When the Great Red Dawn Is Shining by Christopher J.A. Morry

Author:Christopher J.A. Morry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Breakwater Books Ltd
Published: 2015-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

Howard Morry’s father, Thomas Graham Morry, and first child, Phyllis, born in Newfoundland while Howard fought with the RNR on the Somme.

Some sources give this date as December 9, 1915. It seems more likely that Howard’s date is correct as the date of the departure since the time spent on Imbros (see next chapter) and the arrival at Cape Helles on Christmas Eve or thereabouts would not occupy the time from December 9 to 24.

8

Cape Helles Evacuation

The Royal Newfoundland Regiment had just played a pivotal role in one of the greatest deceptions in the history of warfare, managing to fool the Turks into thinking there remained a superior force in the trenches at Suvla Bay, all the time diminishing the ranks to a final low of twenty-five as the evacuation was completed, without the loss of a single man. But Suvla was only one of the beachheads held by the British and their allies, and there were others yet to be evacuated — Cape Helles amongst them. There can be little doubt that it was the success of the evacuation at Suvla Bay that led the general staff to choose the Newfoundlanders to take part in a similar evacuation ruse at Cape Helles. But the disappointment of the men, whose nerves were shattered by that first evacuation, to be chosen for another, only days later, must have been excruciating.

Incredibly, and for no apparent reason or at least none that was given, the official war diary of the RNR is interrupted after November 30, 1915, and does not resume once again until January 1, 1916. This means that the entire period of the evacuation at Suvla Bay, the time spent at Imbros, and the time spent in the trenches at Cape Helles before the evacuation is completely absent from this vitally important official record. At this time, the command of the RNR was transferred to Lieut. Col. A. L. Hadow (on December 6, 1915, according to G. W. L. Nicholson in The Fighting Newfoundlander) and, apparently, the missing month of records had something to do with this transfer of command. Nicholson also notes this confusion and states that the war office evidently neglected to inform the government of Newfoundland of the change in command or the reasons for it. Indeed, the Newfoundland government was still receiving communications from the former commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Burton, in reference to proposed promotions as late as December 24, 1915, though he himself was in hospital in Mudros at that time. Because of this lapse in record keeping during the change of command, the history of that period is entirely derived from secondary sources.

To Imbros Island we went from there and were disembarked and moved inland about three or four miles. The island was, for the most part, barren, with a few patches of land in the valleys. We were left to sleep where we could, but the officers had tents.

The days we spent on this island that fall were cold and miserable and the last day and night were especially bad.

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