THE GALLANT FIFTHS.

Wanganui Herald, Volume L, Issue 14744, 25 October 1915, Page 8

THE GALLANT FIFTHS.

HOW THEY WENT INTO ACTION. Til E SCENE AT MUDROS. Some very interesting details covering the experiences of the sth Reinforcements, and other matters connected with the Tuifcish campaign, are contained iu a letter from Corporal W. J. Hill (formerly of the Evening Boat staff),- who was wounded and sent ro London, but is uow well enough to be back in Egypt. “Our reinforcements spent ,only ten days in b-gypt/ ne says, 'tout i saw enough m these ten days to satisfy me that all the New Zealanders are angels iu comparison with the denizens of Cairo, which is about the loveliest sink of depravity' in the whole wide world. They bundled us ouj of Zeitoun at about eight hour;’ notice, and we only remained at Alexandria about 18 hours, leaving subsequently in a dirty tub named Saturn.a, lor Lemnos. There were 2700 of ns m beard, and the trip occupied two and a half days. Submarines were reported in the vicinity, and a squad of men with loaded nlLs were, kept on duty all the time. But the entry into Mudros me i t than made up for the discomfort of the trip. Ene harbour is oval-shaped, ani in size about half as big as Wellington. When we arrived' there were about- 24') ships of all sliajies and sizes at anchor in the fairway, there lining no wharves or quays. We steamed right through this mass of shipping, and the receptku we received from the crews and the troops on board absolutely beggars description. First we passed the Aqnitama, the largest steamer in the won-, crowded with 7500 troops. Then we scraped past the battleship Swiftsure, and down the line we went—battleships (English and French) on both port and starboard side, hospital ships, transport.', colliers, traders all round us, all crowded wi;h soldiers and sailors anxious (-•) honour the latest New Zealanders. I ca.i tell you it made one forget the discomfort—made one realise the wonderful spirit of the Empire, and it certainly had the effect of heartening any wavercr amongst us, if there was one on board, which I very much doubt. I counted 50 warships at anchor . .of transports there were dozens, and, counting us, there were 40,000 troops afloat a that moment. On shore tents were everywhere. OFF TO THE FRONT. “Two days were spent in this liar hour, and then on Saturday at 5 p.m. a big tug, the Redbreast, came'-along-side, She was to take Us. to the from. 1 Can assure you the boys wasted very little time in boarding her. By 8 p.m. We were outside the heads, and at H o’clock we could hear the thunder cf the guns and see the flashes in the sky; which denoted that the great battle, i f which you have read full particulars, was in progress. By 12 o’clock we were at anchor close to a shore which was a mass of tiny pin-points of light—a shore which echoed and re-echoed with the report-, of rifles and machine guns.' We were at the front at last, and as wc tumbled into huge lighters we realised this fact, for spash! splash! came (he bullets intc the water, and ping! ping! went more lead, close enough to our heads to make us duck down and wish we were at home in bed. It took us half an hour to gel to the shore, and fortunately no ono was b)t en route, though many had very lucky escapes. The first big realisation of what war really is like came to. us as we stumbled across, the beach, which wav just littered with wounded men—English, French, Indian, Now Zealanders, and Australians, They were all waiting patiently for their turn to be taken off on the boats to the hospital ship in the roadstead. Taken in conjunction with th > fiendish noise of the guns, the wounded had a nerve-wracking effect upon us. bid we were given very little time to think about anything, because we were still two miles from our post, and we had to reach it before daylight. So on we trudged, through an opening leading to u trench, and as wo passed a point we were each handed a respirator and additional ammunition —a big box between two men. v

ARRIVAL AT NET ZEALAND BASE. “At daybreak we reache I the New Zee land base—just a strip of level sand be tween the sea and a huge clifi. Not a tent to be seen anywhere, the homes of the ‘big bugs’ were the homes of Thoma.-'. Atkins, Esq.—holes in a side of a hill which resembled a big colander. On the flat were piles and pales of boxes and cases, and’working amongst them at top speed were the Army Service Corps and tne Indian Mule Corps. We were tol l to make eur series comfortable where we stcod. We just lay down and longed for cooling showers, clean' sheets, and comfortable beds. But soon the bullet;, commenced to fly about, and in a' trice one of the sergeants of the B Company stopped one with his leg. That made its sit up and take notice, and when three others received leaden' presents in the space of five minutes we began to think how nice a big cave or a deep well would be. However, we just had to sit and trust to luck. Not many were fatally hit. Wo saw many wounded awaiting treat' i ment, and most of them were our owi fellows—New Zealanders and Australians, and you will be proud to know that although many were wounded almost unto death I did not hear A single complaint." UNDER FIRE. After describing the battlefield, Corporal Hill says;—“ The realisation of war came to us with an intensity almost bewildering But yon will be glad to knovy that the Fifths (I'm not boasting) behaved equally as well as their comr rados of the Main Body. They had landed but a few hours before, and were now in an environment calculated to shake the nerve of almost anyone. And suddenly they were under fire with a vengeance. The Turks had got wind o( our advance up . the gully. Whizz. Bang I Shrapnel exploded right over ns. Several of the D (Otago) Company were hit, and the next shell depleted the rapks of the B Company. Then came A Company’s turn, but only a couple of our men were wounded; and so it- went on for some time. Every thirty seconds the trees and shrubs were torn by the rushing bullets, every little while some one was hit, but still the men kept on and on, until a friendly elope gave them needed and longed-for shelter. Here A, C, and D Companies dug in. and prepared for the night, while q portion of B Company went on to the trenches, where trouble came with startling suddenness. Just after nightfall the Auckland Company was ordered into the support trenches. To put one’s head up was to court a bullet, even though; night had fallen. To remain crouching was almost to be poisoned. So we risked; both bullets and poison in turn. Thank goodness, we didn’t remain long, as it' was found that our presence was unnecessary, and we were told ’ to remain in shatter untiLth* morning. Morning cama and with it an order from Major,

Hume to go down hill, and make ourselves comfortable, