Page 6 - CSR Turkiye Visit_Neat

One of the smallest cemeteries constructed
between 1918-1923 by the CWGC at an area
where trenches of two sides were the closest. It
is 16 X 25 meters and has 181 burials; 39
Australians, 1 NZ and 141 unidentified.

It was named Johnston’s Jolly because Colonel
George Johnston, commanding the 2nd Field
Artillery Brigade, had field guns placed opposite
to ‘jolly up the Turks’.
The road runs north across the Jolly, following
the former no man’s land. On the west are
remains of the Australian trenches, zigzagging
through the pine forest that now covers the
ground. The cemetery covers the Turkish
trenches.

The first mining during the Çanakkale War was
commenced by Turks at Anzac Front, at the
southern part of Quinn’s Post, on May 5, 1915.
Being aware of this activity of Turks by hearing
the noise of picks tunnelling underground
towards the Australian position, Anzacs also
started mining by digging 3 tunnels on May 9.
One of their tunnels met the one dug by Turks,
and exploded it killing 3 Turkish soldiers. This
was the first indication of mining operations at
Anzac which were aimed at tunneling close to an
enemy trench and then using an explosion to
break into it.

Following this, both sides carried on mining and
tunnelling where they considered critical. Allies,
possessing more equipment than Turks, were more
active in mining and tunnelling activities.

On May 29, the Turks attacked and broke into Quinn’s
Post after exploding a mine close to the Australian
front line. After heavy fighting Turks were driven out
and the position restored. During the fighting Major
Hugh Quinn, 15th Battalion (Queensland, Tasmania), of
Charters Towers and Townsville, Queensland, after
whom the post was named, was killed.

The most tragic of the mining tunnelling activities on
Gallipoli was lived on 20 December when Anzac
exploded two tunnels they had dug well before under
the Turkish tunnels thus causing death of 60 Turks.