This page is about the Twelve Tree Copse New Zealand Memorial and is one of a number of articles I have written about Gallipoli. I have also written guides to help you research soldiers who served in the British Army during the First World War:

• Guides to Gallipoli
• Guides to Researching Soldiers who Served with the British Army

Twelve Tree Copse New Zealand Memorial

Twelve Tree Copse New Zealand Memorial commemorates 179 New Zealand soldiers who died on the Helles front and have no known grave. The vast majority of New Zealand soldiers who died during the campaign lost their lives on the ANZAC rather than the Helles front. Apart from a couple of exceptions, the soldiers named on the New Zealand Memorial lost their lives between the 6 and 8 May 1915. This was during the Second Battle of Krithia as Allied forces tried to take the village of Krithia, now Alçıtepe which had been a first day (25 April) objective. The battle wasn’t a success and the Allied force suffered heavy casualties. The New Zealanders commemorated on this memorial were part of the New Zealand Infantry Brigade, along with their supporting units, who had been moved from the ANZAC to the Helles front. They are listed by unit and then by rank. Below the cross is the following inscription:

Here are Recorded the names of officers and men of New Zealand who fell in the Second Battle of Krithia, May 1915 and in July 1915. Their graves are known only to God.

Twelve Tree Copse New Zealand Memorial is directly opposite you as you walk through the gates of the Twelve Copse Cemetery. The cemetery itself is located half a mile southwest of the village of Alçıtepe (Krithia) and is signposted. I have written a separate article about the cemetery which you can read here: Twelve Tree Copse Cemetery. If you continue down the road away from the village, you will pass Pink Farm Cemetery, then Lancashire Landing Cemetery Cemetery and finally the Helles Memorial.As I was walking to the Twelve Copse Cemetery from the Pink Farm Cemetery I came across this tortoise walking along the embankment. Due to their longevity, it is likely that some of the tortoises still roaming the Gallipoli peninsula lived through the campaign. As you can imagine, many were taken back home as pets and I came across this article about one still alive in Britain: The War Tortoise.