The Incomparable 29th and the "River Clyde"
by George Davidson · English · Gutenberg #25342 · 455,042 chars · public domain (US)
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Incomparable 29th and the "River Clyde"
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: The Incomparable 29th and the "River Clyde"
Author: George Davidson
Release date: May 5, 2008 [eBook #25342]
Most recently updated: April 27, 2026
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25342
Credits: Produced by Jeannie Howse, David Clarke and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INCOMPARABLE 29TH AND THE "RIVER CLYDE" ***
* * * * *
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| Transcriber's Note: |
| |
| Inconsistent hyphenation in the original document has |
| been preserved. This document has unusual spelling that |
| has been preserved. |
| |
| Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. For |
| a complete list, please see the end of this document. |
| |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
* * * * *
[Illustration: POINT OF GALLIPOLI]
THE INCOMPARABLE 29TH
AND THE "RIVER CLYDE"
BY
GEORGE DAVIDSON, M.A., M.D.
MAJOR, R.A.M.C.
ABERDEEN
JAMES GORDON BISSET
85 BROAD STREET
Dedicated
TO THE
STRETCHER-BEARERS OF THE
89TH FIELD AMBULANCE
IN WARM ADMIRATION OF THEIR CONSTANT ZEAL AND PLUCK
AND IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE MANY EXCITING TIMES
WE HAD TOGETHER
PREFACE.
I had not the slightest intention of ever publishing these notes in
book form while jotting them down for the sole purpose of giving my
wife some connected idea of how we at the Front were spending our
time. I found, to my surprise, that keeping a diary was a great
pleasure, and I rarely missed the opportunity of taking notes at odd
times--and often in odd places.
Several of my friends read the parts as I sent them home, and it is on
the valued advice of one in particular that I now offer these scraps
to the public. I make practically no change on the original, but in a
few places, for the sake of sequence, or more fulness, I have made
additions. These are always in brackets.
Some of the remarks in the original might safely be published fifty
years hence, but at present the war is too recent for these to see the
light of print.
GEORGE DAVIDSON,
R.A.M.C.
TORPHINS, ABERDEENSHIRE,
_June, 1919._
DIARY.
_March 16th, 1915._--After serving for five months as a lieutenant in
what was at first known as the 1st Highland Field Ambulance, and
afterwards, as the 89th Field Ambulance, I left Coventry, our last
station, to do my little bit in the great European War, our
destination being unknown. We had heard well-founded rumours that we
were going to the Dardanelles, or somewhere in the Levant, and our
being deprived of our horses and receiving mules instead, and helmets
(presumably cork) being ordered for the officers, all pointed to our
being sent to a warmer climate than France or Belgium, where the war
is raging on the west side of the great drama.
Leaving Coventry at 1.50 p.m. we reached Avonmouth about 5, to find
that our boat was not in. The men were put up in a cold, draughty shed
for the night, where they had little sleep, while the officers took
train to Bristol, nine miles off, where we dined excellently at the
Royal Hotel, but, there being no vacant rooms, we went to the St.
Vincent's Rocks Hotel, overlooking the Clifton Suspension Bridge and
the great gorge of the Avon.
_March 17th._--Returned to Avonmouth and wandered about inspecting the
huge transports lying in the docks, and H.M.S. "Cornwall," just
returned for repairs from the fight at Falkland Islands. She had
received three shell holes in her hull, one under the water line, and
a large number of perforations in one of her funnels.
We then got on board our boat, the "Marquette," of the Red Star Line,
built by Alexander Stephen & Sons, Glasgow, of over 8000 tons, and
said to be a good sailer. We lunched with the captain, a Scotchman of
course, hailing from Montrose. At 5.30 we got the men on board, and
all spent the night in our new quarters.
_March 18th._--After getting numerous details on board during last
night and to-day, amounting to about 1300 men, 60 officers, about 700
horses and mules; besides 20 tons of explosives and 50 tons of barbed
wire, and wagons by the hundred, we set sail at 10 p.m. under sealed
orders. No lights were allowed owing to the danger from submarines
which had been busy within the last few days in the Bristol Channel
and about the Scilly Islands. As escort we had two torpedo-boat
destroyers, one on each side and slightly ahead. These left us after
twelve hours, when we were in less danger, and 100 miles west of the
usual course, sailing W.S.W. into the Atlantic.
_March 19th._--Beautiful day with slight breeze, but biting cold at
first; ship pitching and rolling moderately, a few officers a little
sick early, and about 80 per cent of the men, the latter suffering
badly from the close atmosphere in their deck, in which their hammocks
are slung as close as sardines in a tin and all port holes closed. The
electric light had been shut off so that no one might be able to show
a light.
Dr. K----, the ship's ancient doctor, is a curious customer, full of
stories and quaint remarks. Captain Findlay is very communicative but
will not reveal any private orders. He is directed to steer for the
Mediterranean by a certain course. About 5 p.m. to-day he altered his
course from W.S.W. to S. At 5 an order was issued to have the iron
shutters put over the port holes, otherwise no lights to be allowed.
Very little shipping has been seen to-day, although several ships of a
small size have passed at a long distance on our port side. One of the
reasons for choosing this course was to avoid ships that might carry a
wireless installation and signal our movements to the enemy.
The captain, when swearing at the head steward about some
forgetfulness, gave what he considered proof of the superiority of the
memory of the lower animals over the human in a little story. He had
carried Barnum and Bailey's menagerie once from America and
occasionally fed a young elephant, Ruth by name, after President
Cleveland's daughter, she taking apples from his pocket. After three
years he came across her again, and calling her by name, she came up
and put her trunk into the same pocket as of old. On the trip over he
carried 1200 animals, only two dying, one being the giraffe which fell
down a hatchway and broke his neck in two places--somehow a very
fitting death for a giraffe.
Saw several porpoises playing and jumping beside the boat. A wireless
message to the captain tells of the appearance of a German submarine
at Dover last night.
Towards 6.30 two very large steamers crossed our bows, coming out of
the west, while we went slowly to avoid them. One carried no lights
and was probably carrying troops from Canada.
Had an amusing talk on the boat deck with the old doctor. He was
telling us about three padres who left our boat just before we
started, preferring to go by another as they did not like travelling
with so many animals. There being no parson for the coming Sundays
they requested him to hold the services, but he replied that there was
no use asking him, he could not pray worth a damn. He explained that a
ship rang eight bells at 12, four at 8, and one for each half-hour
after these, as one bell at 4.30, two at 5, three at 5.30, and so on.
Beautiful night, stars clear, and sea very smooth for the Atlantic and
the Bay of Biscay, where we now are. The equinoctial gales usually
begin on March 20 (to-morrow), so the captain says. We have averaged
12-1/2 knots since we left Avonmouth. A small bucketfull of water is
taken from the sea every two hours, and its temperature taken to see
if we are near ice.
_March 20th._--Weather to-day typical of the Bay of Biscay, half a
gale all day, and blowing furiously at 7 o'clock, bottles, glasses,
etc., flying off the dinner-table. Sea-sickness very rife, almost
every one suffering more or less. Saw only two passing ships to-day.
The captain prophesies warmer weather to-morrow if the wind remains in
the east as at present. It will then be off the land, we being
opposite Finisterre about 8 a.m. to-morrow.
The orders to the captain are to remain sixty miles off land while
skirting Spain and Portugal. By wireless we hear the Allies still gain
ground in Flanders, and of a railway collision in Lancashire.
_March 21st._--Sunday.--Good news by wireless of the progress of the
war. Wind changed to S.E., showery in the morning, and pleasantly
warm. Church parade at 10. "Old Hundred" by the congregation, led by
Serg. Gibb, the Lord's Prayer by Serg. Gaskin--as much of it as he
could remember--a chapter of Matthew by Capt. Stephen followed by some
words of advice, when the attempts of the audience to look solemn were
all in vain--then off to the deck with "The Innocents Abroad".
During the day the weather has been very variable, occasionally very
heavy rain showers, but very mild; strong gale all day right in our
teeth which must retard our progress. At dinner--7 p.m.--the captain
said we were not quite opposite Lisbon, but nearly. With a few
exceptions all have found their sea legs.
_March 22nd._--Being Orderly Officer I was up at 6.45 and inspected
our unit's breakfast at 7.15, expecting a repetition of the grousing
about their food which has gone on since we came on board, but to-day
all are satisfied for the first time. They began with porridge which
looked palatable, though sloppy for a Scotchman's taste, and was said
to be without salt, which would certainly be the case were the cook an
Englishman. Then each had a cup of coffee which looked fair enough and
smelt good to a hungry man like myself, with two thick slices of bread
with salt butter and jam. I feel as fit as a fiddle, and believe the
equinoctial gales at their worst would be none too much for me. The
feeling that I am to sink to the bottom of the ocean when the boat
pitches has entirely gone.
Stephen and I are wondering what our folks at home are doing, and if
they are always looking for letters from us by the next post. If so
they will be disappointed for many days yet. A good many of our horses
are sick, and two died yesterday and were thrown overboard. The poor
brutes have very cramped quarters.
The sea was fairly rough during daylight and the ship rolled so badly
that at lunch and dinner "fiddles" had to be put along the tables to
keep the dishes in their places. In the evening the wind fell to a
very gentle, balmy breeze, when a number of us spent some time on the
boat deck watching the phosphorescence of the jelly fish, which we saw
in many hundreds.
_March 23rd._--Got up early and on going on deck at 7.30 found we were
making straight for the sun. Most glorious morning, sun bright, sea,
except for the eternal swell, perfectly calm. We had changed our
course and were heading 8 degrees S. of E., making for the Straits of
Gibraltar. At 8 the captain, wishing to be sure of his longitude,
began bawling out to some unseen person, "Mark 23, 22; mark 23, 19,
add another 1; mark 23, 25". He explained that he took the reading
three times then struck an average.
In time land hove in sight, faint at first, but gradually the rocky
coast of Spain, north of Cape Trafalgar, became distinct, then this
cape itself came out of the mist as white as snow--so white that the
purser said he believed it actually was snow. Then higher hills beyond
appeared with others of a similar nature on the African coast. All
looked forbidding and barren. Swallows were flitting about, and would
have meant summer at home, but I fancy they are here all winter. The
heat of the sun was intense, and I observed that his altitude seemed
as high as I was accustomed to see him in midsummer.
The captain soon pointed out "The Rock," and after passing the white
town of Tarifa on the Spanish main it got clearer and clearer, but to
our disgust our boat kept towards the south side of the Straits, and
all were disappointed we were not to have a chance to post letters
here as we expected. Tangier in the outer part of the Straits was
invisible from mist. The Rock was not quite as impressive as I
expected, nor could I with certainty make out more than one gun
position, although I saw several black spots where guns may have
frowned at us.
A gunboat came after us and made us turn about in a circle till she
was satisfied of our identity, the ship's number being invisible
through the mist to those on shore. Ceuta with its snow-white houses
lay on the south coast almost opposite Gibraltar. Some large buildings
could be plainly seen, and between the town and the sea, on the
north-east side the fortified hill held by the Spaniards since they
lost Gibraltar.
Later I found we sailed directly east, our next halt being as yet
unknown. All roll has entirely departed from our ship, which almost
seems unnatural after the tossing we have had. What struck me most
to-day was the rocky nature of both sides of the Straits--we might
have been among the rugged mountains of Ross-shire. Apes Head seemed
to be made of rugged and split masses of limestone. The rocks with
their bright colours were a great relief to our eyes which had rested
on nothing but water for five days.
_March 24th._--A quiet uneventful day; colder than yesterday in the
Atlantic. I find that all along we have sailed with only two lights
showing, both faint, one on either end of the bridge, red to port and
green to starboard. In the last twenty-four hours we covered 286
miles, and going east fast, the clock being now advanced twenty-three
minutes daily. We left Avonmouth with 1500 tons of coal on board, and
we use sixty-five tons daily. We carry a poultry yard and get fresh
eggs for breakfast, one some one had to-day was so fresh that
according to the date written on it it was laid to-morrow (25/3/15).
We have a lot of Irishmen on board which explains this Irishism. We
had a concert in the evening, got up by Col. O'Hagan, the O.C. the
West Lancashire Field Ambulance, when we had many amusing songs and
tales. The sea was as smooth as a duck-pond all day. Towards night the
wind rose, strong enough to cause a big pitch had we been still in the
Atlantic, but here it is hardly noticeable. The south-east corner of
Spain was seen in the morning and a peep of Africa got in the
afternoon.
_March 25th._--Just returned from the engine room, having made up to
the chief engineer, who took me over the machinery and stokehole. The
three cylinders develop 4500 horse-power. The largest is 96 inches in
diameter.
All day we have been in sight of the African coast, the Atlas
Mountains making one continuous range. They reminded me strongly of
Ross-shire, the whole outline being rough and rugged. Mount Atlas,
which we did not see, is 14,740 feet high. About 9 a.m. we were said
to be near the town of Algiers. Great snowfields were visible on most
of the highest mountains. These were very picturesque with the sun
shining on the snow. We have seen little shipping, one large oil boat
passed west. All are taking the lack of news philosophically, nothing,
as far as I can make out, being heard to-day. Code messages from
battleships speaking to each other are received but are unreadable.
Helmets were issued to the officers to-day, but the wind is too cold
to make these necessary.
As Sanitary Officer for the day I had to go over the whole of the
horse decks with the Military Officer of the ship, Lt.-Col. Hingston,
R.E. The alleys between the horse lines, all of which had to be
traversed, must be nearly half a mile in length, all the heads of the
horses projecting in double lines into the narrow passages, which
makes tramping along these dark ways anything but pleasant. The close
stench is very sickening, and I was glad when our journey came to an
end. We have lost four horses so far. The mules are hardier and have
stood the voyage well. They are besides accustomed to the sea, all
having come lately from the Argentine.
_March 26th._--An ideal day and the sun delightfully warm. We had the
African coast in sight the whole time till early afternoon. Passed
Cape Blanco, which in the distance might have been part of Deeside,
hills with stretches of verdure which looked like forest with brown
spaces between which were probably sand.
Helmets were issued to the men to-day. These with their broad brims
look very serviceable against the sun. One man coming on a friend who
had just donned his, yelled: "Hello, man, come oot o' that till I see
yer feet".
At the present speed we should reach Malta at 6 a.m. to-morrow where
surely we'll be able to post letters, but they have a long way to go
to reach home. At 5 o'clock we were opposite Pantellaria, an Italian
penal settlement, and about 140 miles from Malta. On the north coast
of the island the settlement is visible, big white houses at different
levels on its rocky face. There are very steep rocks on the east side
rising straight out of the sea.
_March 27th._--My first peep at the East--although it is perhaps not
the East proper. I rose at 5.30 to find Malta right ahead, and Valetta
only a mile or two distant. The sight was gorgeous, the rocky land all
tints of yellow, and the houses of divers colours, flat-roofed, domed,
and altogether Oriental.
Two warships, which turned out to be the "Prince of Wales" and the
"Paris," were steaming rapidly from the north-east, and we were
ordered to lie to till they entered the harbour, then to follow. The
scene on entering this harbour baffles description, with its cliffs,
forts, and frowning guns and numerous warships. There were signs of
war preparations everywhere. The entrance to the harbour was guarded
by booms, only a small opening being left where they were folded back.
A short way inside came another row of booms. Then came a French
warship on our port side, coaling at its hardest, from which came
shouts to our decks crowded with troops of "where are you going"? The
reply had to be "We don't know". Immediately to starboard we had
another French ship which turned out to be the largest in the harbour.
All her crew and band were drawn up on deck, and the latter struck up
"God save the King". We at once stood at attention, all in silence,
but when the strains ended every man hurrahed at the pitch of his
voice. The band then gave us "It's a long way to Tipperary".
On going a little farther we were moored to a buoy in the middle of
the waterway, with all sorts of shipping round us, mostly French
warships, there being at least a dozen of that nationality, the only
British men-of-war being the two we saw enter. The transparency and
greenness of the water are remarkable. The whole harbour is dotted
over with "bum boats" which are said to be peculiar to Malta, and have
high boards at their stem and stern, and are worked by one or two men
standing upright. Most sell fruits and odds and ends to those on
board, while others convey passengers to and from the land. The houses
about the harbour are largely forts or connected with the army and
navy. They rise tier upon tier to the top of the surrounding rocks
which may be about 150 feet high.
After lunch permission was given to the officers and N.C.O.'s to go
ashore. There was great excitement of course, and all asked for leave
forthwith. Being "Officer of the day," whose duties applied to the
whole ship, I decided not to remind the C.O.--Col. Hingston--of this,
but our C.O. mentioning at lunch that I need not look for leave I
could not sneak off as I had intended, and was to be permitted only if
I found a substitute, which, of course, I failed to do. Every one has
gone to stretch his legs on land except the "Captain of the day" and
myself. Still I hope to get a short turn ashore before we sail at 6
p.m. which is announced as the hour of our departure--and our
destination? we wish we knew.
8.30 p.m.--Fiddes very kindly returned early to relieve me and I
spent two very enjoyable hours in Valetta, wandering about its narrow
and stair-like streets. There were goats everywhere, many being milked
on the doorsteps as I passed. I bought some pieces of Maltese lace,
which is pretty much of one pattern, generally a Maltese cross
surrounded by flowers. The inhabitants are plainly of Italian descent,
but if you ask if that is their nationality, they always deny it and
say they are Maltese. The shops are totally different from anything I
have ever seen, and except in the best streets, have no windows,
merely a huge, gaping doorway. The weather was very close and many of
the inhabitants and the children generally, were bare legged and well
bronzed. The women's dress was very peculiar, all being in jet black
with a strange lopsided head-dress. The edge has a stiff hoop and
projects well in front of the face.
The plants were all tropical--palms, cacti of many sorts, and masses
of a deep purple flower that covered large expanses of wall. All trees
were in full leaf, but they would be mostly evergreen. Worthy looking
padres in their shovel hats were plentiful, also monks in dark brown
cloaks, rope girdles and sandal shoon, and usually bareheaded,
although a few wore a tiny cap, little bigger than the top of an egg,
which it resembled in shape.
I was much interested on discovering the reason why all the women in
Malta wear black, which seems to be commenced about the age of eleven
or twelve. Napoleon and his army had exercised great liberties with
their sex during a visit, and in consequence it was decreed by the
Pope that all women in Malta should go into mourning for the period of
a hundred years. This time is up but they seem to know that their mode
of dress is very becoming, and it looks as if the decree was to hold
good for all time.
It is impossible to go round the stair-like streets, which abound in
Malta, with a milk cart, hence you find all over the town a man or
boy with about half a dozen goats, shouting something or other, when
the women appear at their doors with jugs into which the men milk the
quantity required, as they sit on the doorstep. This is all very
quaint and picturesque, especially when combined with the bright
clothing of the men and children, the bright projecting upper windows,
and the altogether foreign and tropical appearance of the whole town
and island.
All the officers thoroughly enjoyed what was a new experience to most
of us, all returning to the boat laden with parcels, and being
unusually lively at dinner, and the wine flowing more freely than
usual among a body of men who rarely drink anything but water--and
very flat and unpleasant water it is too.
We left Malta at 6 p.m. _en route_ for Alexandria, as I am told by the
captain, who says it is no longer a secret. This is evidently to be
the place of concentration of the 29th Division. Another transport,
the "Kingstonia," left half an hour before us, amidst great cheering
from the warships and us. We too had a right royal send-off from all
the warships we passed, their decks being packed with cheering
multitudes, and our French friends of the morning played the National
Anthem again in the usual silence. We half expected it this time, but
its coming so unexpectedly in the morning made it most impressive.
Eleven powerful searchlights were playing at the entrance of this
important harbour--a harbour which must be one of Britain's greatest
assets. When thrown on us even a mile off the light was absolutely
dazzling.
_March 28th._--Churning all day through a sea of ultra-marine hue,
with a brilliant sun overhead and a fair breeze behind. We are now a
long way east of the longitude of Greenwich, the clock at noon
yesterday being seventy minutes before G.M.T. This means a daily loss
of sleep and consequently much swearing. At one time in the Atlantic
we were between fifty and sixty minutes behind G.M.T.
There was a great fuss last night over the supposed discovery of six
cases of measles in our unit. This morning a Medical Board sat and
pronounced all the cases to be merely erythematous rashes following
vaccination four days ago, and consequently the quarantine instituted
last night has been relaxed, but only in a modified form, so as to let
the guilty party down gently. As a result of all this unnecessary fuss
the two field ambulances on board were nearly split into two camps.
_March 29th._--Another quiet day and a calm sea.
Three interpreters joined our boat at Malta, they leaving home two
days after us by a P. & O. boat. These men have a thorough knowledge
of Turkish, Greek, and French.
