ON GALLIPOLI PENINSULA.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15337, 22 July 1915, Page 8

ON GALLIPOLI PENINSULA.

STOEIES FROM THE FIRING LINE

INCIDENTS GRAVE AND GAY.

(fBOM OTR FPECIAT. COBRESPOSPENT. Du!;-out "Do Luxe,"' May 24th. Tlie New Zr-alaiuWs and Australians r.rr? keeping up the.r end in good stylo, and have earned nothing but praiso on all hands. The colonials have worked hard nil along, and, naturally, the work is beginning to tell on a few of them, hut a vhit to the firing line will KK>n prove to anyone that they are 11 r.or in danger m cracking up. and thoir healthy, sunburnt, complexions would sii'4se-!t that they hnd lived in the- open .air nil their lh«s. They would certainly ri-My a spell, and no doubt they tv ; " I■•-. a rest very shortly. The ..■■.lnded men are not coming in as regularly as was the case a few weeks ago. bnt there are still a few, and the T'irst Canterbury has suffered as much ■ .-> any. It is very hard to see so many .•cully good fellows falling/ hut their relatives have the consolation that they died like time soldiers. There are lots of Frenchmen hero, and their artillery is responsible for a great deal of tho damage that has been done, and their accuracy in shooting is almost uncanny. Tho French "75's" am much discussed amongst- the troops, and there is no doubt that, properly handled, they will do as much daniago n> any modern artillery. 6EAMAN HEADS A CHARGE. Although the game of war is a serious matter, it has its aniusing episodes, and no matter how critical the position, you can always depend upon a British '-oldier to make the best of it. Tho English "Tommy" has always enjoyed the reputation of being an exceedingly good-hnnioured sort of fellow, and nothing in the wide world will upset his spirits. It seems natural for him to treat the shells of the enemy as a huge joke, and if one of these unwelcome customers does happen to got anywhere near him he takes it as a matter of course that it should not harm him. I can remember during our etay in Egypt spending a whole day -with, a "Tommy" who had survived the retreat from Mons and several other celebrated battles. ''The bullet ain't made that will kill any of you chaps," he told mc. "and as for bayonets, well, we've never been beaten yet, and never -will be." This is the spirit that possesses the English "Tommy," and he is not a bit afraid of meeting the erremy in any encounter. The Jack Tar is of a different stamp altogether, •and what we have seen of him, he ranks even, higher than the "Tommy." On land, I have seen him "duck" when the shells are flying round like the veriest recruit. ( but when you ccc him on ■ /the .sea the bullets may fly aH round him, and you will notice that he never ■worries, and goes on with his work as though war was an unknown thing. During the past month or bo we have seen a good deal of our Jack Tars, who . have been employed landing troops and , .conveying wounded to and from different ships, and though-1 have always held a.very high opinion of his abilities, my admiration for him. has increased one hundred per cent. When the occasion requires ft, he is as strong and fo.irloss as one would desire, and when you j-ee him handling the wounded he is. as gentle as a woman. He never appears sad, and when called- on to work for' unreasonably long hours he does so without a murmur. But I shall neror forget one incident that happen* • cd when our troops landed.. Of course, sailors were in charge of all the boats, and when the first great charge, was- , made, we saw one of our crew well in, the van and racing like mad, armed with nothing more than a. boat-hook. It was certainly a formidable weapon at that "particular time, and he certainly was very determined when scaling : tiie - steep hills. He arrived at the top, and appeared to suddenly realise his position, whereupon he turned round and sauntered back to his proper station. Another wae seen charging like mad. armed with a. huge spanner, but later in tho day he was well equipped with rifle and bayonet, and was doing his work like a tradesman. One sailor who was in the ill-fated Ocean seemed to have little to worry, him, except the 'fact that tho day before his ship went down ho 7iad finished all his washing, and lie was forced to leave it all on board, and make good his escape in a. singlet. He is in another warship now. but lie has a grievance, for his ship does for too much firing and he never gets a moment's peace. "LOTS OF FUN." There is a lot of fun. in the firingline, notwithstanding the shrapnel-fire, and during a lull in the firing 1 saw one man fast asleep. He had been, at it " since daybreak, and was dog-tired, and . would surely find the benefit of his snooze later in the day. Another man ■was lying on his back humming "Tip- - perary," when." a bullet went clean through the toes of both his boots. He ■ was very comfortable, and had his legs crossed *at the time. It did not touch him, however, and he resqmedhis position. Another timo I saw a man bob his head up to have a look round, and .instantly off went his hat in the air, and a streak of red. showed where the bullet had grazed his head: This seemed to annoy him, and he informed his enemy that they were a crowd of ■ . and 'take that," as he blazed away three Tounds rapidry at nothing in particular. One little corporal waa there working in great style, nnd his directions for the concentration of fire were worthy of a general.: Hβ was bobbing up and down like a jack-in-the-box, and seemed to have a charmed life, but an officer told him to "quit his circus tricks and get on with the job." One man said he.wanted a "memento," so he stuck his cap up on the handle of his entrenching tool, and ' almost immediately it was riddled, and then he was very much put out because "it's the only cap I've got, and they've spoiled the thing." This ' iB the spirit that animates tho soldiers from Australia and New Zealand, and - -they are getting more like tho "Tommy" every day. The only thing that worries them is the thought that they might ni some future date be compiled to once acain undergo more sqnad and rifle drill, and ceremonial parados, but personally I think that day is a long way off. AMBULANCE AND HOSPITAL. The average civilian has a very faint idea of the happenings iv actual warfare, and tho man who picks up his looming paper and reads of an auack - on some position or another never troubles to think or .the difficulties that must bo braved before any movement t-au achieve . success.; Ho kuows nothing «f the havoc can be wixiutftst »n ii.c minutes with a wellJiundltd Maxim, which can spit out lead ul viie rate of MX) bullete a min.uio. and" - this'coupled with the ever-present-shrapnel, rifle-fire,. and hand- ' grenades. Ineii - there are barbed-wire t-ntaugleuiccts and the consolation that . v, hen the oppo>ii:g trenches are taken i hey aro found to bo mined, and the attacking party u-'ay find themselves . {soaring skyward-.. And it is just as well tor the M'.i<l:er. and ,iust as well for the civilian, the latter does not' know everything, for if there is one thing that is likely to upset a soldier . Jtere than another, it is the fact that

