BURY will come to a virtual standstill on Sunday (April 26) in memory of the men who gave their lives during the Gallipoli landings.

Soldiers and civilians will descend on the town to commemorate the events of April 25, 1915.

The Davies family, relatives of Lance Corporal John E. Grimshaw who received a Victoria Cross at Gallipoli, will also be in attendance.

The Mayor and Mayoress of Bury, Councillor Roy and Mrs Kathryn Walker will be joined by five other mayors from the region.

On April 25, 1915, the 1st Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers stormed Turkish beaches on the Gallipoli peninsula, resulting in six men being awarded the Victoria Cross - all before breakfast.

Six battalions of the Lancashire Fusiliers - about 6,000 men - went in at the start of the Gallipoli campaign on April 15, 1915. Over the ten months that followed, 88 officers and 1,728 fusiliers were killed and many more wounded. A devastating proportion of Bury's youth was wiped out in the bloodshed.

In total, 500,000 young men lost their lives or were wounded during the 37-week offensive.

The six VCs were not the only honours bestowed on the Lancashire Fusiliers during the Gallipoli campaign.

They were also honoured with four Distinguished Service Orders, five Military Crosses, two Companion Orders of the Bath, 13 Distinguished Conduct Medals and 43 Mentions in Dispatches. Of this impressive haul, all the VCs, one DSO, two MCs and four Mentions went to the officers and men of the 1st Battalion for their heroics early on April 25. The Turks had gone to great efforts to prepare a death trap for their enemies at W Beach on the Gallipoli peninsula.

But by nightfall, the small enemy force, who were no more than three platoons, were outflanked and outnumbered 10 to one. It was a victory to the brave Lancashire Fusiliers, but the cost had been high.

Three stalwarts from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers will be commended for their bravery and commitment at a special ceremony on Gallipoli Sunday.

Deputy Colonel of the RRF Lancashire, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Whistler will present awards in the Castle Armoury drill hall on Castle Street.

Mr Len Dunk, of Bury, served with the Lancashire Fusiliers at Dunkirk in the Second World War. He will receive a special certificate of commendation for more than 30 years of service to the Regimental Association of Fusiliers.

And Mr Lew Searson, also of Bury, who also saw active service with the regiment, will receive the special certificate in recognition of 25 years of service to the Regimental Association of Fusiliers.

Fusilier Christopher Parker, of Urmston, will receive his United Nations service medal. He was seriously injured in a road traffic accident in May last year while on active service in Bosnia. He was not fit enough to receive his award with other 2nd Battalion soldiers at a ceremony held last November in Germany.

Sunday's programme:

10.40am: Royal Regiment of Fusiliers presentation ceremony in the Castle Armoury drill hall on Castle Street.

11.05: March to Bury Parish Church.

11.30: Church service.

12.30pm: Traditional wreath laying by the Mayoress of Bury on behalf of the people of Bury; Deputy Colonel of the RRF Lancashire, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Whistler for the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers; and Hamish Lindsay, from the Australian Consulate for Manchester, on behalf of the Australian Government and in recognition of the soldiers from that country who gave their lives in the Gallipoli landings.

2.45: Parade from The Rock to the Castle Armoury. Mayor of Bury, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Whistler and the Lord-Lieutenant of Greater Manchester Colonel John B. Timmins will take the salute at the march past.

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