Dardan-Hells, 1915. Being the Unofficial Log of a Battleship which took an Active Part in the Exploit from Start to Finish of the Dardanelles and the Gallipoli Campaign Adventures [an unpublished typescript manuscript prepared for publication circa 1960]

[Gallipoli]. ARLINGTON-BURKE C de G, Frederick

Verlag:

Quarto, approximately 250 leaves of typescript and duplicate typescript manuscript with 7 hand-drawn maps with typed captions, 6 tipped-in vintage photographs and 6 tipped-in illustrations (derived from other printed sources); the numerous emphases and annotations in the author's hand are generally of a routine typographical nature. Loosely inserted are 8 pages of manuscript addenda, a few ephemeral pieces, and an 8-page duplicate typescript article, 'Truth at Last: Tragedy of Suvla Bay. How We Lost Gallipoli'. Loose leaves screw-bound in simple cloth-backed plain pasteboard covers, with the short title and author's surname on the front cover; a handful of leaves have been detached and are a little chipped along the leading edge; minor signs of handling; overall in very good condition. The author's short introduction to this work speaks for itself: 'I'm getting towards the afternoon of life now. Looking back to the Dardanelles and Gallipoli in 1915, and the part played by the naval forces and squadrons, I am not only surprised, but am definitely annoyed that, although innumerable volumes have been published about the historical campaign which led to so much controversy, no author, historian or diarist, - officially or otherwise - has told the story of the heroism, achievements and disappointments experienced by officers and men of the fleet. Herewith, after a lapse of [45] years, is a full account compiled from my faithfully written day to day diary, of what really happened, start to finish. For the benefit of those, who might be particularly interested in the matter, my Official Admiralty Number was J.4730. Arlington Burke. C de G. Melbourne Australia 1960'. The Australian War Memorial has a very short entry on him: under 'Arlington-Burke, Fred (Commander, HMS "Swiftsure" RN'), there is a short list of seven items in its collection, including 'Diary of Gallipoli Campaign and Log of "Swiftsure"'. These may (or may not) be the original records on which this manuscript is based. (In fact Burke was not commander of the 'Swiftsure'; Frederick Burke of Liverpool, Official Number J4730, had the rank of Leading Seaman when he was mentioned in despatches in 1918.) 'HMS "Swiftsure" was the name ship of the Swiftsure class of battleships, designed for Chile, but purchased by the Royal Navy in 1903. After spending her early career in home waters, in 1913 she was made the flagship of Admiral Peirse, commander of the East Indies station. [In November 1914] she was posted to the Suez Canal. The defence of the canal had been added to Admiral Peirse's duties, and on 1 December he arrived at Port Said to raise his flag. On 3-4 February 1915 the Turks attacked the Suez Canal. During this attack the "Swiftsure"'s assigned station was just north of Kantara. This area was the target of a subsidiary Turkish attack, which was soon repulsed. "Swiftsure" fired at the retreating Turks until 1.00 pm when they were finally out of range. At the start of 1915 the "Swiftsure" was allocated to the fleet at the Dardanelles after the "Euryalus" arrived to take over as Peirse's flagship. Her first action came on 2 March, when she entered the straits to attack the Turkish forts. In early March "Swiftsure" and "Triumph" were detached to attack the forts defending the port of Smyrna. This attack was intended to prevent the Germans from using the port as a submarine base. The forts at Smyrna proved no more vulnerable to naval gunnery than those at the Dardanelles, but the Turks then sank blockships in the harbour entrance. The "Swiftsure" and the "Triumph" returned to the Dardanelles to take part in the failed attempt to force the narrows on 18 March. They were given the task of supporting the main battleship squadrons by attacking the Turkish barrage guns. "Swiftsure" came in with the second line of battleships, relieving the "Triumph". During the Gallipoli landings on 25 April HMS "Swiftsure" was the flagship of Admiral Nicholson, covering the attacks at the tip. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 117481

Bibliografische Details

Titel: Dardan-Hells, 1915. Being the Unofficial Log...
Einband: Hardcover
Zustand: Very Good
Auflage: First Edition.