A SOLDIER'S LETTER.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144712, 22 June 1915, Page 8

A SOLDIER'S LETTER.

FROM THE MALTA HOSPITAL. 'A vivid description of the experiences of the Australasians on landing at the Dardanelles is given in a letter received by the Rev. A. E. Hunt, of Wellington, from his son, .Private A. J. Hunt, oi the Canterbury Battalion, who was badly wounded in the engagement, and is now in hospital at Malta. The letter (dated May 6) is as under: “I will say 1 am getting on all right now. The wound is a beauty—just below my neck. It is about 6in. long and 4in, wide, and I don’t know how deep. I was very lucky to come out of it so lightly. 1 got hit five times altogether, but there is only one of any importance. The others were shrapnel hits. My haversack stopped two from going into ray thigh, and only left bruises. ■Tho entrenching tool stopped another from going into my log. The other got me on the head ,and it knocked me senseless for about half an hour, and only made a lump as big as a tennis ball at the back of my ear. I can’t hear out of my car now, but that is a trifle.

AUSTRALIANS DO WELL. “I will just tell you what happened the day wo landed. We arrived at Gallipoli Peninsula about midnight. About an hour before dawn the Australians began to land. My word, they did well. We wore taken off tho transports by torpedo boats, and had to wade rip to our shoulders with aIL s our pack on, and I can tell you it wasn’t easy. Tho Australians fixed bayonets before they left the boat, then jumped out with a yell and charged tho Turks up a terribly high cliff. They scarcely fired a shot, hut cut them to pieces with the bayonet. CAPTURE OF MACHINE-GUNS. “The Turks had some machine-guns on tho beach, and as each boat came up they opened fire. In one boat of Australians .only two got out alive, and the boat wins covered in blood. However, the next boat was more fortunate, and when they, got on dry land they charged down on three machine-guns and captured them.. We could sec all this from our boat, and of course wo were all dying to get ashore and give them a hand. At last our turn came.' We were about tho first of tho New Zealanders to land. We got on the torpedo boat "from tho port side, and the Turks couldn’t sec us, but ns wo went round the how of the transport three batteries opened fire on us. Of course when they started the warships all started to .silence them, and you should have heard the row. You couldn’t hear yourself speak, and when at last wo landed w© couldn’t hear one another for about five minutes. We were lucky in not potting hit going over. Some of the shells landed five or yards from us and didn’t explode until they reached’the water. Had they exploded in the air we should have been blown to pieces. “STRAIGHT INTO IT.” “Well after we got ashore we at once took our packs off and went straight into it. It was something awful climbing that cliff. • There was only a narrow path, and everyone had to keep to it because all the bushes were mined. At last wo got over it, after continually ducking our heads to dodge tho hail of shrapnel and bullets that were flying round. First of all we wont into ono of tho Turks’ trenches. The first sight that met our eyes was a Turk with his head blown off. Ho looked lovely, and it cheered us up a lot ! , A bit further on wo saw another with both his legs Iving beside him. Wo .were in tho trenches lor about an hour and a half when the order came, ‘Reinforcements wanted on the right flank.’ We had to double out of tho trenches and go for our lives across an op on space that was being swept with shrapnel. We got across all right. Three of our chaps were killed, hut wo kent on, and at last got behind the firing” lino that - was wanting more men. We were crawling along on our stomachs when one of our chaps saw three snipers hiding behind some hushes. e told the lieutenant, and he ordered four of us to fix bayonets and charge them. We couldn’t fire because of our chaps in front, so we crept back, fixed our bayonets, and waited till the shells stopped buzzing a bit, and then we ‘up and at ‘era.’ We took them by surprise, and when wo were on top of them they dropped their riffes and veiled for mercy. They got a lot of it, - too. Our bayonets went in up to the hilt about a dozen times. Then we took the bolts out of their rifles, threw them away, and left them. They' are the biggest cowards out. When once they see they are caught they won’t make a fight for it; they want mercy. They know that word well enough.

BULLETS FLYING EVERYWHERE

“Well, we went to our own platoon after, and got up to the firing line. I had a surprise when I had a look up. I thought the Turks were 30(5 or 400 yards off. We were going to make an advance, so wo got up two at a time, ran forward about five yards, then dropped. Well, I had just got down when I was hit. A sniper caught mo sideways on. The bullet went in my left shoulder, then came up, made a hole in the middle of my back, and dived across to my right shoulder. It was only taken out yesterday, and now I'vo got it in my pocket. The worst part of it all was getting back to the beach when one was hit. Of course I was knocked senseless, and when I came to I was alone. All the others .had advanced,. I crawled hack as best I could, for I couldn’t stand up. The bullets were flying about everywhere. When I reached a little hollow I tried to stand up, but my head seemed too heavy for me. I couldn’t hold it up. It seemed as if my neck was broken. I bad n hit of a rest, then I scrambled off a bit further. I camo to a steep bank, and just as I was going to elide down it I heard a shell coming. I bobbed down, and when I tlmnrrht it had gone I got up. and then I was knocked on the head, and I didn’t remember any more. All I know is that T must have rolled down the hank, and in doing so T nut my shoulder out. One of the ambulance men said he found me and carried me down to the beach. I don’t know where I should have been if it hadn’t been for him. MV shoulder is all right now. It was lucky I didn’t break my neck, for it was a steep bank and I must have fallen heavily." However, it is done with now and I onlv hope I shall soon be able to get bark to tho front again. T must get some of my own back again. n