The heat of the sun has been intense to-day, and a number of us were
glad to don our helmets. These are not altogether a success, they are
too heavy.
We had a short lecture on "Turkey" by one of the interpreters, when he
spoke about the roads, which seem to be few, woods still fewer, water
supply and some other points likely to be of practical interest to us
shortly. Rains usually cease in the end of March, and, except for an
occasional shower, the heat of summer lasts till the middle of
September, the temperature being just under 100° F.
_March 30th._--Lying in the harbour of Alexandria, where we arrived
about 3 p.m. The day has been perfect, the temperature moderate till
we came near land when the sun simply scorched us. At sea there is
always a breeze, but as we now lie at anchor in the middle of the
harbour the air is absolutely still and oppressive. We seemed to
describe the letter "S" as we approached from the sea, this course
being likely due to sand bars. To one who has never been in the East
before the sight of this town with its huge commercial buildings, its
great palm trees which are visible not far from the water's edge, and
a harbour full of great liners, and looking big enough to hold all the
shipping of the world, is a great education. Three ships have entered
since we came in, one being the "Kingstonia," one of our divisional
transports, another full of French troops. We were, of course,
surrounded by boats trying to do a little honest trade with us, but
our men were strictly forbidden to purchase anything from them owing
to the risk of infection.
These boats were manned principally by Arabs in their peculiar dresses
of brilliant hue and many wore the fez. All were burned as dark as an
old penny. Owing to our being supposed to have had measles on board,
although it was proved to every one's satisfaction that there was no
reason for this suspicion, we had to enter with the yellow flag flying
at the foremast. We had visits from official boats, one with the
police flag, very likely expecting to hear that we had cholera or
smallpox among us. At any rate the objectionable flag was soon hauled
down and we half expected to get permission to land, but so far no
orders have come from shore.
The deep blue of the Mediterranean has been left behind for a time,
which may be very short, and certainly cannot be long, and we now
float on the light green waters of the Nile. The bugle has just
sounded "the officer's mess," a sound that is welcome to me; the heat
has not yet taken away my appetite.
_March 31st._--We were towed to the wharfside at 3 p.m. Then the
unloading of our great sea monster began, men trooped on shore,
followed by the horses which, unused to daylight in the miserable
dens they had just left, looked terrified and floundered down the
gangways. It took hours for this procession of animals to end, the
exit from Noah's ark must have been a poor show in comparison.
Our men set off for their camp at Mex, three miles away, about 6 p.m.,
I being left with a fatigue party of twenty-seven men to finish the
packing of our stores on railway trucks, and see them despatched in
time to arrive at Mex before the men, so that on their arrival they
could set to and pitch their tents on the piece of land allotted to
them, and which is said to be composed of equal parts of sand and
lice! I feel that I have scored in having one night's relief from this
plague--but we are in the land of plagues, the home of the Pharaohs.
About 8 p.m. I set off on a visit to Alexandria, and from the docks
passed up a street lined on both sides with our animals tied to picket
ropes for the night, and at the top of the street came on a grove of
many acres of towering palm trees. After a mile or a mile and a half,
seeing no newspaper shops, nor anything resembling a British shop, I
asked an Egyptian where a "journal" was to be had. We could not
understand each other, even signs were of no use, so I tried again and
the next man understood me, and directed my black Soudanese friend,
who had attached himself to me as my guide, where to go, but from the
deviations he took into narrow and remarkably gay by-streets, he
plainly thought that this newspaper hunt was a ruse for seeing
Alexandria by night. All this was very interesting all the same. I
rubbed shoulders with many an Egyptian "nut" who made no pretence
about his errand to this questionable part of the town. The many
streets I passed through, and I must have penetrated about three miles
into the town, seemed very familiar to me, they were so very like
pictures one sees of this part. The cafés were crowded with Egyptian
revellers, and occasionally I saw groups of our Tommies enjoying a
drink among them. The former were all in their brilliant robes, and as
they stood or squatted about, smoking their long pipes, they formed a
most interesting picture. Their big pipes even blocked the pavement at
times, the men squatted on their haunches with their pipes a couple of
feet in front and a passer-by had to be careful not to upset and smash
them. A fine picture was made by two old fellows squatting on a rug in
the open window of a small shop, smoking and drinking coffee, and
looking as if they could curse to fourteen generations any customer
bold enough to disturb them in their innocent enjoyment of doing
nothing. One of our officers who knows this town and its inhabitants,
says if you curse a man he will only laugh in your face, but when you
begin cursing to all eternity his brothers and sisters, father and
mother, he begins to wax wroth, and by the time you reach the tenth to
the fourteenth generation he dances about with fury and gnashes his
teeth.
_April 1st._--Up early and breakfast at 6.30. By this time the engines
were rattling and new ropes creaking, while stores of all kind were
being landed. Some acres of quay and side streets were covered with
these, the horses and mules having been mostly landed yesterday. Then
began the scramble for wagon poles, crossbars, etc., any unit finding
itself short just seized the first it came across. We lost odds and
ends and followed the recognised custom, known as "skirmishing," and
in the end were only short of our full complement by a crossbar and a
bicycle. I had a very busy day up to 3 o'clock when we started for Mex
camp. We marched out, reaching this at 4.45 after a very warm tramp,
tempered by a gentle breeze off the Mediterranean. The country through
which we passed was barren in the extreme, honey-combed all the way
from quarrying the soil, which is full of salt and soda with a white
chalky base. There are everywhere deep holes full of salt water with
salt-loving plants about them, practically the only vegetation to be
seen; between these there is a mass of hummocks, and pinnacles, with
occasional sheep that look like goats, feeding on I do not know what,
unless it be a tuft-headed small grass which is found sparsely on the
higher grounds. In front of our tents are larger mounds on which four
camels are nibbling at this grass, these being kept by some Bedouins
for giving milk. Seeing some dark-skinned rascals having a ride on
them I went up to them and was offered a mount for a penny; then the
urchin, who had an early training in fleecing, thought he might double
his charge and held up two fingers to designate the amount and marched
off his camel till I consented. The brute nearly broke first my neck
and then my back, but I greatly enjoyed my short ride.
Immediately after this an Inniskilling Fusilier raced Thomson and
myself over these terrible salt pits to the sea edge where an
unconscious man was lying, having been dragged out of the water after
disappearing like a stone, although said to be a strong swimmer.
_April 2nd._--A day of great heat, were it not for an occasional air
from the Mediterranean. The whole of our camp is covered with ordinary
soft sea-sand, and it gets very hot and very glaring. Immediately
behind the more or less level ground on which the 29th Field Ambulance
is encamped the pure white, chalky higher ground commences, peopled by
camels, goats, and sheep. The last two are so much alike it is
difficult to say which of the families they belong to.
About 6 p.m. I set out for Alexandria with four of our officers. After
a little shopping and haircutting we had an excellent dinner at the
Grand Restaurant du Nil, all considering some fried mullet to be the
finest fish we had ever tasted. With a fairly liberal supply of wine
the dinner for the five of us cost only about 17s. Then to the Moulin
Rouge, which I should say is the counterpart of its better-known
namesake in Paris. The newness of the whole show made it amusing.
_April 3rd._--Apparently it never rains here after summer has
commenced. I have been studying the ornithology of these bare chalk
mounds, and find the birds are practically the same as our commonest
ones at home--swallows, stonechats--which have been very busy
to-day--our two water wagtails, and the wretched little sparrow. I
thought the flamingo was to be found along the coast but have never
seen a specimen on this inhospitable shore. I have also seen a bird
not unlike a thrush, and a few small things apparently of the linnet
family. Creepy animals are only too plentiful, the most objectionable
at present is the common housefly which is a perfect plague. They are
everywhere and are specially fond of the rope suspending my lantern.
Unfortunately the place that is second favourite is one's nose.
Locusts are said to be in greater abundance in Lower Egypt than was
ever known before. Here I have seen but a few dozen, and at first I
took them for small dragonflies. They have the same beautiful wings,
but their style of flight is quite different, the locust alighting
every few yards to have a look at you. Ants, great and small, are
everywhere in the morning, but when the sand gets too hot most of them
disappear. One big ant has a huge head, a fairly broad tail piece and
small body. Lizards are very common on the chalk mounds, and yesterday
I watched four huge specimens basking in the sun half-way down an old
lime kiln.
_April 4th._--Easter Sunday. We had a service suitable for the day
from a Presbyterian Chaplain on the hillside, when there were 700 to
800 present from different units. During the sermon we all lay on the
sand, while overhead a lark carolled forth in notes more mild than are
uttered by our British lark, but the habits of the two are similar,
but ours soars highest.
We have improved our field mess, stores having been got privately
among us. By this means we had a very good one o'clock dinner,
followed by a snooze by some of us, while others slept straight on
till tea-time. I set out alone for a walk into a part I had not
visited before, namely, along the seashore west of Mex Camp, to
Dakeilah village. I passed an old fort with three very old cast-iron
guns of 9-inch bore, lying uselessly on their sides, one labelled
"loaded--dangerous". Beyond that the sand is a great depth, and the
natives seemed to have it divided into allotments, each piece dug into
a deep, wide trench from 6 to 12 feet deep, and along the bottom they
have a row of tomatoes. These grow luxuriantly, apparently in pure
sand, but there is probably a liberal supply of manure below. Figs,
dates, and grapes seem to be the chief fruits grown.
I passed in a corner shaded by tall palm trees a large well which
formed a perfect picture--children frisked about, while women drew
water, and all about were their big water jars. Just beyond that my
walk took me through a native cemetery, all the tombs exactly alike, a
big base about five feet long and nearly three high, and a five foot
column on each end. These were the more recent ones, the old graves
were merely rough hillocks of stones and clay, as the modern ones will
be some day.
I was much astonished to-day at the large number of botanical
specimens I came across. For such a sterile part it is most
remarkable. I should say 200 species could be picked up in a
forenoon's walk.
On returning we all had a talk with a very intelligent Arab boy of
about twelve summers, and got a number of words and a few phrases
from him. All the native children are very pretty, they have good
features, splendid eyes and teeth, and look as sharp as needles. If
you dare speak to one it at once gives him an opening to demand
backsheesh. I omitted to mention that the only Moslem minaret I have
seen so far was in Dakeilah. These may be plentiful in Alexandria, but
I have never been there in daylight.
The following are some of the words taught us by the young Arab, but I
found it impossible to find a satisfactory spelling for most of
them:--
Gatusheira Thank you.
Daphtar A book.
Chaima A tent.
Muphta A key.
Sigara A cigar.
Salama lecho Good morning.
Dasoyak Good-bye.
Homar A donkey.
Asioa Yes.
La No.
The following Arabic words and phrases are from a piece of paper I
picked up in Cox's Bank, Alexandria:--
1. Wahed. 6. Setta. 11. Hidashar.
2. Etneen. 7. Saba'a. 12. Etnashar.
3. Talata. 8. Tamanya. 13. Talatashar.
4. Arba'a. 9. Tessa. 20. Ashrin.
5. Khamsa. 10. Ashara. 100. Miya.
Naharak said Good morning.
Sa'a kam What time.
Sa'a waked One o'clock.
Maragsh Arabi I don't speak Arabic.
Kam tamanu What does it cost?
_April 5th._--This has been a day of exceptional heat, and curiously
is the religious day of the Moslems called Shem-el-nessim, which in
Arabic means "breathing the cool breeze". To-day all their shops are
shut, and the whole day is spent in the country. What is celebrated is
the first of the hot simoon winds which last fifty days, and
apparently the day for their commencement is most accurately gauged.
We were all only too glad to carry out the written instructions we
received some days ago, to keep under cover and try to sleep from noon
to three o'clock, and if you cannot sleep yourself you must keep quiet
and allow others to sleep. No bugle calls are allowed between these
hours. All round us there has been haze through which the sun could
not penetrate, but if he had the result would have been truly
terrible. The dust has also been worse than usual and everything in my
tent is grey. This is another of the plagues of Egypt. However, if
rumour is true, we will soon depart from here for more active service.
After dark to-night we went out in search of men supposed to be
wounded, six of our bearers acting as these and starting fifteen
minutes before the stretcher bearers. The night was very dark and the
pure white ground looked absolutely even, and some narrow escapes were
made, several finding just in time that they were on the edge of a
precipice. We had planned a few signals, but the principal lesson we
were taught was that these were too few in number, and owing to this
whole stretcher squads got lost.
We are still finding and having visits from new animals. To-day I had
a dragon fly brought to me. I find I had seen several of these before
but had mistaken them for locusts. The latter have much heavier
bodies, but very similar wings. We have just had a visit from a huge
beetle which we heard battering the tent, then it gradually got
nearer, next hitting the tent pole and falling on the small table on
which my candle flickers, the glare of which had attracted him. Kellas
caught a moth and kept it for me. It was nothing much to look at, but
it is the very first I have seen here. He also describes another moth
he saw to-day as fluttering in front of a flower without alighting on
it, but hovering and thrusting its proboscis into a long-tubed flower.
I once saw a similar moth at Torphins (this had been the Humming bird
moth which I have seen hundreds of since then).
When different units get together in a camp the amount of thieving,
technically called skirmishing, is beyond belief to anyone
unaccustomed to camp life. At present we have two mules that do not
belong to us. One wandered into our camp and a man who claimed it as
belonging to his unit was told he had to prove his statement before he
would be allowed to remove it, which he failed to do. To-day another
was brought in tied to the tail-board of a wagon. It was seen
wandering near the road between this and Alexandria, and the men in
the wagon commandeered him at once, and here he will remain. I am a
fairly good skirmisher myself, and when a wagon pole, for which I was
responsible when unloading at the docks, did not turn up, I had two in
its place in no time. We afterwards found that neither of them would
fit any of our wagons. The cook has been handicapped in his work by
having no table, but to-day he has one about 12 feet long which he
tells me he got "over the road" last night when it was dark. Agassiz,
our transport officer, requests us to look out for a picket rope; he
would like it two inches thick and about 100 feet long. Rather a big
order but should not be beyond our combined efforts.
_April 6th._--Two Infantry Brigades, our Ambulance (89th) and the West
Lancashire Ambulance (87th) were inspected by General Sir Ian
Hamilton. Like ourselves he is an Aberdonian, being a member of the
Hamilton family of Skene House. We had a very dusty day, all returning
to camp quite grey.
In the afternoon I visited Alexandria with Stephen and Thomson and had
tea at the Hotel Majestic in the Square of Mahomet Ali, the finest
part of the town, then we flattened our noses against shop windows and
bought a few odds and ends for home. The shops along the street to the
left of the Bourse (Rue Sheref Pasha) were good and interesting,
especially one that sold only Egyptian goods--Tawa's--where we made
most of our purchases.
Then I chanced to come across Fiddes and Morris driving down this
street when they hailed me and announced that they had just come from
the Excelsior Hotel, the headquarters of the 29th Division, with the
news that our bearers had to set off for the front before morning, and
that I was one of the three officers who were to accompany them. We
finished our shopping, and I went to Cook's office and wrote two post
cards, then drove out to Mex, we all meeting round the mess table to
hear the latest orders.
_April 7th._--Hung about all day in expectation of the promise from
H.Q. that they would 'phone to us when it was decided at what hour we
were to start. No message came during the day, then after 9 p.m. an
officer came in from our Brigade H.Q., saying they were wondering at
the boat "why the devil we were not on board". After a little 'phoning
we discovered we had been overlooked, and we were ordered to march at
once as our boat was to sail at 7 a.m. to-morrow. It was now past 10
p.m. and the men had to be roused from their tents and the mules
yoked. We fell in, 124 men and 3 officers, and amidst loud cheers and
handshakes we set off and reached the docks about 1.30. We were only
allowed light equipment, the men their kitbags, waterbottles,
haversacks, and coats rolled in bandolier fashion (i.e. full marching
order) while the officers were supposed not to exceed the regulation
35 lbs. of baggage. Most of our equipment we left to come on with the
tent subdivision and transport which are expected to sail on the 10th,
in our old ship the "Marquette". Thus ended the first four miles of
our journey, on this the last stage, while to-morrow we sail north,
presumably for Gallipoli, but some say Smyrna, to join in what will be
a most bloody affair--so we have been warned by Lord Kitchener who, in
an address to our Infantry Battalions, has said that the work before
us will be hard in the extreme, and that he had reserved our Infantry
as the finest Battalions in the Army for this arduous job, and told
them that they must be prepared to face great hardships and great
sacrifices. In the 86th Brigade, to which our Ambulance is attached,
we have four veteran Battalions, 2nd Royal Fusiliers, 1st Lancashire
Fusiliers, 1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers, and the 1st Munster Fusiliers.
This Brigade was described by Sir Ian Hamilton as the flower of the
British Army. All have served nine or ten years in India and all have
smelt powder.
_April 8th._--At 10.45 a.m. the Cunard liner, the "Ausonia" (better
known at present as B4) cast off, and with the help of two tugs we
were soon out on the open sea. She had sailed from Avonmouth on March
16, the night on which we were booked to sail, and in the Bristol
Channel some suspicious craft suddenly appeared. She at once altered
her course and the two attendant torpedo boats gave chase to what was
taken to be a German submarine. We had been told that the reason for
our not sailing on the same date was that our boat was not in, but our
captain afterwards told us he had been lying to for a whole week, but
the presence of this submarine was the real reason.
The forces for the present expedition against Turkey have concentrated
in Alexandria, and are at present over 100,000 strong, mostly British
but also largely French. To-day the pioneers of this huge force have
set sail, and as far as I can gather our boat was the second to go
out. We are doing 14 knots and in two or three days should reach our
journey's end. The day is beautiful and the Mediterranean its deepest
blue.
I have been having a talk with the captain of the "Ausonia". He has
only 64 tons of water on board, while he should have had ten times
that amount. There are no pipes laid to the docks and the whole of the
shipping has to depend on six water lighters which carry 60 tons each.
At present these are totally unable to supply the huge number of
transports in Alexandria. The half of these are flying two flags
beside each other to denote a shortage of water. In both the ground is
red, the upper with red diagonal stripes while the lower has a yellow
cross.
I find the cooking on the Cunard line very superior to what it was on
the Red Star. Here it is as good as in a first-class hotel.
_April 9th._--At 10 a.m. we were opposite rocky land to port. Some say
this is the island of Rhodes, others Abydos, but not having a map of
the southern part of the Archipelago I am unable to give an opinion.
About 11.30 we had land to starboard which a naval man assured me "was
Rhodes right enough". He pointed to a camel-backed hill and said, "If
there is a lighthouse opposite the middle of that, then I have no
doubt about it". It was there sure enough when examined through a
field glass.
A short time after leaving Alexandria I found by the compass we were
steering 20° to 25° W. of N. while all this forenoon we have gone due
N. I have been out on the deck watching an engineer unit preparing
posts for barbed wire. At present they have poles 12 feet long; both
ends are being pointed and a pencil mark is drawn round the middle of
the pole. They can thus quickly make two pointed posts by means of a
saw, but they expect to find the long poles useful before that
happens. They will lash their shovels and other tools to these, and
two men can carry them on their shoulders.
After lunch I had a conversation with my new friend, the captain of
the "Ausonia". He tells me the island on our port side was neither
Rhodes nor Abydos. The most interesting piece of news I got out of him
was that our destination was Lemnos, but that he expected that it was
merely as a rendezvous for the whole force, and was only 48 miles from
Sedd-el-Bahr, on the south point of Gallipoli. His view is that we
will land a short way north of that. He is against its being so far
north as the Gulf of Saros and the narrow neck of land there. He
thinks the preparations against our landing there would be too
complete by now. He is in distress over his shortage of water as none
is to be had in the small islands. This shortage of water got me into
trouble with the O.C. the troops on board at general parade this
morning. Many of the men had not shaved for two days, and some looked
untidy and unwashed, but all put this down to their being denied water
to slake their thirst, which must come before washing and shaving but
the order was "see that it does not happen again". I advised one
particularly hirsute chap to lower his shaving brush into the sea
to-morrow at the end of a string.
It is a remarkable thing, noted and spoken about by us all, how seldom
the thought of home enters our minds. I merely note this as a curious
fact. There is no excitement about the "bloody errand"--as some one
called it this morning--we are on, so that that is not the cause.
Perhaps it is just as well for us that we have worried so little.
There is far too much pity lavished on us when we go forth to war.
The officers are in a state of wild excitement to-night. Wishing to
have a game of baccarat some of them asked Whyte and myself to join
them, which we did willingly, feeling that it was possibly our last
night in civilisation. I did not understand the game but ended 7s. to
the good.
