Diary of John Henry Llewellyn Turnbull, 1915-1916

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Accession Number RCDIG0001107
Collection number PR91/015
Collection type Digitised Collection
Record type File
Item count 1
Object type Diary
Physical description 100 Image/s captured
Maker Turnbull, John Henry Llewellyn
Place made At sea, Egypt, France, Greece: Aegean Islands, Lemnos, Malta, Ottoman Empire: Turkey, Dardanelles, Gallipoli
Date made 1915-1916
Conflict First World War, 1914-1918
Copying Provisions Digital format and content protected by copyright.
Description

Diary relating to the First World War service of 1433 Private John Henry Llewellyn Turnbull, 8th Battalion. This is the second of six detailed diaries transcribed by Turnbull after the war and documents his experiences in the years 1915 and 1916 originally written between 7 November 1915 and 26 June 1916

This diary continues on from his previous diary, with Turnbull's convalescence in Egypt, where recalls some amusing and sometimes dramatic occurrences. After returning to Gallipoli, Turnbull then writes of the conditions at Gallipoli until December, when he talks of the preparations for the evacuation and the evacuation itself in great detail. He then describes his Christmas and New Years on Lemnos observing the sights and participating in route marches, then on to Egypt where he outline his training and his transference to other battalions. The diary concludes whilst Turnbull is on route to France in 1916.

In the middle of the diary is a separate section that contains the excerpt of Turnbull's experiences in Egypt in March and April 1915. Also included are several anecdotes about the Gallipoli campaign. Interspersed throughout the diary are several meticulously drawn sketch maps of the trench system and topographical features around Anzac, the Gallipoli peninsula and the Sinai region. Also included are newspaper clippings, including two written by Lieutenant-General Sir James McCay about the second battle of Krithia in May 1915.

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