6th Battalion War Diary, August 1915

6th Border Regiment War Diary Transcriptions (1915-1918) The National Archives WO/95/4299 & WO/95/1817/1
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1914
1915							✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
1916	✔						✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
1917
1918

Place	Date	Hour	Summary of Events
IMBROS	1.8.15		Arrived in Rest camp.
	2.8.15		Rest Camp.
	3.8.15		Rest Camp.
	4.8.15		Rest Camp.
	5.8.15		Rest Camp.
	6.8.15		Rest camp. Embarked on board destroyers about 5pm and landed at a point just south of SUVLA BAY Gallipoli with the remainder of the 11th Div about 11pm. Regimental in divisional reserve with Lincolnshire Regt.
	7.8.15		At dawn battalion had not reached appointed position and dug itself in at Lala Baba - Shelled about 6am. 1 killed 22 wounded. At 5pm battalion moved out of its position to support Lincolnshire Regt engaged on night attack on the Turkish entrenched position at YOUGHLIN BORNU. A & B coys moved up in support of Lincolns immediately after the position had been captured and helped to consolidate. A Coy partially coming up on the left of the position. D Coy remaining until 10pm as local [?????] on account of threatened danger to the left flank. Moving up under the Commanding Officer to HQ of the Lincoln Regt about midnight.
	8.8.15		Work of consolidating Youghlin Bornu position proceeded with. About 9am orders were received that we had to withdraw into Divisional Reserve again at Lala Ba. Casualties 2 officers 2nd Lt. W.S. Ross & 2nd Lt. H.B. de Montmorency wounded, also 51 others wounded, 4 killed & 3 missing. About 5.0pm OC Battns were sent for from Brigade Headqrs to go forward & reconnoitre positions to be attacked the following morning. The position to be attacked was as follows. Point 112 ie ISMAIL UGLU TEPE to the windmills just South of ANA FARTA SAGIR. Order of attack was 6th Border Regt. Right. 7th South Staffs Centre & 6th Lincolns Left, two platoons were to be pushed forwards on hill 50 to take right flank (Wounded Lt. H.B. De Montmorency & Lt W.S.Ross).
	9.8.15		At 1.45am the Battn. left bivouac accompanied by 6th Lincolns & marched to YILGHIN BURNU reaching position for deployment just North of this point at 5.00am where the two Battns. Were joined by the 7th South Staffs Regt. who were bivouacking there. The advance started about 5.0am C & D companies forming the firing line & supports C on right & D on left. A & B were Battn. Reserve. 3 machine guns under Major Bridges were attached to the Battn. The advance proceeded in a satisfactory manner till 6.30am, the firing line reaching the nulla near ISMAIL JALUTERE. The Left at this junction about the region of KANLI KEUPRU was driven in, the enemy coming on to Hill 70 & the heights of ABRIKJA thereby enfilading the left of the Battn attack. A & B companies were now pushed into the firing line. Battn Headqrs were formed along the road just North of TORDUT CHESHME a very heavy enfilade from enemy machine guns was experienced & the firing line became divided into isolated groups with no support coming up. A further retirement on the left caused the commanding officer to collect as many men as he could along the road about TORDUT CHESHME. This line was held all day until about 5.0pm. A large number of men had been killed or wounded along the line by machine guns. At 5.0pm the remainder of the Battn. & one company of the Staffordshire Regt. retired about 150 yards & occupied an old trench & dug in. Casualties being Officers :- 12 killed, 4 wounded, & 1 missing. 20 officers started the attack. Casualties ranks & file killed 26, wounded 241, missing 131. 696 men started in the morning with the battalion.
	10.8.15		The whole of the day was spent in the occupation & consolidating the trench along our line. Col Broadrick being in charge. On that evening the 53rd Division made an attack on Hill 70. During the night of 10th & 11th heavy firing in our lines on both sides by Regiments on our Right & Left, but there was no general attack by the enemy. Casualties 1 man wounded.
	11.8.15		Day spent in same trenches working on consolidating our line, during the two days previously several wounded were brought in.
	12.8.15		At 1.0am the Battn. was relieved from the trenches by the Yorks Regt & proceeded to the reserve below LALA BABA where reinforcements from Imbros joined up under Capt K.M. Chance.
	13.8.15		Reserve below LALA BABA working on defences.
	14.8.15		Reserve below LALA BABA working on defences.
	15.8.15		Reserve below LALA BABA working on defences.
	16.8.15		Reserve below LALA BABA working on defences.
	17.8.15		Reserve below LALA BABA working on defences. 2 Lt. Fenwick 6 Lincoln attached to us. Capt Romanes rejoined from being transport officer.