_April 10th._--Reached Lemnos about noon. We passed numerous islands
in the Archipelago, many small, and none showed signs of life except
for an occasional lighthouse, but all the larger ones are inhabited,
and grow currants, figs, and grapes in abundance.
Lemnos has a huge roadstead, open to the south, and at present
protected at the two southern points by big guns and searchlights. A
long arm forming the inner harbour extends to the right, and here a
large number of ships is lying, eight battleships being among the
number. We and another transport are anchored in the middle of the
roadstead, awaiting the arrival of the other members of the
expedition. It is said that over 100,000 will arrive from Egypt. The
greatest warship afloat, and one that figured largely in the
bombardment of the Dardanelles two months ago, the "Queen Elizabeth,"
lies a short way off on our starboard. The whole is shut in by steep
hills, rough and rugged, some of which must be over 1000 feet high.
The land between these and the water looks well cultivated, the
brilliant green of young crops being a relief to our eyes after our
long voyage. We have seen nothing but sea, rocks, chalk and sand since
March 18. I see no chance of getting ashore, but nothing would delight
me more than a scramble to the top of the highest peak away to the
west.
I was asking a Royal Naval Officer on board if our occupying Lemnos
involved any breach of neutrality, belonging, as it does, to Greece.
Although Greek, it has been leased by Turkey for years, and we have in
reality seized it from the latter.
In the afternoon we entered the inner harbour and cast anchor in the
middle of a number of transports. This inner harbour is more or less
circular and is about three miles long and two wide.
_April 11th._--Several transports have arrived since we entered
yesterday. When I looked through my port-hole at 6 o'clock this
morning the surrounding country looked very fresh, and free from all
haze, and the bright green of the crops and grass on the hill-sides
would have done credit to old Ireland.
After lunch I met Lt.-Col. Rooth of the Dublins, who gave me some
authentic information concerning the proposed military landing on
Gallipoli. The covering party for the whole expedition is to be our
86th Brigade. The Munsters are in the S.S.T. "Caledonia," (B ii) lying
alongside our ship. The Lancashires are there also. All these, along
with our stretcher bearers, land together from cutters, and the date
fixed is in all probability Wednesday, April 14, or the following day
at latest. A very warm reception from the enemy on shore is expected,
as I gather from the way the Dublin officers talk. It is also said
that we will have to make a dash for it under the cover of night.
Practically due north from where we lie we can see the top of a
snow-clad mountain which must be several thousand feet in height. Is
this in Imbros? (Samothrace.)
A German Taube was seen over us to-day flying very high. Two
hydroplanes went up from our fleet and scouted round us for several
miles for over an hour. Some say another was seen very early in the
morning.
_April 12th._--Orders were issued yesterday that we were to practice
disembarking to-day in preparation for the landing on Gallipoli. The
different units had to line up in the stations allotted to them, ours
luckily being on the saloon deck where we will get use of the
accommodation ladder instead of the rope ladder as first proposed.
Except for our rations, which had not been issued, we had on our full
marching order loads--revolver, water-bottle, ammunition, haversack,
field glasses, map case, Burberry and ground sheet. When we land we
will have about 5 lbs. of rations in addition.
Several of the officers on our ship visited the "Queen Elizabeth"
yesterday and returned with very alarming reports, this boat having
many times taken part in bombarding the Dardanelles Forts has a good
idea of what awaits us. They say the whole of Gallipoli swarms with
Turks, and the whole coast is covered with trenches and barbed wire
entanglements 6 feet high. They talk as if it meant absolute
annihilation of our small covering force of about 5000. The whole
remainder of the Expeditionary Force, I presume, will lie out at sea
till the coast is clear--should we succeed in clearing it, but it is
very evident every man I have spoken to has practically no hope of
ever returning. They expect our landing cutters to be well peppered
with shot and shell, and in our practice to-day we had to appear with
the straps of all our equipment outside our shoulder straps, and the
ends of our belts free, ready to whip open and get rid of it at a
moment's notice. I noticed that all our officers were unusually quiet
and serious last night, while they discussed the situation no doubt. I
went to bed at my usual hour and slept like a top.
The "Queen Elizabeth" went round to the Dardanelles to-day with the
C.O.'s of the regiments which are to take part in the covering
operations, looking for suitable places to disembark. We saw her
return to harbour about 6 p.m., and we hear she was fired on.
Whyte, Morris, and I anxiously watched a four-masted transport enter
the harbour this evening thinking it was possibly the "Marquette,"
but it proved to be A5, so that we have no chance of hearing from home
before to-morrow. We want our mail before we set off again, as the
next time will be for a long and indefinite period. All the transports
are named "B," "A," or "C"--British, Australian, or Colonial. Ours the
"Ausonia" is B4--no fewer than ninety transports lay in the harbour of
Alexandria ready to carry our troops to Lemnos.
_April 13th._--I have just returned from a trip ashore, the O.C. the
troops granting me leave on request to do so with twenty-four of our
men. We had three-quarters of an hour on land and had time to climb to
the top of a small hill. What struck me most on the more level ground
was the amount and stickiness of the mud, which was almost equal to
our horse lines at Bedford. Every spot was covered with flowers,
mostly of the vetch family. The corn crops were absolutely choked with
a large, spiked, dark purple vetch, with a sprinkling of the common
poppy (_Papaver Dubium_), and the ordinary charlock of the corn fields
at home, and another species of this same family. I found two mallows,
two or three thistles, one with a head like our Melancholy thistle,
but the commonest was one with white lines on the leaf. There were
numerous other flowers, so numerous that I thought this explained why
so much of the honey used in Britain came from Greece and these
islands. At the top of the hill we met a few shepherds tending sheep
and cattle, many of the sheep wearing bells which kept up a constant
tinkling. The men were very picturesque in their moccasin shoes,
sheepskin waistcoats and heavy coats with hoods. On the way from shore
with fourteen men at the six oars it was very nearly too much for us
to reach our boat, the wind having risen suddenly. It must have taken
us an hour to row about half a mile.
Orders have come to us to-day about our landing. We are warned to
keep our equipment dry as we will be waist-deep in water on leaving
the tow boats. Rumour had it yesterday that Thursday night had been
definitely fixed, but this afternoon it is said that the landing is
likely to take place to-morrow. The thought of this, in spite of the
warm reception promised, does not frighten one in the very least: I
can honestly say that it never once entered my head when on shore
to-day. When it comes to the pinch one can face the inevitable with
perfect coolness.
The following I have copied from the directory of the 29th Division,
there being two alterations since it was published:--
86th Infantry Brigade.
Commander Brig.-General S.W. Hare.
Brig.-Major Capt. T.H.C. Frankland, R. Dub. Fus.
Staff. Capt. Capt. H.M. Farmer, Lanc. Fus.
2 Royal Fus. Lt.-Col. H.C.B. Newenham.
Adjt. T.D. Shafto.
1 Lanc. Fus. Lt.-Col. H.V.S. Ormond.
Adjt. Capt. C. Bromley.
1 Munster Fus. Lt.-Col. H.E. Tizard.
Adjt. Capt. H.S. Wilson.
1 W. Fus. Lt.-Col. Rooth.
Adjt. Major C.T.W. Grimshaw, D.S.O.
The commander of the Division is General Hunter-Weston, R.E.
The great harbour of Lemnos is gradually filling; we had about thirty
troopships in the inner harbour, and before lunch seven were lying in
the outer. It was a magnificent sight from the top of the hill I have
mentioned.
_April 14th._--Wednesday. Had a very slow day on board, feeling that I
was badly in need of some hard physical exercise. No attack to be made
to-day, that is evident, and I doubt if we are ready for it
to-morrow. Orders are out for the usual drill to-morrow which now
always consists of boating, landing, and climbing rope ladders
swinging about in mid-air.
After dinner I had a long talk with one of the ship's officers who had
been in the navy for years, and is now attached to this boat to look
after things naval. "The charge ashore" of the covering party he
considers a vast mistake, and his idea is that the authorities have
just discovered this too, and are reconsidering its advisability. A
few machine-guns could wipe us all out before we get ashore. We are to
be covered by the navy, but what is the use of big guns against
individuals planted everywhere in trenches. However it is not for us
"to reason why". My informant had been talking yesterday to the
Brigade Major, and on asking him if we were still going to Gallipoli
he said, "Oh, I think so".
_April 15th._--Prepared this morning to go ashore with full equipment
and lifebelt, but in the end no boat was available for the R.A.M.C.
Just after breakfast I met a naval man on the stair leading down to
the saloon, looking for the O.C. the troops, Col. Rooth, and he sent
him a message through me, introducing himself as the commander of our
covering ship. Looking over the rail I found H.M.S. "Cornwallis"
painted on his steam-launch.
6.15 p.m. Just returned from a five mile sail in a rowing boat, Morris
and I being determined to find the "Marquette" if she was among the
ships out in the offing, being anxious to get our letters, but she was
not there. We sorrowfully wheeled about and returned, encircling the
"Queen Elizabeth" with her eight 15-inch guns, then along to examine
the German ship "Acane Herksman," which struck one of their own mines
off Smyrna. A huge hole 7 or 8 feet wide had been blown in her bow
which must have flooded her in a minute or so, but I forget how she
was kept afloat. She was brought round here as a prize with her stern
heavily loaded with sandbags which tilted her bow completely out of
the water.
Our row was a most enjoyable one, and the men rowed with a will, all
expecting to get their home mail. The country round the bay was very
beautiful with its green cultivated fields near the water, and
complete circle of rugged hills, and the distant snowclad mountains
away to the far North. All returned hungry, and while enjoying a cup
of tea at a table of Engineer officers, we heard what is evidently the
latest proposal about the invasion of Gallipoli. Instead of landing us
from troopships we all go on battleships, which seems to us to be an
improvement. We are also likely to land at three if not four different
points at the same time. This new plan will likely take a few more
days to develop, so that we may expect a few days' grace yet. We have
very exact maps of Gallipoli on a large scale, with full accounts of
all the possible landing places and the interior, with soundings round
the whole peninsula, the nature and the amount of water to be expected
at various points, etc.
_April 16th._--Beautiful day; nothing stirring, even no fresh rumours
afloat. Had a long sail to-day again with Whyte and twenty-five men in
search of the "Marquette". Believing that the "Marquette's" new name
was "B. 8," I boarded "B. 9," which has been here for a day or two,
hoping the captain might be able to tell me something of her
movements, but he thinks she has not left Alexandria. This is a
terrible disappointment to us all, and as her load is mainly
horse-flesh it is likely true. Horses would suffer badly lying in the
harbour where the ventilation would be very bad and would mean death
to many of them. I think I omitted to state that we lost nineteen
horses between Avonmouth and Alexandria, this high death-rate being
due to the want of proper ventilation.
Whyte and I next went over a Hospital ship, the "Soudan"--which we saw
in Malta, but was lying here on our arrival. She has four lady nurses,
two of whom we saw. One can hardly imagine petticoats out here. We
both agreed that the sight of them did us a lot of good.
_April 17th._--Had breakfast at six, paraded at seven and stood on
deck till 10.45 waiting our turn to cross to a collier that is to be
used in the Gallipoli attack. The intention is to run her ashore at
full speed, ploughing into the sands, when her load of 2000 men are to
get overboard as best they can on to floating gangways. By a long
circuitous route we all got into our places, and were packed close on
the various decks which have had large square openings cut through the
iron plates of the sides of the ship, and from these and the upper
deck we have to decamp as quickly as possible.
But there is now a rumour that the 89th Ambulance may not have the
honour of participating in this dash. Whyte and I are greatly upset by
this rumour which we hope to goodness is nothing but a mistake on
Morris's part.
Went out in the afternoon looking for the "Marquette," but she has not
yet arrived. With some officers of the West Riding Engineers, Whyte
and I visited the "Queen Elizabeth," the most powerful ship afloat,
and went over her lower front turret, climbing by an iron ladder to
the top, lowering ourselves through a manhole and clattering down on
the floor behind the breeches of the guns. The muzzles of these guns
look enormous, but I was completely thunderstruck when I saw the two
great breeches side by side. They reminded me of two big engine
boilers. They must be about 6 feet in diameter and are probably not
less. The officer who took us round had a breech block swung back, and
we were allowed to examine everything freely.
_April 18th._--Started once more on the hunt for the "Marquette" (now
B. 13) and found her at last out in the offing waiting for medical
leave and orders to enter the harbour. Until she was medically
examined we were not allowed on board, and had to yell to our friends
on the upper deck and had a large mail bag lowered for the Ambulance.
My letters had been looked out by Stephen, and these were lowered in
his helmet at the end of a 2-inch rope.
We enjoyed the sail over an absolutely smooth sea, and being Sunday we
could hear and see that service was being conducted on several
warships and troopers. That warlike tune "Onward! Christian Soldiers"
was well played by a band on an Australian troopship, all singers and
non-singers on our boat joining in. "Queen Elizabeth" is familiarly
and affectionately known as "Lizzie" by all and sundry.
_April 19th._--To-day is warmer than we have felt it since we left
Mex. I have been observing all along how few birds are to be seen
here. I saw a few small ones the day I was on shore, but I have never
seen any of these flying over the bay or about the ships. The harbour
gets very filthy, and highly "smelly". All refuse is dumped overboard,
and pipes are continually discharging their filth from openings at
various levels all round each ship. Food of all kinds, especially
whole loaves and buns float about everywhere, enough to feed thousands
of gulls, if they would only come along and scavenge. To-day I counted
over thirty gulls in one flock, but I would not have believed before
that there were so many about the whole bay.
We had a call in the afternoon from our friends of the "Marquette"
with another mail bag. I had one letter and an Aberdeen "Evening
Express". Whyte and I returned with them and all had a very jovial
dinner together. The latest news from H.Q. on the Cunarder "Andania"
is that we are not to lose our post of honour after all. It was after
nine when we started for our own ship and had a pleasant and noisy
trip. We were challenged by "Lizzie" under whose stern we passed, with
"boat ahoy," and we had to explain who we were. Not one of the ships
is showing any light.
Our "Marquette" friends told us of a narrow escape they had had. On
their way from Alexandria they were immediately preceded by the
"Manitou" (B. 12), which had three torpedoes fired at her by a Turkish
torpedo boat, but at such close range that the torpedoes as they dived
into the sea from the deck, went so deep that they passed under the
ship. The "Manitou" is a sister ship of the "Marquette". Making sure
that their end had come there was a panic, and as a boat was being
lowered past the upper deck so many crowded on board that the davits
broke and the whole mass crashed down on another boat already in the
water, killing about forty.
_April 20th._--In the afternoon I visited the village of Mudros on the
south side of the harbour. There are several camps near this, and I
first visited the French Foreign Legion where there were troops from
many parts--Zouaves, Turcos, etc. I walked through the village which
was very interesting. The money-making Greek is taking advantage of
there being so many men about, and almost every house contains
something for sale, with numerous newly erected wooden shops near the
French quarters. Alcohol is cheap, a bottle of wine costing
sevenpence. There were fig trees in every garden, and dried figs for
sale, strung on string, which looked dry and filthy. Honey was much
in evidence, this part of the world producing enormous quantities of
this. The principal article of merchandise was Turkish delight. When
examining various articles at a stall, I chanced to open a box of this
and said "Turkish Delight!" "No, no, no," said the man, "Graeke
Delight!" The name "Turkish" will not do at present.
An old fellow, clean shaved except for an enormous moustache, took us
over his windmill, and it was strange to see the great wooden wheels
and wooden teeth all dry and creaking, no oil being used.
The wind had risen and it cost us an hour and a half's hard pulling to
cover less than a mile. A big gathering of men at the stern of our
ship watched our perplexity and began to sing "Pull for the shore,
sailor," which was replied to by volleys of oaths and threats of
vengeance. By this time my hands were badly blistered, and we had
smashed an oar so that our tempers were none of the best.
_April 21st._--Marching orders were received this morning. They run as
follows: "The object is to capture and dominate Kilid Bahr. The Royal
Naval Division is to make a feint attack on Bulair. The Australians
are to land at Kapa Teke. The 29th Division is to land at Helles
Burnu. The French are to land at Kum Kale on the Asiatic side.
"The 29th Division are to attack Kilid Bahr:--
"A. A force to land at Eski Hissarlik.
"B. A force west of Krithia.
"C. A force on the rest of the south of the peninsula.
"1. The first line of defence to be '114, '138, '141.
"2. The second through the "e" of Old Castle to join hands with Y.
Beach.
"3. From Eski Hissarlik to East of Krithia to '472.
"4. To capture Achi Baba and line running south of it.
"5. To occupy a line running East of Achi Baba to the sea; and west of
it to sea by 472.
"The covering force is the 86th Brigade, the South Wales Borderers,
1st King's Own Scottish Borderers, 2nd Hampshires less two companies,
Plymouth Royal Naval Division, West Riding Engineers, 1st Section
Royal London Engineers, and a tent-subdivision of the 87th Field
Ambulance, and a part of a tent-subdivision of the 88th Field
Ambulance, and three bearer-subdivisions of the 89th Field Ambulance.
"A hot meal is to be taken before leaving the ship.
"There will be a signal station at W. Beach, Divisional Head-quarters
on the 'Euryalus'.
"No water to be drunk till tested owing to the risk of its being
poisoned."
So ran the orders from our G.O.C. in C.--General Sir IAN HAMILTON.
On going on deck before breakfast I found everything had been arranged
for our departure this afternoon at four o'clock, and since then all
has been hurry and bustle. But from early morning till about 3 p.m. it
rained and the wind blew, and the whole world was in haze, and as it
had been arranged that Gallipoli was to be well bombarded by our ships
to-day before the army attempted a landing all had to be postponed for
another twenty-four hours.
_April 22nd._--To-day we gave the men their Iodine ampules for use
with their first field dressings, and distributed General
Hunter-Weston's address congratulating our Brigade on the honour done
us on receiving the chief post of danger in the coming attack, which
will likely be at daybreak on Saturday, April 24. Before the Turkish
trenches can be reached by our men it is expected that they will have
to get through a wire entanglement 25 feet wide and 6 feet high.
According to the present plans we are to be preceded by the Royal
Munster Fusiliers.
There is great activity in Lemnos Harbour this morning, especially
among the torpedo boats which have been flitting about at their
hardest. No boats have been allowed to leave our ship for two days,
the order being that this can only be done if to save life. Water,
which we were much in need of, was brought on board last night, and we
are ready to start off--and have been since yesterday at 4 p.m. the
appointed hour. But it would be contrary to all my experience if we
got away at the fixed time.
Fiddes arrived from the "Marquette" at lunch time and brought my
service cap, helmets having been recalled a week ago.
Lord Kitchener sent us the other day an account of the fighting at
Busorah, preparing us for what was before us. The Turks had fought
desperately, were well trained, and well led, and could only be turned
out of their trenches at the point of the bayonet.
General Sir Ian Hamilton, Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean
Force, sends us his address:--
"FORCE ORDER (SPECIAL),
"GENERAL HEAD-QUARTERS,
"_April 21, 1915._
"Soldiers of France and of the King!
"Before us lies an adventure unprecedented in modern war. Together
with our comrades of the fleet we are about to force a landing
upon an open beach in face of positions which have been vaunted by
our enemies as impregnable. The landing will be made good, by the
help of God and the Navy, the positions will be stormed, and the
war brought one step nearer to a glorious close.
"'Remember,' said Lord Kitchener, when bidding adieu to your
commander, 'Remember, once you set foot on the Gallipoli
Peninsula, you must fight the thing through to a finish'.
"The whole world will be watching our progress. Let us prove
ourselves worthy of the great feat of arms entrusted to us.
"(Signed) IAN HAMILTON, _General_."
_April 23rd._--Spent most of the forenoon on the "Caledonia" (B. iii),
which is lashed to our port side. Agassiz and Thomson arrived there
yesterday with nineteen men, forming one tent-subdivision, and go with
us.
A different atmosphere pervades our ship to-day, a feeling of strain
and anxiety is more or less on every mind, not that it would be
apparent to an outsider except in a case or two. Bad news has leaked
in all the time from the navy and our airmen, all the time this
getting worse, such as the account that Gallipoli swarms with
well-armed Turks, wire entanglements of great breadth and height
everywhere, and, of course, trenches. We have plans of their trenches
and gun emplacements, but these can only be roughly correct. Then
yesterday the airmen made another reconnaissance, and they say they
have found a great increase of guns. We may be outnumbered ten or
twelve to one, and our having to face their well-defended positions in
open boats is not altogether comforting, and naturally all feel a bit
anxious. General Hare, our Brigadier, spoke to me on the "Caledonia,"
and I thought he looked worried, and is thinner than when I saw him
last at Coventry. Col. Rooth of the Dublins does not look over happy.
