Friends of the Somme - Mid Ulster Branch  
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Updates for Major Hugh Price Travers
Date Information
04/06/2020 02725
09/12/2018 Major Hugh Price Travers, Duke of Wellington Regiment, 8th Battalion, missing at the Dardanelles, is the third son of the late Colonel Henry Travers, of Kincraigie, Courtmacsherry, County Cork, and comes of a long line of soldiers, one of his uncles being the late General James Travers, V.C. He was through the South African war. In 1907 Major Travers married Margaret Edith Ellis, eldest daughter of the late Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney. He formerly resided at Grange Park, Moy which his father had rented. He was a noted rugby football player and gave his services on behalf of Dungannon Rugby Football Club for several years.
09/12/2018
09/12/2018 From the Mid Ulster Mail dated 11th September 1915: – Major Travers Missing
30/12/2015 According to a War Office letter in early 1916, Lt Travers body was recovered and 'he was buried on 'A' Beach West. The grave is marked with a wooden cross.'
30/12/2015
30/12/2015 Major Hugh Price Travers, 8th Battalion Duke of Wellington Regiment, who is posted as missing at the Dardanelles, formerly resided at Grange Park, Moy with his father, the late colonel Henry Travers. Major Travers was a noted Rugby football player and gave his services on behalf of Dungannon Rugby Football Club for several years.
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30/12/2015
30/12/2015 Hugh Price Travers was the son of Henry Fane Travers and Cecilia Price. Hugh was born in the Channel Islands about 1871.
30/12/2015 Hugh's father, Henry Fane Travers, was born 15th May 1828 at Hettyfield, Co Cork and died on 5th December 1913. He initially married Jane Lucy Davis on 20th September 1860 and thereafter Cecelia Price on 26th May 1870. At the 1871 census, they were living in King Cliff, Lower, St Helier, Jersey.
30/12/2015 Hugh Travers resided at Grange Park, Moy for a time with his father, Colonel Henry Travers.
30/12/2015 Hugh Price Travers was a noted Rugby football player and gave his services on behalf of Dungannon Rugby Football Club for several years.
30/12/2015 The war diary of his unit, the 8th Battalion, Duke of Wellingtons (west Riding) Regiment provided the only information on his death. The battalion suffered heavy losses on 9th August 1915 at Suvla, and a much stained war diary, written by Captain V Kidd, who by the time of writing on 17 August commanded the battalion in the absence of any more senior officers, offered the scanty details.
30/12/2015 From the Tyrone Courier dated 9th September 1915 – Major H.P Travers Missing
30/12/2015 By this time a lot of men from the leading Regiment had rushed past saying that the Turks were advancing in force. The fire now became very hot and heavy. Casualties were rapidly been sustained. Lt-Col Johnston had already been wounded before we advanced and at this moment Major Travers was seen to fall. The command then devolved upon me. The Turks were now beginning to turn my flanks and as I had only about 350 men left and practically no officers and ammunition was running short, I decided to withdraw to a more suitable position.
30/12/2015 Private information also recounts that his brother, Arthur Stewart Travers, saw him fall. Arthur survived the war, but he died young and never recovered from the impact of his experiences.
30/12/2015 The war diary also offers a short eulogy. 'Lieutenant Travers was killed while directing making gun covering fire. Brig-Gen Nicol (30 Brigade Commander) was present and said he was particularly struck by the gallant conduct of Lieutenant Travers.
30/12/2015 Major Hugh Price Travers was killed in action in Gallipoli on the 7th August 1915. He was 43 years old.
30/12/2015 Major Hugh Travers is buried in Hill 10 Cemetery in Gallipoli, Turkey.
30/12/2015 Extracts and images above are from the excellent book 'Gallipoli' by Tim Travers. Tim is professor of history at the University of Calgary in Canada. His great-uncle, Major Hugh Price-Travers, was killed in action at Gallipoli and the author has dedicated the last five years to finding out what really went wrong for the Allies in 1915. He lives in Alberta, Canada.
30/12/2015 The CWGC record Major Travers as the son of Col. Henry Travers, of Co. Cork and the husband of Margaret Edith Travers, of The Little Dene, Triangle, Halifax.
30/12/2015
30/12/2015 At dusk on the 8th August, the battalion moved up on the left of the West Yorkshire Regiment. At 4am on 9th August the Regiment advanced to attack the hills of Tekke Tepe, following along behind the East Yorkshire Pioneers. This was an attack that had been ordered by Sir Ian Hamilton, Commander In Chief, Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, who was desperate to attain the Tekke Tepe heights before the Turks arrived. At about 800 yards from the objective, the leading line of the East Yorkshire Pioneers appeared to retire and so the order was given at once to advance to a small donga (a steep gully) and hold there. Then the operation began to go badly awry.
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