Lone Pine Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Lone Pine Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission
cemetery dating from World War I
in the former ANZAC sector of the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey
and the location of the Lone Pine Memorial, one of five memorials on the peninsula which commemorate servicemen of the former British Empire killed in the campaign but who have no known grave.
The battles at Gallipoli
, some of whose participating soldiers are buried at this cemetery, was an eight month campaign fought by Commonwealth and French forces against Ottoman Empire forces to force the Ottoman Empire out of the war. The campaign started with an attempt to force the Dardanelles using naval power, but when this failed an invasion of the peninsula was launched to assist a renewed naval assault. The invasion was unsuccessful and the allies withdrew.
The main landings were in April 1915, with primarily British and French troops landing at the tip of the peninsula around Cape Helles and Australian and New Zealand (ANZAC) troops landing a few miles north on the west coast.
Lone Pine was a plateau 120 metres above sea level in the southern part of the Anzac sector which was captured on the morning of the landings, 25 April 1915, and abandoned that evening, but recaptured the following day only to be given up to the Turkish forces again that evening. The Turks retained it for the next three months, calling it Kanli Sirt (Bloody Ridge).
The position was recaptured by the Anzac troops on 6 August following extensive preparations (which included the digging of mines underneath it) during the Battle of Lone Pine
, and held until the evacuation of the sector in December 1915.
The cemetery was constructed during the campaign and at the end of it held 46 graves. It was greatly enlarged after the Armistice by moving isolated graves into it and by consolidating other smaller cemeteries in the area, such as Brown's Dip North and South Cemeteries.
The Lone Pine Memorial commemorates 4,934 Australian and New Zealand troops killed in the sector but who have no known grave. In addition special memorials commemorate 182 Australian and 1 British soldier thought to be buried in the cemetery but whose graves have not been identified.
tree (Pinus halepensis) on the plateau, and a popular song published in 1913, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
, and this name was shortened to Lone Pine. There had originally been several trees but all but one had been cut down by Turkish troops to provide wood for covering trenches.
The tree was obliterated during the fighting, but at least two Australian soldiers took cones from it back to Australia, from which numerous commemorative trees have since been produced.
A single pine tree was planted in the cemetery during its landscaping and enlargement in the 1920s. It is sometimes said to be a descendent of the original tree
but this is not so, since it is a different species, a stone pine
(Pinus pinea).
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
cemetery dating from World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in the former ANZAC sector of the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and the location of the Lone Pine Memorial, one of five memorials on the peninsula which commemorate servicemen of the former British Empire killed in the campaign but who have no known grave.
The battles at Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
, some of whose participating soldiers are buried at this cemetery, was an eight month campaign fought by Commonwealth and French forces against Ottoman Empire forces to force the Ottoman Empire out of the war. The campaign started with an attempt to force the Dardanelles using naval power, but when this failed an invasion of the peninsula was launched to assist a renewed naval assault. The invasion was unsuccessful and the allies withdrew.
The main landings were in April 1915, with primarily British and French troops landing at the tip of the peninsula around Cape Helles and Australian and New Zealand (ANZAC) troops landing a few miles north on the west coast.
Lone Pine was a plateau 120 metres above sea level in the southern part of the Anzac sector which was captured on the morning of the landings, 25 April 1915, and abandoned that evening, but recaptured the following day only to be given up to the Turkish forces again that evening. The Turks retained it for the next three months, calling it Kanli Sirt (Bloody Ridge).
The position was recaptured by the Anzac troops on 6 August following extensive preparations (which included the digging of mines underneath it) during the Battle of Lone Pine
Battle of Lone Pine
The Battle of Lone Pine was a battle between Australian and Turkish forces that took place during the Gallipoli campaign from 6–10 August 1915. It was part of a diversion to draw attention from the main assaults of 6 August against the Sari Bair peaks of Chunuk Bair and Hill 971, which became...
, and held until the evacuation of the sector in December 1915.
The cemetery was constructed during the campaign and at the end of it held 46 graves. It was greatly enlarged after the Armistice by moving isolated graves into it and by consolidating other smaller cemeteries in the area, such as Brown's Dip North and South Cemeteries.
The Lone Pine Memorial commemorates 4,934 Australian and New Zealand troops killed in the sector but who have no known grave. In addition special memorials commemorate 182 Australian and 1 British soldier thought to be buried in the cemetery but whose graves have not been identified.
Name
The Anzac troops renamed the plateau, originally Plateau 400, Lonesome Pine after the single Aleppo pineAleppo Pine
Pinus halepensis, commonly known as the Aleppo Pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Their range extends from Morocco and Spain north to southern France, Italy and Croatia, and east to Greece and northern Tunisia, and Libya, with an outlying population in Syria, Lebanon, southern...
tree (Pinus halepensis) on the plateau, and a popular song published in 1913, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (song)
"The Trail of the Lonesome Pine" is a popular song published in 1913, with lyrics by Ballard MacDonald and music by Harry Carroll. In the song the singer expresses his love for June who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The chorus is:...
, and this name was shortened to Lone Pine. There had originally been several trees but all but one had been cut down by Turkish troops to provide wood for covering trenches.
The tree was obliterated during the fighting, but at least two Australian soldiers took cones from it back to Australia, from which numerous commemorative trees have since been produced.
A single pine tree was planted in the cemetery during its landscaping and enlargement in the 1920s. It is sometimes said to be a descendent of the original tree
but this is not so, since it is a different species, a stone pine
Stone Pine
The Stone Pine , is also called Italian Stone Pine, or Umbrella Pine , and Parasol Pine. It is in the pine family Pinaceae and occasionally listed under the invalid name Pinus sativa. The tree is native to the Mediterranean region...
(Pinus pinea).