Echoes of Gallipoli

In the Words of New Zealand’s Mounted Riflemen

Terry Kinloch

The Gallipoli campaign of 1915 played an important part in making New Zealand the nation it is today. The heavy sacrifice of life affected the country for generations, and our annual remembrances on Anzac Day are still dominated by those battles ninety years ago. It is twenty years since the last book to tell the full story of Gallipoli from the New Zealand perspective was published. Now we have a new account that adds significantly to our understanding of what happened during those fateful months.

Terry Kinloch tells the story through the eyes of the men of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, which fought at Gallipoli from May to December 1915. He has thoroughly researched their letters and diaries, cleverly weaving their eyewitness comments into his text. Much of this material has not been published before; the result is a book that reads with the immediacy of actually being there. The full story of the brigade is told: the mobilisation of the volunteers and their preparations in New Zealand, the long sea journey with thousands of horses, the frustrations of training in Egypt while the real war went on in Europe, the eventual arrival of the brigade at Gallipoli, the battles and skirmishes that were fought there, the disillusionment as the realities of trench warfare sank in, and finally their remarkable evacuation. The brigade emerged from the campaign battered and depleted, but with its reputation enhanced. More than 700 of the 4000 mounted riflemen who served on Gallipoli did not survive, and another 1200 were wounded.

Heavily illustrated with original photographs, Echoes of Gallipoli is the ideal book for anyone wanting to understand what it was like to be a young soldier in 1915, what really happened at Gallipoli and the impact these events had on one of our finest fighting formations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Terry Kinloch was commissioned into the Regular Force of the New Zealand Army in 1983, and has completed operational tours in Bougainville, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Egypt. His years of service in the last Regular Force mounted rifles unit in the New Zealand Army, combined with a few years of equestrian competition in the 1990s, led him to want to tell the little-known story of New Zealand’s horse-mounted soldiers in the First World War. He lives in Upper Hutt with hiswife Carol, and works at Headquarters Joint Forces New Zealand, co-ordinating our military operations overseas.

Reviews

'It's a shame that Terry Kinloch didn't set himself to write the full story of Gallipoli, because he's an excellent writer, and his Echoes of Gallipoli – the first of two books about New Zealand's mounted riflemen in World War I – is a gripping tale.' New Zealand Listener

‘What’s this? Cavalry on the slopes of Chunuk Bair? No, not really. The poor buggers in the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade had to leave their horses behind in Egypt, then fight on foot like everyone else at Gallipoli. They were in the thick of it for seven months of sheer grinding hell. Kinloch, a keen equestrian who served in New Zealand’s last mounted forces unit in the 1980s, tells their story with special sympathy, with generous quotes from diaries and letters.’ Sunday Star-Times

‘Top quality and eminently readable. Strongly recommended.’ The Star (Dunedin)

‘Soldier Terry Kinloch tells his story through the eyes of men of the Mounted Rifles Brigade, who left their horses in Egypt and fought as infantrymen. He uses diaries and letters to blend personal experience into historical happenings. The result is a remarkable narrative, enhanced by excellent illustrations.’ The Ensign

‘The men of the NZ Mounted Rifles Brigade played an important role at Gallipoli and this well-illustrated book tells both their magnificent tale and reminds us that of the 8556 soldiers who served at Gallipoli, 2721 died and 4752 were wounded.’ Citymix

SPECIFICATIONS
Size: 242 x 184 mm
Format: Cased and jacketed
Extent: 320 pages
Extensive photographs & maps
Weight: 1.1 kilos
Publication Date: April 2005
ISBN: 978-0-908988-60-0