Those Who Came Before Us

Photographs, documents and objects from the Renals family history. Each image has a story; the captions try to tell it.

Black and white studio portrait of a young man in military uniform
Robert Coppin Renals, studio portrait, c.1916. He was 22. Gallipoli was behind him; Palestine lay ahead. c.1916
Landscape photograph of Suvla Plain viewed from Sari Bair ridge, Gallipoli
View across Suvla Plain from Sari Bair ridge, Gallipoli. Bob Renals served in this landscape in 1915, suffering frostbite severe enough to require convalescence in Malta. c.1915
Photograph of Bob and Charlotte Renals with Jack Renals and Betsy Orchard on their fiftieth wedding anniversary, Tor View behind Bodmin Barracks
Bob and Charlotte Renals with Jack Renals and Betsy Orchard, on the occasion of their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Bob and Charlotte, and Jack and Betsy, were married on the same day, 4 June 1924, in Liskeard. 1974
Exterior view of a Cornish farmhouse
Poplars, Fletchers Bridge, Cardinham. Bob and Jack Renals were born here. The house remains in Renals family ownership. unknown
Military Medal with ribbon
The Military Medal awarded to Robert Coppin Renals at El Foka, Palestine. The medal is held by Andrew Renals at his home in Lanivet, approximately five miles from Poplars where Bob was born. 1917
Frontispiece of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force unit war diary
Frontispiece of the official Egyptian Expeditionary Force unit war diary. The diary records the operations in which Bob Renals served during the Palestine campaign of 1917. 1917
Page from the official unit war diary covering El Foka operations
Page from the official unit war diary recording operations at El Foka, Palestine, 1917. 1917
Page from the official unit war diary covering El Foka operations
Page from the official unit war diary recording operations at El Foka, Palestine, 1917. 1917
Page from the official unit war diary covering El Foka operations
Page from the official unit war diary recording operations at El Foka, Palestine, 1917. 1917
Page from the official unit war diary covering El Foka operations
Page from the official unit war diary recording operations at El Foka, Palestine, 1917. 1917
Page from the official unit war diary recording the award of the Military Medal to Pte R Renals and two others, 31 December 1917
Page from the official unit war diary, written up 31 December 1917, recording that three men were awarded the Military Medal during the month: 345796 Pte EJ Huxtable, 345043 Cpl AJ Nichols, and 345079 Pte R Renals. The same page records that since 26 December 1917, two other ranks had been killed, seventeen wounded, and two wounded but remained at duty. 31 December 1917
Map of the Sinai Peninsula
Map of the Sinai Peninsula, showing the desert terrain crossed by Allied forces during the advance into Palestine. Bob's regiment passed through this landscape on the way to Beersheba and El Foka. c.1917
Newspaper cutting reporting the death of Lance-Corporal Will Roberts of Bodmin
Press cutting reporting the death of Lance-Corporal William Roberts of Bodmin, killed in action at Pozières, 19 August 1916, serving with the 1st Field Company Australian Engineers. Will Roberts was known to Bob Renals; the two had met up while serving in the same theatre approximately twelve months before Roberts was killed. 1916
Photograph of Olympic and Titanic under construction at Harland and Wolff shipyard Belfast
Olympic and Titanic under construction at the Harland and Wolff shipyard, Belfast. Sister ships built side by side, they would have very different fates. Olympic went on to serve as a troopship, carrying the Devon Yeomanry to Gallipoli. c.1910-1911
White Star Line poster for Olympic showing the ship underway
White Star Line poster advertising transatlantic crossings to New York aboard Olympic. Edwin described this as depicting happier times — before the war claimed her sister Titanic and turned Olympic herself into a troopship. c.1911-1914
Exterior view of a medieval Cornish church
The medieval church of St Meubred, Cardinham. The parish at the heart of the Renals story for three hundred years. unknown
CD cover of a folk music recording
Cover of Veteran Records VTR119CD, featuring recordings of Charlotte and her sisters Betsy and Sophie singing English folk songs, made in the early 1970s and recently re-released. c.1970s
Map of France and Belgium showing divisional service areas
Map showing the areas of France and Belgium where the Division served during the First World War. c.1914-1918
Key to map of divisional service areas in France and Belgium
Key to the map showing where the Division served in France and Belgium. c.1914-1918
Newspaper extract from the Western Morning News featuring entries from Trooper Tozer's war diary
Extract from the Western Morning News, 8 May 2000, reproducing entries from the diary of Trooper J.R. Tozer, a Devon Yeoman. Tozer died in 1991; his diary was rediscovered by his daughter and a copy is now held by the Imperial War Museum. His plain, straightforward account of Gallipoli illustrates all too clearly the horror and hardship of that campaign. 8 May 2000
Map of Palestine showing the Beersheba to Jerusalem road and surrounding area
Map showing the Beersheba to Jerusalem road and surrounding area, Palestine. The theatre of Bob's service in 1917. c.1917
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