World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Turkey -- Gallipoli Peninsula
Horne, Elphinstone, Hunt, and I are on the beach all night, taking
shifts in superintending the unloading of the carts as they arrive back
full. They come back in a steady stream. The carts that have taken up
rations, stores, special ammunition, such as bombs, etc., earlier in
the evening, all return loaded with kits. We have a few men to help us,
but hardly enough, and we therefore work ourselves to keep warm. It is
a monotonous job. The Drabis appear fed-up, and we have to watch them
carefully to see that they do not slope off with their loaded carts
to their lines. Kipling once said “East is East and West is West, and
never the twain shall meet.” Is this correct? I wonder. For our Tommies
seem to work amicably with the Drabis. The white transport corporal,
who is with us marshalling the transport, on receiving an order from
me, shouts out into the darkness of the beach to the Indian jemadar,
“Mahommed Hussan!” A voice answers back with a drawl, “Hullo”; my
corporal shouts back, “Wait ’arf a mo, will yer?” and the voice answers
“A-all ri-ight.” East—and West.
All night, lighters are being loaded up and towed out to the ships.
Last A.T. carts unloaded at 5 a.m. We turn in at 5.30 a.m., ready for
sleep.
_December 10th._
A fine, cool day. Usual shelling with “hot-stuff” shells. Evacuation of
stores going on apace. I think the 29th is to be the last off. Medical
comforts in the way of champagne, port, brandy, and whisky are now
going cheap, and I send them round to all the battalion messes, the two
Brigades, and Divisional H.Q. They are not troubling to evacuate this
stuff, and I am trying to get a full share for the 29th. Personally, I
should like to give them champagne dinners every night, after what they
have been through. No food being landed now, except a little bread and
fresh meat. Instead of that, the reserve at the depot is being steadily
reduced.
_December 11th._
Last night work went steadily on—the loading up of lighters and the
towing of these to ships, where the derricks, rattling away feverishly,
emptied them. A surprisingly large quantity of all kinds of material
has been evacuated, yet the beaches and the life thereon appear
unchanged. All tentage and camps are to be left standing, and up to the
last day as much transport as possible will move about on the top of
the promontory. To-night the 89th Field Ambulance has left, together
with some men on light duty. Also a large number of men from the 11th
and 13th Divisions.
_December 12th._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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