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It is 40 years since I first visited Gallipoli. I remember the sombre veil that descended so rapidly when I saw where our soldiers landed and the precipitous cliffs rising above the beach. It was inconceivable to me then as it is now that on 25 April 1915, wave after wave of soldiers were delivered onto this beach only to be gunned down by Turkish troops on the hills above. By nightfall, total casualties were around 2,000.
Wilfred George Gale Wilfred George Gale, son of George Gale and Catherine Grace Fleming, was a 22 year old farm hand when he embarked with the 40th Battalion onboard the HMAT Berrima on 1 July 1916.
The 40th Battalion, seen in the image above, was recruited entirely from Tasmania including its officers. Lieutenant General John Monash later wrote, “The fact that it was composed wholly of the men of a small island state, gave it a special stimulus to the highest emulation of all other units. In no other unit was the pride of origin and sense of responsibility to the people it represented stronger than the 40th Battalion.” Lynden Thomas Gale
Francis Leopold Gale
In the lead up to Remembrance Day on 11 November 2018, this blog will feature three stories to commemorate three brothers who served with the 40th Battalion during the Great War.
The stories will trace their individual and collective experience, ordinary and extraordinary, at a critical time of their lives and our history. The first story will feature Francis Leopold Gale, son of George Gale and Catherine Grace Fleming, born at Elliott on 6 September 1897. |
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