Henry Douglas Ashman (No. 1993) - A Squadron Berkshire
Yeomanry
2nd South Midland Mounted Brigade - 2nd Mounted Division
Douglas, as he was usually known, was born at Tidworth in
Hampshire in 1892. It is believed that his family came to Eton Wick in the late
1890's when his father Edwin went into partnership with his brother-in-law, Mr
Nottage, as farmers at Dairy Farm, Common Road. It appears that the Ashman
family lived at Dairy Farm, and the Nottage’s along Tilston Lane, now all part
of Eton Wick Road.
Douglas was remembered as a reserved lad. He enlisted in the
Territorial Force and in August 1914 he was promptly mobilised. At that time
the Territorials term of service was for home defence only, but like the
majority of his unmarried comrades he volunteered for overseas service.
By the
following summer the 2nd Mounted were in the Middle East, and in a letter to
Mrs Nottage, his Aunt, dated August 7th 1915 and posted in Egypt, he expressed
great disappointment because an expected move to the Dardanelles had just been
cancelled.
Mine fields and shore batteries made this a complete and
costly failure. Then, on April 25th 1915, army Divisions were landed at various
beaches on the tip of the peninsula and Australian and New Zealand troops were
landed on the west coast at what became known as Anzac Cove. The rough terrain
made it extremely difficult for the inadequately armed forces to advance
against a tough and determined defender.
Even though it had never been the intention to become deeply
involved with land forces (begrudged from the Western Front) and despite very
heavy casualties, more and still more troops were committed in a futile attempt
to take the Gallipoli peninsula. Eventually a new attack with fresh troops was
planned to be launched in August 1915 at Suvla Bay, adjoining Anzac Cove. At
the outset two Divisions were involved and a third, the 2nd Mounted, was held
in reserve in Egypt. The date was August 6/7th.
Any limited initial success was quickly negated when the
Turks' rushed up reinforcements and regained most of their lost ground.
Casualties were very high and the British troops were inadequately supplied
with fresh water and heavy ammunition. The disappointment Douglas expressed in
his letter of August 7th to his Aunt, referred to his being in the Egypt
reserve.
On August 18th Douglas got his wish as the 2nd Mounted sailed from
Alexandria for Gallipoli. These young and raw Territorial troops were part of the
87th Brigade of the much more experienced 29th Division. They were
dismounted and served as infantry as they advanced through intense heat to take
up assault positions at the base of Chocolate Hill, probably so named on
account of its parched and brown appearance.
On August 21st at 1800 hours they were attached to the 2nd
South Midland Brigade, and attacked the slopes of Scimitar Hill from their
Chocolate Hill position. Intense Turkish machine gun and rifle fire mowed the
young territorials down and the dry hillside scrub became a blazing inferno,
incinerating the wounded and dead alike.
Douglas perished there, with an enthusiasm for action so
typical of the nation's youth, in the first real combat he experienced. The next
day the remnants bowed to the inevitable and withdrew. By the end of 1915 the Dardanelles venture was an admitted
failure and all the troops were successfully evacuated by January 9th 1916. The
allied dead were estimated at 46,000.
Douglas Ashman's remains were never identified and therefore
he has no known grave, but is officially commemorated on the Helles Memorial to
the missing, at Gallipoli. His name is on panel 18/19. There are 20,765 names
on the Helles Memorial, and two other memorials on the peninsula commemorate a
further 4,932 and 852 men respectively. There are a further 20,560 men with
known graves.
D. Ashman is the first name commemorated on the Eton Wick
and Boveney Memorial and is also on the bronze commemorative plaques attached
to the gates of the Parish Church in Eton. He is commemorated on the
Territorials' Memorial in Windsor, which overlooks the Thames from the bowling
green. He was a single man aged 23.
This is an extract from Their Names Shall Be Carved in Stone
and published here with grateful thanks to the author Frank Bond.
Have just found this site. I am certain that my Great Uncle, Victor Hobbs, was in the same unit as Douglas Ashman and survived the battle of Scimitar Hill. Victor Hobbs was listed as missing on 21st August 1915 but survived with a bullet lodged in a notebook in his pocket. I have various photos, most likely from the same camp in the photograph and can share any I have. Please contact batt-rawden@rosepergola.plus.com if anyone reads this post.
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