He came down to lunch, had a look at the table, and went up to deck
with a cigarette, and at the present moment he stands near where I am
writing with both hands in his pockets, peering straight down the side
of the ship into the waters. Those of us with less responsibility are
certainly less troubled; all are prepared for great sacrifices, and
every one is ready to play his part in what will certainly be a great
tragedy.
The particular part of the coast on which I land with the 89th Field
Ambulance is a short way west of Sedd-el-Bahr, landing in the collier
"River Clyde," on which there will be a force of 2100. I have already
spoken about this boat. From what is going on I will be surprised if
we do not leave Lemnos to-night.
8.30 p.m. Off! We set sail from Lemnos at 4.57, two boats of the A.
class going out before us, but these two anchored outside while we led
straight on. On coming on deck after dinner we found three warships on
our starboard side, said to be the "Swiftsure," "Dublin," and
"Euryalus," all in line, no lights on them or us. Our port-holes are
covered first with cardboard and the iron shutters are down over it.
The sharer of my cabin (Lt. G.A. Balfour, a relative of the statesman)
and I wonder if we should sleep on deck, the atmosphere here will be
uncomfortably close. The evening as we started was perfect, warm and
absolutely calm. Now the moon looks watery and has a big halo, and
wind is prophesied by the ship's officers. We drag three large barges
alongside which prevent our going at much speed, and it is expected
that we will reach Tenedos about 3 a.m.
_April 24th._--Saturday. Reached Tenedos and cast anchor at 9.30 a.m.
We had been delayed by the wind rising and the waves dashed over our
lighters till they were nearly swamped. On our east we have the coast
of Asia with several high hills near the coast.
All the transports--not many yet arrived but B. s. i., ii., and iii.
form a little group--torpedo boats and destroyers, mine-sweepers, tugs
and other small fry lie in a bay, and as if for defence, and no doubt
that is their purpose, eight big battleships are drawn up in line
facing the open sea. The famous "Horse of Troy," the "River Clyde,"
lies near, and the thought of spending the coming night on her lowest
deck is not attractive. She is painted khaki on one side I see, but
only in patches, the idea evidently is to make her resemble a
sandstone rock--all very ingenious no doubt, but she will make a good
target in spite of her paint.
I said yesterday that all the officers looked anxious, but in the
evening all were their old selves exactly, and baccarat went on as
usual among the younger officers who sang all their usual songs and
yelled and laughed till midnight. I was in bed by ten and slept even
better than usual, and it was with an effort I got up at 8 o'clock.
The fact that I was in a new part and in the midst of a big fleet did
not even seem to interest me very much. Nor does the thought of
to-morrow disturb any one, and, as far as I can judge, it is not very
often in one's mind.
We lie on the north side of Tenedos, near the foot of Mount St. Elias.
Several of us were guessing the height of this hill, and none put it
at over 250 feet although its actual height is 625 feet.
At 3 p.m. came a naval message ordering us all to be ready for
transfer to our respective boats at 3.45--all hurry and bustle. I have
loaded up and am at present guarding a pile of coats, water-bottles,
etc., belonging to our men who have hurried off to the galley to get
their last meal for the day. The sea has been rough all day but is now
calmer, and there is every prospect of fine weather for to-morrow's
murderous work. Away to the east the Asiatic coast is beautifully lit
up by the setting sun, also the yellow rocks that stretch to Kum Kale
on the south of the entrance to the Dardanelles, while the hills on
Gallipoli are visible but in haze. From my present post I look over
the Plain of Troy to the high mountains beyond. To-morrow it is to be
Troy Field and the wooden horse of Troy all over again.
10.30 p.m.--Arrived on coal boat at 6.30. Place in stern fitted up for
officers' supper; two lime barrels and a few rough boards form table:
whisky: tinned meat: biscuits: 2200 of us on board: all happy and fit.
We start in two hours: only 12 or 13 miles to go: then anchor 1-1/2
miles from land and wait for daylight and bombardment; then at proper
moment rush in: said that coast is to be battered with 150,000 shells.
Supper finished some time ago and am writing this in the mess I have
just mentioned. Some sleeping or pretending; others smoking; I doing
latter and sitting on board after trying to snooze with head on a big
box and less high one in small of back; but too uncomfortable for
anything, so whipped out my "bookie" and scribbled; light bad, only an
oily lamp with glass smoked black, and nearly 20 feet distant. Queer
scene altogether.
_April 25th._--Sunday is just ten minutes old, and the ship's screw
has started--we are off!
_Later._--Still Sunday the 25th--5.15 p.m.
Hell with the lid off! Yes, I know what hell is, nor do I believe
anyone in the world knows better. To-day I have seen shells plunging
through the ship's hold in which I was, carrying off heads and legs,
but my pulse has not once given an extra beat. "My word, sir," said a
tar coming up to me, "you have a nerve." Tars have no lack of nerve as
I have seen to-day, and I felt vastly proud of the compliment. Three
of our Generals are reported on the casualty list, and Col.
Smith-Carrington shot through the head on the bridge of our ship.
The bombardment commenced at 4.50 a.m. and was expected to carry on
for an hour or a little over, but after twelve hours of the most
terrific cannonade ever experienced in this world it has not yet come
to an end. Now at 5.30 an occasional shot comes from a battleship.
The constant roar has made my head ache, and I am dead tired, having
worked hard all day, and I must give an account of this another day.
_April 26th._--The battle of Sedd-el-Bahr still rages, and with a fury
but little less than yesterday. Yesterday was a very hard day, after
attending wounded almost continuously up to 8.30 p.m. I volunteered to
go ashore to see the wounded on the beach. The dead and dying were
here in hundreds. Before I got back to the ship at 4 this morning I
had a very hot time of it, and cannot understand why I am not a dead
man. We were told yesterday that a counter-attack was to be made and
that the Turks intended to blow the ship to pieces with cannon, which
they were to bring up in the night. When the attack did come I gave up
all hopes of anything but slaughter, as the men we had on land were
insufficient in number to meet a large force.
About fifty men were leaving the ship when this started, and at the
sound of the firing all fell flat on their faces, and if any one dared
to move he was at once fired at. Some one on a barge next the small
boat in which I had taken shelter asked if he could crawl into our
boat, but I dared him or anyone else to move as such movement would
only draw fire on every one of us. Not a man stirred, but lay on his
face from midnight to 4 o'clock. It was not till the end of the attack
that I learned these men had an officer with them. As I lay in the
boat I shouted to them that an assault on us was likely, and ordered
them to load and fix bayonets, and to see that all had plenty of
ammunition. Extra bandoliers of cartridges were passed up from the
rear, each pushing these along with a clatter. All this with the red
cross on my arm! And with loaded revolver in hand I was prepared to
die game.
The wounds I saw yesterday were in every part of the body, and most
were severe, and the death-rate in proportion to wounded will be very
high, many having four or five wounds.
Snipers are giving an extraordinary amount of trouble, the ground
yielding itself to numerous hiding places overlooking our beach, about
the rocks on our left as well as the immense old fort. The end of the
fort nearest us is now but a jumble of huge stones and is an excellent
place for snipers. A number of jackdaws and three huge storks had
their dwelling here and have now to live pretty much in the heavens,
circling over their old home in an excited condition.
It is now but 11.30 a.m. and I have been having a rest preparatory to
the advance we are to make this afternoon. I have not had a wink of
sleep since the 24th.
We join up with the French this afternoon. How the guns still thunder!
The "Queen Elizabeth" with her 15-inch guns thundering over our heads
as we rushed in past her at close quarters seemed to make our boat of
6600 tons sink some way in the water at every broadside. I was
surprised to find that the heavy gunfire gave me no trouble, although
like most of the others I began with cotton wool in my ears, but half
an hour of this was enough, it interfered with sounds it was necessary
to hear.
Here I am writing in the midst of one of the greatest battles in
history. Any bombardment this world has ever known was a mere
bagatelle to this.
To-day we had a naval funeral of General Napier and Colonel
Smith-Carrington. The former was killed on a barge attached to us, and
the other on the bridge. No one is to be present but the Catholic
padre. A number of men are to be buried at the same time. The orders I
received stated that all bodies had to be got rid of before we
advanced. A pinnace from a warship was signalled for and all were
taken out to sea.
Our advance from the shore began to-day about noon, our men lining out
along the sands and the banks above, and gradually getting forward by
short rushes. Barbed wire had also to be cut. But the advance through
the village was the most difficult, as the remains of houses and
garden walls contained snipers. I almost shiver to look back on a mad
thing I did to-day--mad because it was done out of mere curiosity. I
was asked to go to "Old Fort" beyond the village, near the outermost
capture for to-day to see Colonel Doughty-Wylie and Major Grimshaw who
were reported badly wounded. Both were dead, and as I was about to
return I was next asked if I would go to a garden at the top of the
village to see some wounded men. Afterwards I went right through the
village alone, with only my revolver in my hand, and from the houses
sniping was still going on. I had been assured that it was supposed to
be safe. I peered into a number of wrecked houses--every house had
been blown to bits--and I had not long returned when sniping commenced
from a prominent corner house I had just passed. The only living
things I saw in the village were two cats and a dog. I was very sorry
for a cat that had cuddled close to the face of a dead Turk in the
street, one leg embracing the top of his head. I went up to stroke and
sympathise with it for the loss of what I took to be its master, when
I found that the upper part of the man's head had been blown away, and
the cat was enjoying a meal of human brains. The dog followed till I
came upon three Dublin Fusiliers, who wished to shoot it straight away
when I pleaded for it, but one of them had a shot at it when my back
was turned and the poor brute went off howling. I had done my best,
when going along the fosse of the "Old Fort," to save a badly wounded
Turk from three of another battalion who were standing over him and
discussing the advisability of putting an end to him, but I am afraid
my interference was in vain here also.
Away beyond the heights we have taken to-day the country is very
pretty with plenty of trees and vegetation. Here I saw dead and
wounded Turks in abundance, especially at some of their own wire
entanglements, several wounded being stretched out on the wires. Their
wire is very barbarous and has long, closely set spikes, and the
position must have been anything but comfortable.
Another counter-attack--the third--has just been made, and one of our
battleships has joined in.
The Dublins, whose officers I have associated most with, have only
three of these left out of twenty-seven. I came across two of these
to-day--Padre Finn, R.C. Chaplain, whom I knew well and greatly
respected, I found at the edge of the sea, with his clothes thrown
open exhibiting a wound in the chest. And in the village, all huddled
up among long weeds and nettles I found a lieutenant who sat at my
table on the "Ausonia"--Bernard. In both cases death must have been
instantaneous.
Here comes a fourth attack. Our boys are to have a night of it.
To-day only about eighteen shells were fired at the "River Clyde" all
from the Asiatic side, only one hitting. We were putting wounded on
board at the time and most of the shots were directed against these
operations.
I have had no sleep since I left Tenedos, but to-night I feel very
fresh, although the day has been long and busy.
All who know are quite satisfied with to-day's progress, and the hope
that the worst is over cheers one. To-morrow we will have to move on,
we must keep the Turks on the run. Some of the prisoners taken to-day
are German.
(Being unable in my letters to my wife to give a full account of all
that was doing, my diary was meant to fill in gaps, and as I had sent
home a fairly full account of the landing much is omitted here, and I
will give a more extended description as seen by myself. About this
time in particular my diary had to be written at odd moments, and it
was rare that I could go far without being disturbed, and writing a
few sentences half a dozen times a day, or even oftener, often ended
in a jumble.)
Of the five British landings the one at Sedd-el-Bahr (V. Beach) was
the most difficult and disastrous.
On the 24th of April we were still lying at Tenedos, and in the
afternoon were transferred to the "River Clyde". We learned the
previous day that we were to land from this old coal boat that had
been rendered so peculiar with her great, gaping holes, and khaki
splashes on her starboard side. She had been an object of curiosity to
us in Lemnos harbour, no one having any idea of her purpose.
Before dark all the men were served with tea and food, which we were
told was to be their last solid meal. Soon after this the men retired
to rest in a hold near the stern which had been allotted to the West
Riding Engineers and ourselves. The officers took up their quarters in
the stern deck house, where we had cocoa, tinned meat, etc., after
which we too tried to make ourselves as comfortable as possible in the
most uncomfortable of all quarters, most shutting their eyes and
pretending to be asleep.
Our nerves were now fully strung, we knew we were on the very eve of
the landing, which we were assured was to be rendered easy by the
Navy, which had promised that their bombardment was to be so terrific
that nothing the size of a cockroach would be left alive on the
peninsula. We soon learned to our cost how difficult it was to
substantiate this assertion.
From Tenedos we were but a small party of ships. In the pitchy
darkness we had fallen in with the bigger fleet coming direct from
Lemnos, and as we crept along, every ship in total darkness, we could
just make out other ships alongside us. One with big hull and unusual
length of guns was immediately on our port. At close quarters there
was no mistaking this for anything but a dummy warship.
After a time the searchlight on the point of the peninsula could be
seen sweeping its rays in long, regular flashes across the sea. By
this time those ships that had furthest to go were ahead of us to the
right and left. Just as the inky darkness was beginning to be
dispelled there was a change in these lazy flashes. We were detected.
At once they changed their long, comprehensive sweeps into sharp jerks
from one ship to another as each hove into the rays. The searchlight
soon went out, while hurried messages were no doubt being flashed over
the wires to Constantinople and many points in our immediate
neighbourhood, announcing our long-expected arrival.
Soon the guns began to roar, the first I heard being to our left up
the Gulf of Saros, but in a few minutes all the ships had joined in
the chorus, from what was afterwards known as Anzac all round the
point and some way up the Dardanelles. A grand roar such as the world
had never heard. The peninsula was quickly one dense cloud of
poisonous-looking yellow-black smoke, through which flashes of
bursting shells were to be seen everywhere. It was truly a magnificent
sight, and the roar of the guns stirred one's blood like some martial
skirl from the bagpipes. The feeling one had was a longing for them to
hurry up and do their work, and let us get at the Turk at close
quarters.
Our old ship crept slowly in through the ring of warships, took a
circular turn just as we were passing through the line--apparently we
were in too great a hurry--then we straightened our course and passed
close past our covering ship, "Queen Elizabeth," the finest ship in
the whole Navy, and which had been detailed to look after us. How her
guns roared as she poured out broadside, as we passed by her port
side, straight in on full steam for the strip of sand under the
village and fort of Sedd-el-Bahr.
Unable from our hold to see properly what was doing, I had spent most
of the time on deck, and when about 200 yards from land I darted down
below to warn the men to lie down in case we struck rock, when the
impact would have been violent. I held on to a stanchion. We were fast
in the sand before I was really aware that the ship was aground--there
to lie for four years, to be shot at constantly whilst we occupied
Gallipoli, but in spite of all her buffeting to serve many uses, and
finally to become an object of veneration, "as holy as Westminster
Abbey" some one says of her in "The Sphere". For the 2100 of us on
board there was to be no retreat whatever happened. We had crossed the
Rubicon and burned our boats.
On board we had the 1st Munster Fusiliers, two companies of the 1st
Dublin Fusiliers, one company of Hants, 100 marines, a few of the
Signal Company, the West Riding Engineers, and 124 stretcher-bearers
of the 89th Field Ambulance.
We had been dragging along huge barges on either side, enough to form
a couple of gangways, had they only behaved as was intended. When the
ship struck, the momentum these had on should have been enough to keep
them on their way till they grounded ahead of us, drawing but very
little water as they did; but somehow or other this part was a
failure, they grounded too soon, then broke away from each other. The
men had then to get ashore in open boats manned by the marines we had
on board. This was at once pushed on, boat after boat left the ship's
side for the beach, perhaps 30 yards off, terrific machine-gunfire
sweeping each boat.
The first few loads escaped with comparatively few casualties, but
soon the fire was so hot and accurate that practically not a man got
to the shelter of the 10 to 12-foot high sandbank beyond the narrow
strip of sand. About 300 yards to our left was a high projecting rock,
a continuation of the high ground that closed in that side of the long
slope of V. Beach, and from here came that infernal shower of bullets
that was causing such terrible havoc. From the "Clyde" one could
easily tell where the bullets were coming from by their sputter in the
water.
A constant stream of shells was being kept up all the time on this
rock from the ships. The whole rim of V. Beach, as it stretched
backwards for 500 or 600 yards, was searched time after time by high
explosives, each shell bursting with accurate precision 5 or 6 feet
under the crest. But the mischief was not coming from this crest, it
was from that infernal rock alone, but in spite of all their efforts
our guns could not silence this machine-gunfire.
It was an extraordinary sight to watch our men go off, boat after
boat, push off for a few yards, spring from the seats to dash into the
water which was now less than waist deep. It was just on this point
that the enemy fire was concentrated. Those who got into the water,
rifle in hand and heavy pack on back, generally made a dive forward
riddled through and through, if there was still life in them to drown
in a few seconds. Many were being hit before they had time to spring
from the boats, their hands were thrown up in the air, or else they
heaved helplessly over stone dead. All this I watched from the holes
in the side of the ship, but when not otherwise occupied, from the
deck where I could see on all sides.
But soon we of the Field Ambulance had other work to do. Many of the
boats had all their rowers killed and never returned, others were able
to push back, generally with most of their marines laid out, but with
sufficient left to man a boat. Back they came to our starboard hole,
and the wounded were lifted up to us and attended to. Repeatedly the
whole of our floor was covered with wounded and dead men; a pinnace
would arrive from a ship and relieve us of our wounded, but we filled
up again almost at once.
Along the water's edge there was now a mass of dead men, on the sand a
mixture of dead and weltering wounded, while a fair number had reached
the sandbank just beyond, where, under an enfilading fire from the
rock, they scraped themselves into the recesses. Boats from the other
ships were being towed in in threes by pinnaces, till close to the
beach when the pinnaces wheeled about, and for the last short distance
they had to trust to their oars. Those landing to our right and left
as they came in from the other ships were faring no better than those
from the "Clyde". One boat half-way to the rock, and which had been
left stranded, had three men caught in the festooned rope that runs
round the gunwale. Into this they had dived, probably as the boat
heeled over to that side and the rope had floated outwards, and there
they swung for the rest of the day, two not moving a muscle and
evidently dead, but for long I could see the other poor fellow stretch
out his arms time after time, but before evening he too was still.
They still kept splashing on between the boats and the sand, dived
forward and fell dead at once, or were drowned, till at last it was
seen that it was useless to continue such slaughter to no purpose, and
the landing at this point had to be given up for the time being.
After the hellish morning we had had, the afternoon thus became
comparatively quiet. Those who were still unwounded made for the ruins
of the round tower of the fort, slightly to our right. Round this pile
of stones they peered, looking for the Turk, who was always found,
but here there were but few shots exchanged, as the Turks advanced our
men made a rush backwards, or to the sands below, in time to prowl
forward once more to have another look, and make the same rush back.
Then came night with its full moon. An attempt was made to land more
men about 8 o'clock. These were fired on and again we had to desist.
About 8.30 an officer on shore made a dash for our ship, and on
describing the terrible condition and suffering of the wounded who had
been in the sandbank for about fourteen hours, I decided to go to
their assistance. We had previously been officially warned that it
would be impossible for any of the Ambulance to land before morning,
but heedless of this I set off alone over the barges and splashed
through the remaining few yards of water. Here most of those still
alive were wounded more or less severely, and I set to work on them,
removing many useless and harmful tourniquets for one thing, and
worked my way to the left towards the high rocks where the snipers
still were. All the wounded on this side I attended to, an officer
accompanying me all the time. I then went to the other side, and after
seeing to all in the sand my companion left me, and I next went to a
long, low rock which projected into the water for about 20 yards a
short way to the right of the "Clyde". Here the dead and wounded were
heaped together two and three deep, and it was among these I had my
hardest work. All had to be disentangled single-handed from their
uncomfortable positions, some lying with head and shoulders in the
tideless water, with broken legs in some cases dangling on a higher
level.
At the very point of this rock, which had been a favourite spot for
the boats to steer to, there was a solid mass of dead and wounded
mixed up together. The whole of these I saw to, although by this time
there was little I could do except lift and pull them into more
comfortable positions, but I was able to do something for every one of
them. My last piece of work was to look after six men who were
groaning in a boat stranded close to the point of the rock. Three lay
on each side with their legs inwards; a plank ran the whole length of
the middle of the boat, and along this as it rested on their legs, men
had been running during the landing. Getting on this plank some of
them howled in agony and beseeched me to get off. I then got into the
water and as I could do nothing more for them, my dressings being
finished some time before, I gave each a dose of morphia by the mouth.
