THE AUGUST FIGHTING

Wanganui Herald, Volume L, Issue 14744, 25 October 1915, Page 6

THE AUGUST FIGHTING

TERRIBLE SL.U’GHTER ON BOTH HIDES. Writing to his mother from Ahbassia Hospital, Cairo, on August 29, Sapper Sylvester Hanlon, of Northcote, says;—“l had a fall down a cliff ami contracted a severe rupture, which put me out of time lor a few days. I also got a smack on Huhand, but it m healing up fine now, I think they are going to send me buck home. {They wanted me to go under an operation here, but I would not agree, as the heat is terrible, and there is a lot of septic poisoning around. We get well looked after here. All the New Zealand doctors and nurses are hero. Dr Parkes is the head man. “We had a terrible fight with the Turks last week, as I suppose you have seen by the papers. We gained a lot of ground—about seven miles of frontage—and advanced a good way inland. But we have paid dearly for It! It cost a terrible lot of lives. Pome of the English regulars who* have come over from France say that if ranee is a picnic compared with the Dardanelles, so you can imagine what Uis like. How I got out safely I cannot realise myself. We commenced ‘uu attack about 9 p.m. on Frida} night, August 11th, not a shot being tired by us—it was all done by the bayonet and bombs. We gave ‘Old Jim Turk' a surprise. He has no liking for the cold steel, especially at night. His casualties were big; and so were ours! Poor old Auckland got it—both the mounteds and infantry. Somehow or other Auckland seems to be pushed into the thick of It every time. 'Greg' Slade’s regiment, the 6th Haurakis, were out up terribly, but I don’t think Greg was there, as I believe he had not returned from the hospital. 1 think he is at Alexandria. “I and three others were laying out a telephone wire to the Otago Regiment. When we were half-way up the hill we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by a couple of dozen Turks, who called upon us to surrender. Having no cartridges in our rifles ■—and I had lost mine previously--we eoulcP.not make a fight for it, so we made one leap over a cliff, and left them firing at us. Luckily they did not hit us, it being very dark, and we eut back to our Hues safely. So vou see we had a near go for it; and now I am in a nice soft bed, getting well looked after, uud a good rest, which I needed, as I had had lour months’ solid going. I think they are going to bring the rest of the main body back, and give (hem six mouths’ leave in New Zealand. Poor beggars' ‘hey need it. Yon would be Kerry to hear that poor old ’Foggy’ (Private Fothergill, of Devonport) went down —he was killed down at Aohi Baba — and poor old ‘Boss’ Bad.leley (Wanganui 1 who went under quite close to where I was.”