x-beach
the first authentic hotel on the Gallipoli peninsula
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back to silent witnesses
I have never forgotten the impression which that never to be forgotten run in to the beach made on me, and even more on the soldiers in my boat. They were simply enthralled with the sight of the cliff face being literally blown away by the ship’s guns and the spectacle of the ship steaming in firing was magnificent. I think it is no
exaggeration to say that the morale of the troops in the boats
went up two to three hundred per cent on that account. I remember it was a
beastly cold morning and when the troops embarked from the ship they looked (and
evidently felt) anything but heroes. The change in their attitude towards what
lay ahead during that short run in alongside the ship was quite phenomenal. It
was a complete revelation to me, and I have often felt that if the other
landings had been similarly conducted there would have been a very different
tale to tell.
midshipman
Stanley
Norfolk quoted in "Helles Landing-Gallipoli", (Barnsley-2003), Huw & Jill
Rodge, p. 68
“X beach, where 2nd royal fusiliers landed, early in May, when used mainly for unloading flour for field bakery”, period picture reproduced from "With the 29th Division in Gallipoli", (London 1916), Reverend O. Creighton, p. 50.
"Having come ashore virtually unopposed, and eventually linking up with the Lancashire Fusiliers at W beach, it became impossible for the Royal Fusiliers to take further ground without reinforcements. Here men from the second Battalion dig a reserve line at the top of X beach soon after landing on the first day." period picture reproduced from "Gallipoli Then and Now," (London 2000), Steve Newman, p. 36
last updated : 29/01/08
“It was a
bright sunny morning, dead calm sea, not a shot fired. I had a bag in one hand,
a coat over my arm, and was assisted down a plank from the boat by an obliging
sailor, so that I should not wet my boots. The only thing missing was the
hotel”
Major Cuthbert Lucas, on the landing of the 25th April, quoted in The History of
the 29th Division, p 21, Captain Stair Gillon
SILENT WITNESSES
famous battlefield
locations - Helles