TRESISE, Reginald George

Reginald Tresise was born in Burton-on-Trent and attended Wolverhampton Higher Grade School. He enlisted in the South Staffordshire Regiment as a regular soldier and when war came in 1914 he was a Sergeant in the 2nd Battalion. Training of the new Kitchener volunteers was a crucial issue and he was one of three sergeants sent to the 9th (Service) Battalion. He was proficient in the training at Belton and Frensham and had been promoted to Company Sergeant Major by 1915 when the Staffords joined the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. This Force was sent to Gallipoli to take control of the Dardanelles and weaken the Turkish war effort. The Staffords called at Malta and landed at Helles for an introduction to the front line. A few casualties were suffered and they retired to the island of Imbros. Then, on the night of August 6/7 they landed with the main force at Suvla Bay. The only opposition was from sporadic gun-fire and initial patrols were sent out. The major advance started on the 9th, by which time all surprise had been lost. The Turkish forces did not retreat and the three days of fighting fron 9th-12th August gained little ground. Casualties were very high and included almost all the officers, together with CSM Reginald Tresise who was killed in action on the 9th. He is commemorated on the Helles and Dudley Memorials.