Salonika Campaign Society, 1915-1918

‘Salonika Secrets’ – a new podcast

In December of last year, we posted about a podcast series that featured an interview with Society member Chris Loader who had travelled with the Society on the September 2023 SCS Battlefield Tour to visit the grave of his great-great-grandfather, Henry Albert Obadiah Loader.

Inspired by a visit to Doiran Military Cemetery during the tour, Chris has now branched out to record his own podcast series: Salonika Secrets.

‘Salonika Secrets’ – a new podcast from Society member Chris Loader

The podcast tells of Chris’s search to identify an unknown British officer commemorated at Doiran. Without giving too much away, Chris has so far managed to narrow down the identity to an officer who served in the 12th Hampshire Regiment. You can listen to the podcast free on Spotify, Amazon and Apple and, no doubt, other podcast providers. Chris also posts updates and extra information on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) here.

Good luck with the search Chris!

Ribbit! Ribbit!

When I discovered that today is World Frog Day, I doubted that I could find any frogs with a Salonika connection. Then a memory stirred of a story read in The Mosquito – the journal of the Salonika Reunion Association – but would I find it again … ?

Remembering Samuel Jenkins and 6/Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

My thanks go to David Jenkins who – rather longer ago than I am prepared to admit – shared the story of his grandfather, along with some fascinating photos.

Samuel Jenkins enlisted in the 6th (Service Battalion), Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers on 1 September 1914, the Battalion having been raised in Omagh during the previous month. Samuel’s service with The Skins is a little hazy, but we know he sailed from Liverpool in early July with the rest of 10th (Irish) Division, with his overseas service commencing with his disembarkation on 11 July 1915, probably on Lemnos. One (!) of his National Archive medal index cards give this date with the note ‘(2B) Balkans’, meaning ‘Balkan Theatre – Gallipoli and Aegean Islands’. This made him eligible for the 1914/15 Star. Four weeks later, the Division landed at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli.

Soles of boots were tied on with rags

Although women who had served in Salonika – in whatever capacity – were eligible to join the SRA from the very start, they didn’t gain their own specific section in The Mosquito until September 1931 (issue 15), with Eileen Moore’s ‘Woman’s Page’. Later, this was expanded to ‘Women’s Pages’ and continued for the rest of The Mosquito’s long existence. So it was only right and proper that the final issue in May 1969 – a longer, glossier souvenir album, entitled Salonika Memories 1915-1919 – included it’s own ‘Women’s Pages’. By now this was edited by Miss N. M. Simcox. In her final editorial, she had this to say:

Handbags At Dawn!

“What did you do in the Great War, Daddy?”

“Well, when I wasn’t fighting Johnny Bulgar I dressed up as a lady … it was a tough job, but someone ‘ad to do it!”

Remembering Great Uncle David and 11/Welsh

It was five o’clock in the morning on the edge of hell. Captain Jimmy Eynon looked up through the goggles of his gas mask at Grande Couronne, cursed savagely, and kicked a rugby ball high into the air. Before it fell, a Welshman had been shot to pieces … and another … and another.
from ‘Now the Agony!’ by Gareth Bowen in ‘The South Wales Echo‘, 1964

William Richmond and 10/Black Watch (4)

William Richmond was demobbed in 1919; his medal index card in The National Archives shows that he entered the ‘Class Z Reserve’ on Valentine’s Day. This allowed him to return to civilian life, but there was an obligation to ‘return to the colours’ if necessary, an obligation which was not abolished until 31 March 1920. The card also shows that he was eligible for the famous trio of Great War campaign medals known as Pip, Squeak and Wilfred, named after cartoon characters: the 1914/15 Star (for his service overseas before 31 December 1915), the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

‘Awards and Honours of the Macedonian Campaign’ research project – an update.

We are very grateful to SCS Member, Rob Elliott for leading this project that attempts to compile a single record of the awards and honours given to those serving in the Macedonian Campaign. Full details of the aims of the project can be found here.

Rob, with some help from Society Chairman Alan Wakefield, and Members Harry Fecitt and Andy Siddall, has made remarkable progress in compiling this database of honours. A first release was made on 12th January, containing 1067 entries with 276 citations, and Rob has just published the second update , comprising 1960 names of which 283 have full citations. The database is available on the SCS Members’ Area here.

For a full explanation of the work and progress made so far, please read Rob’s report here.

If you are able to spare some time in helping Rob, please send him a message via the form below.

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William Richmond and 10/Black Watch (3)

In January 1918 General Headquarters (GHQ) in Salonika felt the need to issue memoranda reminding commanders of formations that they were responsible for the efficiency of their units and for the training of all officers and men in them. In certain technical fields training had to be done at army schools but, generally, the purpose of these schools was to support units by training the trainers who would share, what we would now call ‘best practice’, within them. By this time GHQ Salonika had a number of schools under its control, covering subjects such as infantry training, artillery, signals, the Lewis Gun and anti-gas precautions. A School of Physical and Bayonet Training was also set up, with an Assistant Superintendent authorised by the War Office to coordinate and supervise this training, with a staff of 10 NCOs from the Army Gymnastic Staff (Official History vol. 2, chap. III). Our next sight of William Richmond is as a student at this School.

William Richmond and 10/Black Watch (2)

On Burn’s Night (25 January) I introduced William Richmond who, at the age of 20, enlisted in the 10th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Highland Regiment (Black Watch) on 11 September 1914. After finding themselves in various English camps during 1915 and spending two months in France the Battalion, with the rest of 26th Division, started heading off for Salonika – via Marseille – in November 1915.