242038 Pte. Edmund George Carter British Army 5th Btn. C Coy. Royal Irish Regiment from:Midsomer Norton, Somerset My paternal grandfather, Edmund Carter, joined the 5th Royal Irish Regiment because the Somerset Regiment was full, he was determined to fight for his country and the Irish Regiment was recruiting. He was badly wounded as he reached the beach at Suvla Bay on 16th of August, 1915. It was another 2/3 days before he was found barely alive and transported to a hospital ship. He was very lucky, the men who found him thought he would not survive, he had been stripped of any personal belongings, ring, watch etc and he was identified only by his dog tag (which I still have). His injuries were severe, bullets and shrapnel were removed from his stomach. I still have some of the bullets.
He was taken to a hospital in Ireland and then, as his condition improved, he was brought back to England and spent over two years recovering at the Winsley Chest Hospital in Somerset. I still have his autograph book which he started at the hospital. In it he drew and painted many of the Regiment badges and flags which would have been so familiar to him, and there are poems and rhymes written by other patients who were casualties of the war. His autograph book means a great deal to me and my family. He never talked much about what happened to him, but his injuries had a lasting affect on his health and, for the last 17 years of his life, he was confined to a wheelchair. He was a kind and gentle man who lived in Midsomer Norton all his life, he married and had four children and three grandchildren who loved him very much. He died of pneumonia at the age of 77.
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