GALLANT AUSTRALASIANS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15947, 18 June 1915, Page 8

GALLANT AUSTRALASIANS.

YOUNG GUNNER'S BRAVERY.

PRAISE •FROM A GENERAL.

(Published by Arrangement.— WiiiTfito from Gaba Tepe on May 51, the official Commonwealth correspondent,, Captain Bean, says:—

The fighting lately has been almost confined to a portion of our line known as Quinn's Post, where the Turkish trenches and our own are within a few yards of each other. It was here that the Turks temporarily rushed a section of our trench or' May 29. That night'the Turks sapped up to two holes, or crater*, which had been caused by the explosion of our counter-mines during the previous week. These crateis were within three or four yards of our trenches. By the morning the enemy had turned them into bombproof shelters. At midday our artillery bombarded the enemy's trenches. Two email parties of Light Horse dashed over the parapet, and they could be seen throwing bombs like cricket balls down into the Tatars and lunging with their bayonets, although thoy were falling right and left. Then they hopped down into the craters. A furious bombai dment of Turkish bombs followed. One party came back in four hours. All were wounded. The other party, although all wounded except two, remained till nearly midnight, and fortified the crater, which we still retain. During this action it became the duty of some of our machine guns to keep down the fire of the Turkish machine guns. One gunner, a young trainee from Balmain, engaged two Turkish machine gunners, whose position he knew. He wiped out the crew of one gun. Tho Turks obtained a second crew, and for five minutes endeavoured to hit our gunner, whilst the other Turkish gun gradually felt for him. The shots came creeping up one side of his loophole, then below it, then across the top, ripping tho sandbags to bits. The lad continued firing, without paying the slightest attention to the clanger. Finally the enemy's gunner blew the sandbags off the parapet, and presently reached our gunner, who fell wounded alongside another member of the gun's crew. The general commanding, who happened to be present, saw the whole episode. - He told the youngster as he lay wounded that he intended to recommend him for the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The youngster raised himself as best he could and saluted. The trench beyond our left, which the Now Zealanders took and held for 48 hours, was afterwards enfiladed by Turkish ' artillerv, and became untenable. The New Zealanders therefore retired during the dark to their old position.