I had just finished and was standing waist-deep in the water when the
Turkish counter-attack commenced with a volley from the distant end of
the fort, not over 300 yards off. The only person the Turk could see
was myself, the sandbank protecting the others from view, and at least
seven or eight bullets spluttered round me in the water. I had been
well warned that this counter-attack would take place at any moment,
but I never gave it a single thought. It was in anticipation of this
that the others clung to the shelter of the sandbank and I was left to
work alone. I immediately splashed for a small boat that formed the
end of one of the gangways, and into this I hauled myself. On looking
at my watch I found it was just midnight, and that I had thus been at
work for three and a half hours.
Midnight had evidently been chosen by the Turk as the hour at which to
attack, and also by us to make another attempt to land men. At this
moment a body of our men were coming along the gangway, the first of
them being close to this boat which was on a slightly lower level than
the barges that formed the bulk of the gangway. The five foremost
threw themselves into my boat and we lay stretched across the seats,
the men on the barges lying down at once where they were. Here none
of us had any protection, and it was a miracle any one of us escaped,
the fire from machine-guns and rifles was so terrific. Each bullet as
it struck the "Clyde" drove sparks, while the old ship was ringing
like a great bell. Two of our six were hit, the man stretched
alongside me fatally. A seventh man in the water hauled himself in
beside us, and as he was getting over the gunwale shouted, "Oh! I am
hit". Hit or not hit we could not pay the slightest attention to each
other now, all we could do was to lie low.
All this time I was expecting a rush for the "Clyde" by the Turks, and
the boat I was in would be the first part of the gangway they would
reach, and I could not help wondering what it would be like to get a
bayonet through my stomach, but the feeling that this would certainly
happen was not half so terrible as I should have expected. I had my
revolver in my hand all the time, and it was a comfort to think that I
would almost certainly account for two or three Turks before I
experienced this new sensation.
The fire was kept up for about four hours, mainly on the side of the
ship. As soon as there was a lull an officer in my boat shouted out.
"This won't do, we must now land, follow me." He got up and splashed
ashore, but the men, thinking he had been too hasty, preferred to wait
a little longer after the Turks had ceased fire, but soon they began
to move and dash singly for the land. I wished to get on the ship, and
not half liking to get into an upright position either, I crept
through and over those still on the barges, amidst much cursing from
my paining the wounded, who must have been numerous.
I had had a strenuous and exciting day and night, and I must say I
felt it a relief when I hopped through the nearest hole in the
"Clyde". It was now 4 o'clock, and I shivered with cold. I had been
soaked over the head, and lying four hours in the open boat in a cold
night it was impossible to keep warm. A big, black cloud had floated
up over the moon, and we had a fairly sharp but short shower of rain.
By this time the moon was nearing the horizon, and it was when another
cloud came over her face that I succeeded in reaching the ship.
I found they had had a fairly trying time here too, although the
ship's plates were thick enough to resist bullets. The noise of
100,000 bullets showering on the sides of the "Clyde" had caused a
deafening din, and many had the wind up badly, not knowing what was
going on outside.
The behaviour of the "River Clyde" had been a great puzzle to the
Turks. She was not long aground when the guns on Kum Kale, across the
Dardanelles, opened on us, and this fire was kept up the whole day--on
us and us only as far as I could make out. It took them some time to
get our range, and for a considerable time we were not hit, all the
shells being shorts or overs. At last they got us, the first shell
that hit going through our hold at an angle of 45 degrees, coming
through the deck over our heads, and going out at the junction of the
floor and side wall. In its course it struck a man on the head, this
being splashed all through the hold. Another man squatting on the
floor was hit about the middle of both thighs, one leg being
completely severed, while the other hung by a tiny shred of skin only.
He fell back with a howl with both stumps in the air.
In five minutes a second shell entered our hold, wounding two or three
where we were, mostly by the buckling of the floor plates, then
passing down below to the lowest hold where many men were sheltering
under the water line. Here six or seven were laid out.
After this we had many narrow escapes, but I believe only two other
shells actually struck the ship that day. By good luck none exploded
in their passage through, otherwise the casualty list would have been
very heavy. Many had been hit and killed on deck by machine-gun
bullets, and many bullets had found their way through the small
openings cut for working the twelve machine-guns that were placed
there.
(I have the kind permission of the author, a scholarly and
much-respected member of our Corps, to insert the following poem which
appeared in "The British Weekly" and one of the Aberdeen papers.)
THE FACE OF DEATH.
(_Dedicated to Lieutenant George Davidson._)
We shall not be the men we were before,
No, never while we draw this mortal breath:
For we have probed existence to the core,
And looked upon the very Face of Death.
Upon our famous collier, "River Clyde,"
We sat as men who wait the summons dread.
Brave soldiers fell, defenceless, at our side,
We, too, might soon be numbered with the dead.
With fateful frequency the shells did burst
Around and near the members of our Corps:
Within our hearts we asked, "Who'll be the first
To converse with his comrades never more?"
O never, never from our memory's page
Shall be erased these moments of despair:
An hour seemed an interminable age,
But, in His mercy, God our lives did spare.
We care not what the worldly wise may say,
We owe deliverance to the God of Heaven,
Whose Power Omnipotent the worlds obey,
'Gainst whose decrees mankind in vain hath striven.
Had He but chosen that our hour had come,
No scheming had availed our lives to save:
'Twas not the hour to call our spirits home,
The Lord must take, as 'twas the Lord that gave.
And not in vain were we to death brought nigh,
For He whose presence came our hearts so near
Hath taught us we can ne'er His Will defy,
But evermore should live in reverent Fear.
And men have scaled the sacred slopes of Prayer
Who ne'er before aspired to heights above:
And find the Universe divinely fair
Because 'tis governed by a Heart of Love.
GEORGE STEPHEN.
89TH FIELD AMBULANCE, R.A.M.C.,
GALLIPOLI, _24th May, 1915_.
(The following is taken from my diary and dated August 3, 1916, just
after we had landed in the Ypres salient to which the remains of our
Division went after being wiped out in the great Somme fight the
previous month:--
"I have to-day received a copy of the Aberdeen 'Free Press,' dated
July 28, where there is an article on Gallipoli by one of our
transport men, G. Burnett, who is now a lieutenant in the Scottish
Horse. It runs: 'It is scarcely fair to single out officers and men
who did gallant service that first week, but I feel that I ought to
mention the names of Lieutenant George Davidson, and Private Gavin
Greig. Lieutenant (now Captain) Davidson gained the D.S.O. while Greig
was promoted sergeant shortly afterwards. We were told that Lieutenant
Davidson led a bayonet charge, but he certainly did go into
Sedd-el-Bahr, revolver in hand, to look for curios when there was yet
great danger from snipers. And he used to go up towards the Turkish
trenches, gathering flowers which he would show us on his return.
Every man of us would have followed him anywhere. I recollect going
out to help the bearers to take in some wounded, when the party of
which I formed a member fell in with Lieutenant Davidson. "Oh," he
said, "would you men like to look for wounded on the hill-side?"
"Yes," we answered. "Well, follow me," and we did until an officer
forbade us to go any further.'"
The D.S.O. never materialized. I am assured a Cairo paper announced
that it did, and I was often congratulated on the honour. But, as
Artemus Ward would say, "Please, Mr. Printer, put a few asterisks
here".)
_April 28th._--Yesterday was spent dodging shells, with a short
advance in the evening, and I had not time to write up my diary. At
the present moment I am out reconnoitring alone, my post being the top
of the high cliff west of our landing place, where the snipers gave us
so much trouble, and I sit on the slope of the two gun battery which
has its big Krupp guns dismantled, the result of the naval battering a
few weeks ago.
A great advance on Krithia has begun, the various combatant units
having already moved off, or are busily preparing. Those already over
the ridges near the south point of the peninsula are having the
attentions of the Krithia guns, a constant stream of shells coming
from there. Many are also landing about our beach where the enemy
knows large bodies of troops are still landing. All our sea monsters
are busy off the whole point of Gallipoli, so far up the Dardanelles,
and round the west coast. The air vibrates, and the roaring echoes all
round never cease. And over all is a brilliant, scorching sun, the air
otherwise a dead calm, and not a ripple on the Aegean. In spite of
this calm a terrific day is in progress for the Turk and us, but we
hope to make a great advance before night towards the capture of the
forts at the Narrows. All round where I sit the ground is ploughed up
with great holes, some beside this battery the largest of any, big
enough to completely hide a horse and cart. Pieces of shell of several
hundredweight lie about. The precision of our gunfire has to be seen
otherwise one could not believe how accurately they can hit a small
object miles off. The very birds have got accustomed to the din, and
on the face of the rocks where I sit is a pair of exquisite
birds--probably jays--flitting about as though nothing unusual was
going on. The variety of birds is not great, but all are new to me and
have interested me greatly, so also have the flowers, which are very
fine. I was specially taken with a big light purple rock rose, nearly
three inches across, and in great abundance.
From this place of vantage I have watched our beach for some time, but
as our services are not likely to be much needed here I must return to
our Ambulance which lies to the east of the rock, and we must follow
our Brigade (86) shortly.... Back and seated here again. The van of
the Munsters arrived at this spot before I left, and dodged and ducked
at every shell. On Sunday and Monday they had 286 casualties,
including most of their officers. They still stream past just behind
me, with the Lancs. and others. The Lancs. had suffered very badly at
W. Beach, while the Dublins lost 550, with twenty officers out of
twenty-three. Four Dublin officers sat at my table on the
"Ausonia"--two are dead, the other two wounded.
_April 29th._--I had no time to finish my account of the day's doings
yesterday. It was too soon for our Ambulance to go out so I spent part
of the forenoon at the General's Observation Hill with General Reeks,
who was afterwards joined by General Hunter-Weston. By way of excuse
for being there I was waiting to see how our attack on the Turks was
getting on to see when I could get off with my bearers. The A.D.M.S.
Colonel Yarr, was also present. By 5 a.m. the attack had stretched
right across the peninsula, the French on our extreme right, next the
Hants and Lancs., with Munsters and Dublins on the left. A furious
cannonade went on for many hours, we advancing slowly till we were
near the foot of Achi Baba, when the Hants ran short of ammunition and
had to retreat, the French of course retiring also. Things were really
looking bad for a time, and rumours of defeat were soon afloat.
Ammunition at last coming up, we could get on, but during the retreat
which had to be carried out over an open piece of ground, the want of
shelter was the cause of very heavy casualties.
By 1 p.m. wounded began to pour past our camp from the 88th Brigade,
and, although it was not our Brigade, I went up to their front with
all the bearers, Morris remaining behind. We were able to do a lot of
work, collecting the wounded beside a water supply, nearly two miles
from where we started. After a time I left the men where they had
plenty of work, and went forward by myself for some distance, past the
"Five Towers," meeting scores of walking cases and assisting where I
could. Shells, especially from the Asiatic side, were numerous, three
big ones bursting quite near me. After a time I ordered the men to
load their stretchers and had some trouble with a General who insisted
on our remaining, but about this time we were to go out to our own
Brigade, and I marched them off all fully loaded. Things were not
looking too well and the General wished to get the wounded collected
as quickly as possible. But we had to go, we had been ordered to a
point further to the left "about 4 o'clock".
The A.D.M.S. had seen Morris and suggested that I should not go out
again, so I remained behind and formed a Divisional Collecting Station
for all cases that passed the lighthouse. Morris now went out with his
men, mine remaining to assist me. We soon had several hundreds through
our hands, largely stretcher cases which we arranged in rows in front
of the ruins of the lighthouse, till we had more than we could do
with, and soon had to forward most of our cases to W. Beach. At
midnight we still retained about thirty-five cases, and all had to be
nursed and protected from the bitterly cold wind and rain as best we
could. The men willingly parted with their own coats and ground
sheets, and some even their tunics. We all spent a most miserable
night, and I never all my life felt the cold so acutely. But by
morning, in spite of this, most of the wounded had recovered from the
initial shock and were much brighter, and we had them forwarded to the
88th H.Q.
The chief reason for our not retaining over night a much larger number
was that most hopeless accounts of the battle were being received from
the wounded, that all our line was in retreat and that before morning
we would be forced back to the sea, if not to our boats. I called for
volunteers, at the suggestion of Major Bell, to go out and assist, and
a number went off at once with their stretchers and did yeoman
service, some not returning till 3 a.m. The Turks had been mutilating
the wounded--at least so it was said--and we were anxious none should
again fall into their hands.
Through the night firing was heard a very short distance off, but this
was only from a few snipers who had somehow got through our lines.
By daylight the weather got warmer, and except for naval firing the
29th was a day of rest. Whyte had been detached from the
stretcher-bearers before the landing and was in the tent-subdivision
that landed at W. Beach. He wished to have a little more excitement
and he and I exchanged places, I now joining Thomson at W. Beach.
Thomson, Whyte, and their nineteen men had done much work at the
landing and had a very hot time. After four days and nights of hard
work, although I could not say I was tired, I felt that a rest might
be advisable, but the thought of leaving the bearers, even for a day
or two, was depressing.
_April 30th._--A slack day in a way, although I have been on my feet
since early morning. A great number of shells have landed near our
camp at W. Beach at various times to-day, coming from Krithia or Achi
Baba. It is strange how many shells may land in the midst of closely
packed men and horses and little or no damage be done--but there are
exceptions.
In the afternoon a hostile aeroplane flew over us--not the first
time--which dropped three bombs at an anchored balloon we have
floating just off the coast. It missed and received a fierce cannonade
from a number of warships but escaped, apparently untouched, and was
able to report to the Turks that our landing places would make a
splendid target, and the firing, which had been fitful before, now
became continuous for a time. One man only was hit. About 12 yards
from the opening of my dugout one plunged into the ground with a
terrific crash. Thomson and I reconnoitred for a mile or so to the
north to view a spot to which we had been ordered to shift our camp,
probably to-morrow.
Last night, not being altogether in the open, I expected a comfortable
night, but it was intensely cold, as the nights here always are, the
very hot days making the cold noticeable. By day the sun is always
scorching hot, and I am absolutely nut-brown and my nose painfully
burned.
On all sides I still hear of fresh casualties. The battalions I have
been connected with have been nearly wiped out--the Munsters and half
the Dublins at V. Beach, the Lancs. and the other half of the Dublins
at W. Beach, and the Royals at X. Beach. Our total casualties are put
at over 4000. We must have reinforcements before we can do much more,
and within the next two days 20,000 are expected from Egypt.
Last night when some one shot a dog at Sedd-el-Bahr the French thought
the Turks were on them and they opened fire on their own men, several
being killed and wounded.
_May 1st._--More or less idle all day, all resting before the proposed
attack on Achi Baba. In the afternoon we had a visit from an enemy
aeroplane again, which dropped a bomb 40 yards from my "funk hole,"
and 4 yards from what had been taken for a pile of ammunition boxes
but was really provisions--only damage, a big hole and a vile smell.
_May 2nd._--Very fierce fighting all last night and the whole of
to-day on the south slopes and ridges of Achi Baba, the Turks first
charging and repulsing the French, Munsters, and Lancs. The firing
from the sea, the French 75's and our 60-pounders was incessant,
especially during the night. The Turks were finally driven back, but
Krithia and the hills are still in their hands. I spent most of the
night watching the progress of events, while the bearers, to whom I am
unfortunately not attached to-day, were out at 1 a.m. Our casualties
are not excessive considering the nature of the fight, while the Turks
are said to have lost thousands from our artillery fire. Getting
impatient at being out of it I succeeded in getting eight of the
tent-subdivision out as bearers at 1 p.m. and I visited a good deal of
the battlefield, as far as our reserve, where I found the Indians
waiting for night duty and a likely attack from the Turks, or, as is
half expected, we may offer a vigorous offensive.
Yesterday V. and W. Beaches had a hot attack by shell fire from the
Asiatic, Krithia, and Achi Baba guns, about fifty shells landing in W.
where our Ambulance has now formed its base. The damage done was
slight. Two shells in quick succession exploded exactly over the heads
of Thomson and myself when we were crossing the beach, both times
something hitting me about the shoulders. These shrapnel shells are
doing little harm, I had likely been hit by pieces of the material (a
resin) in which the bullets are embedded. The smell was the worst of
them.
Most of our transport came ashore to-day for the first time, and we
are now eager to have our mails which are on board the "Marquette,"
but I doubt if anyone will take the trouble to send them over to us.
At 8 p.m. Thomson, myself, and fifty-six bearers set off to bring in
wounded from a point 3 miles north of our Beach, and very nearly in a
line with the Turkish and our firing lines. It was moderately dark
when we started, but such a large body of men might have been visible
to the enemy at some distance, and we spread out into a long line. All
went well, but at several points to which we were directed as our
destination we were always told the wounded were further on, and we
began to think we were never to find them. We were getting very near
the Turks' lines, and Thomson and I had various deliberations about
the advisability of going further, but I was always determined to go
on. At last we got a guide, but his idea of the whereabouts of the
wounded was most hazy; all he knew was that they were collected in a
nullah somewhere not far off. We came on a nullah at last and walked
along its high steep banks, calling if anyone was at the bottom, in a
voice not too loud owing to our proximity to the Turks. Just as we
found them the fighting on our immediate right became very violent,
the artillery and rifle fire being a perfect roar. Star shells were
thrown over us, and we hid in the nullah while we were loading the
stretchers and raising them to the top of the bank. Each stretcher
squad made off at its hardest as soon as its patient was passed up.
Thomson and I saw them all off, then had to cross an open piece of
ground where three bullets were fired among our feet evidently by a
sniper who was no distance away. This made us hurry still more, then
the nullah had to be crossed to the south side. I stood in the middle
of it, half-way to the knees in water and assisted ten stretchers
across. Things all the time got hotter and hotter, the various
batteries all belching forth at their hardest, star shells and rockets
got still more numerous, and a searchlight from the Dardanelles side
of Achi Baba swept the whole valley as far as our camp on W. Beach. It
was a terrifying night and I was very happy to get all the men landed
in camp at 10.15 safe and sound. Most of them enjoyed the little bit
of sport, but Thomson overheard one of them remarking that although
Lieut. Davidson didn't seem to know what fear was he had no business
to bring them there. The bearers were under me and I was responsible,
and I admit the charge was just; we had gone too far at such a time.
_May 3rd._--Only occasional firing to-day. I went out with Kellas and
Agassiz to show them the way to a point fixed on as a dressing
station. After much wandering about admiring the flora of Gallipoli
with Kellas we chose a spot which is unfortunately near one of our
batteries. An officer there told us they intended to give the Turk a
hot night and this will draw the enemy's fire about our new station,
and as this is the first night ashore of these two officers I hope
they will enjoy it. They arrived from the "Marquette" this morning
along with Lt.-Col. Th. Fraser.
We had our usual visit from an enemy aeroplane this morning. Repeated
shots went after it but away it flew towards the Narrows. The Asiatic
guns have given us no trouble for two days. Commander Samson is said
to have reported that two of these are disabled.
_May 4th._--As far as the weather goes every day has been perfect
since we came to Gallipoli--maximum of sun absolutely, and cloudless
sky by night always, except on two occasions.
We still wait for reinforcements which, however, are arriving, many
French troops landing at V. Beach. Our men are due from Egypt to-day.
Last night the artillery and rifle fire was again constant, especially
on our right, where the French lines were again driven in by the
Turks, but during the day they are said to have recovered their lost
position.
Two aeroplanes passed over us to-day, one firing three bombs, the
other two--no damage. Our aeroplanes were also active, circling time
after time round Achi Baba at a height of perhaps 5000 feet. From 110
to 120 shots were fired at one of ours, all missing. An aeroplane came
down just behind our camp for orders. We had no aerodrome nearer than
Tenedos before. Here we have prepared a landing place, which is
beautifully level, but being exposed to gunfire we cannot retain our
machines over night, all have to return to Tenedos.
We have had notice this afternoon that our Brigade, the famous 86th,
no longer exists as a Brigade. After its wonderful feats of bravery we
have heard this with the greatest sadness, but some of the battalions
being reduced to a fourth or a fifth of their original strength, and
the officers killed and wounded in a still greater proportion, there
was no help but to amalgamate with the other two Brigades of our
Division--87th and 88th. The Company of Hants who were with us on the
"River Clyde" did well. No unit in the whole Division receives greater
praise for its work than the Royal Scots (Queen's Own Edinburgh).
According to the original programme the French were to land on the
Asiatic side and advance up that side of the Dardanelles, but this
they either failed to do or we had enough work for all on this side,
and the right wing of the advance was assigned to them, and this they
still hold. From the point of Gallipoli to the top of Achi Baba is a
distance of 5 miles, and before we take that it is expected that
several thousand of our men will bite the dust.
