other beaches. In the late afternoon, Ottoman infantry began to counterattack with increasing determination. The Turks finally withdrew at dawn the following morning, having suffered heavy losses. The British had likewise suffered significant casualties, and with ammunition running low, the decision was taken to re-embark.
Only one Ottoman platoon guarded S Beach, and despite coming under fire, the landing party had captured the beach by 8 am. The senior commander could see the disaster at V Beach unfolding, but his orders were to wait for the advance from the other beachheads. After a Turkish prisoner claimed that there were another 2,000 Ottoman troops nearby, the commander decided to consolidate his position, even though it later transpired that the only other Ottoman troops in the area consisted of less than one company.
Whilst the landings at Cape Helles were taking place, the ANZACs were also disembarking, not at Gaba Tepe as intended, but some two kilometres further north at Ari Burnu, or Anzac Cove as it would become known. Although the Turkish defences here were less organised, the assault formations became mixed up due to having been landed in the wrong place. The ANZACs gradually made their way inland under increasing opposition from the Turkish defenders, and, although they failed to achieve their objectives, by nightfall, they had formed a small beachhead.
The Gallipoli Campaign
Instead of a rapid advance inland, by evening on that first day, the attacking forces at both landing sites barely clung to small beachheads, having suffered appalling losses. Allied commanders had completely underestimated the difficulty of the terrain and the determination of the Ottoman troops. An example of their over-optimism was the fact that Achi Baba, a first-day objective, was never captured at any point of the ensuing eight-month campaign. What was meant as a lightning strike to knock the Ottomans out of the war, quickly degenerated into a stalemate, as trench warfare quickly took hold, mirroring the fighting on the Western Front.
Despite reinforcements being poured in, little progress was made in the months that followed, while at the same time, the Ottomans failed to push the invaders back into the sea. Medical facilities became overwhelmed with heavy casualties on both sides resulting from the fighting, rampant disease, and the summer heat. By year’s end, the Allies decided to cut their losses, and in January 1916, Gallipoli was completely evacuated. In those eight disastrous months, over 44,000 Allied soldiers had died. Ottoman dead were estimated at around 87,000.
The VC Awards
Even though Gallipoli had been a costly failure, it was clear that no fault could be attached to the fighting men, many of whom had distinguished themselves. Among the units that impressed was the 1st Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers. In recognition of the role played by the battalion, W Beach was renamed 'Lancashire Landing'. The battalion was later awarded six Victoria Crosses under Rule 13, which allows for the award to be handed out by ballot in the event of a gallant and daring act being performed by a large number of men who are all deemed equally worthy. In such a case, the men involved normally choose four recipients from their own ranks: one officer, one NCO, and two other ranks.
The initial recommendation for the award of VCs by ballot was made by Major General Aylmer Hunter-Weston, commanding the 29th Division, on 15th May 1915. General Hamilton supported the idea but due to delays brought about by bureaucracy at the War Office, it was not until August - and a second recommendation by Hunter-Weston - that the first three awards were announced. After an internal vote, the officers of the battalion nominated Captain Richard Willis. Sergeant Alfred Richards was chosen by the NCOs, while the privates nominated Private William Kenealy.
38-year-old Captain Richard Raymond Willis, from Woking, Surrey, was in charge of 'C' Company, which received no less than four of the six VCs. When the boats approached the beach, and the slaughter began, he stood up in full view of the enemy to calm his men, famously shouting "Come on boys. Remember Minden", in reference to one of the battalion’s battle honours. He then successfully led his men in the assault on Hill 114. Willis was later wounded and returned to the UK, where he was invested with his VC by King George V on 22nd September 1915. Following his recovery, he was promoted to Major and saw action on the Western Front, before retiring from the Army in 1920. He died in a nursing home in Cheltenham in 1966, aged 89.
35-year-old Sergeant Alfred Joseph Richards, from Plymouth, Devon, had enlisted in the Lancashire Fusiliers as a bandboy back in 1895. On W Beach, he was shot so many times that his leg was almost severed. Yet, knowing that he had to keep moving to stay alive, he successfully crawled over the barbed wire to relative safety, where, ignoring his injuries, he continued to encourage the others. Richards was evacuated first to Egypt, where surgeons amputated his right leg above the knee, then home to England. He was medically discharged in July 1915, after 20 years' service. Yet, his disability did not stop him from joining the Home Guard during World War Two. He died in Southfields, London, aged 73.
