In Memory of
C E Starling
Lance Corporal
49223
80th Coy., Machine Gun Corps (Inf)
who died on
Wednesday, 9th November 1916.
Additional Information:
Son of Mrs. Thurza Starlin, of Mill Rd., Cowlinge, Newmarket, Suffolk.
Commemorative Information
Memorial:
DOIRAN MEMORIAL,
Location:
The Doiran Memorial stands near Doiran Military Cemetery, which is situated in the north
of Greece
close to the Macedonia frontier and near the south-east shore of Lake Doiran. It is
approximately
2 kilometres behind the village of Doiran and is reached via a farm track after turning
left in the
village by a large taverna.
The Memorial stands on what was called Colonial Hill, and can be seen from a distance and
is a
landmark. It is the Battle Memorial of the British Salonika Force, for which a large sum
of money
was subscribed by the officers and men of that Force; and is also the Commonwealth War
Graves
Commission's Memorial to over 2,000 British dead in Macedonia whose graves are not known.
The Memorial takes the form of an obelisk, 12 metres high, guarded by two recumbent stone
lions.
It stands on a square platform, the sides of which are marked by shorter piers, and the
names of
the dead are inscribed on marble panels sunk in these piers. The architect was Sir Robert
Lorimer
and the monument was sculptured by Walter Gilbert. The Memorial was unveiled by Sir George
Macdonogh on 25 September 1926.
Historical Information:
The monument, on what was called "Colonial Hill" overlooking Lake Doiran, can be
seen from a
distance and is a landmark. It serves two purposes: It is the Battle Memorial of the
British
Salonika Force, for which a large sum of money was subscribed by the officers and men of
that
Force; and it is the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Memorial to the British dead in
Macedonia whose graves are not known.
The Memorial takes the form of an obelisk, 12 metres high, guarded by two recumbent stone
lions.
It stands on a square platform, the sides of which are marked by shorter piers, and the
names of
the dead are inscribed on marble panels sunk in these piers. The architect was Sir Robert
Lorimer
and was the monument was sculptured by Walter Gilbert. The Memorial was unveiled by Sir
George Macdonogh on 25 September 1926.
The Memorial is roughly in the centre of the line occupied for two years by the Allied
troops in
Macedonia, but close to the West end of the British part of this line. It marks the scene
of the
fierce fighting in 1917-1918, in which the majority of British casualties on the field
occurred. From
October, 1915 to the end of November, 1918, the British Salonika Force suffered some 2800
deaths in action 1400 from wounds and 4200 from sickness. The campaign in which they
fought
was one in which few successes were gained, and none of any importance could be gained by
them until the last two months. Their action was hampered throughout by widespread and
unavoidable sickness (the British forces which attacked in September, 1918 had less than
half
their normal establishment present); by continual diplomatic and personal differences with
neutrals or allies; by the presence on one front of a wide malarial river valley and on
the other of
difficult mountain ranges; and by the necessity of constructing by far the greater part of
the roads
and railways which it used. It overcame all difficulties, but this Memorial indicates the
cost.
Copyright The Commonwealth War Graves Commission