The troublesome gun somewhere near Kum Kale has been more successful
to-day I hear, her bag being three men and nine horses on V. Beach.
Well do I know the whizz and thud of her shells--sounds all their own.
This gun is mounted either on rails behind rising ground, where she
can move sideways after firing a few rounds, or is on a disappearing
platform.
_May 5th._--The attack on Achi Baba was to have commenced to-day at 10
o'clock, but the first cannon roar was not heard till 11, when all
belched forth at the same minute. There seemed to be batteries
everywhere, the French 75's being specially noticeable all day, along
with some other field guns of theirs which had a peculiarly sharp
bark.
The Ambulance was unable to do anything till afternoon, when we got in
touch with the Regimental Aid Post of the Lancs. and with the Drake
and Plymouth Battalions, whose wounded we were responsible for. With
us all went well, although some stretcher squads I was with had a
narrow escape, two shrapnel shells bursting immediately over our heads
and kicking up a dust all round us.
Our transport men, who had nothing to do with carrying the wounded--by
hand at any rate--requested me to get them some excitement, and "the
hotter the better," and their deputy gave me a list of those eager for
this. I took them up the lines as far as we were allowed, and it was
with difficulty I kept them from going still further when they heard
that out in the open there were wounded who could not be reached by
the Regimental bearers on account of shrapnel. When we reached our
own front line we found there was a small party of men along a water
course still further out. Mainly for a "lark" we determined to go out
to these to see if they had any wounded. The water course was dry
except for green, stagnant pools, and coming on a deep and very filthy
one I decided to mount the bank and make a rush for it. All made
similar rushes, one at a time, and all of us were fired at at short
range. We reached the small outpost of about a dozen men lying on
their stomachs and got roundly sworn at, the small hole they were in
could not hold us all and we had to show ourselves, which brought a
torrent of bullets about the ears of all of us. It was a very
enjoyable and exciting little outing. These men would have gone all
the way to the Turkish lines with pleasure.
Those in authority are well pleased with the progress made, the left
wing being pushed well forward. The weather during the day was bright,
but windy, and with horses and wagons at the gallop the dust was very
troublesome, the whole scene being often blurred. Towards evening the
cold was intense. What wind we have had here has always been from the
north, and at night it might be blowing over snow.
_May 6th._--A furious attack was commenced by us at 11 p.m. on the
Turkish right, while the French attacked their left. Judging by the
increase of the Turks heavy fire they must have brought up more heavy
guns. Rumours about Krithia being captured floated in, but I could
never believe this, our pouring a constant stream of shells into the
village proves that it was not in our hands. The truth seems to be
that the Royal Scots pushed into it, and, while following the
retreating Turks into a wood on the left, had one or more machine-guns
turned on to them which mowed down over 200, while the remainder had
to retreat.
One of our men got wounded to-day by a shrapnel bullet which followed
round the bend of one of his ribs.
I paid a visit this afternoon to our old ship, the "River Clyde," and
during the ten minutes I was there three shells were fired at her.
During my short absence from W. Beach for this purpose three had
landed there, presumably fired at two of our aeroplanes which had
alighted behind us. Only one of the shells did any damage and it
smashed a limbered wagon to matchwood. All came from Asia.
_May 8th._--My goodness, such a rattle. Since Sunday, April 25, I
doubt if I have heard its equal.
Krithia is not yet ours in spite of the awful loss of life its
attempted capture has cost us. Batteries, right and left, in front and
behind all commenced a simultaneous roar at 5.30 p.m. A fairly hot
fire had gone on since 10 a.m., but 5.30 had been fixed for a more
furious cannonade, timed no doubt with an infantry attack on Krithia.
The whole of that part and the whole face of Achi Baba reek, with
denser clouds, every here and there. The roar is simply grand, and one
cannot help glorying in the tremendous power of man's devilment. I
wish they could make twice as much noise.
_May 9th._--I had to stop the above account of the day's doings
suddenly and go out with the stretcher-bearers when we had a terrible
time--hard work up to 1 a.m. and most of the time to the music of
bullets about our ears. And amidst all the din and roar of battle a
nightingale sang the whole day and still more sweetly all through the
next night, perched in a clump of trees we had repeatedly to pass on
the way to the Regimental Aid Posts of the Lancs. and Plymouth and
Drake Battalions--such a contrast of sounds!
_Later._--It is now 7.30 p.m. and the sun has gone down in a red glow
behind the rugged mountains of Imbros as viewed from the entrance of
my dugout. It has been a glorious day, uncomfortably warm, but calm
and without dust, which has been disagreeable for a day or two. I have
just had a bathe in the Aegean, which I was much in need of, this
being the first time I have taken off my clothes since I left Lemnos.
Walking along the beach I picked up a photograph of a chubby baby, the
darling of some one no doubt. He will miss this link with home.
The Turks have had little stomach for fighting to-day. Sniping has
gone on, of course, and occasionally a regular fusillade, but to us
the day on the whole has been peaceful. From 5 a.m. we have been very
busy among the Australian wounded, these being the principal sufferers
in yesterday's fight, owing, it is said, to their charging with the
bayonet at an inopportune moment. Many of their senior officers passed
through our hands, and their men, fine, big fellows, in large numbers.
Thomson and I were in charge of our dressing station at the "Five
Towers" from 9 a.m. yesterday till noon to-day, and were busy the
whole time, except from about 1 to 5 a.m. to-day, when we lowered
ourselves into a trench and tried to sleep.
Last night I started to go as far out as possible with five stretcher
squads, but in the dark it is difficult to move, nearly every spot is
taken up by men, horses, and transport, and you are continually
challenged by sentries. After showing our men across a brook with a
dark lantern, some others crossing with stretchers asked for a light,
and as soon as I threw a flash on the water a bullet whistled past me
from a sniper who must have penetrated our front line. I heard the
whistle of many a bullet at close quarters yesterday, and to-day big
shells have fallen on all the four sides of our dressing station,
coming from Achi Baba.
Yesterday when the battle raged at its worst a telegram was handed to
me, and read: "Good luck and fondest love--Mabel," and the date was
April 2 (March 16 it should have been). This had followed me all the
way from Avonmouth where it failed to find me as I was leaving for
this expedition.
The amount of horrors Thomson and I came through yesterday and this
morning was most sickening and depressing to both of us. The
Australian Aid Post was a perfect shambles, about an acre of stretcher
cases, horrible wounds, and all the surroundings soaked with blood.
But such brave fellows!
_May 10th._--We were very busy last night erecting tents for wounded,
being the overflow from the casualty clearing station, which, along
with the hospital ships, is absolutely full. We had sixty-seven to
find shelter for and succeeded. Two died during the night, and
nineteen more in other parts of the camp. Thomson and I were still on
duty and we were busy changing dressings, setting fractures, etc., up
to 2 p.m. to-day, when an order came to evacuate completely to a
hospital ship which had arrived. Welcome news! This gave us an
afternoon's rest which we much needed. I spent the time making
"couples" for our dugout, which was arched over before with two
stretchers interlocking at a slope.
The chief topic of conversation to-day is the brilliant dash of the
Australians on the 8th, in their bayonet charge over 300 yards of
ground without cover. The Turks with five machine-guns mowed them
down, but they dashed on. Their casualties were about 2000. We were
all eager to assist them, their own Ambulances being unable to cope
with the work.
_May 11th._--What we know as "Helles" is the point of the peninsula as
far north as Achi Baba. It is five miles long, and varies from two to
four in width. The whole valley is saucer shaped, with a more or less
complete high edge, except at a small part on the Dardanelles side,
where the land shelves to the sea at Morto Bay, this low lying part
being moist and fertile, with fairly heavy timber and huge downy
topped reeds 12 feet high. Across this valley there has once been an
aqueduct--perhaps centuries ago--the "Five Towers" being the remains
of the structure. While Achi Baba remains in the hands of the enemy
there is not a safe inch in what we occupy, the whole being within
easy gunfire.
Thomson and I are at present at the Five Towers Dressing Station for
twenty-four hours' duty. From the amount of heavy gun ammunition that
is being hurried past us we expect a heavy bombardment this afternoon,
with a repetition of the trying work we had when last on duty.
A Frenchman has just come into our station with half a loaf under his
arm. Great excitement! We were all willing to purchase it at any
price, but he handed it over to one of our men who had been hobnobbing
with him in the morning. All are deadly sick of army biscuits, the
only form of bread we have, hard as the nether millstone and
tasteless. The only decent food we have is McConnachie's ration of
meat and vegetables, which is excellent cold or hot, or as soup.
7.30 p.m.--Had a weary day--little doing. Thomson in very low spirits,
thinking everything is going wrong. News we get from a padre is that
in France everything goes badly. Pirie, M.O. to the Lancs, has just
looked us up and reports no progress here. We are certainly making
little speed, and it is now announced, whether correctly or not, that
Achi Baba is to be besieged into submission by starvation if
necessary, owing to the great loss of life a direct attack would
entail. In the afternoon I went out with a few bearers to the Lancs.
Aid Post to find they had gone into reserve for forty-eight hours, a
rest they much needed. Shells were coming fast and furious round us, a
battery we had to pass being the object of attack. Two big shells fell
very near our dressing station this afternoon, a pile of stores being
taken for ammunition boxes, the first shell landing among these with
terrible crash, and destroying a lot of jam. Rather a hot bombardment
of Krithia goes on to-night, while a number of Tommies are enjoying a
game of football close to our camp.
_May 12th._--At 8 p.m. yesterday a message reached us that the 29th
Division had been withdrawn to give them a much-needed rest of
forty-eight hours. We accordingly packed up and returned to our camp
at W. Beach, and lucky for us we did, as it rained heavily during the
night, and we had shelter against showers in our dugouts. On the whole
very little fighting went on to-day till 6 p.m. when our big guns all
along the line bombarded Krithia and the face of Achi Baba.
When studying our camp fires this morning before daylight I concluded
that we really had made but little progress since April 28, and a
Lancs. officer I saw this afternoon agrees with this conclusion. Still
we are said now to have about 100,000 men here, while I cannot believe
the enemy has anything like that number, but while they are on the
defensive, with their well-planned trenches and the best positions,
and possessing, as they do, a large number of machine-guns, the cost
in life entailed by an open attack would be very costly to us.
Three shells giving out coal-black smoke, and bursting with a terrific
crash, were fired at our beach to-day, but, as far as I know, without
damage. They all burst high in the air and with an unusual sound. (The
first of the "Black Marias" or "Jack Johnsons" although we had been
accustomed to other forms of high explosive shells.)
The following "special order" from General Sir Ian Hamilton of
to-day's date came this afternoon: "For the first time for eighteen
days it has been found possible to withdraw the 29th Division from the
fire fight. During the whole of that period of unprecedented strain
the Division has held ground or gained it, against the bullets and
bayonets of the constantly renewed forces of the foe. During the whole
of that long period they have been illuminating the pages of military
history with their blood. The losses have been terrible, but mingling
with the deep sorrow for fellow-comrades arises a feeling of pride in
the invincible spirit which has enabled the survivors to triumph where
ordinary troops must inevitably have failed. I tender to Major-General
Hunter-Weston and to his Division, at the same time my profoundest
sympathy and my warmest congratulations on their achievement."
"(Signed) IAN HAMILTON, _General_."
_May 13th._--Resting all day--but already have had enough of the
prescribed forty-eight hours' rest. It was besides rendered
uncomfortable by a very hot shelling in the afternoon. It is said the
Turks have placed a new disappearing gun in position, which is doing
this, and is firing high explosives with jet black smoke. They have
our range to an inch from Achi Baba. At least twenty-four shells were
fired at our Beach with a very creditable bag--three men killed, two
mortally wounded, twelve severely wounded, and about fifteen horses
and mules killed. I saw the remains of some poor brutes that had been
standing in a group when a shell fell among them. There was really
nothing left but a large red patch. Numerous pieces of shrapnel fell
among our tents. A piece whistled between Thomson and myself on our
way to attend a wounded officer near the lighthouse.
Later in the day I heard the Turk had got a larger mixed bag than I
have stated. I now hear as a fact that sixty-four horses and mules
were killed on our Beach.
H.M.S. "Goliath" was sunk by a torpedo at the mouth of the Dardanelles
at 2 a.m. to-day; 200 are said to have been saved which means a
death-roll of 500 or 600.
We hear that one, if not three, German submarines have passed Malta.
The big fleet lying off the coast has always been brilliantly lit, but
to-night all are in absolute darkness, except the hospital ships which
are still showing their long rows of green lights.
_May 14th._--The shelling we got yesterday has made us all think, and
we all set to to-day and dug ourselves in deeper, the wagons going to
Sedd-el-Bahr and bringing beams and boards from the ruins, and with
these we are to make roofs strong enough to resist splinters. By 3
p.m. some of us had nearly finished and were getting disappointed that
our funk holes were not being put to the test. By 4 o'clock we got
more than we wanted, then before 5 one of our aeroplanes came to grief
immediately behind us. Then commenced a terrible cannonade on this new
target, and one big shot alighting just inside the entrance of one of
our operating tents it was blown into tiny shreds, and ten stretchers
were riven into matchwood. Strange to say, although this was in the
middle of our camp not a soul was injured. The excitement was of
course great, every little bit of shell and every tatter of the tent
were carefully gathered to be kept as souvenirs. Three men and a
number of horses had been killed in the afternoon's work. Many of the
shells to-day were bigger than usual and some think the "Goeben" is
the culprit. She could easily fire from the Dardanelles over the east
ridge of Achi Baba.
_May 15th._--A quiet day in camp: little firing by either side; three
"Black Marias" reached us--no damage; a Taube fired three bombs--still
no harm. Rumour says one of our flying machines reports the Black
Maria gun was silenced by our fire, and her ammunition blown up this
afternoon. Her last shot was at 1 p.m. and it looks as if this might
be true.
By evening rain clouds appeared in the north and I have been preparing
my dugout for a wet night.
_May 16th._--We have just returned from church parade which was held
at 9.30, amidst a continuous rattle of rifles to the front, the
booming of howitzers on the right and left, while just behind us lay
the "Swiftsure," which had evidently got word in the middle of the
service to open fire on some particular spot. Her guns roared till the
concussion made the leaves of our hymn books flutter. While writing a
Jack Johnson fell very near me (so close that in my original diary my
pen made a big dash across the page). How helpless one feels! Now
comes another in the very middle of W. Beach--a very big fellow
too--and still another. We are to have a day of it. Eight of these
brutes now in a few minutes.
The C.O. has gone to a meeting at H.Q.; all the other officers are
wisely at the edge of the sea under cliffs, while I am in my dugout
too lazy to join them--but I may be forced to go yet, it is folly to
sit here in the line of fire.
Major Ward of the 88th Field Ambulance, which is alongside us, has
just taken a photograph of a bursting-shell at 70 yards, which he
joyfully declares is "absolutely it". He got well battered with flying
dirt.... The shelling got too hot for my continuing my notes and I was
forced to close for a short time.
Here we are shut up in the very point of Gallipoli, 100,000 of us,
and nearly as many horses and mules, every inch within easy range of
the enemy's guns, and for three days now he has peppered us more
furiously than at first. For three weeks and a day we have had an
almost continuous roar of cannon, sometimes many hundred shots per
minute, at other times with a lull of a few minutes. To-day and last
night the howitzers have been unusually busy, and I believe an attempt
is to be made this coming night to straighten our lines. The horns of
the line, especially the left, which is held by the Gurkhas, is too
far forward for the centre. This centre is directly opposite Achi
Baba, and is exposed to the whole opposing line, and has less help
from the fleet than the flanks. It is held by the flower of our
troops, and these will make any sacrifice to do what is expected of
them. May we soon have a little more breathing space than this fouled
little piece of the peninsula affords us.
_May 17th._--Three different spells of Black Marias to-day. One killed
three men and wounded nine. We have several others wounded and a
number of horses and mules killed. Altogether not a very pleasant day.
In the afternoon Thomson and I went to Sedd-el-Bahr and photographed
the "River Clyde," Major Frankland's grave, the whole of V. Beach,
etc., and brought back shell cases of the French 75's and 65's. Before
this, while helping Pirie to build his dugout, Kellas shouted to me to
look up, and I beheld what I at first took to be a huge flock of enemy
aeroplanes, and expected a shower of bombs, but they turned out to be
cranes--fifty-five of them in solid formation. They were an
interesting and beautiful sight. They hovered over us for a
considerable time, and two of our men stupidly fired several shots at
them which got us into trouble with the powers that be. They had never
taken into consideration the danger from dropping bullets where there
was such a congestion of humanity.
The day has been fiery hot as usual, with the usual glorious sunset
behind the mountains of Imbros. Yesterday Stephen and I studied the
Plain of Troy, the monument of Ajax, and the town of Troy itself--the
old and the new--all of which are visible from the rising ground
behind Sedd-el-Bahr.
_May 18th._--Black Marias paid their visit earlier than usual, three
bidding us good morning at 6 o'clock. All got into our clothes at
once, so that now at 7 p.m. we have had a long day. Curiously these
"coal boxes" have not been seen since, and they never trouble us after
this time of night.
About an hour ago I was watching one of our ships shelling a gully I
once visited on a memorable night, and got into a shallow trench and
watched from there. I was out in the middle of the valley where I
could easily be seen from Achi Baba and a shell came singing straight
at me. All the time shells had been passing high over my head but my
ear at once detected the change of flight and that a low one was
certainly coming my way. I had just time to throw myself flat in the
trench, which was about eighteen inches deep when the shell burst in a
straight line for me. I raised myself intending to bolt when I heard
the song of another at its heels. I again fell flat, but as soon as it
burst still nearer than the last I sprang and was just on my feet when
a third burst three or four yards to my right. The concussion and
shower of earth and stones sent me flying, and I peeled the palms of
both hands and sprained my right wrist. Then I made a sprint for my
funk hole at record speed, arriving quite out of breath after covering
about three-quarters of a mile. I felt that turning a big gun on a
solitary individual was not playing the game. I was wearing a
waterproof cover to my cap which had got bleached almost white, and I
may have been taken for some "big pot," as I sat on the edge of the
trench with this unusual head dress, peering through my glasses.
_May 19th._--Am feeling very tired, the result of my bad tumble, and
my wrist feels stiff and tender. No doubt my behaviour made the Turk
think I was a superior officer and worth a shell or two. With my
glasses I had examined very carefully the whole length of the lines,
then stepped into a half-filled-in trench and sat on the edge for some
time, watching operations at the gully I have mentioned. The second
shell was so near that I felt certain the third would have me. A
fourth shell followed and burst, but by this time I had picked myself
up and was at full gallop, and paid no heed to its whereabouts. The
whole four were fired in five or six seconds. (I got the fright of my
life; I felt that they were determined to have me, but the fright was
entirely due to the fact that I was alone. Never before or afterwards
did shells, however near, cause me the slightest discomfort.)
A camp story has it that a mule had to be shot the other day because
its cry was so confoundedly like the sound of an approaching shell and
caused needless alarm. This is presumably only a story, but it is
extraordinary how often one fancies one hears the song of a shell. One
day just before tea we were treated to a Jack Johnson, and during our
meal in the tent those of us who had not made off to our funk holes
ducked at every sound under the table, or behind a biscuit tin or any
other flimsy object utterly useless to give cover. Each time we raised
our heads we had a good laugh at our stupidity.
Those in the firing line are pitying us at the base to which nearly
all the shells are directed. Padre Hardie (afterwards V.C., D.S.O.,
M.C.) told me he had a major to tea the other day when the Jack
Johnsons started, and he bolted in the middle of tea, saying he could
not stand the life here, and made off to the firing line which he
thought much safer.
I asked a man to-day if he kept a diary. "No," he said, "there's
naething to say, I dee naething bit sleep, jink shells, and rin to the
Beach." It is amusing to see the "Beach Subdivision" move off when the
shells start, all pretending they are off for a quiet stroll, and
saunter away with their hands in their pockets.
_May 20th._--Still in reserve and absolutely idle. I was up early,
being requested by an officer of the 88th Field Ambulance to view his
tent which one of our water-carts had backed into and upset a number
of boxes of breakables, which he was terrified to look into,
especially one which contained several bottles of whisky. This gave me
a long day, and as a heavy cannonade was in progress it gave me an
opportunity of watching it. We have had no heavy shells at W. Beach
(now known as Lancashire Landing in honour of the brilliant work by
that battalion on April 25) so far, but we must not brag, they may
give us a visit to-day yet. Shrapnel we have had--but we do not care
twopence for shrapnel.
