THE UNDYING FEAT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLI, Issue 9432, 1 February 1921, Page 3

THE UNDYING FEAT.

NSW ASPECTS OF GALLIPOLI. REASONS FOR FAILURE. All the world knows that somebody blundered -when an Expeditionary Force was suddenly sent to Gallipoli. But the "world does not yet perhaps properly appreciate the criminal lack of foresight whicli despatched a. large improvised army to an isolated peninsula without adequate hospital accommodation or equipment. The glory of the courage of the British troops and the Atizji.cs is imperishable ; but while we know much of their magnificent heroism on those appalling beaches and most cruel cliffs and mountain sides, we have heard little of the wondrous f ortiude. and pluck which they displayed when, numbered amongst the casualties, they were succoured by the several Army Medical Corps. Bit by bit the story of their supreme heroism is coming out as famous surgeons and physicians associated with the expedition print excerpts from diaries. The latest of these war books, and easily the most informative of its kind, is "A Consulting Surgeon m the Near East," by LieutenantColonel A. H. Tubby (Christophers)., who spent four years on active service m Gallipoli and m Egypt and Patastine. Colonel Tubby tells a plain, unvarnished tale, neither criticising military strategy nor ' bureaucratic organisation, but " contenting himself with relating what he personally saw and actually did. He was is no way concerned with the Anzacs, but no author dealing with Gallipoli can omit them from his pen-pictures. So we find most generous tribute to our fighting men :

The Anzac Corps had stiffered tert ribly m the fighting, and bore their sufferings with extraordinary courage. Somebody m the War Office conceived the crazy idea that this Expeditionary Force could land and march past Chanak to Constantinople with flags flying like a Labour Day procession. Consequently no proper; provision Tvas^ made for hospital ships or hospitals. Where hundreds of casualties were estimated, tens of thousands had to be* handled, and, without considered planning, room had to be found for 15,000' beds at Alexandria and 7000 at Mudros immediately, the campaign opened. Even then the "somebody" lear^it nothing, though 21 hospital ships were insufficient, and more had to be pressed into service How this was done may be gleaned from Colonel Tubby' s quiet, unemotional description of H.M.H.S. Galeka.

Next to Nothing Ready. On July 17, 1917, Colonel Tubby atad his party left Alexandria for Port Said to join the Galeka. They boarded her at 5 o'clock m the afternoon. She was to sail for the Dardanelles next morning. This is what he found : — We had a most unpleasant surprise, for we found next to nothing ready. There were 21 cases, unopened, m the fore-well, and 52 cases, also unopened, m the afterhold, and there was no list of their contents forthcoming. Life-saving rafts had not been provided, and there was only the usual number of ship's boats, quite insufficient for the quota of sick and wounded she was destined to carry. No certificate had been issued -when she left port that she had been officially inspected and passed, and no complete manifest of her hospital fittings was forthcoming. It was decided to turn to at once, and start opening the 21 cases m the forward well. The M.O.s and orderlies worked most of the night. We found that they contained X-ray apparatus. Next morning we^ opened many of the 52 cases m the', after-hold, and formed some idea of their contents. We then noted the following deficiencies : No stretchers, no crutches, no sterilising apparatus for dressings, towels, and gowns. Many important drugs were not forthcoming, j and there was a totally inadequate supply of chloroform, ether, rubber i gloves, splints, ligatures, tourniquets, cottonwool, carbolic acid, and , iodine. The operating theatre was bare, as were also the X-ray room and dispensary. As to hospital clothes, there were no pyjama suits, red flannel', or cotton shirts, no handkerchiefs, socks, nor dusters. As to comforts and conveniences, mosquito nets, net covers for feeders, and fly-killers -were lacking. One part of Gallipoli was very much like another. The same local conditions prevailed. What *hey were Colonel. Tubby states without exaggeration: — Efforts were made to keep ■'the sanitary condition of the camp at Cape Helles as good as possible. The ground was, however, becoming foul, as there was not' sufficient space to alter "the position of the tents, and it had been continuously occupied for over three months. Owing to this cause the terrible plague of flies and the persistence of the dust-laden wind, many cases of diarrhoea, dysentery, and para-typhoid > B. had occurred, and were becoming very numerous.

