ONE HUNDRED years ago Robin Atherton’s grandfather went into battle along with his twin brother – but only one of them survived the day.

Exactly a century later and the Kidlington man will lay a wreath this morning at The Cenotaph in London in their honour.

Jack and Bramwell Atherton were part of the Australian Army which landed on the Gallipoli peninsula as part of a disastrous campaign that saw 42,000 Allied troops die.

On landing, Australian and New Zealand troops were caught in the crossfire from Turkish troops on the cliffs and British ships at sea.

The twins took shelter in a shell crater but when Robin’s grandfather Bramwell looked back at his brother he saw he had been shot in the chest and was dead.

Bramwell was then badly injured after being hit by shrapnel but his evacuation to Blenheim Convalescence Hospital in Woodstock would change his family’s history.

The surviving Atherton fell in love with one of his nurses Mary Freeman, whose father was the landlord of the Adam and Eve inn in Woodstock.

After a brief return to Australia, Mary failed to settle and the couple made Woodstock their home bringing up five children – Velma, Terry, Daphne, Wendy and Robin’s father Desmond.

The Australian-born war veteran set up a number of businesses in Woodstock all in Oxford Street.

He ran a boot and shoe shop, a bookmakers and the Atherton and Clothier glove factory.

Bramwell died in 1947 aged 48 and is buried in Woodstock while brother Jack has no known grave.

The disastrous Gallipoli campaign led Sir Winston Churchill to resign as First Lord of the Admiralty.

Mr Atherton said he remembered his grandfather in tears at times over his wartime experiences.

The 74-year-old, who worked in the motor trade, also recalled him in a lighter mood. He said: “When there was discord or disagreement in the house, grandfather would joke: ‘Winston Churchill has got a lot to answer for’.”

Today to mark Anzac Dy, named after the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps he has been invited as one of many descendants to lay a wreath at The Cenotaph at a commemorative ceremony at 11am.

The Gallipoli Campaign

THE Gallipoli Campaign saw Allied troops attempt to knock the Ottoman Empire – who were fighting alongside Germany – out of the war.

With the goal of capturing Constantinople, the empire’s capital, the British authorised an attack on the Gallipoli peninsula – located in modern-day Turkey.

The first troops landed on April 25, 1915 at what later became known as Anzac Cove (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps).

The Anzac soldiers were immediately caught in the crossfire as Turkish troops on the cliffs exchanged fire with British ships at sea.

The intended attack turned into a stalemate and after eight months of heavy fighting, the troops were withdrawn.

Over the course of the campaign 42,000 British, French, Australian and New Zealand troops died and 200,000 were injured.

The campaign was the first major military action of Australia and New Zealand as independent nations. April 25 is now known as Anzac Day and the most significant commemoration of military casualties and veterans in Australia and New Zealand.