Private William Stephen Kenealy was born in Wexford, County Wexford, Ireland, before his family moved to Lancashire. At 13 years old, he became a coal miner, but after ten years in the pits, he enlisted in the Lancashire Fusiliers in 1909. On W Beach, his company was being held up by a section of unbroken wire. Having already acted as a runner, delivering messages between positions under heavy enemy fire, Kenealy grabbed a pair of cutters and crawled forward to try to open a path. He was later promoted to Corporal and then Lance-Sergeant, but on 28th June, at the Battle of Gully Ravine, he was mortally wounded. Kenealy died the following day, aged 28, before the announcement of his VC award. He is buried at Lancashire Landing Cemetery, around 500 metres inland from W Beach.
The citation for their awards, published in the London Gazette on 24th August 1915, reads: "Among the many very gallant officers and men engaged in this most hazardous undertaking, Captain Willis, Sergeant Richards, and Private Kenealy have been selected by their comrades as having performed the most signal acts of bravery and devotion to duty." Yet, for Brigadier Owen Wolley-Dod, a member of Hunter-Weston's general staff and a Lancashire Fusilier who had landed on the beach shortly after noon, this was not enough. He pressed for more awards, and on 13th March 1917, another three men from the battalion were recognised, with an identical citation to that of the original three.
36-year-old Captain Cuthbert Bromley, from Seaford, Sussex, was serving as the adjutant to the commanding officer at Gallipoli. He was wounded during the landing but did not seek medical attention, refusing to leave his men. He only reported his wound three days later, after having sustained a bullet injury to the knee. In June, Bromley was promoted to acting Major and temporarily took command of the battalion after the commanding officer fell ill. He was wounded a third time at the Battle of Gully Ravine and was subsequently evacuated to Egypt. In August, desperate to rejoin his unit, he begged his way aboard the troopship HMT Royal Edward, which was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine UB-14 on 13th August. Bromley was among the 864 men who went down with the ship.
Sergeant Frank Edward Stubbs was born in the Walworth district of London in 1888. He enlisted in the Army at a young age and served with the battalion in India before WWI. On W Beach, the 27-year-old was tasked with leading his platoon up the south side of Hill 114 to a tree on top of the hill, where he was to join up with 'D' Company. Advancing through heavy fire, he successfully led his men to their objective, but was shot through the head and killed instantly just a few metres short of the solitary tree. His body was never recovered and he has no known grave, but he is listed on the Helles Memorial. Stubbs was the only one of the six VC recipients to be killed in action during the actual landing.
Corporal John Elisha Grimshaw was born in Abram, near Wigan, Lancashire, in 1893. He initially worked as a carpenter before enlisting in 1912. At Gallipoli, Grimshaw was a signaller in 'C' Company. During the assault, the 22-year-old’s pack and water bottle were riddled with bullets, but he miraculously escaped injury, despite constantly braving intense machine gun fire to maintain communications with HMS Euryalus. He was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal, but this was later upgraded to a Victoria Cross. Grimshaw was later evacuated from Gallipoli suffering from frostbite but saw action on the Western Front, where he received a field commission. He retired from military service in 1953 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and passed away in 1980, aged 87.
Re-uniting the 'Six VCs before Breakfast'
The 1st Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers, was evacuated from Gallipoli in January 1916. The battalion later embarked for France, landing at Marseilles on 29th March. It would see action on the Western Front and was in Belgium when the war ended in November 1918. By this point, a further VC had been awarded to the battalion. This went to Sergeant Joseph Lister, who distinguished himself during the Battle of Poelcapelle on 9th October 1917. Indeed, the seven VCs awarded to the 1st Battalion were among 18 VCs earned by the regiment during World War One, more than any other regiment in that conflict.
In the hundred years after the Gallipoli landings, the 'six VCs before breakfast' had never come together under one roof. Yet, in the buildup to the centenary, staff at the Fusilier Museum in Bury, Greater Manchester, conceived the idea of getting them all together for a special display. Two of the six VCs were already owned by the museum, while another three - owned by Lord Ashcroft - were loaned from the Imperial War Museum London. A nationwide search led to the discovery of the sixth VC, awarded to Captain Cuthbert Bromley, which was in the possession of one of his relatives. In April 2015, 100 years after the events on W Beach, the six medals were finally united in a display honouring the bravery of the men of the 1st Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers.
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