Snettisham links with Turkish village to remember Gallipoli

Tens of thousands died between 1915 and 1916, during an ill-fated campaign to invade the then Ottoman Empire and change the course of the conflict.

British and Allied troops swarm ashore at Gallipoli during the First World War (Image: Newsquest)They included hundreds of members of the Norfolk Regiment, including volunteers from the Sandringham Company.

On Thursday, Ahmet Tuzcuoglu, headman of the village of Kucukanafarta and Suleyman Tas, from the Galipoli Association of Istanbul, attended a wreath laying at Snettisham's village war memorial, before friendship links were declared between the two rural communities.

Guests from Turkey, Gallipoli and Dardenelles International and the village of Snettisham at the wreath laying (Image: Chris Bishop)Ahmet Tuzcuoglu, headman of the village of Kucukanafarta and Suleyman Tas, from the Gallipoli Association of Istanbul lay a wreath (Image: Chris Bishop)Ralph Garwood, vice chair of Snettisham Parish Council, laying a wreath (Image: Chris Bishop)John Crowe, president of Gallipoli and Dardenelles International lays a wreath (Image: Chris Bishop)Speaking through an interpreter Mr Tuzcuoglu said: "Your children are lying in our soil. Your hearts can be filled with love, we are guarding them, they are our children."

Snettisham parish clerk said afterwards: "We hope to continue a spirit of friendship to commemorate the terrible battle that happened."

The remembrance ceremony at the war memorial at Snettisham (Image: Chris Bishop)The service was conducted by Lieutenant Emily Hague, from the Salvation Army (Image: Chris Bishop)The wreath from the villagers of Kucukanafarta in Turkey (Image: Chris Bishop)The Gallipoli remembrance service at Snettisham war memorial (Image: Chris Bishop)After the service, gifts were exchanged at the British Legion Hall.

John Crowe, president of Gallipoli and Dardanelles International, said: "108 years ago, we were at war with the Ottoman Empire. Naively it was thought it would remove Istanbul from the equation in three years and it failed miserably."

From left Ralph Garwood, vice-chair of Snettisham Parish Council, Suleyman Tas, John Crowe and Ahmet Tuzcuoglu at the presentation in the British Legion Hall (Image: Chris Bishop)The visitors from Turkey are presented with a Norfolk flag (Image: Chris Bishop)Turkish visitors were presented with a copy of Snettisham in Pictures, a book about the village (Image: Chris Bishop)John Crowe, president of Gallipoli and Dardanelles International (Image: Chris Bishop)A wreath laid at the war memorial at Snettisham, which carries the names of 60 men who fell in the two world wars (Image: Chris Bishop)

Ill-fated campaign that claimed thousands including Norfolk men

Members of the Sandringham Company march off to join the war (Image: Newsquest)The Gallipoli campaign, fought in Turkey between April 25, 1915, and January 9, 2016, was launched against the Ottoman Empire - a key German ally during the First World War.

It resulted in 44,000 Allied deaths including men from the Norfolk Regiment's 266-strong Sandringham Company, made up of employees from the Royal Estate.

The Gallipoli memorial at Sandringham (Image: Ian Burt)Grooms, gardeners and gamekeepers signed up to fight for King and country, led by the King George V's land agent, Frank Beck.

They went missing in action on August 2, 1915, and are believed to have been massacred.

A stained glass window in the church at West Newton honours Capt Frank Beck and the men of the Sandringham Company who died at Gallipoli (Image: Denise Bradley)After the war, a mass grave of 180 bodies was found near to where the company had disappeared. More than 100 of them bore the Norfolk regimental badge.

A towering memorial stands in the grounds, near Sandringham House, while those who fell are also remembered in a stained glass window in the church at West Newton, which depicts Capt Beck as St George.