TREATING THE WOUNDED

Otago Witness, Issue 3196, 16 June 1915, Page 4

TREATING THE WOUNDED

DOCTOR DESCRIBES SCENES. SYDNEY, Monday. Dr Colin Chisholm Ross, of Sydney, writing to his mother from Gezereb Palace. Cairo, on May 1, gives thrilling details of the fighting at the Dardanelles. He states: “You cannot conceive bow busy we have been here. We had only one and a-half days to get ready to receive 250 patients, without a thing in the place, and have not had a moment, day or night. Poor wounded chaps have simply been arriving in thousands, and there arc about 2500 in Cairo at present. I have left Mena to come here and fix them up. I have only one other medical officer to help me. It has been a ghastly week, so many friends gone, and one will be frightened to look at the official lists when they come out. Nevertheless, Australia has the satisfaction, poor as it may be, of performing one of the most brilliant bayonet charges in history. They had to land under a most awful fire in boats, and immediately take a very steep hill, which was simply alive with Turks and Germans (tho latter were in large numbers, I hoar). And they did It, and made five miles of ground in bayonet charges in eight hours. We are all very proud of them. Since Sunday week, the date of landing, the men have entrenched themselves, and the loss of life has been much less. We are at present working like mad, and patients are everywhere, all over the floors, and in every conceivable corner and place that can bo utilised. They are easily managed, though, and my admiration of them goes up by leaps and bounds. They

bear their wounds like men, and never growl. They seem more anxious to get back to the firing lino than anything else. The loss of officers, too, has been very largo, and some fine things were done. For that reason, we hear of medical officers and parsons loading charges, and the latter using most unusual language in the process. It is very fine. However, I fancy all that typo of fighting is practically done with now, seeing that they are established.”