War Medals

1449 PRIVATE BENJAMIN BYFORD, 1ST. BATTALION, LANCASHIRE FUSILIERS KILLED IN ACTION GALLIPOLI 4 JUNE 1915

1914-15 Star; British War Medal; Victory Medal 1914-19 (1449 Pte. Lan. Fus.) : (BENJAMIN HARRY BYFORD - Born West Norwood, Lambeth, London in 1888, he is recorded in the 1911 Census as serving in the Army (1st. Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers): In August 1914 the Battalion was stationed at Karachi, India, and returned to England arriving on 2 January 1915 : On 16 March 1915 it sailed to Egypt and from there to Gallipoli, where it landed at Cape Helles on 25 April 1915, the First Day of the Gallipoli Campaign, from the steam cutters of HMS. 'Euryalus'. Benjamin Byford is recorded on his Medal Information Card as taking part in these initial landings. Men of the Battalion won the distinction of being awarded the Victoria Cross on six occasions during the landings, two Officers and four Other Ranks, and are popularly referred to as the "Six VC's before breakfast". The beach where the Battalion landed was afterwards always known as 'Lancashire Landing'. The Fusiliers took the beach but at a very high cost, of the initial wave of two hundred Officers and men only twenty-one survived, and in all a total of six hundred Officers and men were killed or wounded. The recipient survived the landings and on 1 June 1915 the Battalion moved to Gurkha Bluff at the commencement of the Third Battle of Krithia. The British Artillery bombardment of 4 June 1915 fell short and was responsible for many casualties, the Machine-Gun section was put out of action and unable to assist in the advance. The attack on Gully Spur commenced at 12.00hrs on 4 June 1915 with 'A' and 'B' Companies in the centre, where both suffered heavy casualties from machine-gun and rifle fire, most of whom never got out from their own parapet and those that did were cut down after only a few yards. 'D' and 'B' Companies followed and suffered the same fate. Total casualties on the day amounted to 14 Officers and 500 Other Ranks, killed or wounded. Benjamin Byford was among THOSE KILLED ON THAT DAY, he has no known grave and is commemorated on a special memorial in the Twelve Tree Copse Cemetery. at Helles.) : Sold with verification, copy CWGC. information and other related research : Medals mounted on the original silk ribbons EF - £895