*1ST DAY LANDER GALLIPOLI* WW1 BRITISH WAR MEDAL AUSTRALIAN ARMY ANZAC BWM AIF

Description

Offered is an original 1914/15 Star, as awarded to William Reed, who landed in the 2nd wave on the first day of the Gallipoli campaign on the 25th April 1915.

Star is impressed named 1656 PTE W. REED. 7 BN. A.I.F.

William Reed enlisted 18 October 1914 in South Australia and was allotted to the 7th Battalion, 3rd Reinforcements. The battalion was raised by Lieutenant Colonel H. E. “Pompey” Elliott and within a fortnight of the declaration of war in August 1914, embarking just two months later & proceeded to Egypt, arriving on 2 December. It later took part in the ANZAC landing on 25 April 1915, as part of the second wave. Reed was most likely wounded either on the first day or shortly thereafter. He was confirmed wounded on the 8th May 1915, which is pretty much when all the casualties were heaped together on the confirmed list for Gallipoli. His service record states he was wounded ‘whilst advancing on Turks, when shot through the left arm by a bullet’ (GSW L Arm). He was evacuated, hospitalised, RTA and discharged 5/5/1916. He obviously did not want stay home in the months ahead, enlisting and being accepted for service with the 21st Battalion on the 1/5/1917, seeing service in France, where he was frequently AWOL and gassed (19/8/1918), finally discharging in 1919.