[atillathenunns]

Historian Christopher Pugsley mentions the following in his excellent book “Gallipoli, The New Zealand Story” on page 21. —
“This story has passed into legend and has become a myth of Gallipoli subscribed to both by C.E.W. Bean and John North in their major works on the campaign. Failure and the suspicion of blame broke the surviving New Zealanders’ spirits. They saw the dead blamed and the mediocre and incompetent praised.
One New Zealander, Cyril Bassett, was awarded a justly earned VC, the first awarded to a New Zealander in this war. Seven were awarded to the Australian Division for the Battle at Lone Pine. Today Lone Pine has a familiar ring in both Australia and New Zealand. Chunuk Bair was all but forgotten, until revived by Maurice Shadbolt’s play ‘Once On Chunuk Bair.’
But after August men spoke of the VCs that should have been awarded. ‘Richard Warden, the great scout of the Auckland Battalion, killed on Chunuk Bair — the Unknown Soldier who was the heart and soul of the Wellington forward trench on Chunuk; Major Wallingford M.C., the hero of ANZAC and Fielden Taylor, the chaplain.”

Richard Warden was a famous Australian Scout and was in Fiji when the war broke out, and although he was in the reserve of officers of Australia he went to Samoa as a private in the New Zealand contingent, and afterwards joined the main body in New Zealand. Warden was a member of the Auckland Machine Gun Section and for some time it was impossible to recover his body. Finally, in a half starlight night, a chaplain, “Captain Wallingford and some volunteers from the gun team nearest, crept out and furtively dug a grave, and with the simplest service the finest of scouts was laid to rest.”

The Capture of Chunuk Bair was assigned to the Auckland Infantry Regiment who from the Apex had a distance of some 500+ metres of exposed terrain to cover with the Turks occupying the high ground to the front and both sides (Zero hour 11am 7th August).
Captain Wallingford had earlier placed his guns so as to protect the right flank, after which he climbed to the Apex to see the Brigade Staff just as the Auckland Regiment was getting ready to make the assault. Lieutenant Colonel Young commanding the Auckland Regiment requested more time to bring all the brigade’s machine guns forward to the Apex to cover the attack. Brigadier Johnston who was unfit to command, insisted that the attack be launched on time.

Captain Wallingford was probably the last person to speak to Major Sam Grant NZSC, (arrived with the 4th Reinforcements) who led the Auckland attack with the 6th Hauraki company. —
“Look here Wallingford, we have to charge that hill, can you do anything for us?”
Wallingford replied that “I could if I was given time to bring up the guns. At that moment the brigadier gave the order to get away. There was a bit of a pause for someone to give the lead. I stood fascinated because I knew it meant slaughter to step over that apex. Then all at once I saw Major Grant step out. He called to his men, and away they went like a pack of Wolves breaking cover. It was awful watching one's friends and all the splendid fellows going to their death and knowing that if I only had the guns I could silence the Turks in a few minutes.”

With the Auckland Regiment shot to bits, the Wellington Infantry Regiment under the command of one of New Zealands best officers was next in line to make the Assault on Chunuk Bair (Zero hour 3am 8th August).
In support of the Wellington attack Wallingford lined 12 Machine guns of the brigade on the crest of the Apex and the slopes of Cheshire Ridge.

The capture of Chunuk Bair had been a prime objective for the allied forces since the day of the landings on the 25th April 1915. In the early morning darkness on the 8th August 1915, the fearless Lt Colonel William George Malone and his Wellington Regiment captured Chunuk Bair.

