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Brian’s research ensures we will never forget
Research by an Orkney man is ensuring that the ultimate sacrifice of servicemen who have given their lives in defence of the country will never be forgotten. As folk throughout the county prepare to take part in acts of remembrance tomorrow, Friday, and again on Sunday, Brian Budge continues his work recording the 700 Orcadians who died during the two world wars. The results of his work can be seen online via the Kirkwall British Legion website. Brian’s latest efforts have seen him travel to Gallipoli, in Turkey, the scene of one of the most tragic Allied offensives during the First World War. Although Gallipoli is probably best known for the sacrifice of the Anzac troops, from Australia and New Zealand, the campaign also claimed the lives of 15 Orcadians. Brian, 53, from Kirkwall, has travelled to Gallipoli twice this year, firstly in May and again in September, after he felt he needed to see more. He explained: “I became interested in the world wars when I was a kid, and I’ve always read about them. My dad served in Italy at the end of the Second World War. “In 2002, the year I turned 50, I went to France to see the battlefields in Normandy and the Somme, with a friend from Kent, John Saunders, who shared my interest. “I mentioned to him in an e-mail that I was heading to France, and he asked to come along. “John had done a tour to Gallipoli in September last year, so he sent me an e-mail and said that he was going again this May if I wanted to come.” The RND Gallipoli tours offer those participating a unique insight into the areas on Gallipoli where the Royal Naval Division saw action. It was on March 15, 1915, that Vice-Admiral Sir John de Robeck ordered the allied fleet to advance up the Dardanelles Straits. The British had shelled the Turkish forts in the Dardanelles in February, and the minesweepers managed to clear the way, allowing the warships to penetrate six miles inside the straits. Further advance was now impossible, as the Turkish forts were too far away to be silenced by the allied ships. On March 18, 18 battleships entered the straits, and made good progress until one struck a mine. Two more hit mines, and while most of the men on board were rescued, over 700 men were killed. John de Robeck told the First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, that he needed the help of the army to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. Plans were made for a full-scale landing at Gallipoli. Lord Kitchener sent the British 29th Division to join troops from Australia, New Zealand, and France. The Turks had heard about the 70,000 troops on the island, and positioned their 84,000 troops in the Dardanelles area where they expected the landing to take place. The attack began on April 25. The British established a beach head at Helles and were joined by French troops. Australian and New Zealand troops landed north of Gaba Tepe, but fierce Turkish resistance pinned them into a narrow beach head that became known as Anzac. Another major landing took place at Sulva Bay, on August 6, but attempts to sweep across the peninsula ended in disaster. By the end of August, the allies had lost more than 40,000 men. It was agreed in October of that year that 77,000 men should be evacuated from Anzac and Suvla. Of the 480,00 allied troops who took part in the Gallipoli campaign, the British lost 205,000 casualties, the French 47,000 and Anzac troops 33,600. The Gallipoli tours are designed to explore those very battlefields and memorials, and Brian was delighted to visit the scene. He said: “Most of the people on the tour were from an organisation called the Western Front, which is quite big in England. “Most of them either had a general interest in Gallipoli, or went because someone in their family had been involved and probably died there. Most of them there were on their second or third trip. “You’re only there for a week, and you stay in a local hotel, which is run by the former head gardener of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. “It’s on Hill 141, and you can see the Dardanelles, the Plains of Troy and Helles memorial from there. “Les Sellers and Kieran Hegarty, who run the tours, are both retired police sergeants, and have been there often. They now take tours out there twice a year.” Brian explained that during his first trip, he left a token of remembrance for all of the lost Orcadians. They all disappeared very quickly, most probably taken as souvenirs by schoolchildren. When he went back in September, the only cross left from May was that for James Dick, of Sanday, which had been placed at a grave significantly away from the road. “I left a cross in September on Hill 60 where Harry Linklater died, although he’s not known to be buried there. “On my second trip there were ten people. The scenery is spectacular and the food was basic, but good. It was a nice break with good company. “I took a bottle of 18-year-old Highland Park with me each time. Most of us did a presentation before dinner, and I gave each of them a glass of Highland Park before doing that! “There is so much to see,” he added. “I had a reasonable knowledge before I went on the first trip, but I learnt an awful lot from it and read a lot more before making the second trip.” Brian’s online database has been in the pipeline for some years now. He explained: “The project was started in 1996 by the Kirkwall Royal British Legion. We were trying to gather information of the Orkney war dead. The legion had asked for volunteers to take part. “Two years ago, I realised that Allan Taylor was the main person who had been collecting records, and had contacted a lot of people to make his own list. “Allan had done a lot of it but I wanted to put it on the internet. He gave me all his records and we used that as a start to complete my own.” Brian felt that information could at times be a struggle to find, particularly if war memorials only stated basic information. He explained: “The one at Holm just gives the name and the village that they were in. That doesn’t tell you whether he was in the Army or the Navy or whatever. One of the better ones is in Stromness - the memorial there mentions the regiment as well as the year of death. “Birsay is a good one too, but Deerness is the best, as it gives the rank, name, where they lived or were born in Deerness, the regiment, where they died and the date. “It’s sometimes quite easy and sometimes it’s hard to find these things out.” He has compiled a database, where people can log on, click a button and find the information required. Although the database is comprehensive, Brian still has work to do. He explained: “I’m now down to nine people who I’ve not firmly identified. There were 125 Orcadians who died in the Second World War, and between the two wars there were 700 in total. I’ve now got it down to 574 from the First World War, and there are just nine that I’m not sure about. That is where people could help - if they happened to know anything they could get in touch.” Brian has also started logging the stories about each of the Orcadians who died, complete with pictures where available. He said: “A lot of the pictures came from The Orcadian, which ran a section called Our roll of honour. They asked people to send in pictures of people serving at the time, and so a lot of the pictures came from there. “I hope to arrange an update of my memorials section of the Kirkwall RBL website before the end of the year, with detailed stories of the 15 Orcadian casualties at Gallipoli. “I could and probably will spend years putting these stories together.” The website address is www.rbls-kirkwall.org.uk Roll call of honour for Orkney men The Orcadians who died while serving at Gallipoli in British and Anzac units were: British Army:
Australian Imperial Force:
New Zealand Expeditionary Force:
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