LONE PINE MEMORIAL

AIF - 4,228
NZ - 708

HISTORY

The purpose of this Memorial is expressed in the inscription carved in the centre of the screen wall before the Memorial:

"To the Glory of God and in lasting memory of 3,268 Australian soldiers who fought on Gallipoli in 1915 and have no known graves, and 456 New Zealand soldiers whose names are not recorded in other areas of the Peninsula but who fell in the Anzac Area and have no known graves; and also of 960 Australians and 252 New Zealanders who, fighting on Gallipoli in 1915, incurred mortal wounds or sickness and found burial at Sea."

The Anzac Area, as defined by the Treaty of Lausanne, is an area of about two square miles, permanently conceded by the Turkish Government in its entirety on account of the number of cemeteries and unlocated graves that it contains. In a wider sense, it is the midmost of the three areas into which the operations on Gallipoli, and the cemeteries there, are divided. Its occupation was begun at half-past four on the morning of 25th April, 1915, when the 3rd Australian Brigade landed at Ari Burnu. That Brigade was followed by the remainder of the 1st Australian Division and by the New Zealand and Australian Division. Before the end of April the landing place had become "Anzac Cove," and the code name formed by the initial letters of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps had been given to the semi-circular area, 1,100 yards across, held by the Corps. From April to August a series of desperate attacks and counter attacks took place on the edge of the Anzac Area. The 4th Australian Battalion attacked the position afterwards known as Johnston's Jolly on 26th April, and during the first few days both Australian and New Zealand troops made desperate attacks to gain possession of the Nek. The "Chessboard," further North, was attacked on 2nd May by the 13th, 15th and 16th Australian Battalions, the Otago Infantry Regiment and two battalions of Marines; and on the same day a Turkish Observation Post at Lala Baba was destroyed by New Zealanders. On 4th May the 11th Battalion raided Gaba Tepe. From the 9th to the 15th, and from the 28th to the 5th June, there was fierce fighting round Quinn's Post. From the 19th to the 21st May the Turks, in an engagement known to us as "The Defence of Anzac", assaulted the centre of the position; their casualties were very great and an armistice was arranged for the 24th May in order to bury the dead. On the night of the 29th-30th June they made another unsuccessful attack. On the 6th-10th August Australian, New Zealand and Indian forces, with part of the 13th Division, attempted to carry Chunuk Bair and Hill 971, inland from, and North-East of, the "original Anzac Area"; and New Zealand troops, with others, at one time reached the summit of Chunuk Bair and held it until they were relieved. By the 12th, Bauchop's Hill, Table Top, and a considerable salient covering Argyl Dere had been taken, and at the South end of the line Lone Pine was secured by the 1st Australian Division; but Baby 700, Chunuk Bair and Hill 60 (on the Suvla side) were still in enemy hands, in spite of the desperate bravery and the temporary successes of the main force. This fighting (the Battle of Sari Bair) was the climax of the effort to reach the central hills of the Peninsula. On the 21st-29th August, in conjunction with the forces at Suvla, Australian infantry and Light Horse, New Zealand Mounted Rifles, and some British and Indian infantry captured half of Hill 60. From that time onwards the line remained stationary. After long and anxious consideration, it was decided to withdraw from Gallipoli, and on the 18th-20th December, 1915, Anzac was evacuated without the loss of a single man. The Memorial stands on the site of the fiercest fighting at Lone Pine; and it overlooks the whole front line of May, 1915. Many of those whose names are recorded on the Memorial were buried on that front, in graves made in haste and obliterated by shell-fire later. Many were killed in tunnels or in trenches. The proportion of dead whose names are on Memorials on Gallipoli, and not on headstones, is very high. But it was this close fighting, in a country of ridges and valleys, against a determined enemy, which established in history the name of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.

