801 Robert Fox Royal Navy Drake Battalion Having just watched “Who Do You Think You Are†on TV with Robert Lindsay – I was very moved by the footage of Gallipoli. My father Robert Fox at 16 years old served there with the Royal Naval Division – Drake Battalion. I am very glad to say that what mementoes he had are safely in the Imperial War Museum. They were very glad to receive them as they had very little from the RND. These mementoes were mainly from his service in France. He kept a very rough pencilled diary [verboten]. I have retained a copy. I took my great-nephew, his great-grandson from the US, to the Museum to see those mementoes – I’m not sure he really understood what he was seeing. Several years ago, my late husband and I visited all the places he mentioned. Standing there and looking at buildings he must have seen – that and visiting numerous 2nd World War cemeteries, looking for the graves of men with whom my husband served [D-Day] really tore me to bits.
About 30 years ago – or more – my father made a pilgrimage back to Gallipoli – rather difficult at that time. He said he was hoping to find a keg of rum he had buried there – I think it was rather more than that.
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