A fine Great War Gallipoli 'Third Battle of Krithia' D.C.M. group of four awarded to Private...

A fine Great War Gallipoli ‘Third Battle of Krithia’ D.C.M. group of four awarded to Private W. Stenton, 1/8th (Ardwick) Battalion, Manchester Regiment, later a Sergeant (Fitter) in the Royal Air Force Distinguished Conduct Medal, G.V.R. (2109 Pte. W. Stenton. 1/8 Manch: Regt.-T.F.) surname officially corrected from ‘Stanton’ as confirmed on D.C.M. Card; 1914-15 Star (2109 Pte. W. Stenton. Manch. R.); British War and Victory Medals (403555 Sgt. W. Stenton. R.A.F.) mounted for display, good very fine (4) £1,200-£1,600 --- D.C.M. London Gazette 5 August 1915: ‘For gallant conduct on the 4th June, 1915, south of Krithia (Dardanelles). He advanced across the open under heavy fire with a rope to one of the enemy’s abandoned machine guns, which was by this means dragged in and captured.’ The fighting at Krithia continued until 8th June when Lieutenant-Colonel Bentley, commanding the battalion, recorded “On June 5th none of the officers (22 in number) of the 8th Manchesters who went into action were left, with the exception of Capt Barlow, who was with the machine guns, and myself. The casualties as far as I can estimate, were nearly 500 killed and wounded. I cannot adequately describe the devotion and bravery of the men I had the honour to command. Every man behaved nobly and it is really difficult to single any particular unit, which did better than another. The medical arrangements, the commissariat and the getting up of ammunition were perfectly carried out.’ One of only two awards of the D.C.M. to the battalion for Gallipoli. William Stenton was born on 31 August 1892, at Clifton, near Brighouse, Yorkshire. He joined the 1/8th Territorial Battalion of the Manchester Regiment a few months before the outbreak of war. A turner by trade, he had previously been employed at the Bright Westinghouse works at Trafford Park. He landed with his battalion in the Egyptian theatre on 5 November 1914, and went on to serve on the Gallipoli peninsula. He won his D.C.M. whilst serving with the 126th (Manchester) Brigade, 42nd East Lancashire Division. Having landed with his regiment at Cape Helles in early May 1915, he took part in the Third Battle of Krithia on 4 June 1915, and afterwards took part in the Battle of Krithia Vineyard on 6 August 1915, remaining with the regiment until the evacuation in January 1916. He finished the war as a Sergeant Fitter (Turner) in the Royal Air Force.