No sooner had the Wellington’s crowned the ridge, where they could plainly be seen against the skyline in the breaking dawn, Wallingford rushed his four best gun teams forward to their assistance.
In the early morning daylight, taking the same route as the Auckland and Wellington regiments, weighted with equipment and ammunition, the machine gunners made their way up to Chunuk Bair ridge. Only two of the four gun teams survived the journey, and each of these teams were missing men that carried key components of their guns. As the guns were not complete, the two guns were put together and worked as one.
(Unfortunately I have been unable to find any information regarding the two guns that had been lost earlier in the morning. It is possible they may have been recovered by reinforcements that followed behind them later in the day)

Captain Wallingford records that in total 7 NZ Maxim machine guns and crews were sent to the top of Chunuk Bair. I can only speculate that 3 Maxims were sent with the Wellington Mounted Rifles (193 men) and Otago Infantry regiment (around 400 men) when they set out from the Apex at 8pm on the 8th August to reinforce the Wellington regiment on Chunuk Bair ridge.

Of the 760 of the Wellington Infantry regiment who had captured the height that morning, only around 70 unwounded or slightly wounded men were left holding the ridge when the Otago’s infantry and Wellington mounted rifles arrived. Instead of reinforcing the worn out Wellington Infantry, the survivors were relieved from their post and sent back down the hill.

Captain Wallingford is quoted as saying. —
“It was a deadly corner, enfiladed and battered from all sides, and one after another the guns were knocked out and the crews killed or injured. The bravest of all were the Maori team, all of whom were laid out.”

In a letter sent by Captain Wallingford to Dr Maui Pomare, who was the Chairman of the Maori Recruiting Board
responsible for recruiting the Maori Battalion, Captain Wallingford states. —

“As regards the Maoris, two of the machine-guns under my command were manned by them. On August 8th, one of them lost in less than twenty minutes, nine men out of sixteen, and still they fought on. I have seen them lie in the open at the foot of Chunuk Bair, mixed with Ghurkas, for two days and nights, when at least thirty per cent. were either killed or wounded. On sentry at night, when the safety of the army depended on their vigilance, at general fatigue work, and in the digging of trenches—in fact I have seen them under all conditions of warfare, except the actual charge, and I am satisfied that better troops do not exist in all the world.”

At 8pm on the 9th August 1915, the 6th Loyal North Lancashire’s began relieving the New Zealanders on Chunuk Bair.
At 2am on the 10th August, the 5th Wiltshires were led up to the summit to join the 6th Loyal North Lancashires. The New Zealand Machine guns were left in position on the ridge, several NZ scouts also remained to assist the British Battalions.
The defence of Chunuk Bair had cost the Otagos 17 officers and 309 men. The Wellington Mounteds had 73 left out of 193.

Historian Christopher Pugsley mentions the following in his excellent book “Gallipoli, The New Zealand Story” on page 309. —
“Any determined defence might have held, but the 6th Loyal North Lancashires did not resist but broke and ran, as did the Wiltshires below them. Only the few New Zealanders forward showed any fight. Panic spread and the Leinsters at the Pinnacle also fled. Kemal’s counter-attack threatened the entire line.
Wallingfords’s NZ machine guns were still on the Apex. Dan Curham’s gun had been cleaned and Curham was test firing it.
I was firing not up the hill where our fellows had gone, but to Hill Q, an adjoining hill that was connected by a ridge and you could see the dust where the bullets hit and it was tat! tat! tat!… until I knew the gun was in good order and I was still fingering it and looking at the hill and I saw a most amazing site. A great mass of Turks coming over the hill… I had my gun trained on the very spot and all I had to do was press the trigger and, of course, they fell all over the place.”

The Turks had chased the British Forces off Chunuk Bair, panic spread quickly and men ran down the track from the line.

In the early dawn of the 10th August, when the Apex was about to give way, the NZ machine gun lads fixed bayonets, and gathering round in a circle said; We'll stick to you Captain.
Leading the NZ machine gunners, Captain Wallingford with his pistol in hand, firing at those that fled managed to rally the fleeing troops turning them back to hold the Apex.

During the four days of the August 1915 battle for Chunuk Bair, the New Zealand machine-gun sections worked twenty-four hours round the clock, providing support and rushing to whatever point of the line was threatened. Captain Wallingford is quoted as having lost 64 per cent of his officers and men during this period.