BORN HULL 1874. SON OF ROBERT THOMAS CARR (1850-1898) & REBECCA CARR, OF 4 ADA’S TERRACE, WATERLOO STREET AND 16 STRICKLAND STREET, HULL (WAR PENSION ADDRESS). HIS MOTHER EMARRIED TO ARTHUR SKINNER, AT HULL IN 1904. HE WAS BROTHER AND STEP BROTHER, TO GEORGE, ROBERT, HARRY, ALBERT, WALTER, PERCY, ARTHUR, AND FRED. HE WAS 5 FOOT, 7.5 INCHES TALL, 136 LBS WEIGHT, 36-39 INCH CHEST, BLUE/GREY EYES, BROWN HAIR, CHURCH OF ENGLAND RELIGION.
HE JOINED THE ARMY IN BEVERLEY IN 1894, SERVING IN INDIA AND SOUTH AFRICA. SERVED IN BOER WAR. HE LEFT THE ARMY IN 1906 AND WORKED AS A LABOURER AND PORTER FOR THE NORTH EASTERN RAILWAYS.
HE ENLISTED IN HULL, ON 19/08/1914. SERVED WITH THE 6TH EAST YORKSHIRE PIONEERS, IN THE DARDENELLES. LEFT ENGLAND FOR GALLIPOLI, ON 14/07/1915. INVALIDED TO MALTA WITH BRONCHITIS ON 04/10/1915. TRANSFERRED TO THE 3RD EAST YORKSHIRE REGIMENT. DISCHARGED FROM THE ARMY AFTER 1 YEAR AND 100 DAYS, ON 26/11/1915. DIED AT HOME, ON 20/11/1917, AGED 42. BURIED AT HULL WESTERN CEMETERY. HIS ARMY PENSION WENT TO HIS MOTHER REBECCA AT 16 STRICKLAND STREET, HULL AND THEN HIS STEP FATHER, ARTHUR SKINNER, WHO MOVED TO 12 LIDDELL STREET, HULL. HE LOST THREE BROTHERS DUE TO WAR INJURIES.
HIS BROTHER, PRIVATE, FRED CARR, 19779, 8TH EAST YORKSHIRE REGIMENT, DIED ON 08/03/1917, AGED 28.
HIS BROTHER, PRIVATE, PERCY CARR, 15099, EAST YORKSHIRE WAS DISCHARGED FROM THE ARMY AND DIED IN HULL, IN 1919, AGED 33.
HIS BROTHER, PRIVATE, ALBERT CARR, 50646, ROYAL GARRISON ARTILLERY, WAS DICHARGED FROM THE ARMY IN 1915, AND DIED IN HULL, IN 1920, AGED 29.
21st August 1915 – the attack on Scimitar Hill
Wyrall’s “East Yorkshire Regiment in the Great War” shows that the 6th East Yorkshire Regiment had been in reserve from 10th to the 20th August at Nibrunesi Point where they had dug themselves in at the base of a cliff. On 20th August the 6thEast Yorkshires relieved the Northumberland Fusiliers in trenches South East of Chocolate Hill. They came under the orders of 34th Brigade who would attack “Hill W” the next morning.
The 6th Battalion were to dig in and support the Lancashire Fusiliers and the Dorset’s, who would attack the next morning. There was a delay due to lost orders and confusion, and the attack did not commence until 3pm on the 21st. When the Dorset’s and Lancashire’s left their trenches the 6th East Yorkshires moved forward to occupy these trenches. The Dorset’s and the Lancashire’s ran into stubborn resistance and so most of the 6th East Yorkshires were sent forward to support them. The 6th East Yorkshire‘s captured a Turkish trench in front of them and awaited relief. The 6th East York (Pioneers) had occupied Hill 70 (Scimitar Hill), next to W Hill the most vital of all the semicircle of heights overlooking Suvla Bay and were there only waiting for the brigade’s further advance upon W Hill or Anafarta Sagir, to both of which it is the key. They held this trench overnight, but it became impossible to hold the next morning (22nd August) as the number of Turks increased and they had no bombs. Around 7.30 am the 6th East Yorkshires retreated to their original trenches and later that night they were relieved and moved back to their original reserve trenches at Nibrunesi point the following morning. The 6th East Yorkshire casualties by 22nd August 1915, included 26 Officers and 628 men. Officer casualties were 80% and other ranks 68%.
