Allied operations at Gallipoli from HMS LONDON compiled by Stuart Wareham RN
Date1914-1919
Object number00055494
NamePhotograph album
MediumBlack and white photographic prints on paper, black ink notations. Blue hardcover photographic album with a black spine and thick cardboard pages.
DimensionsOverall: 288 × 230 × 50 mm, 1743 g
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection gift of Mark Wareham
DescriptionPhotograph album of the Allied assault on the Gallipoli Peninsula during WWI compiled by Stuart Wareham aboard HMS LONDON.
Most of the photographs are accompanied by handwritten annotations, they cover the operations at Gaba Tepe and the landing of Australian troops.
HistoryThe original owner of the photo album--and presumably the individual who took a number of the photographs it contains--was Stuart Wareham, RN. Wareham was a clerk aboard the Formidable-class battleship HMS LONDON when it participated in the transport of Australian troops to the landing site near Gaba Tepe during the commencement of the Gallipoli Campaign in April 1915.
HMS LONDON remained on station and participated in subsequent bombardment of shore-based Turkish gun emplacements and other military installations/positions. Wareham was aboard HMS LONDON for the duration of its deployment to the Dardanelles, and later participated in the ship's subsequent operations in the Mediterranean Sea and Adriatic Sea. Wareham left the ship when it returned to the United Kingdom for a refit in 1916-1917.
The album chronicles HMS LONDON's participation in the Gallipoli Campaign with a handwritten notation on the first page that reads: 'LONDON -- Aug. 1914 - Oct. 1916'. A newspaper clipping glued beneath it that describes a fuse from a Turkish shell that was found and later donated to the City of London by HMS LONDON's crew. The fuse was part of a shell fired from a Turkish shore battery on 4 April 1915 that struck HMS LONDON's after funnel and detonated. The fuse survived practically intact and was found by LONDON's crew in the wake of the attack.SignificanceThe images in this album are of the Allied assault on Gallipoli from a shipboard/seaborne perspective. It also emphasizes the Australian role in the landing and Australian military personnel in a variety of locales and situations. A majority of images also depict topics and themes not commonly shown in Gallipoli-related photographs, including landing barges, auxiliary naval vessels, and the Royal Australian Navy Bridging Train.
