Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Three: Gunner W. McNish, 4th Highland (Mountain) Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery Territorial Force, who landed on 'W' Beach at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915

1914-15 Star (2331. Gnr. W. Mc Nish. R.G.A.); British War and Victory Medals (300448 Gnr. W. Mc Nish. R.A.) very fine and better (3) £70-£90

William McNish was born in 1895 and attested for the 4th Highland (Mountain) Brigade, Royal Garrison Artillery, Territorial Force, on 22 February 1913. Armed with small and mobile 10-pounder artillery pieces, his Brigade offered a unique capability; the guns could be dismounted and carried on the backs of ponies and men - ideal for the mountainous terrain of the west coast of Scotland with its half-made tracks, scree laden hillsides, and deep gullies where a gun carriage would be nigh on impossible to manoeuvre. Held back from the fighting on the sweeping farmland of France and Flanders, the untapped potential of the 4th Highland (Mountain Brigade) soon caught the eye of the top brass as they poured over potential landing sites on the rugged Gallipoli peninsula.

Very quickly the plans began to unravel for McNish and 40-50 of his comrades on 25 April 1915. The 29th Divisional Artillery War Record and Honours Book, 1915-18, sets the scene: ‘One section of the Ross and Cromarty Battery and one section of the Argyll Battery came ashore in the afternoon with the initial landings at 'W' Beach. Both batteries were supposed to come in on the heels of the infantry in the morning, but the fierce resistance encountered there caused delays and changes all around.'

Reserved for the landing of guns, horses, transports and stores due to its ease of access to the hinterland and its reduced vulnerability to gunfire from Turkish positions on the Asiatic shore, 'W' Beach proved a killing field. As the very first artillery units of any kind and the very first Territorial troops of any badge to set foot on the peninsula, the small number of 4th Highland (Mountain) Brigade artillery men soon found themselves in a desperate fight against a well-prepared enemy fighting on home beaches; mined, laced with barbed-wire entanglements and defended by Turks in well-sited trenches, only the extreme bravery of the Lancashire Fusiliers prevented a disaster.

Clambering up craggy pathways, the Gunners soon proved their worth as a valuable resource. Unlike naval guns, the small artillery pieces could be moved to front line positions and deliver enfilade fire along whole trench lines. Their small size offered concealment opportunities, and their reduced noise in comparison to other artillery pieces gave the Gunners hope that they would be ignored by an irate enemy. Remarkably, this proved correct and casualties among the artillery men remained low - a blessing given the close-knit communities from which they originated.  

Transferred to Salonika in 1916, McNish survived the War unscathed by the enemy, but struggling with a spell of malaria and repeated stomach complaints. Discharged on 11 June 1919, the recipient’s medical notes give his post-War address as 20, Woodland Place, Penarth, Wales.