World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Turkey -- Gallipoli Peninsula
I pass Worcesters and Royal Scots in the trenches, and finally the
trench dips down to a wide open space under cover, with a small brook
running its course, out of which two nullahs run. This, I am told, has
been officially named “Clapham Junction.” Unfortunately, a few shrapnel
then burst immediately over “Clapham Junction,” and I therefore go to
look for a waiting-room, refreshment-room, or booking-office in which I
can take cover until the rain has stopped. I find a “refreshment-room”
in the shape of an advanced dressing station, and two officers there
very kindly give me breakfast. After breakfast I walk along the nullah,
which I learn is now to be called Krithia Nullah, back towards the
rear, and when the sound of bullets pinging away overhead ceases, I
step out on to a newly made road, which is still under construction by
the Engineers, and then come across the Manchesters again in a newly
dug trench forming reserve lines. Walking back to Pink Farm, I mount
my mare and canter back to the beach. Last night the Turks made a raid
on the part of the line held by the Lancashire Fusiliers, endeavouring
to capture a machine gun, but very soon gave up the idea. They lost
heavily and left six prisoners behind.
Supply depot for my Brigade alone now working smoothly. We draw rations
for the whole Division, men and horses, at six o’clock each morning by
G.S. wagons. This takes two hours, during which the rations are carted
from the Main Supply depot some three hundred yards inland from our
depots at the back of “W” Beach, and sorted out to each of the three
Brigade depots and the Divisional artillery depot. Breakfast at eight,
and at 9.30 I go to my depot again and issue the rations to my units,
meeting the Q.M.’s who have arrived with their transport. Receipts for
the rations are then given me by the Q.M.’s, who cart them away to
their own lines, where their first-line transport is encamped only a
distance of three to five hundred yards away on the other side of the
beach. At night they are taken up to the various ration dumps, and from
there taken the rest of the way to the trenches either by hand or on
pack-mules. At the forward ration dumps the work of redistribution is
carried on under a continual flight of spent and “over” bullets, and
standing there one is in constant danger of stopping one. Up to now
several casualties have been caused, but mostly slight wounds. After
five minutes one becomes quite used to the singing of the bullets,
which sound quite harmless. It is only when an extra burst of fire
breaks out that it is necessary to get into a trench or behind some
sheltering cover. I ride up in the afternoon to Brigade H.Q., who have
now dug themselves into a dry watercourse just in front of Pink Farm. I
see General Williams and Thomson. Afterwards I walk up to the trenches
where the Worcesters are, up beyond Church Farm, and across that open
space. At Church Farm I am told that at this side of the building I am
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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