Lives of the First World War

1915

Ronald CW Burn was commissioned into the Sussex Yeomanry before the outbreak of the war (so this would entitle him to the “Territorial Force medal). When the regiment mobilised in 1914 it when into a “training concentration” with the other units of the South East Cavalry Brigade in Canterbury Cavalry Depot. When the 1st/1st Sussex Yeomanry departed Canterbury at the end of September 1915 (without their horses, as “dismounted cavalry”), Burn held the rank of Lieutenant, and goes with them on the SS Olympic (sister ship of the Titanic) to Gallipoli. The intense fighting and abject squalor of Gallipoli cannot be underestimated, some even recalling it as being worse than the Western Front. Arriving on the 4th October 1915, on the 7th the Regiment is attached to the 42nd Division and landed at Cape Helles. Just four days later : On October 11th a party of Junior Officers went up to the front line for 48 hours. The sector to which these parties went, was that which included “Boarder Barricade” and “Cawley’s Crater.” They were at the northern end of “Gully Ravine,” the main supply route that fed men, food and ammunition into the trench systems. The Regiment is also camped here. Gully Ravine appeared somewhat quieter that they had anticipated. There were very few troops present, and those still there seemed very war weary. The trenches themselves were narrow and good, although the barbed wire was not in good repair. The front lines of opposing sides were extremely close together and there was a great lack of protective dug-outs. These lines where were the advance had creased when the Turkish enemy had been distracted by the landing at Suvla bay to the north in the August of 1915. It had not advanced since then. Exchanges of Bombs (primitive grenades) was steady. The Allied troops used catapults to launch their “Cricket Ball” bombs at the Turks. The Turks threw them manually. Their use required care. The catapult was wound back, and the bomb placed into the carrier and the fuse lit (usually with a cigarette), and the released. There were frequent accidents. Three officers from the East Kents were killed when the bomb had slipped from the carrier and exploded in the pit. The routine in the line was sniping by day and artillery fire by night, but this was seldom heavy. If as heavy as the Western Front the Force could not have remained as there almost no overhead cover from shrapnel. (Local trees are pine with thin trunks). The men lived and slept on the fire-step of the trench. The Officers in command of any particular section occupied the few dugouts that were usually part of the trench system. Food was prepared back in Gully Ravine and had to be brought up through the narrow trenches, so keeping these passages free from obstacles was important. The Turks and the Allied troops were both engaged actively in mining and counter-mining operations. There were extensive mines in preparation on the Allied side at “Fusilier Bluff” and Cawley’s Crater.” At the lalter the Turks were known to be counter-mining. On October 13th they exploded their mine. The result was to bury three French troops in the Allied mine. Lieutenant Wyatt’s troop were in the line for instruction on this occasion and were the nearest to the incident. They opened a heavy rifle fire on the Turks who made no effort to advance. Corporal Collins was very active in assisting to get out the buried men and displayed great gallantry for which the grateful French awarded him the Croix de Guerre. Lieutenant RCW Burn, who was also up the line with the new “Machine Gun Section,” took an active part in getting the buried men out, and was himself considerably effected by the gas contained in the mine. Two days later there was considerable liveliness. The Regiment attacked the Turkish Line but was repelled. There was a heavy storm that night that as well as soaking every man, his rifle, clothing and equipment, it caused mud-slides the buried everything too. For several hours the regiment was an ineffective fighting force. The weather became colder and the winds stronger. Every night work parties were provided to continue the mining activities. The work was hard and took a physical toll on the men. Lieutenant RCW Burn was promoted Captain and to be in-charge of all the machine gun sections in the sector held by the 42nd Division, “a striking recognition of his value as a officer of machine guns.” The 1st/1st Sussex Yeomanry was withdrawn from Gallipoli (with the rest of the Allied Force) at the end of 1915 and relocated to Egypt. Further information on Captain RCW Burn is not available as he transfers away from the Sussex Yeomanry into the newly formed (October 1915) Machine Gun Corps. He commanded the MGC’s 26th (Cavalry) Squadron in 1916-1917 (formed from detachments of the Camel Corps) and then served in Western France in 1918. He was the Commanding Officer (rankas a Lieutenant Colonel) of the MGC (Cavalry) Depot at Maresfield Park in E Sussex 1919

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