SOLDIERS' STORIES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 22 June 1915, Page 5

SOLDIERS' STORIES

INCIDENTS, I\T,my thrilling details of' the landing' of tho New Zealanders and Australians at the Dardanelles' and the subsequent fighting are contained in.letters from, the wounded .which are"arriving daily. ' "Crack! and a man would roll down: .; the hill, right alongside v o'f vou; .with a bulle't through his h'end',' andthon. r you ''.vronld hear, 'They have got me,' " -writer ,on Australian. ''Our chaps were 'pilled in almost every conceivable part of tlio body. How the doctors,attd'fh'e worked! Dr. Bean was doctot' to.the 3rd. He was doing good work, but only, lasted a couple of Hour.*, when , he'■wrb knocked out> ; and. tl\ey had to .take tliim away on a stretcher. Only an A.M.C. .man. ■wf>s* Mfc, and he, too,, soou departed; but he worked, oh, so -well while there, wiring nothing-for-, tfoo bullets..,flyilig pasV him while dressing the> wounds. •= "About o'clock >word came; . v.-anttxl •reinforcements on the-left-(just near us), so Major Benntett sent all those who had strayed-and had collected t there along. Altogether there were two' of our 6flicers, a Sergeant, ,and ft fe\v mort from other' regiments',' and we made for/ the Oliick of it. The platoon of the 3rd' was in reserve for ihe firing lino on top,.and ho would not let-them go, of 1 course. On iho way I had to gives & hand 'to a mail who had bfeen hit 'badly', so I lost the rcstf and when I started olf again they wereigone. I didii't get very.' 1 far: I found myself alongside a 1 you'Ug' captain. He said he -was exhausted, and. telling mo to take chat'ge, 'crawled ba'dk. I managed to" get my ' 'entrenching tool 'out, arid -scooped '&'■ cpuple, o£ indhes away for mv head—it was 'all I could do—and -waited. t . Wasn't hit, and at dtisk abgut 'a 'dozen j Ntew Zealanders." came ' along', '.under: a; ; ( sergeant-major, and ao between us' \v&. did" our best. 'Hell! it was a k; "I made'a Inatc of a fine litlle chap~.' i a bugleiv He had; a brother in" our'cpm- ; I pany. Toge-'t-lieVr wo dug" ourselves -Hi. . : Nothing much happened "in our quarter/ that morning. Tho ships' big guns were - | booming; away and smashing' things' up, and machine-guns rattling and rifles ftiS ring the -whole time, aiKl'-etoei^: few' minutes tho word passed along,. .'Stret-cher-bearer .wanted,' - ok 'A.M.C. mart I wanted.' ':0 h„ how those fallows' \vorft>ed, and often went right into- the '"firing line for wounded. • ! , '<'Wlien dark a dozen of- '.us ./went -inta • the firing line to .bring ■down dead and: wounded. In. the morning-my-* little bugler'went off down the gully ' H'ith a. sergeant after snipers, and I hav& vnoji seen him. since," 1 •