Tag Archives: Gallipoli

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Dorsetshire Regiment, Great War, history, injury, photography, Private, Somerset, story, war

Private Edward Rendell

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Private Edward Rendell

Edward Rendell was born in the Dorset town of Corfe Castle in 1894. His parents were Edward and Sophie Rendell, and he had two siblings, William and Agnes.

Sadly, little information on Edward Jr’s early life is available. His father was a farmer – or at least an agricultural labourer – and this is the line of work his son went into.

When war broke out, Edward Jr was quick to play a part, enlisting within a fortnight of hostilities being declared. He joined the 1st Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment as a Private and, after initial training, was sent out to the Western Front by March 1915.

Private Rendell’s battalion was involved in the fighting at Ypres and, on 19th April 1915, he was injured, receiving a gun shot wound to his left arm. Initially treated in the field, he was later transferred to a hospital in Boulogne, before being evacuated back to England to recover.

Reunited with his regiment, Edward was then shipped out to Gallipoli, arriving there in September 1915. While he is likely to have been involved in the fighting in Turkey, he did end up in hospital, but was suffering from influenza.

A couple of weeks later, he is recorded as being admitted to a hospital in Malta, although whether this was also because of the lung condition is not clear. Either way, Private Rendell was back in England by mid-December 1915, remaining in the country for six months.

In March 1916, he again returned to the fray and was posted back to the Western Front. Private Rendell spent a couple of months in battle until, on 21st June 1916, he received a gunshot and shrapnel wound to his thigh. The injury was serious enough for him to be medically evacuated back to England, and he was admitted to the Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospital at Norton-sub-Hamdon in Somerset.

Sadly, while his treatment may have bought Private Rendell some time, it seems that his wounds were too severe; he passed away on 30th July 1916 at the age of just 22 years old.

By this time both of Edward’s parents were dead; his next of kin was his sister, Agnes. While she was still living in Dorset, Edward was laid to rest in St Mary’s Churchyard in Norton-sub-Hamdon.

Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, history, injury, photography, Somerset, story, Trooper, war, Wellington Mounted Rifles

Trooper William Dawbin

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Trooper William Dawbin

William Joseph Dawbin was born on 23rd April 1888, in Yeovil, Somerset. He was the oldest of three children to William and Julianna Dawbin, a farming family.

In 1897, when William Jr was 9 years old, the family emigrated to New Zealand, settling in the town of Feilding, 100miles (150km) north of Wellington.

William enlisted in 1905, joining the Wellington Mounted Rifles for a five-year term of service, and being promoted to the rank of Corporal. He re-enlisted on 14th August 1914, and the troop departed New Zealand for Europe a month later.

Trooper Dawbin arrived in Alexandria, Egypt on 3rd December, from where they travelled to Cairo for training. Initially planning on becoming involved in the defence of the Suez Canal, on 14th April 1915, William and his battalion landed in Gallipoli, to support the invasion there.

History knows that the fighting in this battle was some of the fiercest of the Great War. History also tells us that this campaign resulted in huge losses for the Anzac troops, including the Wellington Mounted Rifles. Sadly, Trooper Dawbin was not to escape injury.

On 27th May 1915, he received a gunshot wound to the back, fracturing his spine. He was evacuated by hospital ship back to Egypt, and, suffering from paralysis, was shipped back to England ten days later.

Trooper Dawbin was admitted to the Netley Hospital in Southampton, but his wounds appeared too severe; he died there on 22nd August 1915. He was 27 years old.

William Joseph Dawbin lies at peace in the quiet churchyard of St Andrew’s, in the village of Compton Dundon, Somerset, not far from extended family in Butleigh.