BACK FROM LEMNOS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 144713, 23 June 1915, Page 2

BACK FROM LEMNOS.

STORIES OF GALLIPOLI. Two disappointed men try to comfort each other in the convalescent home in St. Hilda Road, Melbourne. They are Lance-Corporal Poole, ok South Australia, and Private il. O. Holman, of Tasmania. They went as far as Lemnos with tho Australian,‘and Now Zealand Army Corps, but were/ botli stricken with rheumatism, and returned to Australia by tho Ceramic on the eye of the departure of tho troops to Gallipoli. .Laucc-Corporai Poole states that while they, were in Lejnnos_ admiral informed some of tiie Australian officers, that if the Australians had only been there when tho Dardanelles had boon first attacked the fleet would have been through in a few weeks. Tho fleet found no difficulty in smashing the forts at the entrance. When the warships went inside the strait the Turks would run some field artillery into tho places occupied by tho demolished forts, and tho fleet, being attacked from the roar, would have to come back and start over again. Had there been an army to co-operate with the fleet tho Dardanelles would have been forced before the Turks had time to heavily entrench themselves. “LIZZIE” INSPECTED. “I went aboard the Queen Elizabeth,” said Lance-Corporal Poole, “and my impression was ono of astonishment. She is a magnificent ship and* must be a wonder in action. The sailors were most remarkable 'men, in my opinion. They just said they had had a pretty warm time, and let it go at that. Then they would talk about any commonplace thing. They were very modest chaps, and seemed to take fighting as a very natural thing. They showed mo with pride a rough groove in the deck where a Turkish shell had dug in. That was the only damage done her. One sailor told me that when tho Bouvet sank they heard the whistle of a shell, saw a puff of -smoke rise from the French warboat, and within three minutes she was gone. “AVe could- distinctly hear the bombardment of the Dardanelles forts on some dnvs,” said Poolo. “Do you' know what a four-inch gun sounds like a mile away? Well, it w;as just like that. You can guess what sort of a bombardment it was when wo could hear it forty miles away. LANDING REHEARSED. “It was evidently not intended that tho troops should laud at the Gallipoli without first practising in small boats. Every day tho men were paraded on dock* Tho crow stood by and lowered the boats, and at a word of command the men jumped in. Each man. got to know his place in a particular boat. Tv hen wo landed wo would-go on a long route march, and some of the men would execute a mock bayonet charge. “There was no doubt about the seriousness of the work. Even our rations were cut down to accustom us to service conditions. On the way to Lemnos from Egypt wo had a diet of rice and biscuits in"tho morning, and .for lunch and in the evening wc had a stew. But we all were delighted to think wo wore going to fight, and vou can imagine how 1 felt when thov sent me back. J am going to have another try. though, to get back into the middle of things once lUOK ' WOUNDED GURKHAS.

Private Holman says that before the Australians left for the fighting lino some Gurkhas arrived hack from Ga - lipoli where they had boon wounded. “Bloodthirsty little beggars,’ he calls them “You should hear them talk ot fighting. They used to show us their little half-knifo-half-sword, winch they call the kukri. They would chop down with them and say, ‘One put, two cut finish ’ in a horribly suggestive way that made us laugh. One man said lus kukri had killed ten Turks. I don t know whether ho was tolling the truth or not, but ho certainly looked as if he would do so in a brace of shakes. Hie Gurkhas, once having drawn these knives, never replace them until they touch blood. After showing them to ns they would prick their forearms, and when a drop ot blood oozed out they would put them away satisfied.”

THE AUSTRALIANS’ CALL. Tlie way in which tho Australians received the nows that tiioi i\ oi c, as Private Holman puts it, “to have a "0 at tho Turks.” is described by him : “The news that we were going to fitrht nearly drove us delirious with joy. AU the night I could hoar the men cooooing and chocring, and when wo started to embark a day or two later wo nearly stepped into tho water in omi eagerness. At Lemnos we mot Irencii, British, and Indian troops. LIFE IN LEMNOS. “Lemnos was a pretty little island, and its Greek inhabitants wore simple., and kindly folk who had a great sympathy for' the Allies. Little villages were scattered all over the island, from ;uiv height of which could he seen tno blue waters of the surrounding sea. The British and French war vessels wore a majestic sight. There werp about fifteen battleships and cruisers, with their tiny guardians always on the watch. . , , , “Fresh troons arrived almost every dav The vessels swelled the great fleet ot transports that lay m the bay. While we wore at Lemnos some wonderful talcs wore translated from Turkish newspapers for the benefit ot the forces. •Tlipv told of great victories in .battles that had never occurred, and exaggerated British losses in an astounding decree. For instance, when the Ocean and Irresistible and'the'lnflexible wore sunk, tho Turkish newspapers said the losses of men amounted to oyer a thousand. The Australians enjoyed most of ali the stories in Turkish newspapers of tile battles on the Suez Canal. “Do I think some of tho big Australians hurled Turks over their shoulders? Some of our big fellows would hurl the Sultan himself over their shoulders. Y T es! I didn’t see bigger men among either the British, French, Indians, or Now Zealanders. They had big hearts for fighting, too. That charge must have been a sight for tho gods.”-