1st / 8th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers
Gallipoli
May 1915 - Dec 1915

In March 1917, all men serving with TA ( Territorial Forces ) Units were re-numbered.
Each Unit was given a block of numbers to allocate to their men.
The LFs were given the following blocks to Battalions respectively :-
200001 240000 5th BN Lancs Fusiliers
240001 280000 6th BN Lancs Fusiliers
280001 305000 7th BN Lancs Fusiliers
305001 330000 8th Bn Lancs Fusiliers.


Richard Peters ( he is the one seated) with his comrade Frank Fletcher



Sir,
I hope that the following + attachment will be of some use to you in this 100th anniversary of commencement of The Great War.
The attachment is a photo of my grandfather, Richard Peters (seated), with his comrade Frank Fletcher who, I believe, served with The Lancashire Fusiliers in The Great War.
Some background; My grandfather was born in Farndon Cheshire in 1886/7 but lived in Woden St Salford in 1901, later living in Ardwick, Manchester (where my mother was born in 1910) before moving to Kenyon Lane then James St Manchester where he died in the 1930's of pneumonia. Frank Fletcher died after being wounded in action I believe.

Ian McHugh
The subject of this write up is Richard Peters ( he is the one seated)

The chap with him Richard is Frank Fletcher.

They both served in the 1/8th LFs and fought at Gallipoli where Peter rescued Frank who had been wounded.

Unfortunately Frank Fletcher died of his wounds on his way back to UK.

The Fletcher family were forever grateful to the Peters family and helped them during the next few years.


FLETCHER, FRANCIS ALBERT
Rank: Private
Service No: 2545
Date of Death: 09/08/1915
Age: 28
Regiment/Service: Lancashire Fusiliers
1st/8th Bn.
Panel Reference
Panel 58 to 72 or 218 to 219.
Memorial
HELLES MEMORIAL
Additional Information:
Son of John Edward and Emily Fletcher, of 113, Second Avenue, Trafford Park, Manchester.

Put your mouse on any of the pictures or medals and a better picture will come up




sent in by Ken Marsh who writes for the Medal News

Private Robert Gee, No. 2418, 1st/8th Battalion,
Lancashire Fusiliers.
Death Notice
He is buried in Greece

Click on
Letter or Medal card to enlarge

GEE
Initials: R
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private
Regiment/Service: Lancashire Fusiliers
Unit Text: 1st/8th Bn.
Date of Death: 28/08/1915
Service No: 2418
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: II. I. 149.
Cemetery: EAST MUDROS MILITARY CEMETERY
http://www.cwgc.org/search/certificate.aspx?casualty=626168
EAST MUDROS MILITARY CEMETERY
Country: Greece
Locality: unspecified
Location Information: The Cemetery is on the Greek island of Limnos in the north-east Aegean Sea. It is situated on rising ground on the north east side of the village of Mudros and is about 1 kilometre out of the village, next to the Greek Civil Cemetery. Mudros is on the east side of Mudros Bay, on the way to Kaminia village.
Historical Information: Because of its position, the island of Lemnos played an important part in the campaigns against Turkey during the First World War. It was occupied by a force of marines on 23 February 1915 in preparation for the military attack on Gallipoli, and Mudros became a considerable Allied camp. The 1st and 3rd Canadian Stationary Hospitals, the 3rd Australian General Hospital and other medical units were stationed on both sides of Mudros bay and a considerable Egyptian Labour Corps detachment was employed. After the evacuation of Gallipoli, a garrison remained on the island and the 1st Royal Naval Brigade was on Lemnos, Imbros and Tenedos for the first few months of 1916. On 30 October 1918, the Armistice between the Entente Powers and Turkey was signed at Mudros. East Mudros Military Cemetery was begun in April 1915 and used until September 1919. It contains 885 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, 86 of them unidentified, and one Second World War burial. There are also seven non war naval graves and 32 burials of other nationalities in the cemetery, 29 of them Russians who died in the evacuation of Novorossisk in 1921, who are remembered on a memorial plaque set into the boundary wall.

War Diaries of POWs
3164 Pte David Melling
captured Achi Baba 7th August 1915
wounded bullet entered temple and shattered both eyes

In Memoriam


Pte 1949 Harold Harvey of 1st/8th Bn. Lancashire Fusiliers
who died on 18th December 1916. He is buried in Salford (Agecoft) Cemetery.
The 1/8th Bn was a Territorial Bn, raised in Salford. The Bn landed in Egypt 25th September 1914. Landed on Gallipoli on 5th May 1915, Landed on Mudros and proiceeded to Egypt on 28th December 1915.
Pte Harvey was evacuated to Britain and died of his wounds on 18th December 1916.


Died on 12/09/1915
Lance Corporal Frank Mills
1/8th Lancashire Fusiliers

Lance Corporal Frank Mills, of the 1/8th, Lancashire Fusiliers, who resided at 63, Cross Street, Rhodes, and was 27 years of age, was killed in action at the Dardanelles on September 12th, 1915. This soldier who was employed at Rhodes Works, enlisted on September 1st, 1914, and went to the front on September 10th of the same year.
He left a widow and one boy. Mills was connected with the Rhodes Church, and was a member of the Oddfellows.

Lance Corporal Mills, has no known grave, and his name is on the Helles Memorial at Gallipoli along with over 21,000 others who were denied a named burial.

Private Mills widow remarried and was living next door at 65 as Mrs Hulse.
Another casualty from Cross Street, Rhodes, I don't think another street in Middleton suffered more heartache in the Great War