An Cosantóir

history | 27 nationalities fought here including French, British, Indians, Irish and not forgetting the Turkish Soldiers of the then Ottoman Empire who fiercely defended their homeland. Gallipoli and the struggles encountered here resonate still in the collective memories of most of those countries but in Ireland, because of our own troubled history, it has until quite recently been forgotten and to a great extent written out of the national record of this countries part in the Great War. It has been described by some historians as being the victim of a national selective amnesia. My one week journey in Turkey visiting Istanbul and Gallipoli was organised by Irish tour company Group Travel International (GTI) who specialise in heritage and cultural excursions. Our group of about thirty people visiting his- torical locations in the greater Istanbul City area including Taxim Square, the ancient and wonderful Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace the former private resi- dence of the Ottoman Sultans with our guide Salem from Gemini Tours (Turkey) for three days. One of the highlights of this part of the tour was a cruise down the Bosporus Riv- er. Some of the group had military service with members from ONE and IUNVA, while I was the only current serving member of the DF, but there was enough contrast between military and cultural heritage for everyone's taste. By day four, we had arrived at Cannakle, the part that I had been looking forward to most of all (Cannackle and Gelibolu are Turkish terms for Gallipoli). As a student of history the crossing of the strategic Dardanelle Straits by ferry, (or Hellespont as it was known throughout classical and later periods) in the mornings and evenings from our accommodation on the Asian side to the battlefields on the European side only added to the feeling of discovery and how I was to read this beautiful landscape. Over the next two days we visited the ANZAC Sector commencing with Beach Cemetery, Brighton Beach, Shrapnel Valley, ANZAC Cove, Ariburnu Cemetery, Lone Pine Australian Memorial and the 57th Regiment Turkish Memorial. On the Helles sector we visited the massive Turkish memorial, 'V' Beach Cemetery, the Cape Helles Memorial and Lancashire Land- ings Cemetery also the Kirectepe Ridge, Asmak Hill 10 and Green Hill Cemetery. Wreaths were laid at the 10th (Irish) Division Memorial at Green Hill Cemetery (President Mary McAleese had visited here in 2010). Irish names could be found on graves in all cemeteries except the Turkish ones. The significance of these locations was not lost on the group as Mr Tony Roe (PDF Comdt Retd) and I explained that the cemetery place names denoted that they were positioned directly upon former trenches. Although the weather was inclement for most of the trip, very cold in Istanbul and the famous blus- tery winds and rains of Gallipoli had hit us through spots of drizzle, the sun also shone and illuminated the magnificent and peaceful landscape and it was at those moments that I reflected most on the soldiers and events that tore them and the peninsula apart in 1915. As I toured the cemeteries I thought about those who have no known graves, Canna- kle/Gallipoli is now a protected heritage park and for want of a better, a mass grave. The official casualty figures for the battle in the table below are today thought to be very conservative. Only a small percentage of the many victims on both sides are buried in marked graves and the remains of those lost on the landscape continue to be washed down from gullies or disturbed my machinery to this day, many coming to the surface at official tourist and memorial sites and being damaged by traffic. The problem of human remains at Gallipoli has been highlighted by archaeologists and academics in recent years, Dr Peter Dowling, Heritage Officer, ACT Trust, lectured on 'The Problem of Human Remains in the ANZAC Battlefields Area' to the Canberra Archaeological Society in 2008. Other than reading aloud Ledwidges poem 'The Irish at Gallipoli' and one of my own titled 'Fallen Friends' at the memorial to the 10th (Irish) Division the highlight of this leg of the tour for me was visiting locations linked to the Irish participation in the battle especially 'V' Beach, where reminiscent of the D Day landings of June 1944, soldiers GALLIPOLI CASUALTIES 25 APRIL 1915 - 9 JAN 1916 PERCENTAGES ARE OF TOTAL WWI CASUALTIES NATION DIED AUSTRALIAN NEWZEALAND BRITAIN FRANCE (EST) INDIA NEWFOUNDLAND TOTAL ALLIES TURKEY 8,709 (15%) 2,701 (17%) 21,255 (3%) 10,000 1,358 49 86,072 86,000 (?) WOUNDED 19,441 (13%) 4,852 (12%) 52,230 (3%) 17,000 3,421 93 97,037 TOTAL 28,150 (13%) 7,553 (13%) 73,485 (3%) 27,000 4,779 142 141,109 THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE

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