52742: Mentioned in Despatch Citation of Eric Halse

Eric Halse was mentioned in Despatches presumably for the Dardenelles campaign. Born in Johannesburg in 1898, Eric Halse came to Bedford with his parents as a boy and was educated at Bedford Grammar School. After leaving the school in 1913 he joined the Artists Rifles, a territorial unit, and on the outbreak of war was commissioned with the East Yorkshire Regiment. During the 1914-1918 War he served at the Dardanelles and in France. Towards the end of the war he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. He died in 1963.

Editor's Comment:
Lt. (later Capt.) Eric A. Halse, 6th Bn. East Yorkshire Regiment. The 6th Bn formed part of the 11th (Northern) Division, and landed at Suvla Bay on the 6th August, 1915, evacuating the Gallipoli Peninsula on the 21st December 1915. Gen. Sir Ian Hamilton commanded the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force in the Dardanelles campaign.