T&A reader Brian Holmans, who lives in Bingley, here recounts a story about his grandfather Bert Holmans who was killed in 1915 and lies buried in Alexandria.

"Compared with other events in the Great War which led to enormous loss of life, the sinking of HMS Hythe with just 154 fatalities barely registered on the national consciousness," he writes.

"But for the people of Tunbridge Wells in Kent and the surrounding villages however it was a catastrophe because most of those who perished were local menwho had volunteered for service with the 1/3rd (Kent) Fortress Company of the Royal Engineers.

"The company had been drafted and financed bySir David Lionel Salomons. They were mobilised at the outbreak of war in 1914 but did not leave the UK for active service until October 11, 1915.

"They were to be deployed at Gallipoli to replace other units of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force which, during the previous six months, had seen around 21,000 men lose their lives with another 52,000 wounded.

"Including crew and members of other units, the Hythe - a requisitioned Dover to Calais cargo ferry - was carrying about 300 men and was bound for Cape Helles.

"As it was approaching the harbour, it was struck amidships by another British vessel, the much larger HMS Sarnia, which was putting out to sea after landings its passengers. Both ships were sailing without lights in order to avoid giving an easy target to Turkish shore batteries.

"The Hythe sank within ten minutes, taking with it half the strength of the 1/3rd (Kent) Fortress Company.

"One of those who managed to struggle ashore was my grandfather Lance Corporal Bert Holmans. He had been a volunteer soldier since the age of 18. He originally joined the Herne Bay Company of the EastKent regiment (the Buffs) and transferred to the Cranbrook Company when he moved there to continue the courtship of my grandmother Florence Santer.

" Along with other volunteer companies, including the Bingley Company of the West Yorkshire Regiment, the Buffs were called up in 1900 to strengthen the British Army in South Africa. Bert survived this conflict with five clasps on his WQueen's South Africa medal, but returned with latent enteric fever which had killed so may of his comrades.

"The survivors from the Hythe were taken to Lemnos for rest and recuperation and then sent to the Front where they were under constant attack by Turkish forces.

"By then the British War Cabinet had taken the decision to abandon the Gallipoli campaign. Sadly it came too late for Bert Holmans because on the night of November 16, 1915, a Turkish stick bomb landed in his trench, seriously wounding him and the man next to him, Private Reginald Edser.

"They were evacuated to the military hospital in Alexandria and began a slow recovery, but unfortunately for Bert the enteric fever, which had lain dormant for 15 years after his return for service in South Africa, suddenly reappeared and within a couple of days poor Bert was dead. He lies buried in the Chatsby British War Cemetery in Alexandria. He was just 36.

"My grandmother Florence was left with two sons, Edward aged ten and Herbert aged 12, to bring up on a pathetically small war widow's pension which she supplemented by taking in washing, graciously handed to her each week by the family who owned her cottage.

"They were the Horsleys who included the prominent Victoria surgeon Sir Victor Horsley and John Calcott Horsley, whose main claim to fame was as the designer of the first Christmas card.

"Edward Holmans, my father, was a clever boy who hoped to become an accountant; but without the means to allow him to attend the local grammar school, he became an apprentice joiner.

"This was a wildly inappropriate career because the poor diet and unhealthy condition of his home due to there being masses of washing hanging round the living room to dry on rainy days, caused severe damage to his immune system.

"So whenever he suffered a cut, which was an occupational hazard of the joinery trade, blood poisoning would race through his body and on several occasions he was lucky to survive.

"However his disappointment at not following his chosen career allowed him to meet and marry a local girl, my mother, and as a consequence I and three other children were born.

"Chance always determines how and when we are born and so thanks to my grandfather's untimely death I am here in Bingley to write this account of the life and times of a little family blighted by their father's experience of war which lasted just 57 days."

Bert Holmans had three brothers who also fought in WW1 with the East Kent Regiment. Alf and Joe were killed on the Western Front. Sid was wounded and lost a leg. He returned to Ken after the war and trained to be a boot-maker.

Brian Holmans was a Customs and Excise officer who was sent to Bradford to work and has been here ever since.