Hello all,
I have been trying to find out what happened to my great granddad in WW1. He was in the 2nd Battalion Hampshire Regt. His death certificate states he died at sea on 13th august 1915 and gives the SS Royal Edward as the ship that he was on. My mum [his daughter] had always been told that he had been killed at Gallipoli. The Imperial War Museum have said that it is possible that he was fatally wounded on the Gallipoli peninsular, where the 2nd Btn. The Hampshire Regt were serving in august 1915, perhaps during the Battle of Gulley Ravine on the 6th, and that later he died on a hospital ship on route to somewhere such as Alexandria. Other members of the family have since found out that he was only entitled to a British War Medal and not the Victory Medal as well, that means that he hadn't actually entered the theatre of war. The SS Royal Edward was torpedoed on 13th august 1915 by a German sub and there had been a hospital ship in the area at the time. The troops of the Hampshire Regt onboard the Royal Edward were all reinforcements from the 3rd & 13th Battalions. I'm confused because firstly the 2nd battalion were already out in Gallipoli fighting, and also my great granddads name is on the Helles Memorial. Would his name have been put on it if he hadn't actually landed on the Gallipoli peninsular? Was the SS Royal Edward on it's way to Gallipoli? Could anyone help please, thanks.
