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The Graveyards of Gallipoli; A Digger History Associate Site

V Beach

A Tribute to the Men of all the Nations that took part in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915

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V Beach Cemetery, Cape Helles, Gallipoli

"V" Beach and V Beach Cemetery, Cape Helles, Gallipoli.

Photos: Eric Goossens

The landing at 'V' Beach was to be made by boats containing three companies of the 1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers, followed by the collier 'River Clyde' with the rest of the Dublins, the 1st Royal Munster Fusiliers, half the 2nd Hampshire Regiment and other troops. The place was very strongly fortified and heavy casualties were sustained during the landing. 

Entrance to V Beach Cemetery

Lieutenant Colonel R A Rooth Royal Dublin Fusiliers 25 April 1915 age 49

Special Memorial

 to

8865 Private P Lynch

Royal Dublin Fusiliers

25 April 1915


Their Glory Shall Not 

Be Blotted Out.

Headstone of The Reverend W N Finn, Chaplain to the Forces (4th Class) who was killed on 25 April 1915.


He is believed to be the first Chaplain to fall in WW1

Location Information: The Cemetery is at the bottom of the grassy slope that rises to the cliff edge between Sedd el Bahr village and Cape Helles.
Historical Information: The eight month campaign in Gallipoli was fought by Commonwealth and French forces in an attempt to force Turkey out of the war, to relieve the deadlock of the Western Front in France and Belgium, and to open a supply route to Russia through the Dardanelles and the Black Sea. 

The Allies landed on the peninsula on 25-26 April 1915; the 29th Division at Cape Helles in the south and the Australian and New Zealand Corps north of Gaba Tepe on the west coast, an area soon known as Anzac. At Helles, the 29th Division landed troops at 'S', 'V', 'W', 'X' and 'Y' Beaches, five small coves at or near the southern end of the peninsula. 

The landing at 'V' Beach was to be made by boats containing three companies of the 1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers, followed by the collier 'River Clyde' with the rest of the Dublins, the 1st Royal Munster Fusiliers, half the 2nd Hampshire Regiment and other troops. The place was very strongly fortified and heavy casualties were sustained during the landing. 

On the morning of 26 April, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Doughty-Wylie and Captain Garth Walford led the survivors on the beach to the capture of Sedd el Bahr village and the old castle above it. Both won the Victoria Cross but were killed during the fight. (Captain Walford is buried at V Beach, Colonel Doughty-Wylie is buried in an isolated grave on the spot where he was killed). 

That evening, the main body of the French Corps began to land at 'V' Beach and after the following day, the front line had advanced about three kilometres beyond it. The cemetery used during April and May 1915 and a few further graves were brought in after the Armistice for burial in Row O. There are now 696 servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 

480 of the burials are unidentified but special memorials commemorate 196 officers and men, nearly all belonging to the units which landed on 25 April, known or believed to be buried among them.

No. of Identified Casualties: 216
 
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Graveyards of Gallipoli:  a Tribute to the Men of all the Nations that took part in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915