Peter Wise and Brenda McMahon have submitted the following:-
Lindsley who was born at Gateshead (1885), was the son of Robinson Harrison and his wife Elizabeth (nee Townsend). The couple married in 1887 and went on to have 9 children but one died. Both of his parents were hawkers selling both hardware and drapery.
By 1911 the family just grew and grew eventually having 14 folk occupying only 4 rooms. They had several boarders listed who are likely to have been family members. One youngster, Lizzie, aged 10 was adopted.
Before the war Lindsley had been an errand boy for a fishmonger in Barnard Castle. He later lived in Bolton and enlisted there.
The battalion embarked for Gallipoli on 19/6/1915 from Avonmouth via Mudros. During July they landed at Helles with the 38th Brigade.
On August 4th 1915 they landed at Anzac and engaged in various actions however Lindsley was killed in action a few days later during the Battle of Chunuk Bair.
The two battalions of the New Army chosen to hold Chunuk Bair were the 6th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. The first of these arrived in good time and occupied the trenches. Even in the darkness their commanding officer, Lieut-Colonel H.G. Levinge, recognized how dangerously these trenches were sited, and he began at once to dig observation posts on the actual crest and to strengthen the defences where he could; but he had not time given him to do much.
The second battalion, the Wiltshires, were delayed by the intricate country; they did not reach the edge of the entrenchment until 4am, and were then told to lie down in what was believed, erroneously, to be a covered position. At daybreak on Tuesday 10th August, the Turks delivered a grand attack from the Chunuk Bair Hill-Q against these two battalions, already weakened in numbers, though not in spirit, by previous fighting.
First our men were shelled by every enemy gun, and then, at 5.30am, were assaulted by a huge column consisting of no less than a full division, plus a regiment of three battalions.
The Loyal North Lancashire men were simply overwhelmed in their shallow trenches by sheer weight in numbers, whilst the Wiltshires who were caught in the open, were literally almost annihilated. The ponderous mass of enemy swept over the crest, turned the right flank of our line below, swarmed round the Hampshires and General Baldwin’s column, which had to which had to give ground and were only extricated with great difficulty and very heavy losses.
Towards this supreme struggle the absolute last two battalions from our general reserve were now hurried, but by 10am, the effort of the enemy was spent. Soon their shattered remnants began to trickle back, leaving a track of corpses behind them, and by nightfall, except prisoners or wounded, no live Turk was left upon our side of the slop
Generals fought in the ranks and men dropped their scientific weapons and caught one another by the throat. So desperate a fight cannot be described. The Turks came on again and again, fighting magnificently, calling upon the name of God. Our men stood to it and maintained, by many a deed of daring, the old traditions of their race. There was no flinching. They died in the ranks where they stood.
Information from website Loyal North Lancashire Regiment 1914-18
The Helles Memorial commemorates almost 21,000 fallen soldiers who died during the conflict.
Lindsley Harrison is remembered at Barnard Castle on B135.02, B135.23 and B135.25