his relatives at home might be worrying about him. "When wounded, practically one of the hrst things a man tnmKs ot is the possibility or preventing his name being teut home m the list of wounded, and ho *vrjt«s at tne very first opportunity to teii his people that he is all right. He knows that his mother always worries unnecessarily, and even if he has only the slightest injury, to her it will appear; very serious She knows quite well that you do not'receive the attention here that you would in your own home, and this is not to be expected, but 1 would remind anxious relatives that we have a very fine staff of medical men, and as nurses the Ambulance men are a good substitute. On the proper hospital I gbips everything possible is done for the I comfort o> the men, and her« nurses i are employed, and the food provided is as nourishing and palatable, as one i would receive in any hospital. The number of men wounded every day naturally keeps the Red Cross boats very full, "but besides these, many of the largest liners have been fitted up for the express treatmont of wounded soldiers; and all round the hospital treatment is much better than would have been expected. The Ambulance men work very hard, and when this war is over the'part played by the R*d Cross Brigade will long be remembered. There is a certain section known as "stretch-er-hc-irers," and these men have played a particularly heroic part. The conveying of wounded men out of the_ danger zone is a very precarious business, and one fraught with the greatest of danger, but our "S.B.'s" have done j noble work, and we are never likely to J forget it. j THE MOUNTED 'MEN'S CHANCE, j At one time it looked as though our mounted men would have little chance of showing their ability in the war, but they were given the opportunity of leaving their horses in Egypt and coming here as infantry, and the unanimity with which the opportunity was seized showed only too plainly how anxious they were to get into the thick of the fray. At tho present time they are in the trenches, and doing very good work, and are fighting up to the standard eet by their infantry comrades. It is said that a few of them were a little impetuous at the start, but shell-fire has a very sobering effect, and they have now settled down well. Their casualties have- been comparatively light, fi o far. A few of them-h ! ive been killed, and a number wounded, but, of course, they have not seen the fighting experienced by tho infantry. A body of men who deserve a lot of credit for the work they do are those who run tho mine-sweepers, and these small iron "tubs" are often under fire. Even when not engaged in tho work of sweeping, they are running to and from tho beach with wounded and stores. or conveying troops. Mofct of their work is done within range of the enemy's guns, and many times wo hav o seen huge shells "lob" very near these craft. Tho motor-tugs from the warshins are. auother class that are continually under firei and their great speed and general utility have served well the purpose of landing troops. This is a part of the business that few people think of when they ask what our Navy is doing, but without ifh© Navy no body of troops would hare landed on the Gallipoli Penineula. A couple of days ago we had newg that the Majestic and Triumph had been sunk; in fact, many of our men sa;w the latte r go down. Both these ships had been doing great work at the Dardanelles, and tlie latter fired more shells than any. other boat. We had met many of the men off both ships, and we , aye pleased that the number'killed was very small. . '.-.-■ AT THE BASE. Each day the work of instilling obedience into our foe goes on with unabated vigour, and the troops have now settled down to their work in good style, and g« about their daily duties in a manner that suggests that actual warfare is merely a matter of course. - The burst of shrapnel, which cent men scurrying to their dug-outs a week or two ago, has now lost many of its terrors, and though it is still to be treated with respect, men go about , their work as usual. Considering- the number of.shots fired', it is wonderful how many men have escaped. Outside the "fighting line is even" more dangerous than right in front, for usually the shrapnel does not afiect the men in the trenches, but is used to work havoc at the base, and hamper the reinforcements. People who have not been actually in the firing line have no idea of the amount of work that must be done in