Flies as Aerial Torpedoes. "The word 'awful' may fairly be used to describe the number and variety of" ■ flies' of every kind. The most noxious and nauseating were bright green ones, nearly tne size of blue-bottles, which were said to feed on corpses, > and the latrines were infested with other kinds. When eating, it was necessary to wave the thes away from the morsels of food \yith one hand whilst conveying them with the other to the mouth. It was said that men were seen sleeping with their mouths open and flies crawling m and out, just as occurs on children's eyelids m Egypt when asleep. These filthy flies were ; aeiual torpedoes,' scattering infection and disease far and wide. "Officers and men suffered tortures t'vom lice, and a colonel naively remarked — quite irrelevantly — that he ' had got rid of his last louse that

morning.' I "A captain soliloquised thus: 'Here j am I, Lord — — and with one hundred a lid fifty thousand a year, and — lousy !' " Aboard the hospital ships life was extremely precarious, for the Turkish gunners frequently had pot shots at them, despite their green bands and huge Red Cross markings. And on shore the daily round was just as eventful : — The same, evening the Turks were very active on the Asiatic side, and s( j ut about 80 shells into the camp at Helios. Some narrow escapes were recorded. Thus, one officer was m bed when a shell came into his tent, struck his bed, and went r>artially through it, happily without doing him any damage. Another officer, who had slept on the hospital ship, on returning to his tent m the

morning, found a large fragment of shell lying on his bed. Also, „ i.uj.. was blown 15ft into the air by ... .._,; explosion, and came uown u....^i. but dazed. The first thing ho said was: "I didn't do anything. >: Many medical and surgical problems are discussed by the author with a lucidity and simplicity which appeals to the layman, and with knowledge which must be invaluable to the medical profession, for this famous surgeon was. a ' born diarist, and tabulated thousands of caaes. Sickness and Wearinecs. Obviously, he is a man of most tolerant mind, . for he offers balm to those who have been shocked by stories of cowardice on the part of men whem they thought were courage incarnate. Of malingering there was sufficient and to spare, even m our justly-prized Anzac Corps. On these pathetic subjects of nerves Colonel Tubby thus passes humane judgment: — The general conclusion on this matter of unwillingness and malingering is that all, or nearly ail, of us are nervous of ourselves m warfare. Some can control their apprehensiveness, and put aside ail deterrents to* active control, others have only partial control, and are swayed by any kind of excuse, and a third class have so nearly lost selicontrol that they lend themselves, consciously or unconsciously, to trickery and deceit. For the splendid failure of Gallipoli many reasons have, been advanced. Colonel Tubby, a close student of affairs, bringing a detached mind to bear on the subject, reached these conclusions: — After the fighting, signs of depression were noticeable m our army. There was a general feeling of weariness, owing to climatic conditions, to disappointment at the results of the •recent battles, to grief at the loss of so many officers and men, to the prospect of a winter campaign, and to the absence of news or mails from home. Added to these there were no canteens, no comforts, nor amusements available for the men, such as were supplied later on so generously by the people at home through the Red Cross and the St. John vof Jerusalem organisations. Thirst was incessant, heat was persistent, dust all-pervading, the plagues, of flies was worse almost than the terror of the shells, diarrhoea and dysentery wero very prevalent, and took a terrible toll of our collective strength. If I may venture on opinions as to this causes of our failure at Gallipoli, 1 should place, primarily, the preva lence of diarrhoea and dysentery ; secondly, the enervating effects of the climate on men fresh out from home. Nothing else would have held m check the determination of our troops to break through the Turkish defences. Widely prevalent disease and bad climatic .conditions kept our numbers too l«w for a task so great. ' i , More damning condemnation of the horrifying stupidity which produced I the hospital shortage has not been i printed, and if Australians should lay to heart one thing more than another, it is that never agaim should their i fighting men be sent into the field m such dreadful plight.