6.40.--We have had no shells since I wrote the above, for which we are
thankful. When examining the situation before breakfast I felt that
the whole valley up to Achi Baba was to be ours before night. Advances
all along the line have been made, some units having gained about 700
yards, the French also taking a trench which they afterwards lost.
This is the usual way with the French, they have repeatedly broken our
line across the peninsula.
The Turks have to-day used their heavy guns much more freely than on
any previous day, and doubtless have inflicted considerable damage on
our troops, but the range they have been firing at pointed to their
having removed their guns further back, which points to their
expecting to lose Achi Baba, which they have certainly held with the
utmost fortitude. I am attributing the peace we have had to-day at
Lancashire Landing to this fortunate event, if my conjecture is right.
I visited the "River Clyde" to-day to find she has a number of new
holes punched through her, those on the water line having completely
flooded her. Her stern now rests on the bottom, and the lowest hold is
full of water. All this time only one shell has actually burst inside
the ship, and it entered a cabin on the starboard side, blew all the
fittings to pieces, chunks flying through everything, some entering
the engine room where they perforated and carried away pipes, and blew
the roof of the cabin off. An officer showed me the effects of the
rifle and machine-gun bombardment on the night on which I spent four
hours in a boat and watched the thousands of bullets striking fire
over my head. Many had actually perforated the steel plates,
9/16th-inch thick, and there were deep dints innumerable. We had
twelve machine-guns on board that memorable day, the one in the bow
being managed by the son of the Earl of Leicester. This gun was said
to have done brilliant work. A large pile of empty cartridges still
lies where the gun was posted, and I carried away a few of these as
the only memento I possess of April 25, barring the memory of a
hellish day and night.
To-day we felt that we were probably beyond the reach of the enemy's
big guns, and a load is apparently off every one's mind. Many sang
late into the night, and various hilarious games were indulged in, the
one giving most fun being a bull fight, where one man held the end of
a string about three yards long and tied to a peg, and carried a jug
with a stone as a rattle, the other with a similar string having as a
weapon a small bag stuffed with hay. Both were blindfolded, and the
man with the bag let fly at the spot he thought the sound came from,
the hit being usually many yards wide of the bull.
The casualties among the Turks up to May 8 are said to number 40,000.
Since then the Australians have accounted for another 7000. To the
present date the total is probably not less than 60,000. We ought to
be well enough pleased with our work.
_May 21st._--Had a walk round Tekke Burnu, the S.W. point of
Gallipoli, where we have two 5-inch field guns. An officer to whom I
spoke said he was the first to locate the whereabouts of the gun that
threw the Jack Johnsons. We had all guessed from their whistle that
they came from the right ridge of Achi Baba. Two of the shells fired
at this battery failed to explode, and this man had the holes
carefully exposed for their whole depth, and two poles placed in these
pointed exactly to the same spot. Each of these shells had penetrated
to a depth of 8 feet in very hard clay.
_May 22nd._--About 1 p.m. there seemed to be a strange stir among our
transports. I noticed no fewer than six make off in a body towards
Lemnos, while Thomson remarked that a destroyer had been going
backwards and forwards among the shipping off the point of the
peninsula. We did not guess the reason of this till all at once I
noticed a warship fire a shot towards Imbros. This was followed by
others, and the splashes showed they were firing at something in the
sea, no doubt an enemy submarine--which proved to be the case. About
six shots in all were fired. Three destroyers were flying about in all
directions, absolutely at full speed. Two turned and made for the spot
where the submarine had been seen. It is a beautiful sight to see
these boats turn in their own length when at full speed. From the
rocks at Tekke Burnu I watched for two hours the manœuvres of these
and four warships. An anxious night will be spent by our naval
brethren. Several other transports have disappeared and gone to the
safe anchorage of Lemnos. A large four-funnelled French steamer had
just arrived with troops who had no time to disembark, and she has
turned tail and gone after the others.
_May 23rd._--1.15 p.m. Am sitting near the top of "The Gully". This
runs north and south on the west side of the peninsula. I am at a spot
slightly north of Krithia, and in the very middle of our firing line.
All the tops of The Gully, on both sides and along its ramifications,
are lined with our men and all are blazing away at the hardest, while
the Turks bullets keep up a constant whizz over our heads. The
Worcesters have just gone into the trenches to relieve some other
unit. One of the Hants men I have been sitting beside and talking to
was in our hold on the "River Clyde" when we landed exactly four weeks
ago. He tells me how gloomy his battalion was over the death of their
C.O. that day--Colonel Smith-Carrington, "a grand fellow, the best man
that ever lived," as he put it.
Wearying to death after twelve days of idleness I set off after church
parade to visit the Hants Dressing Station where I knew Pirie was
placed. I went along the Krithia road till I came to The Gully I once
reached late one evening, when Thomson and I were sniped at. Here I
chanced to meet my old cabin companion, Balfour, who directed me to
the very top of The Gully where I came across a battery which again
directed me further to the left. Here three bullets flew past me, a
gunner saying these stray bullets were doing a great deal of damage.
Balfour also told me that they had lost two men yesterday from the
same cause.
At last I reached The Gully which is several miles long--over
three--and averages 100 yards in width at the top. All the slopes are
one solid mass of shrubbery--laurel, juniper, dwarf conifers, holly
oak, and brilliant flowers innumerable. I brought back a bunch of
Cytisus whose individual flowers might have been our broom (_C.
Scoparius_).
A road has been made the whole length of The Gully, and the whole way
is occupied by our troops, especially Indians, many of whom were
engaged in their ablutions as I passed. The sides of The Gully would
average 100 feet in height, many parts being higher. The sides slope
steeply in parts, in many places are quite perpendicular or
over-hanging, the walls being the usual hard, marly clay, while I
noticed broad layers of conglomerate and sandstone also occur. I was
charmed with the whole place, and when describing it at the mess I was
thought to be romancing. The heat in the depths of The Gully was very
intense and without a breath of wind.
_May 24th._--A little rain fell in the morning, and it was more or
less cloudy during the day. We watched a fierce thunderstorm, which
came round the south side of Imbros, up its east side, then it turned
west towards Samothrace. Much shelling to-day, but mostly short and
some way from our camp. I hear of no damage.
_May 25th._--Had another walk to-day to the top of The Gully with
Kellas, Agassiz, and Thomson. Plenty of shells over our heads.
Twenty-six shells were fired this morning at several aeroplanes that
had landed on our aerodrome. Two were more or less damaged, one with a
hole through its petrol tank.
As we were returning from The Gully and were ascending the high bank
of Gully Beach I saw something was wrong out at sea, three or four
ships being apparently huddled together in one mass. Through my
glasses I saw the stern of a ship in the air, preparing for its final
plunge to the bottom of the sea. In three minutes or so she had
entirely gone. Strange to say what we had been watching was the last
of the "Triumph" which had been torpedoed by the submarine that caused
the excitement the other day. She is said to have sunk in twenty
minutes. We have not yet heard how many perished in this most
regrettable disaster, but if it is true that her magazine blew up, as
we hear, the loss will likely be heavy. H.M.S. "Triumph" did much
useful work out here. This is the second warship we have lost since we
arrived in Gallipoli.
_May 26th._--Yesterday we opened a dressing station one and a half
miles up the Krithia road. It was the duty of Fiddes and Whyte to be
posted there for twenty-four hours, beginning at 3 p.m., but the
latter having been kicked by a horse yesterday I offered to take his
place. I am there now sitting on the edge of a deep funk hole which I
have strewn with a thick layer of thyme, meaning to have a pleasant
night between "lavender sheets," but I am told by Stephen and Thomson
that there is no sleep to be had out here owing to the terrible din
that goes on. At present--7.30--there is a violent interchange of
shells going on, the enemy's mostly flying high over our heads on the
way to our Beach. The aerodrome beside it has been very furiously
attacked during the last two days with considerable damage.
Beside us is the grave of a Turk who smells as all Turks do. Our men,
I fancy, think they do not deserve much burial. This reminds me of a
Turk on the top of whose grave I lunched with Pirie up in the firing
line last Sunday. A man the day before was digging a funk hole, and
coming on something soft he plunged his spade into it. The smell was
so terrific that he threw his spade and bolted, and the Turk had to be
covered up by sand thrown from a distance of several yards. Then the
night before one of our men, when it was getting dark, saw a
suspicious object slipping down the side of The Gully, as he thought,
so he proceeded to stalk it through the dense shrubs that clothe all
the slopes of The Gully, and, on getting close enough to get a view of
it through the bushes he recognised the Turkish uniform and sprang on
the man like a tiger driving his bayonet clean through him. The Turk
had been dead for nearly a month, and his assailant, like the other
man, had to make a hasty retreat.
We are to have a very lively night, that is evident. The Turks usually
cease firing their big guns by this time of night, but their shells
are still flying thick. The British guns are at present quiet, but the
French 75's are barking furiously. It is a delight to hear their
sharp, clean bark. The enemy's machine-guns have also been very active
this afternoon, the crack, crack, crack, of the Turkish one being
easily distinguishable from the noise made by ours. The day of our
landing taught me this.
_May 27th._--I must have slept three or four hours last night, but not
soundly. There was constant rifle fire beside us with one big
fusillade before midnight. But what annoyed me was the smell of the
thyme and other sweet-smelling herbs I had made a bed of, covering all
over with a new rubber ground sheet which was very odoriferous. The
mixture of odours was not pleasant. I had trampled the plants with my
boots to produce as strong a smell as possible, and succeeded so well
that it actually made my eyes smart all night. I rose early and was
over near Gully Beach about 6 o'clock. Since then shells have been
flying on our four sides and high in the air, and I hear of
considerable damage.
We are much upset by the news which reached us at 7.45 that at 7
another of our ships had been torpedoed, lying just off our Beach in
full view of all there. It is rumoured that it is the "Majestic," but
her name we are not yet sure of. The men who brought this news out to
us say they saw the men on board line up before she went down, and
dive into the sea. Terrible news!
_May 28th._--Back at W. Beach. What we heard yesterday about the
"Majestic" was only too true. She lies in front of our camp, about 300
yards from the edge of the cliff, a considerable part of her still
above water. There is much discussion as to what part of her it is
that is visible, but it appears to me to be the keel, certainly the
ram is there. The killed and drowned are between fifty and sixty.
Several I have spoken to distinctly saw the wake of the torpedo for
many hundred yards. The "Majestic" was lying in the midst of other
shipping--only supply boats of no great size, besides trawlers and
destroyers, but a gap must have been left and through this the torpedo
had found its way. The Admiral and Ashmead-Bartlett were both on
board. The latter was on the "Triumph" when she went down two days
before.
The "Majestic" was able to fire five shots at the submarine when she
rose to find her bearings, which she did about a mile off, but whether
struck or not she managed to discharge her deadly bolt, which went
home right amidships, and in about eight to ten minutes the "Majestic"
turned over and sank. Her torpedo nets were out, and as many were
scrambling up the side of the hull, as she turned over, the nets on
the starboard side swept right over, and must have accounted for many
deaths.
It is said that the form of torpedo used is most efficient at ranges
of 3000 yards or more, this long distance being necessary to get up
full momentum. One of the camp sanitary men, who tells me the story,
was on the beach as the men swam ashore, and one sailor was no sooner
on his feet than he said: "It was time the damned b---- was down; she
was twenty-five years old; any of you chaps got a clay pipe, I am
dying for a clay pipe"--all said in one breath. The "Majestic" is said
to have been built in 1902 and was an old boat, but her armament was
quite serviceable.
An enemy aeroplane crossed over our heads at 7.15 this morning, and
dropped a bomb, presumably at our C.C.S. and just missed it. Three men
were standing near; all were knocked over, one dying soon after.
_May 29th._--This forenoon I walked out to White House Farm, which is
about 3 or 3-1/2 miles up the centre of the valley, and is within a
few hundred yards of our firing trenches. It was rumoured in the
evening that these front trenches had been taken by the Turks. At the
White House there is the finest specimen of a fig tree I have yet
seen, being large and spreading, and growing in a piece of good turf
beside a well. In that part the whole ground is strewn with bullets.
_May 30th._--I have not been out of camp to-day. The men in our
dressing station came in at 3 a.m. with a long tale of the fury of the
shelling out there, many casualties occurring round it. Evidently
there is no better place to be had, but the part devoted to the
wounded runs in such a way that it can be directly enfiladed by gun
and rifle fire from Achi Baba. Another trench at right angles to this
could easily be broadened and deepened to hold all the wounded and a
whole tent-subdivision.
Three shots were fired from our battery on Tekke Burnu about 6.30 p.m.
and at once all the destroyers darted out to sea. Evidently a
submarine had been sighted. It is now getting dark, and the sea is
covered with our mosquito craft darting about in all directions.
We employ several hundred Greeks, mostly road making. They receive
2s. 6d. a day and their food. All those working at the Beach struck
work to-day, demanding higher wages, and retired to their shelter
holes in the cliff. A company of Dublin Fusiliers was called out, and
fixing bayonets they kicked the mutineers out of their holes, and all
were driven into a corner at the foot of the rocks, the open side shut
in by a line of bayonets, and there they are to be kept, without food
and water till they come to their senses. The Greek nation has always
been greedy, always unreliable, and the most notorious liars on the
face of the earth.
_May 31st._--This has been a very quiet day, the Turks and ourselves
having fired comparatively few shots. Although there has been no hard
fighting lately, really little more than sniping, we still have a
casualty list of some size. Those leaving for treatment on the boats
or at the base hospitals of Malta and Alexandria have a daily average
of about 125. This includes sickness as well as wounds.
_June 1st._--There was much noise last night after all, there being
much gun and rifle fire, especially on our centre, but with few
casualties, as far as I can learn.
It has been known for two days that the Turks are to make a determined
attack on us to-night, for which we are no doubt fully prepared. Since
5 this evening both sides have been very liberal with their shells.
Krithia and its neighbourhood, as well as the right ridge of Achi
Baba, has been reeking from the discharge of our and the French
shells.
It is said that the Turks and Gurkha trenches are so near each other
at the top of The Gully that the two are connected by a tunnel through
which they hobnob, and that the Turks have asked the help of the
Indians to murder their German officers, then they would hand over
the Dardanelles to us without further trouble. A mere story of course,
although one firmly believes that it is these savage officers who are
forcing the Turks to fight, under threats that they will shoot them if
they refuse to go forward.
A few shrapnel shells were fired half an hour ago at the top of our
Beach, in resentment of our Ambulance men gathering on the sky line to
watch the shells bursting on Achi Baba. This made them beat a hasty
retreat. But on the whole the day has been very quiet.
_June 2nd._--It appeared in "Orders" to-day that we held an advanced
dressing station 100 yards on this side of White Farm, and as no one
understood what this referred to, the C.O. after consulting with the
A.D.M.S. (Col. Yarr), who could throw no light on the subject, asked
me to go out and investigate the ground to see if such a station might
be established there. As a big engagement is anticipated within
forty-eight hours such a place would be useful. I started at 2.30 with
Kellas and Agassiz who were going out to our present dressing station,
but on reaching that they proposed to go along with me, as they had
never been in that part of the country. All went well on the way out,
only an occasional stray bullet being heard. On reaching "Y Battery,"
about 100 yards from White Farm a gunner joined us and took us quickly
over the remaining short distance, where stray bullets are apt to be
too plentiful. But worse, a sniper several hundred yards off had the
exact range. He took us into a vineyard behind the farm, and pointed
out to us all our advanced trenches, warning us not to shake the vines
as that might attract fire, and on no account to show ourselves. We
returned to this man's battery, and as soon as I started off with
Agassiz the sniper had a shot at us, his bullet landing in a tuft of
grass a few feet to our right. I thought it was some animal and
proceeded to stir it out of the grass, but Agassiz declared it was a
shot. In a second or two another kicked up a dust beside us, which
settled the question. We scattered at once, but three other shots came
after us before we got out of sight behind some small trees. From
these we watched Kellas sauntering along, hoping he would also have to
take to his heels, but the sniper left him alone.
I had next to visit the 88th Brigade H.Q. where I explained to General
Doran that the spot mentioned for our dressing station was much too
dangerous. He agreed at once, and said even where he was, on the side
of rising ground with its back to the enemy, was unsafe, and that one
of his sergeants had just been shot through the knee lying in his
dugout.
_June 4th._--To all appearances this is to be a great day. At 11 a.m.
to the minute about 150 field guns and howitzers opened on the Turkish
trenches, and now at 11.20 all is one great roar. Eight aeroplanes are
circling about, two big battleships with seven destroyers appeared out
of the haze, coming from Imbros. These are on the constant move, for
submarines will be about for certain, and we must not give them more
fixed targets, they have already had too many. Pandemonium will reign
in a few minutes. We have waited long for this, and all are overjoyed.
I have been round the C.C.S. and Ordnance Stores collecting all the
stretchers I can lay my hands on. Apparently we do not expect the
Turks to be the only sufferers to-day.
12.10.--Achi Baba and the whole Gallipoli point reek as they have not
reeked since April 25. The battleships keep moving and belching out
their deadly hail, encircled always by the destroyers, while an
aeroplane hovers, at a low height, over and around them, peering into
the depths of the Aegean in case a submarine should come sneaking up.
The French guns are very busy.
6.30 p.m.--Dressing St. Krithia Road. I came out here about two hours
ago, with six squads of stretcher-bearers. We cannot advance yet,
things are too hot, rifle fire being still a constant rattle,
especially on our left. When I arrived the French were very active on
our right, but judging from their comparative quietness now I think
they may have seized at least part of a great gully which had been
immediately in front of them all this time, and which has contained
one or more Turkish batteries. These have annoyed the French for
long--and us. The front of the hill is now fairly quiet, but we are
firing huge shells into Krithia and that end of Achi Baba. We know
from the wounded, who have been coming in for some hours in a steady
stream, that our line is greatly advanced, some of our battalions
having taken as many as five trenches.
About 8.15 I set off with thirteen stretcher squads to the dressing
station of the 88th Field Ambulance, which we found two miles up The
Gully. It was getting dark when we started, and was pitch dark, there
being no moon, when we reached that point. The order we had got was to
send up thirteen stretchers at once, and we interpreted this to mean
the full complement of bearers as well, but these were not required.
The great battle was still raging, and bullets were flying across The
Gully in thousands. During the day there had been numerous casualties
from these in the depths of The Gully. On the way back the whole place
was packed tight with wagons of every description, and pack animals
taking up ammunition and stores for next day, and it was often with
the greatest difficulty we got through the blocks. Having to cross a
level piece of ground from Gully Beach to our station, and this being
swept by bullets, which were passing among us, we had many narrow
escapes, but no one was hit. At our station, which was now in the line
of fire for stray shot, we heard bullets pass all night long. A
bullet went "phut" into the ground at my feet as I lay on a stretcher.
I merely drew up my feet and tried to sleep, but being saturated with
perspiration and generally uncomfortable I never even felt drowsy.
Then about 3 in the morning a more resounding shot landed in the same
spot as the last--both certainly within 2 feet of me. I now got up and
sat till 6 in a corner more protected from the N.E. which appeared to
be the direction of the bullets.
On the way to The Gully I had walked with a sergeant of the
Worcester's as guide. He tells me the French did not do well to-day,
having as usual advanced and retired, thus leaving our Naval Division,
on our extreme right, exposed. The Turks opened fire on them and the
K.O.S.B.'s and mowed them down with their machine-guns. At H.Q. they
are reported to have used very strong language about this. My guide
also tells me of the bravery displayed by the Sikhs and Gurkhas, also
by the Territorials who are drafted through the Regulars, many of them
mere boys, but they are said to have shown great pluck.
_June 5th._--I believe according to programme we should have started a
big gun bombardment at 11 a.m. to-day, but we have only had occasional
shots--so far at any rate, and it is now 5.45, too late to do much
before night comes on.
I mentioned yesterday that we had 150 field guns and howitzers, but I
find the numbers were 180 French and 150 British guns. An aeroplane
crossed us at 7 p.m. flying at a great height. No bombs were dropped.
"Asiatic Annie," as a famous gun across the Dardanelles is called, has
thrown a number of ugly shells this way to-day, but all were short of
W. Beach.
The "Majestic" is sinking gradually, her ram, which must have been 15
feet out of the water, is now nearly submerged.
_June 6th._--Sunday--6.40 a.m.--The day by preference for a big fight.
