ON A HOSPITAL SHIP

Evening Post, Volume XC, Issue 63, 11 September 1915, Page 13

ON A HOSPITAL SHIP

A NEW ZEALANDER'S EXPERI- , ENCES. The following extracts -are from letters of Dr. H. J. Rawson, received by bis father, Mr. Herbert Rawson/ D» Raweon has served his country sinoe the beginning of the war at Netley Hospital, on the Oxfordshire, at two base hospitals in Havre, and is now on the steamer carrying wounded from the Dardanelles to Egyp{, and England: — We had a lovely trip to the Dardanelles, passing quite close to Cape Matapan on the south coast of Greece. We anchored in the bay of an island about fifty miles away from the Dardanelles, and stayed there four days. We left that island on 11th July for Cape Helles, in the extreme end of the Gallipoli Peninsula, getting there in about five hours. The first of the fighting seen was smoke of the guns used from Cape Helles, then tremendous shells bursting over on the Asiatic side (about four miles away). We' were close enough to see the parapets of the Turkish batteries with the naked eye. Anchored about half mile from the cape, and the next thing that happened was the Turks dropping four high explosive shells on the camp on shore, which exploded with a terrific report, shaking . the ship with the concussion and sending up clouds of dirty yellow smoke and dust. On' the extreme end of Cape Helles there is a camp, and on the edge of the cliff are several of our batteries, which fire over at the Turks on the Asiatic side, who have a nasty habit of enfilading the camp with big shells. Further inland, about four miles away, we could see the hill of Achi Baba with the valley in front of it where all the fighting is going on. There were enormous numbers of high explosive shells bursting in the valley the whole afternoon, the Turks, getting the range pretty , accurately lota of times. We took on a few wounded in the evening ; they were* brought out in lighters towed by a launch and hoisted on board by a crane. A few of the medical staff on shore came aboard. They told us what we had seen was quite ordinary — in fact a, quiet day. * THE BOMBARDMENT. About 4.30 next morning the bombardment started again, developing in intensity till it was absolutely continuous for about three hours, making it impossible to sleep. An English and then a French warship came up and joined in, and every time on© of their big guns went off the concussion shook the whole ship. It was mighty exciting. All the morning a tremendous lot of high explosive shells were bursting in the valley of Achi Baba, besides lots of shrapnel, which latter type of shell looks very pretty bursting in the air. In the afternoon about 4 p.m. another English warship came up and fired her 12-in guns at the summit of Achi Baba, and also into the valley of Krithia, where we could see with glasses the shells were doing some harm. The warship was only about a quarter of a mile from us, and it was magnificent to see her great guns sticking out from the side firing about three at once—* 12-in, 6-in, and 9.4, which made a most tremendous report which rattled all the windows on our steamer. She was firing about 10 •hots a minute. There was another similar bombardment on Tuesday, when, as it said in the paper, "we tried to recapture some of the trenches lost the previous day." BETWEEN. TWO FIRES. With regard to the Peninsula, on the extreme point of Cape Helles are the remains of the fort of Seddul Bahr, and close to it the steamer River Clyde, which was run ashore and her sides knocked out when the Expeditionary Force first landed. About 100 yards from us were the remains of the hull of the Majestic, quite close to the shore. On the cliff facing us were the dug-outs —simply holes dug in the sandy soil *pd pretty well protected from the shells. On the Asiatic side are two ruined forts, one, which is not silenced, is simply a battery behind earthworks;-- whereas the ruined parts were places like medieval castles, with high stone walls round them. The Australians and New Zealanders are on the other side of. Achi Baba, so that the Turks are between two fires, as also are the troops on the Cape Helles side. While we were watching the bombardment on Sunday a German aeroplane flew overhead, but dropped no bombs, and soon afterwards a French aeroplane arrived.. We took on wounded all Monday and Tuesday and got away early on Wednesday morning for Alexandria with over 1500 cases, mostly pretty bad ones. We were very much under-staffed, and what with excessive heat and continuous anxious work it was an experience we do not wish to repeat. We were doing the work of a field hospital, base hospital, and hospital ship all rolled into one, and that under tropical conditions, with wounded mostly strtaight from the battlefield! We got to Alexandria on Friday, only two days' steaming, there disembarked all the light cases, and took on about 200 convalescents; left again on Saturday evening, and from there home we ; could cope with the cases better, as : we had a good deal of help given us by | two medical officers coming home on leave, and also by some very efficient R.A.M.C. men who were patients. Very glad to get away from Alexandria, as the heat was excessive and we were all feeling done up. Two of my patients were New Zealanders, but they belonged to the one and only New Zealand battery which was operating with the British trappe, all ths othtre bcincwitti the AuttrtUuu.