The W Beach barge
The W Beach barge
Wrecks of ships abound at Gallipoli, but most of course are submerged. A short distance off W Beach for example, in shallow water, lies the wreck of HMS Majestic, a 14000 ton pre-dreadnought class battleship, torpedoed and sunk by U21 on 27 May 1915 despite a protective ring of destroyers and anti-torpedo nets. 49 crew died.
The small barge on W Beach was abandoned aground when the evacuations took place in early January 1916 and it has remained there ever since. W Beach at the height of the campaign was a teeming harbour with dozens of ships coming and going every day. Afforded some protection from the guns at Kum Kale which plagued V and S Beaches, (one of these was named ‘Asiatic Annie’ by the unfortunate troops who were the target of its shells), it was still a hazardous place at which to unload and store provisions.
The wreck is at some times exposed, as in the photograph above, and at others almost buried in the shifting sand.