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Killed in Action – John Brigden 1888-1915
His attestation papers record that he was 5’ 3" and 118 lbs., and before he joined the army he was a railway porter.
He completed his basic training at the Regimental Depot in Carlisle Castle, before joining the second battalion at Hillsborough Barracks, Sheffield then later at Strensall, York.
In 1908 he joined the 1st Battalion in Wellington, Southern India, then to Rangoon in Burma in 1910 and to Maymyo, Burma in 1912. The Battalion sailed for England in late 1914 and arrived home in January 1915. The Battalion then sailed to Gallipoli in March.
His military record records that on 11 May 1915 he was "Appointed unpaid Lance Corporal at Dardenelles". However on 28 June 1915 he was "Killed in Action" at the Dardenelles. He was 27 years old.
He was serving in No 1 Platoon of A Company when he was killed. He is buried at the Twelve Trees Corpse Cemetery Plot VII Row C Grave 13.
After the War his family was sent his service medals, the 1914-1915 Star, the British War and Victory Medals, with a Commemorative Scroll and bronze Memorial Plaque. His name sis also recorded in the WW1 Book of Remembrance at the Regimental Chapel at Carlisle Cathedral.
Gallipoli 1915
The Dardanelles was a ribbon of water or a strait, between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. The largest ocean battles of World War 1 were fought in this section of sea. Because of the positioning of the Dardanelles, they would be a needed strategic position to conquer. The Dardanelles led right through Turkey and happened to be a major trade route to the Ukraine. Because of this, Turkish forces seized the Dardanelles early in the war. All through the war, Turkish forces kept control of the strait and repelled the allies. Many battles were fought and the British forces suffered heavy loses. Early in January 1915 matters came to a head when Russia asked for help in its fight against the Turks in the Caucasus. Britain and France began a naval campaign to break open the Dardanelles, the narrow strip of water that led from the Mediterranean into the Sea of Marmara and divided European from Asiatic Turkey. The ultimate aim was to knock the Turks out of the war by threatening their capital, Constantinople. When the most concerted attempt to smash the central defences of the Dardanelles failed on 18 March, a military force was assembled and plans were made to capture the shoreline of the Gallipoli Peninsula and so allow the naval campaign to be resumed. The first landings on 25 April were made by British and French troops around Cape Hellas and by Australian and New Zealanders to the north of Gaba Tepe. Although impressive in what they did manage to achieve, both nevertheless also failed to make headway and the crucial Kilid Bahr Plateau, which dominated the Dardanelles shoreline, remained unthreatened. All attempts to move forward were soundly defeated by the determined, well-motivated Turkish defenders. A stalemate, such as the campaign had been intended to avoid, spread across the Peninsula and the frustrations of trench warfare were soon made worse by widespread sickness, monotonous food, trying weather and putrefying corpses. In May tentative plans were drawn up for a fresh attempt to break out of the Anzac position onto the high ground to the north which climbed up the precipitous Sari Bair Ridge. When more British troops were made available the following month a new landing at Suvla Bay was added to the plan to support the northern flank of the Anzac attack. Both assaults began on the night of 6 August but rapidly disintegrated and within a week the initiative had been lost. With few options remaining but to dig in for a difficult winter, in October the British government began to consider the need for evacuation. After several weeks of debate and delay, Anzac and Suvla were finally relinquished on 19 December, with Helles following suit on 9 January 1916. 46,000 allied troo
My Family Tree is a 60 minute documentary that I have made with my digital camcorder and edited into a video production.
This documentary is the story of four families. It is the story of my father's parents, Brigden and Chapman, and my mother's parents, Crowhurst and Plowman.
The video can be purchased for £5 plus £2 postage and packaging. To order a copy click here