the rearguard, and the supplying of. .the firinjr line with food and ammunition is a huge task. "Without either of these necessaries an army would very eodn find itself in difficulties. To provide these things great r'sk must be taken, and it is to the Army Ser- j •vice Corps .that a great amount of thanks is due. Then all the stores must bo looked - .after and all spare equipment collected from, dead or ■wounded men. This is a very big iteni/ and parties of men traverse the country where there has been any figbtinjj collecting rifles, packs, and equipment generally. Then, men wounded must bo taken back +o the hospital, and thi s is where our Red Cross men! do their wonderful work. They seemj really keen on their work, and take bic risks to cet their unfortunate comrades to a placo of safety. One member i of the Auckland Battalion earned unstinted praise on nil sides for his devotion to duty, and the number of_wound. Ed men he "brought from tho firing line is very large. However, tho poorfel- l,low "stopped one" in the end, and one who was a credit to his country has pnssed away. " ■ RE<JAR,T> FOR THE COLONIALS. * One thing that is distinctly noticeable is tho good feeling existing between the different rauks and regiments. Although, the colonial troops have formed an opinion of on© body of troops, there is no ill-feeling existing and the esprit de corps between Indians. "Tommies," and colonials is very pleasing. The "Tommies" have nothing but praise for the Australasian troops, who have shown themselves fearless and possessed of plenty of dash. If there is one body of men to whom we can co for a recommendation as fighters, it is the Navy men. They have quite a lot of time for- the Australasians, and go to any amount of trouble to oblige us. One English regiment is now practically clothed in Australian gear, and many of the Jack Tars are. to be seen wearinc our hats, which give them rather a peculiar appearance. A sailor in a slouch hat is about as funny as a "kiltie" in a "bell-topper. , - , PROSPECTIVE COLONISTS. Many of the English lads are much surprised at tho happy-go-lucky style of the colonials and the ■ manner in which they asjociatr with their officers, and the good feelings existing between officers and mea. They say that we have not a great idea of discipline in their meaning of the word, but they , admit .that we fight better without it. j Tho English "Tommy" is greatly interested in colonial life, and he stares in amazement when we toll him of the amount of work and money to be had "down under," and tho prospects for anyone who is willing to work. I think that after this war many of the English lads now "doinjr their bit" will be irring their luck in Australia or New Zealand. A WORD FOR THE NURSES. One is only t«o apt to pass over rather lightly the part played by women in the war. Talk of war mainly centres round the men who arc handling tlie rifle and bayonet, or the men behind our euns. The men have the excitement of battle to spur them on, but does one ever give more than a passing thought to that noble band of 'women who tend our wounded and sick men in the hospitals in various places? If the men in the firing line are the pick of tho nation's manhood,

then those who have volunteered to look after them certainly represent a very fine type of the nation's womanhood. They are fine, strapping girls, everyone, and to watch them at work in the hospital gives one a faint idea of their troubles and privations, which are even more nerve-racking than the shot and shell of the trenches. They are alwaye on duty, and their work is never finished, but they always manage a kindly smilo for their unlucky breathers, an ( ] a words to each man lends much to the general cheerfulness. AH day they flit aboujb from ward to ward, always busy, never too tired or unwilling to do anything that will rjivs tlie slightest relief. Always kindly and courteous, the Red Cross nur>:e has earnerl a very cood name both with colonial c an t l "Tommies," an<J their constant care and watchfulness give a feeling of contentment to everyone. All through the night a nurso is on duty, and by the faint glow of the oil lanip she- watches and waits for a call to" relieve the distress of some suffering soldier. Theirs is truly a noble cause, and though they cannot handle rifle and bayonet like their soldier brothers, they are doin<r ju.,t such noble work, and are nursing back to health the men who have, suffered at the hands of their common" foe.