A MALVERN father and son have paid an emotional visit to the battlefields of Gallipoli where their grandfather was seriously injured during the First World War.

Harry Sansome fell 100 years ago, on the afternoon of August 21, 1915, as the Queen’s Own Worcestershire Yeomanry attempted to capture a point known as Chocolate Hill. Shrapnel embedded into his leg and he was evacuated back to Lemos, where it was removed without anaesthetic.

This summer, Harry's grandson Andrew Milton and his 18-years-old son Daniel, returned to Chocolate Hill and at 3.10pm on Friday, August 21, exactly a century later, followed in Harry's footsteps across the battlefield. Mr Milton said: "The 100-year anniversary visit was very moving with life long memories. The Turkish tour guide had made it very special by taking us to the exact areas and explained the events in detail. It was an experience feeling the heat at this time of year knowing that they had been fighting in these conditions. To make the trip unique the great grandfather of the Turkish guide had been an artilleryman in this area during the campaign."

Harry Sansome, whose family farmed at Claines, near Worcester, joined the Worcester Yeomanry in 1911 and in April 1915 the regiment was shipped to Egypt. Here it trained for the Gallipoli campaign. But although a cavalry unit, it deployed to Gallipoli as infantry. On August 14 it set sail for the Island of Lemnos close to the Gallipoli Peninsular. On the night of August 17 it transferred to the small cruiser HMS Doris, reaching Suvla Bay on the morning of the 18th. Harry Sansome, along with a friend from Fernhill Heath, joined with the Padre in reciting Psalm 23 as they drew close to the shore. Here they disembarked and dug in under shellfire in a small gully on the beach.

Mr Milton said: "On the morning of August 18, 100 years later Andrew and I sailed on a small boat to this same beach and along with his two friends once again recited the words of Psalm 23. Andrew and friends then went on the beach to the area where the Worcester Yeomanry had been ordered to dig in."

On August 21, the Yeomanry was ordered to advance up Chocolate Hill with the objective of reaching Scimitar Hill. The Allied covering bombardment began at 2.30pm and the Yeomanry advanced at 3.10pm to be met with artillery and machine gun fire from the defending Turkish forces. It was here that Harry Sansome was wounded by shrapnel in his leg and the next day evacuated back to Lemnos. The Regiment that day had suffered 43 casualties. "Harry was lucky not to lose his leg and the shrapnel was removed without anaesthetic," Mr Milton added. "On the morning of the 21st myself, Daniel and friends went firstly to the spot from where the Turkish artillery guns had fired and found the guns still there. To make the trip unique the great grandfather of the Turkish tour guide had been an artilleryman in this area during the campaign.. We then went to Chocolate Hill for 3.10pm, where 100 years to the day Harry had been wounded."

On October 31, 1915, the regiment was withdrawn from Suvla beach back to Lemnos. It now numbered less than half the men who had sailed from Egypt two and a half months before.

Harry Sansome recovered from his wounds and returned to Worcestershire and Oak Farm, Claines. He died at the aged of 89.