First soldier on Gallipolli soil.

[aussie mick]

Australian,Lieut.Duncan Chapman was the first soldier to set foot on Gallipoli on the 25th April 1915.
Being from my hometown Maryborough i am delighted i just found this out.
Of course there was controversy over this,but here is a report from the day,

GALLIPOLI LANDING

First Man On Shore

SYDNEY Monday.

Further interesting light is shed on the controversy, as to who was the first man ashore at Gallipoli on the memorable landing of April 26, 1915, by a letter written by the late Major D. K. Chapman (then a captain in the 9th Battalion) to his brother, Mr. Fred Chapman, of Bankstown.

Dr. C. E. W. Bean, in his supplementary, preface to the official history of the war, named Lieutenant Duncan Chapman as the first man to land. Rival claims were submitted and the question was debated through the columns of a newspaper.

In the letter written "In the Trenches, Gallipoli, July 8, 1915" Lieutenant Chapman says:

"The landing of our troops you no doubt have read about, as full accounts, have appeared in all the papers. I happened to be in the first boat that reached the shore, and being in the bow at the time, I was the first man to get ashore. I was one of the covering party who had been chosen to go ahead, and, as our boats sneaked on in the early morning light, many of us wondered who would be, the first to go."

Good enough for me.

[sandgroper]

Mick, I had never even thought about this before! Very interesting, thanks for posting it mate!