When I was a young man, I carried my pack, and I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murray's green basin, to the dusty Outback, I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in 1915, my country said "son, it's time to stop rambling, there's work to be done"
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun, and they sent me away to the War
And the band played Waltzing Matilda, as the ship pulled away from the quay
And amidst all the cheers, flag waving and tears, we sailed off for Gallipoli
And it's well I remember that terrible day, when our blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay, we were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk he was ready, he'd primed himself well
He showered us with bullets, and he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat, he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
-And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
By Eric Bogle
Two recruiting sergeants came to the CLB
For the sons of the merchants, to join the Blue Puttees
So all hands enlisted, five hundred young men ...
Enlist you Newfoundlanders and come follow me
They crossed the broad Atlantic in the brave "Florizel"
And on the sands of Suvla, they entered into hell
And on those bloody beaches, the first of them fell . . .
Enlist you Newfoundlanders and come follow me
So it's over the mountains and over the sea
Come brave Newfoundlanders and join the Blue Puttees
You'll find the Hun in Flandres, and at Gallipoli
Enlist you Newfoundlander and come follow me
-Recruiting Sergeant
Adapted by Great Big Sea
These songs and others are part of the folklore of Gallipoli. I remember singing along to them as a kid and being curious where these places were and what Newfoundlanders and Australians and New Zealanders were doing fighting in a land so far from the green fields of France. It is a mythical place for Turks, Aussies and Kiwis whose sense of nation were all forged on the bloody beaches and hills around here. The first Newfoundlander killed in WWI is buried here, as are about 50 others. There's a parade on ANZAC day in St. John's every April, but the place does not hold the same allure for Newfoundlanders as does Beaumont Hamel or Vimy Ridge for Canadians. Nonetheless, it's a moving part of the Island's history.
The Newfoundlanders were the only North American troops to see action in the Dardanelles. It was not planned that way. On the 22 May 1915 a deadly rail collision involving five trains occurred in Quintinshill, Scotland (still the deadliest rail disaster in the United Kingdom's history). Most of the 450 people killed or injured were members of the 1/7th Royal Scots Regiment en route to Gallipoli. Churchill, who was then First Lord of the Admiralty, had devised a plan to capture the sea route to the Black Sea to supply its ally, Russia, break the stalemate in western Europe, and knock the Ottomans (Turkey) out of the war. The Newfoundlanders, who had been training in England since their arrival the previous October, were called up to replace the Royal Scots and shipped out immediately for Egypt - the staging point for the Gallipoli campaign.
We've spent a couple of days touring the battlefields and graveyards of Gallipoli which are being prepared for the arrival of more than 10,000 visitors from Down Under on ANZAC day later this month. Not many people here know much about the Newfoundlanders, but our guide, arranged by the wonderful folks at the Crowded House Guesthouse, sure did. Kenan is a retired professor of history and a one time Fulbright Scholar. He provided us with a detailed accounting of what happened here and the role played by the R Nfld R. I found it quite moving to stare down at the final resting place of young men from home who, a hundred years ago, signed up for the adventure of a lifetime and died in a place few or any of them had ever heard of, fighting for a remote objective doomed to failure and infamy. I hope there are a few faces from home here next year when they recognize the 100th anniversary of this great military disaster.
Tomorrow we're off to visit Troy. Pretty sure there were no Newfs involved in that one. But you never know now do ya bye? It's not like they asked us to pitch in or anything. I'll keep my eyes peeled for any winks or lop sided grins on the faces of the statues along the Agean coast just in case.