In April 2025 and March 2026 I shared my attempts to discover whether a distant relative by marriage had served in Salonika. In spite of there being no definite evidence either way, I concluded that it was highly unlikely. Although disappointing, it was still interesting to find out about his service in Gallipoli and to learn more about 7/Royal Munster Fusiliers in Gallipoli and Salonika.
Whilst aspects of George W. Clark’s service remain a mystery, I am now able to put a face to the name. This is very exciting and I have SCS member, Rob Elliott, to thank. Rob shared with me a link to a page dedicated to the Royal Munster Fusiliers on the fascinating and useful ww1photos.com website.
The ‘Battalion Unknown’ – listed first – is definitely the 7th (Service) Battalion. George is the sixth officer listed. Other familiar names are Captain (later Major) Aplin, who wrote the Battalion war diary, and Captain Wace who was wounded at Gallipoli and treated by George. These, and many of the others, are seen in a group photo which must have been taken in the UK before sailing for foreign parts. This photo – which is one of many such – probably comes from the Illustrated War News, or similar. Unfortunately, as I write this, the link to the photo (on ukphotoarchive.org.uk) is not working, maybe as a result of the recent PHP panic. Fortunately, the last time I looked at it, I took a screenshot of George and share it here:
It’s good to see George at last!
My previous post on George also prompted an email from David Jenkins from Northern Ireland. David had shared with me the story of his grandfather, Samuel, who served with 6th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, which I posted in 2024 and included some great photos.
David emailed to say that he had acquired a rare book, The Story of the 6th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, by a captain of the regiment and published by the Impartial Reporter of Enniskillen in 1919. This covers the story of the Battalion from its raising in Omagh, through its service at Gallipoli, in Serbia, Salonika, the Struma, Palestine and finally France, to its demobilization. David had also found an online copy which can be read and downloaded from here (and, yes, this link does still work!):
A photograph which claims to show troops from 10th (Irish) Division – they could be 6/Inniskillings or 7/Munsters – crossing the frontier into Serbia in November 1915. From the part-work, The Great War vol. V (1916).
Thanks to Rob and David for sharing!
Discover more from Salonika Campaign Society, 1915-1918
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