Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Helles Memorial | Panel 185 to 190. | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.136 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 47A GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Son of James and Frances Sunner, of James St, Mount Morgan, Queensland, Australia.Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The South African War 1880-1881, South Africa.
- North West Frontier 1895-1947, Northern India.
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 1/Royal Munster Fusiliers |
1st Battalion August 1914 : in Rangoon, Burma. Returned to UK and landed at Avonmouth on 10 January 1915. Moved to Coventry and came under orders of 86th Brigade in 29th Division. 16 March 1915 : sailed from Avonmouth for Gallipoli, going via Alexandria and Mudros, where it halted on 10 April. Landed at Cape Helles on 25 April 1915. Between 30 April and 19 May 1915, following heavy casualties, the battalion and 1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers formed one composite unit, called the 'Dubsters'. 1 January 1916 : evacuated from Gallipoli to Egypt. 13 March 1916 : sailed from Port Said to Marseilles for service in France. 25 April 1916 : transferred to Lines of Communication. 28 May 1916 : transferred to 48th Brigade in 16th (Irish) Division and absorbed troops from disbanded 9th Bn. 22 November 1916 : transferred to 47th Brigade in same Division and absorbed more than 400 troops from disbanded 8th Bn. 19 April 1918 : absorbed troops from 2nd Bn and next day transferred to 172nd Brigade in 57th (2nd North Midland) Division. |
| Action : Gallipoli |
The Gallipoli Campaign was fought on the Gallipoli peninsula 25th April 1915 to 9th January 1916. in a failed attempt to defeat Turkey by seizing the Dardanelles and capturing Istanbul. Ill-conceived and planned, the initial effort by the Royal Navy failed to force passage through the Dardanelles by sea power alone. It was then realised that a land force was needed to support the project by suppressing the Turkish mobile artillery batteries. By the time all was ready the Turks were well aware and well prepared. Despite amazing heroics on the day of the landings only minor beachheads were achieved and over the succeeding 8 months little progress was made. Eventually the beachheads were evacuated in a series of successful ruses.
Despite Gallipoli rightly becoming a national source of pride to Australians and New Zealanders, far more British casualties were sustained, and these days the substantial French contribution is almost forgotten.
Detail :
The Diary of Sergeant D. Moriarty of the 1st Royal Munsters contains an excerpt relating to Sunner. Compiled by Alan Obsorn:
"2 May 1915
A week in the firing line today and thank God I am still alive. My God, what a sight met us when day broke this morning. The whole ground in front was littered with dead Turks. To my left where the attack was strongest, I think there is at least 500 and there is no chance of burying them as anybody who shows themselves outside is bound to be brought down by one of their snipers who are concealed all over the country. A party of my platoon to bury Sergeant Sunner who got wounded by a shrapnel. We were relieved in the trenches about 6pm by the Hampshire Regiment. and went back about a mile and dug ourselves in. But we got no rest during the night as the enemy kept peppering us with shrapnel but there was nobody hit.
Had a letter and some “Fags” from Mother, also a letter from E--e and a box of fags, and a letter from D--s, Another fierce night attack by the Turks I am sure they lost more tonight than the night before."
See also: Diary of Sergeant Moriarty.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Lodge Moyle No. 2904 E.C. | Burma |
| Joined : | Power Palmer No. 2924 E.C. | Burma |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
4th January 1913 | 1st February 1913 | 1st March 1913 |
Initiated into Lodge Moyle No. 2904 in Maymyo Burma.
Joined Power Palmer Lodge 7th August 1913
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley