Private John Oliver

Private John Oliver ,1st Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers. He was a Regular soldier and was killed in action, aged 28, on 26th April 1915 during the landing at” Y” Beach, Gallipoli  and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Helles, Gallipoli, Turkey. He had been born in Coldstream and was the son of the late Elizabeth Oliver.  1st K.O.S.B. was part of the 29th Division which was comprised of regular army Battalions withdrawn from duties around the Empire. The landings were supposed to support of the landings at Cape Helles by dividing the Turkish defenders but for some reason no advance was made and a defensive position was formed on the cliff tops. The Turks, now reinforced, soon attacked but with help from the 12 inch main guns of the battleship H.M.S. “Goliath” which was standing offshore the Turks were repulsed with heavy casualties although it was a near run affair. It was then In a flurry of mixed messages the battalion and its compatriots in the South Wales Borderers and the Royal Naval Division were ordered to re-embark and move South to reinforce the landings at Cape Helles. This they did unhindered by the Turks. Total casualties for this “diversion” were 296 killed and wounded. The photograph shows H.M.S. “Goliath “.