Last night--about 8--the Turks appear to have made a feint attack on
the French, this going on for hours, the rifle fire very heavy. Then
in the small hours of this morning they had concentrated on our
left--the other end of the line--where they were in great force. My
informants are three wounded from the Essex Regiment who have walked
in to hospital. They say the Turks were ten to our one, and they came
on with great dash, fighting being very fierce at a distance of only
20 yards. Then they got mixed up with the Essex and Royals, who must
have been badly cut up and were the last to retire. The Turks used a
large quantity of hand grenades. These are very deadly, and have been
making ghastly wounds as we know. We too use these freely, all the
empty 1 lb. tins of the camp having been collected for some time back,
and charged with gun-cotton. For missiles they have chopped up Turkish
barbed wire into inch lengths.
The howitzer fire was terrific between 4 and 5 when I woke up and came
to the top of the ridge to see what was doing. Plainly something
unusually desperate was on the move. "Asiatic Annie" was also busy and
several shells came this way, one falling in the C.C.S. where no harm
was done. Luckily it had chosen a clear spot in front of the store
tent to pitch into. I had gone down to examine this when the wounded
men I have referred to arrived. They say that all the trenches we took
two days ago, after so much hard fighting, are lost. Now at 7.15
firing has become much more desultory, and judging from where our
shells are bursting the distance we have been driven back is not
serious--and so to breakfast.
10 a.m.--Firing is too hot for us to collect in groups, therefore,
there is to be no church parade this morning. The walking wounded
still come straggling in, singly or in groups, all greatly depressed
at having such bad news to relate. Another constant stream flows from
the C.C.S. to the little cemetery at the top of the Beach, each unit
of this stream consisting of two bearers carrying a dead comrade on a
stretcher. The cemetery may be small but it already contains many
graves, and inside its barbed wire fence there is still room for many
of our gallant men, who fondly fancy that the shell or bullet that
could lay them low is not yet cast. This very comforting feeling I
hope we all possess--more or less. One of the graves has a cross of
great taste and is over a "Driver Page," a New Zealand Artillery man,
and after the inscription is the word "Ake--Ake".
No one knows the extent of our casualties, but they must be heavy. The
Indian contingent alone is said to have lost 1000 yesterday. The
Royals, Essex, and K.O.S.B.'s are said to have suffered most in the
morning's attack.
_Later._--I heard in the evening that yesterday's casualties amounted
to at least 1800, but some think that an under-estimate.
We hear to-night that General Wolley-Dod has been appointed to command
our 86th Brigade. He is said to be a very able soldier.
In the afternoon there was an occasional interchange of shots, but on
the whole it was quiet till 8 p.m., the hour darkness sets in, when
the usual fusillade began. The Turks are nearly always responsible for
this, and our men rarely reply.
_June 7th._--I notice in yesterday's Routine Orders issued by General
de Lisle, commanding the 29th Division, that the old Etonians are to
have a dinner at Lancashire Landing, and those attending are requested
to bring knife, fork, plate, and cup--their mugs in short. This
request seems quite natural out here. Then follows a notice that some
unit has lost a bay horse and two mules, finder to return them to
such and such a place. This again is a curiosity, horses and mules are
always straying. The correct way to do if you lose a horse is to seize
the first stray one you come across, and swear you brought him out
from England.
Last night about 10.30 the Turks disturbed our peace by firing fifty
or sixty shells about our Beach, some being very near our camp, near
enough to bespatter our tents and dugouts with lumps of earth. One of
the men of the 88th Field Ambulance, just in front of us, got wounded.
They began again with heavier shells--Jack Johnsons--about 5 a.m.
to-day, seven falling near us, and as we lay underground we could feel
the earth shake with every detonation. Last night was the first time
they ever gave us such a visit. They are chary of using their big guns
after dark in case they should give away their positions.
2.15 p.m.--I spent sometime on a ridge overlooking the sea and watched
the Turks shelling the ships close by. Their firing from Kum Kale was
wild, but there was one ship they were determined to have, shell after
shell falling near and throwing up splashes mast high. At last she was
hit and a loud report was followed by dense smoke from her fore part.
Flames quickly followed, and several minesweepers and destroyers soon
came to her aid, and unloaded part of her cargo. She was finally
anchored close inshore to await events. By 2 o'clock the flames seemed
to be pretty well under control.
While watching this a young officer came up and spoke to me. He had
arrived with us on the "River Clyde" and since then has had very
trying experiences. He said his birthday was to-morrow, and I should
say it might be his twenty-first. He is in the Anson Battalion, and
had come through the Antwerp retreat. His battalion left England 1000
strong with thirty-three officers. They are now 198 men, while he is
the only officer remaining. He thinks we must beat a retreat from
Gallipoli one of these days, to take it would mean too great a
withdrawal of troops from France, but, as he says, a retreat means a
greater loss of honour than Britain can bear. He told me about the
Collingwood Battalion which left England on May 9, and went into the
fight fresh and at full strength. They lost twenty-three officers and
nearly six hundred men. In spite of all opinions and rumours we must
bring this campaign to a victorious end, be the cost what it may.
_June 8th._--A day of wind, one big cloud of dust, and swarms of
flies. These last have become a terrible curse lately, and as time
goes on they will get no less.
About a week ago Col. Yarr proposed that I should join him at
Head-quarters, and this morning I was ordered to present myself at
Corps H.Q. at 3 p.m. I had given the necessary undertaking to divulge
no secrets, and as the hour approached I rigged myself out in my best
boots and tunic, and had chosen a smart orderly to look after
me--Melrose, from Kincardine O'Neil. Then the A.D.M.S. appeared, to
say that their staff was broken up, most of them having gone to Gully
Beach, and as there were only twelve all told remaining there was no
excuse for my joining just yet. They have interesting personalities at
H.Q. and I feel disappointed. Sir Ian Hamilton, for example, dined
there last night.
_June 9th._--We had a visit from Pirie, M.O. to the Lancs. He is
terribly depressed over the fight of the 6th when they lost 450 men.
They were held up by barbed wire in a charge and were shot down. I
have heard of three battalions that were left with only one officer
after that fight.
We are now erecting at the "two-gun fort" two naval guns of 4.7
calibre to reply to our Asiatic friends. It is supposed there are
three guns on the other side of the Dardanelles of 6-inch calibre.
These were carefully watched last night, and it was observed that the
flashes always came from different points, as if they were placed on
rails and were run sideways. This has long been suspected. These
"Asiatic Annies" have accounted for 120 Frenchmen within the last few
days.
Stephen and Thomson are out at the dressing station to-night. I have
been watching Jack Johnsons bursting in their neighbourhood.
We received four motor ambulances to-day to reinforce our mule-drawn
wagons.
_June 10th._--The dust storm continues, and some one has been
comforting enough to say that these storms often last for twenty-one
days. They are about as bad as the flies.
_June 11th._--Wind stronger than ever but the dust has been largely
blown into the sea. Towards evening it fell somewhat. The sea has been
too rough to get patients away from the C.C.S. to the hospital ships,
and we have had to relieve it by taking fifty walking cases into our
tents. All are very cheery, and I fancy most are looking forward to a
short holiday after their recent experiences. Some have not yet been
in a fight, some of the naval men who landed two days ago were only on
their way to the trenches when they were wounded by shrapnel, which
was showered on them plentifully from several points.
Stephen and Thomson had such a hot time at the dressing station that
they were forced to return to the Beach. There were eighty-eight
shells in their vicinity within an hour. About 2 p.m. when I went out
the Krithia road with several squads of bearers in answer to an urgent
but vain message, we were held up half a mile on this side of the
dressing station by a perfect tornado of shrapnel just in front of us.
I heard afterwards that the road in that part was entirely ploughed
up.
_June 12th._--A quiet day but full of rumours. Late last night we had
five Jack Johnsons with their terrific crashes, and in the distance
rifle fire went on all night. About 5 a.m. to-day a number of shells
landed among the shipping off our Beach. Due north about the same
time, at the distance of a good many miles, what sounded like repeated
broadsides from warships. Probably the Australians are having a big
fight. Then at 7 a.m. ten or twelve rifle shots on the aerodrome
behind us took me up in a hurry, this being unusual. I half thought
they might be shooting a spy, but found some one had been blazing away
at some huge bird, either a vulture or an eagle. I watched its large
dark form as it flew towards X. Beach. Shrapnel and Jack Johnsons were
flying about in other parts during the day, but none near us.
Now for rumours--(1) the 29th Division is to be withdrawn for certain,
having done its bit out here. This is an old rumour which we still
doubt. I for one would be sorry were we withdrawn before seeing this
part of the campaign through. (2) The Russians are landing an army
north of Constantinople. (3) The Italians have landed at Rhodes, and
are to make a descent on Smyrna--the last two cheer us up.
Kellas and Agassiz had a quieter time at the dressing station than
yesterday's two. The latter returned about 8 and said "Arthur" was too
busy playing with a spider and he left him behind.
_June 13th._--Had a walk with the C.O. to the top of The Gully to find
a site for a new dressing station. We breakfasted at 7 as we wished to
cross the exposed piece of ground between this and Gully Beach. For
sometime back this has been a favourite mark for the Turkish guns, and
we thought the morning the most likely time to be allowed to pass
unnoticed. We were in the foot of The Gully before 8 o'clock. The
whole valley between this and Achi Baba was so quiet in the brilliant
sunshine that we remarked that it might have been a Sunday at home.
Near the top of The Gully we found Taylor of the 87th Field Ambulance
at breakfast and had a cup of tea with him. He came along with us to
find a suitable place, and one was fixed on, but I do not like it. In
my opinion it will be terribly exposed to a dropping fire, the
surroundings are not high enough to give much protection. The ground
is also much soiled--I preferred a small side gully but the C.O.
thought it unfeasible.
We called on Major Ward of the 88th F.A. who was also in the
neighbourhood. After much labour he has got an ideal spot, very safe,
and plainly made by a man of artistic tastes. He is as happy as a lark
up there with his camera, and is studying the birds and their nests.
Col. O'Hagan and Major Bell were next called on at Gully Beach, and we
reached our camp about 1 o'clock.
We hear that Gen. de Lisle estimates that the European war will be
ended by September--absolutely without fail.
_June 14th._--I marched a number of our men up The Gully to work at
our new dressing station. I had a look at the place chosen but liked
it worse than ever, and proceeded to tear down the sides of the little
gully I preferred. By night we had converted it into a most romantic
and safe retreat for the wounded and ourselves. The dry bed of a
stream, for about 100 yards, we levelled down into a beautiful path,
with several twists and high towering walls, and in the extreme end we
levelled the floor of a water-worn amphitheatre making room for about
twenty stretcher cases. A little water drips over the centre of the 40
feet high overhanging wall, which in wet weather would be a raging
torrent. (This was afterwards known, and figured in our maps, as
Aberdeen Gully. It was most suitable for our work, very safe, and much
admired by every one.)
_June 15th._--Been working all day in our Gully, and am now prepared
for the night, and am sitting in my new dugout, which is merely an
excavation on a slope with a projecting cliff overhead. At the present
moment a long string of Gurkhas are filing up a twisting and high path
on the north side of our little gully, on their way to the trenches
for the night. We have watched all sorts on this path, but mostly
Sikhs and Gurkhas on their way to the firing line, and Indian water
carriers with their great skin bags which look as if they would hold
about six gallons. Much water has gone up in tanks, slung on mules.
One of our big guns is immediately above us on the top of the cliff,
and is making a terrific din, with long rolling echoes. All our guns
have been very busy to-day and the Turks still more so, and I am
afraid from their long range, which I observed in the morning, these
have got new guns with very high explosive shells. It is now 7.45 and
they may soon stop, as it is dark by 8, but for the last few nights
they have fired at all hours.
_June 16th._--Still at our new place, and all of us busy with pick and
spade all day. Had a good night's sleep in spite of a continuous rifle
fire very near us. We had a visit in the afternoon from the C.O.,
Agassiz, and Dickie. With the two last I walked over to Y. Beach, and
at the Artillery Observation Post there, under the guidance of the
officer in charge, we had a capital view of all our trenches on the
left flank, including one that has been a bone of contention for some
time, and was the cause of an attack by the Turks last night. This
trench was formerly Turkish, but half of it is now in our possession
and between us is a pile of sandbags. Over this barrier each takes it
into his head to throw a few bombs at his enemy. We are trying to
rectify our position by cutting a new sap. The whole of the Turkish
trenches from Achi Baba to the sea are visible from Y. Beach O.P. For
a long way in front of where we were the distance between the two of
us is not many yards, and in one part the trenches look as if they
were mixed up in an extraordinary way.
I spent the evening making a table for our new quarters, and retired
to bed about 9 in the midst of big gun, machine and rifle fire, all
very near.
_June 17th._--Aberdeen Gully. We opened our new station to-day and
relieved the 87th F.A. We had but a few patients. Agassiz visited us
in the afternoon with Fiddes and Dickie. The first and I walked over
to the O.P. at Y. Beach. On the way back along the sunk mule track we
had to pass a string of mule water carriers. Each Indian leads three
mules in Indian file. One brute took it into his head to rub the sharp
edge of his tank into my ribs, and with his feet well to the side he
stood up and jammed me as hard as he could against the wall of the
trench. Agassiz, as transport officer, had to dilate on the amount of
intelligence he has noticed in the Indian mules, while I could only
use strong language over the wickedness of this particular brute.
We had a number of visitors to-day from neighbouring units--M.O.'s and
others. Padres Creighton and Komlosy and Major Lindsay dined with us.
_June 18th._--The centenary of Waterloo. I hear the French are to make
an attack to-day. I hope they will be more successful than they were
this day one hundred years ago. This morning we have been annoyed by
the Turks' shrapnel, the whole of the gully being peppered, and also
by defective shells from our own battery above our heads. Several
since we came up here have burst almost as soon as they left the gun.
After breakfast I walked to Y. Beach, and for the first time
scrambled down to the foot. "The Dardanelles Driveller," whose one and
only copy was most amusing, said about this spot, "Why call it a
Beach, it is only a bloody cliff"? It was here the K.O.S.B.'s and
S.W.B.'s landed on April 25 and met with no opposition at the landing,
and had proceeded nearly two miles inland, when they were attacked by
the Turks in overwhelming force, and lost a large number in their
retreat to the Beach and then to their boats. This was afterwards
retaken by the Gurkhas, who pushed through from W. Beach, and the high
cliff on the north side is now known as Gurkha Bluff. The Indian
Brigade have their H.Q. here, and this morning there were about 2000
Gurkhas and Sikhs about. I was toiling up the "bloody cliff" when some
Gurkhas passed me, thinking nothing of the steep ascent; while I
straightened my knees slowly at each step, I noticed they brought
their legs straight with a jerk.
This day two years ago I was lying in bed in Brussels, reading
Baedeker, when I discovered it was the 98th anniversary of Waterloo. I
had given up all intention of visiting the battlefield, being pressed
for time, but after such a discovery I felt compelled to pay it a
visit. I was thankful I went, it proved one of the most enjoyable days
I ever spent. At that time Holland and Belgium hated each other, but
were outwardly kept friendly by their common enemy, Germany, of which
they were very suspicious. What has now happened has surprised neither
of these two States.
7 p.m.--Returned a few minutes ago from my favourite Observation Post
at Y. Beach--Major Ward dragged me over to....
11 p.m.--The preliminary big gun bombardment was to commence at 7, and
I had just made a start with my diary when the din began, and I had to
stop short. We are in the very middle of four batteries--two mountain
(Ross and Cromarty), one 64-pounder, and a fourth of four 6-inch
howitzers. All blazed forth at once, and all drew fire. As far as we
could make out this was the hottest corner of the whole front. Shells
in hundreds burst about our ears, chunks of shell and four nose caps
came into Aberdeen Gully. The noise of our guns and the bursting of
Turkish shells was the worst I have heard since the day of our
landing. Stones and earth we had flying about in plenty. In the midst
of it all Captain Rowland, R.E., shouted from the mule track, asking
if a M.O. would go and see Major Archibald in the front trench. I set
off with two bearers and a stretcher, and found him in a side trench
close to Gully Beach. He was mortally wounded. I dressed him and left
him where he lay, in charge of an orderly. We now hurried back to the
mule track, the whole length of which we had to traverse. It had been
repeatedly and most thoroughly shelled from end to end during the day,
and we expected the Turk to sweep along it again at any minute. We had
just cleared it when this actually happened, and howls behind us took
us back to find that some Indians had been caught in the fire. A Sikh
had a leg almost entirely blown off. Though suffering badly he was
most plucky.
From that time onwards we had a steady flow of wounded, which still
goes on, but those now coming in are being dressed by the Regimental
M.O.'s before they are carried in by our bearers.
As far as I can gather from the wounded the Turks made an attack on
our extreme left at the very hour appointed for the attack by the
French and us. They came on four deep protected by their artillery
which blew in two of our front trenches, which were held by the
S.W.B.'s and Inniskillings. These had to retreat, as many as possible
through their communication trenches, but many had to get over the
parapets and rush back over the open. There were 500 Turks in this
part alone, and our men say only two ever returned, our men forming up
and charging quickly retook what they had lost. We have had several
K.O.S.B.'s from the centre where there was also an attack. These were
more successful from the beginning, and within fifteen minutes had
taken the Turks' first line.
_June 19th._--The above was not the end of last night's work. A little
after midnight we were requested to send a M.O. and as many nursing
orderlies as possible to the Inniskillings Aid Post, where they were
said to be overwhelmed with work. This was at the very top of The
Gully, three-quarters of a mile beyond our station. I jumped at the
opportunity of a little excitement, and set off with five orderlies.
We found the road dotted with dead mules and horses, but could not
find the M.O. for some time. At last he was roused out of his hole
half asleep. He said he had never sent for help, that they were quite
able to cope with the work, his men being at the time occupied with
cases, which seemed to be coming in fast. What cases he had we took
back with us, an Inniskilling who had a bad wound in the foot from a
grenade I helped back with his arm round my neck.
The guide who came for us deserted us half-way to the Aid Post, and on
returning I found him minus his equipment making himself comfortable
for the night in our gully. I ordered him off to the firing line
knowing that this was a favourite dodge to escape for a time. After
half an hour I found him in our cook house, when I took his number and
name to report him to his C.O. The man was in a state of funk, and
declared that the Turks would certainly break through before morning.
Believing that there might be some reason for his alarm I made sure
before starting that my loaded revolver was at my belt, in case of our
having to beat a retreat.
By 3 a.m. I was able to lie down for a short time, but another furious
attack by the Turks commenced at 4.15. Later in the day I was relieved
by Fiddes, and about 11 o'clock set off with Agassiz who had ridden
out from our base. On reaching Gully Beach we took the high road for
home, but opposite X. Beach the explosions of high explosive shells on
the road in front of us were too terrifying, and we descended to the
under-cliff road.
W. Beach had had the worst bombardment it had so far experienced
during the morning, hundreds of shells falling. Many horses and three
men were killed. At Corps H.Q. and V. Beach the same went on, and no
doubt with similar results.
_June 21st._--The A.D.M.S. Col. Yarr, called at 9 a.m. and asked me to
relieve him for the day, and I am now in his dugout at H.Q. of the 8th
Army Corps, perhaps the hottest place to shell fire on the whole
peninsula. I found six aeroplanes drawn up waiting for messages, and
before 10.30 we had twenty-nine shells all within a few yards of us.
Only very few exploded luckily, but the others buried themselves at
least six feet in the earth. H.Q. is a network of deep dugouts with
communication trenches, but a direct hit will pierce any one of them.
Already two have been struck since I arrived, and the wings carried
off a French biplane. They had 200 shells here yesterday, one of the
orderlies being killed and another has been showing me how his tunic
was riddled by pieces of a shell that exploded. The aeroplanes are
really the target aimed at. Two have just ascended, but as long as it
is daylight they will come and go. We usually get less fire when a few
of our planes are up, when the Turks' guns lie low not to give away
their positions.
Corps H.Q. is on the east side of the aerodrome, while our camp at W.
Beach is on the other. When I entered the mess for lunch the only
person there was an officer in a half faint, seated in a corner
glaring at a shell on the floor. This had come through the roof that
very minute and was luckily a "dud". The roof is made of heavy beams,
thick iron plates from the "River Clyde," sandbags and earth, but this
shell entered at the edge of the iron which did not project far enough
over the wall. The place had just been excavated and completed and was
used to-day for the first time. General Hunter-Weston and his staff
were present at lunch, also Compton Mackenzie, author and war
correspondent.
The French have been very busy all day. The Turks are only a little
less active from their having fewer guns--fifty-two on Achi Baba said
to be, and they must have six very big guns on the Asiatic side, and
these have been throwing huge shells into our lines, across Morto Bay,
all morning. Occasionally there is a burst of rifle fire which would
show that the French are making an attempt to regain two trenches I
hear they lost yesterday or the day before. It is said that to-day's
Showing first 200,000 characters. Full text: gutenberg.org/ebooks/25342