	18.8.15		In evening relieved West Riding Regt. In trenches on CHOCOLATE HILL.
	19.8.15		Trenches on CHOCOLATE HILL.
	20.8.15		Relieved at 11pm by 1st Bn Dublin Fusiliers & wen tback to same beach below LALA BABA arriving at 2am.
	21.8.15		2 Lt. A de L. BAINBRIGGE & 2 Lt. F.B.D. STALKER joined Bn in morning. Left bivouacs at 2pm & formed up behind LALA BABA. The 33rd Bde was in reserve to the 32nd who had orders to attack [W mill – windmill or W hill?] if the 32 succeeded in doing this they were to dig in & the 33rd were to push through & take hill 101. The 29th division was to attack on our left, but we had no definite information as to who was on our right. The 33rd started at about 3pm in artillery formation in the following order: SHERWOOD FORESTERS. BORDER. S.STAFFS. LINCOLNS. The Bn in columns of coy order A, B, C, D came very quickly under shellfire, which increased in intensity as it proceeded. The bn advanced almost due east & when about level with CHOCOLATE HILL, A coy coming under rifle fire extended, the remaining coys extended in succession as they came to the same place, & as D Coy was doing this a written message, signed was brought in by an officer – major – saying that D & C Coys were to file to the right & follow him to take a Turkish trench a few hundred yds. away on the right, which attack he said he should lead. This was done & the trench was taken, the Turks leaving as they approached. Here our men were mixed up with some of the 32nd bde & the S. STAFFS but the men of the 32nd went off somewhere to the right, while the BORDERS & about 50 S. STAFFS advanced several hundred yds. & lined the sunken road 92 B4-6. 2 Lt. Bainbrigge was now in command of the Borders in this part of the line, Capt Darwell having been wounded & 2 Lt. Stalker killed, though there were only about 40 left. They remained where they were till about 6pm when a Ghurkha regt were seen advancing behind in an easterly direction & occupied a ditch going N & S with SUSAK KUKU on their extreme left. 2 Lt. Bainbrigge got in trench with them & was ordered to extend his line along the sunken road to their left.
	(22.8.15)		This part of the line was under heavy enfilade fire during the day, but the position was maintained until Lt. Bainbrigge received orders through the Ghurkhas to retire to the beach, reinforcements for the latter having arrived & this order also applied to the S STAFFS under his command, & this was complied with, as he retired to the beach after dark & rejoined the remainder of the bn. the following morning.
	21.8.15		— To return to A & B Coys. After extending they pushed on ahead lead by the C.O. who was in the front line under heavy rifle fire towards [W. Mill or W hill?] when they arrived at a point about 200 yards NE [A 105 ???] on the slopes of a hill, they were heavily enfiladed from the right rear. The C.O. & Capt Clegg were killed & Capt Romanes wounded. Those men who had gone up the slopes of the hill were ordered back to a trench at the bottom by the C.O. A fire had broken out in the bushes on the hill & the wounded were in danger of being burnt. CQMS Prosser did good work bringing them down, thereby gaining the DCM. Lt. Durlacher, when it grew dark, collected about 200 men chiefly BORDERS & SHERWOODS behind the trench, for the moment all that could be found of the 33rd bde. Capt Chance was in command & read orders from the Brigadier to occupy a trench running E & W opposite the HETMAN CHAIR communication trench, which was & had been occupied by the Turks the whole time & had done all the damage. Trench was occupied, 32nd & 33rd bdes. being very mixed up.
	22.8.15		Stayed in trench all day & were relieved by the Munster Fusiliers & occupied reserve trenches running from the SE corner of SALTLAKE toward the sea, which were already occupied by 11 div Cyclist Coy. Went into action 483. Killed men 12, officer 3. Wounded men 56, offs 2. Missing men 32. Total 100 men, 5 offs.
	23.8.15		Reserve trenches near SALT LAKE.
	24.8.15		Reserve trenches near SALT LAKE. BORDERS & LINCOLNS formed into 1 btn under Lt.Col. PHELPS. S. STAFFS & SHERWOODS formed into 1 btn under Capt DUCK.
	25.8.15		Reserve trenches near SALT LAKE.
	26.8.15		Reserve trenches near SALT LAKE.
	27.8.15		Reserve trenches near SALT LAKE. Relieved 6 Essex Regt on KIRETCH TEPE SIRT.
	28.8.15		Firing line.
	29.8.15		Firing line.
	30.8.15		In Dug outs in support.
	31.8.15		In Dug outs in support. [Not Signed]

References / notes

• National Archives Catalogue Reference: WO/95/4299
• The transcription above is available under the National Archives Open Government Licence for public sector information.
• War diary transcribed by P. Bramham.