Capture by A photoblog

5

Sergeant Read's Gallipoli

by Jonathan Ganley

The selection of photographs below were taken by Sergeant James Cornelius Read of the Wellington Mounted Rifles during the 1915 Gallipoli campaign. Sergeant Read's photographs were perhaps taken on a Vest Pocket Kodak - The 'Soldiers' Camera' - but these details aren't recorded.

Looking at these photographs we can see the weary men, the hardship and heat, the graves (the Read collection contains photographs of three separate ones) and  gain some insight into the task of gaining a foothold on the high cliffs and dusty dry hills of Gallipoli. With his camera, Sergeant Read was like many thousands of soldiers on all sides during the First World War. They were at the forefront of a technological and social revolution, as photography finally became truly portable, more affordable, and most importantly, accessible.

Source: Papers Past / National Library of New Zealand

That accessability was soon curtailed for British soldiers. By mid-1915, as Sergeant Read and his comrades fought for their lives at Gallipoli, the British High Command had banned soldiers from using any cameras on the Western Front. With the promise of handsome prizes for the right shots (word of these competitions soon reached New Zealand), many uncensored images were making their way into the popular British press. The ban was also an attempt to stop images that were thought to be undermining the patriotic message of the times, such as photographs of British and German soldiers fraternising during the Christmas truce of 1914.

The recent BBC documentary below looks at these issues from both a British and German viewpoint, and a recent National Library blog post takes the New Zealand view.

 (The images below are from the J C Read photographic collection and are reproduced with thanks to the National Library and Alexander Turnbull Library online  archive)

Wellington Terrace with dugouts (of the Wellington Mounted Rifle Regiment?), Gallipoli, Turkey, 1915. Walkers Ridge is on the top left hand corner. Read, J C :Images of the Gallipoli campaign. Ref: 1/4-058075-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22766985 Photo: Sergeant J C Read / Alexander Turnbull Library

No 1 Outpost, Gallipoli, Turkey. The covers to the entrances of dugout shelters can be seen along the hillside terraces. Soldiers are lined up in front of the dugouts on one of the terraces. This position was on the left flank of ANZAC. It was also known as Maori Post from it being garrisoned by the Maori Contingent. Read, J C :Images of the Gallipoli campaign. Ref: 1/4-058066-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/23073950 Photo: Sergeant J C Read / Alexander Turnbull Library

Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey, photographed by James Read during the World War 1 Gallipoli campaign in 1915. Probably looks towards the No 2 and No 3 outposts. Read, J C :Images of the Gallipoli campaign. Ref: 1/4-058140-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22701263 Photo: Sergeant J C Read / Alexander Turnbull Library

Men in a trench, Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey, 1915. Soldier on right may be Private Edward Reginald Francis Scarfe, Wellington. Also identified as 'Tailors party in sap'. Read, J C :Images of the Gallipoli campaign. Ref: 1/4-058166-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22712945 Photo: Sergeant J C Read / Alexander Turnbull Library

Walter Cobbe of the Wellington Mounted Rifles machine gun section with a machine gun captured from the Turks. Cobbe was the only man of the original WMR machine gun section surviving when this photograph was taken. Read, J C :Images of the Gallipoli campaign. Ref: 1/4-058062-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/23028872 Photo: Sergeant J C Read / Alexander Turnbull Library

Maori Battalion soldiers at No 1 Outpost, Gallipoli, Turkey, 1915. Read, J C :Images of the Gallipoli campaign. Ref: 1/4-058101-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22330949 Photo: Sergeant J C Read / Alexander Turnbull Library

Cliff face at Gallipoli, Turkey, 1915. Australian troops are being given climbing instruction. Caption from original negative envelope: "Men of Australian forces being instructed in climbing". Caption from photographers contact print: "Country taken and held by Colonial troops. This will give you some idea of what some of this country was like." Read, J C :Images of the Gallipoli campaign. Ref: 1/4-058065-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/23053617 Photo: Sergeant J C Read / Alexander Turnbull Library

Courtneys Post, Gallipoli, Turkey, 1915. Courtney's Post was one of the posts (the others were Quinn's and Pope's) at the head of Monash Gully. Read, J C :Images of the Gallipoli campaign. Ref: 1/4-058069-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/23205385 Photo: Sergeant J C Read / Alexander Turnbull Library

Grave of F Coates of 2nd Wellington Mounted Rifles, Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey. Shows dug outs behind. Read, J C :Images of the Gallipoli campaign. Ref: 1/4-058173-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22472263 Photo: Sergeant J C Read / Alexander Turnbull Library