IN A WARM CORNER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15949, 21 June 1915, Page 9

IN A WARM CORNER.

TRENCHES 50 > YARDS APART.

COLONEL PLUGGE WOUNDED.

PLEASURES OF SNIPING TURKS.

Hie landing of tho 15tb, North Auckland, Company is described by Private J. Wolstenholme, who was wounded on the day following tho landing. In a postscript to his letter, he states that he was discharged from hospital on May 6.

"Just as wo touched tho beach one of our men was hit in the neck with a piece of shrapnel," Private Wolstenholme writes, "and never had the satisfaction of a shot at them. Wo scaled up a steep face, with the shrapnel dropping in showers all around. Colonel l'lugge was hit in about two minutes, but not very hard, and it did not stop him. When we got on top of tho ridge wo came on a lot of Australians, holding a trench. We got down for a spell, and were yarning away, when all at once a bullet took a lump oh' Hillary's nose—Hillary used to be a partner in the North Auckland Times, and sold out to join the force. He was No. 2of our lot to bo hit. Shortly afterwards we made another movo, and I got lost, with a few more. We poked around for a long time, and then joined up with a machine-gun section, and helped to carry ammunition out to the extreme lett, where wo wero fairly in the thick of it. Wounded men were coming down ill streams by this time, and the fire was tremendous all day. We turned ,the Turks out of a trench with the bayonet, and they retired about 500 yds to another ridge. " It was growing dusk by this time, and we were ordered to hold our position at all costs until reinforcements came up. lha trench we had captured was too exposed, so we retired just over the brow of tho hill and tried to dig ourselves in, but had to keep firing most of the time. Our reinforcements aid not arrive, and after dark tho Turks came back into their old trench. Then wo were hard at it, at about 50yds range. Eight of us were placed on outoost about 10yds ahead of the rest, and spent a few pleasant hours sniping Turks. We scored six dead and one wounded prisoner among us, and then w« were relieved, and went back with the rest in the trench.

A horrible cold, drizzly rain came on and the ground was soon a filthy mass of mud. At last daylight came, but still no reinforcements. Things were very nippy for a few hours, but wo plugged away till some time between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Then the lurks made a big attempt to get round our left, and partly succeeded. I was lying thare waiting for a head to s(iow, so that I could blow it off, but nobody would oblige me. All at once I got a terrible jar in the Tight leg. I spun over on my back and had a look round to see where mv leg had gone, but it was still in the same place. The pain settled down into my heel in a few minutes. A Medical Corps man bandagad mo and sent me down to tho beach. The doctor would not let mo go back, and I was taken aboard a boat again, after the hottest 24 hours I ever put in."