Ellis Ashmead - Bartlett Ellis Ashmead - Bartlett ( 11 February 1881 – 4 May 1931 ) was a British war correspondent during the First World War . Through his reporting of the Battle of Gallipoli , Ashmead - Bartlett was instrumental in the birth of the Anzac legend which still dominates military history in Australia and New Zealand . Through his outspoken criticism of the conduct of the campaign , he was instrumental in bringing about the dismissal of the British commander - in - chief , Sir Ian Hamilton — an event that led to the evacuation of British forces from the Gallipoli peninsula . Biography . Early Years . Born in 1881 , Ashmead - Bartlett was the eldest son of Conservative Party MP , Sir Ellis Ashmead - Bartlett . He went to Marlborough College and served as a lieutenant in The Bedfordshire Regiment during the Boer War . Two years later , Ashmead - Bartlett arrived in Manchuria to report the Russo - Japanese War . Soon after the war , he published one of the major books on that conflict : " Port Arthur : The Siege and Capitulation " ( William Blackwood & Sons ) . Arrival at Gallipoli . Ashmead - Bartlett ' s role as a war correspondent reached maturity during World War I . As correspondent for the Fleet Street papers , Ashmead - Bartlett , who worked for " The Daily Telegraph " , covered the 25 April 1915 landing at Anzac Cove . He had gone ashore at Anzac Cove at 9 . 30 p . m . on the evening of the landing and , wearing a non - regulation green hat , was promptly arrested as a spy but was released when the boatswain who had brought him ashore testified for him . Ashmead - Bartlett was responsible for the first eyewitness accounts of the battle . His report of the landing was published in Australian newspapers on 8 May , before the reports of the Australian correspondent , C . E . W . Bean . His colourful prose , unrestrained by the pursuit of accuracy which hampered Bean ' s dispatches , was thick with praise for the Anzacs and went down well with Australian and New Zealand audiences : On 27 May 1915 , Ashmead - Bartlett was aboard , a Royal Navy battleship anchored off W Beach at Cape Helles , when it was torpedo ed by the German U - boat . Two days earlier he had seen go down off Anzac , the first victim of the " U - 21 " , and he was well aware that the " Majestic " would likely suffer the same fate . On the night of 26 May he helped drink the last of the ship ' s champagne . He had his mattress brought up on deck so that he would not be trapped in his cabin . Ashmead - Bartlett survived the sinking but lost all his kit . He sailed for Malta to acquire a new wardrobe . Return to London . As the battle progressed , Ashmead - Bartlett ' s reports became highly critical which left him in disfavour with the British commander - in - chief , General Sir Ian Hamilton . Instead of returning to the Dardanelles from Malta , he went on to London , arriving on 6 June , to report in person on the conduct of the campaign . During his time in London , he met with most of the senior political figures including Andrew Bonar Law ( the Colonial Secretary ) , Winston Churchill ( by that time displaced as First Lord of the Admiralty ) , Arthur Balfour ( Churchill ' s replacement at the Admiralty ) and the Prime Minister , Herbert Asquith . He was also questioned by the Secretary of State for War , Horatio Kitchener . Return to Gallipoli . When he returned to Gallipoli , Ashmead - Bartlett established himself on the island of Imbros which was also the site of Hamilton ' s headquarters . Here he lived in relative safety and comfort , even having brought his own cook from Paris . Returning to the peninsula , he witnessed the new landing at Suvla during the August Offensive : Ashmead - Bartlett had obtained a movie camera while in London with which he captured the only film footage of the battle . On 21 August he was watching from Chocolate Hill when the British IX Corps launched the final attack of the campaign , the Battle of Scimitar Hill . While filming , he was buried when an artillery shell landed nearby but was quickly dug free . Criticism of Gallipoli . When Australian journalist Keith Murdoch arrived at Gallipoli in September , Ashmead - Bartlett found a receptive audience for his commentary and analysis of the campaign . Murdoch travelled to London carrying a letter from Ashmead - Bartlett — it is disputed whether Murdoch knew the contents — which damned the campaign , describing the final offensive as " the most ghastly and costly fiasco in our history since the battle of Bannockburn . " The letter , intended for Asquith , was intercepted in Marseilles and on 28 September , Ashmead - Bartlett was told to leave Gallipoli . On his return to London , Ashmead - Bartlett gave an " interview " to " The Sunday Times " ( it was on opinion piece presented as an interview to circumvent censorship rules ) . Published on 17 October , it was the first detailed account of the campaign and was widely circulated , published in " The Times " and " Daily Mail " as well as in Australian papers . After Gallipoli . Short of money , Ashmead - Bartlett undertook a lecture tour of England and Australia . He reported on the fighting on the Western Front in France . Following the war he fought in Hungary against the Bolsheviks . He spent two years as a Conservative Member of Parliament , for the Hammersmith North constituency in London . He died in Lisbon in 1931 .