Courage of comrades

fuRThER to memoirs of the V-beach landing debacle at Gallipoli (Mail), my grandfather, Private James Patrick Bryant MM, was there with the 1st Battalion Royal Munster fusiliers. he was a comrade of Corporal William Cosgrove VC, part of a group of 50 men who had made it on to the beach the previous day.

Most of his comrades had failed to make it off the SS River Clyde in the early hours of that day: hundreds were dead or wounded. My grandfather was haunted for the rest of his life by the sight of the sea coloured red by the blood of these men.

he was the only man in the group with proper wire cutters. under fire he tried to cut a path through barbed wire preventing their advance off the beach. he was mentioned in dispatches for his effort.

Cpl Cosgrove was the huge Irishman who grabbed the posts holding the wire and dragged them out of the ground, allowing his men to advance at last. he survived his injuries and serve with the regiment for the rest of the war.

My grandfather and his three brothers also survived the Great War. Like Cpl Cosgrove, he came from Cork. he was eventually awarded the Military Medal later in the war. he rarely spoke of the horrors he’d seen, but would attend the annual April 25 reunion for the men of the 29th division who had fought at Gallipoli.

Lt General Sir hunter Weston was present at these reunions, and my grandfather remained in contact with him until the general’s death in 1940.

Grandfather died in 1966, but his youngest son, daniel Bryant, visited V-beach last Saturday with his son and my twin brother, Michael. They planted a replica Royal Munster fusiliers flag on the beach in memory of my grandfather and his fallen comrades in arms.

JaMES a. FRanEY, chilworth, Surrey.