The fighting which is summarised above is reflected in the panels of the Lone Pine Memorial. Of the Australian troops, the Light Horse lost 472 Officers and men whose graves are not known; 161 of these belonged to the 8th Light Horse Regiment, which attacked The Nek and Baby 700 on the 7th August. The Field Artillery have 30 names; the Field and Signal Companies of the Engineers 24; the Royal Australian Naval Bridging Train, two. The Infantry have 3,657 names. The Army Service Corps have 11, and the Army Medical Corps 30. This Memorial records the names of all New Zealand soldiers who fought on the Gallipoli Peninsula and were buried at sea, and of those who fell in the Anzac Area prior to the fighting in August, 1915, and have no known graves. Memorials recording the names of other New Zealand soldiers who fell on the Peninsula and have no known graves are erected in Chunuk Bair, Hill 60 and Twelve Tree Copse Cemeteries. The four Mounted Rifle Regiments have 101 names on the Lone Pine Memorial; the four Infantry Regiments 564 (307 of whom fell on land before 3rd May) ; the Maori Contingent, three ; the Field Artillery 13; the Engineers 23; and the Medical Corps four. The Memorial is built of limestone from the Ulgar Dere quarries. It stands at the East end of the Lone Pine Cemetery and is a massive pylon in plain ash, about 45 ft. square in plan and 47 ft. high. The names of the Australian dead are carved on panels of Hopton Wood Stone, let into the screen wall in front of the Memorial; and those of the New Zealand dead appear on similar panels on the Memorial itself. The Register records particulars of 4,228 Australian and 708 New Zealand dead; but the graves of three of the Australian soldiers have been identified in the interval between the carving of the inscription and the publication of the Register, and their full particulars will be found in other Registers.

LOCATION

The Lone Pine Memorial is at the east end of Lone Pine Cemetery, which stands on the plateau at the top of Victoria Gully, and is located on the road from Gaba Tepe to Chunuk Bair. Both Lone Pine Cemetery and Lone Pine Memorial are named after the solitary pine tree that grew there. It is well signposted as you come into the ANZAC area.

NAMES OF INTEREST

There are two Victoria Cross winners who are commemorated on the memorial:

Captain A.J.Shout VC MC
1st Bn Australian Infantry
Deed - Lone Pine trenches 9th August 1915
Killed - Died of wounds at Sea 11th August 1915

Citation (London Gazette 15th October 1915):

" For most conspicuous bravery at Lone Pine Trenches, in the Gallipoli Peninsula. On the morning of 9th August 1915, with a small party, Captain Shout charged down trenches strongly occupied by the enemy, and personally threw four bombs among them, killing eight and routing the remainder. In the afternoon of the same day, from the position gained in the morning, he captured a further length of trench under similar conditions and continued personally to bomb the enemy at close range, under very heavy fire, until he was severely wounded, losing his right hand and left eye. This most gallant officer has since succumbed to his injuries."

Further information: Direct link to A.J.Shout page on Australian & New Zealand VC Reference

Corporal A.S.Burton VC
7th Bn Australian Infantry
Deed - Lone Pine trenches 9th August 1915
Killed - Lone Pine 9th August 1915

Citation (London Gazette 15th October 1915):

" For most conspicuous bravery at Lone Pine Trenches, on the 9th August 1915. In the early morning the enemy made a determined counter-attack on the centre of the newly captured trench held by Lieutenant Tubb, Corporals Burton, Dunstan and a few men. They advanced up a sap and blew in a sandbag barricade, leaving only one foot of it standing, but Lieutenant Tubb, with the two Corporals, repulsed the enemy and rebuilt the barricade. Supported by strong bombing parties, the enemy twice again succeeded in blowing in the barricade, but on each occasion thee were repulsed and the barricade rebuilt, although Lieutenant Tubb was wounded in the head and arm and Corporal Burton was killed by a bomb whilst most gallantly building up the parapet under a hail of bombs."

Further information: Direct link to A.S.Burton page on Australian & New Zealand VC Reference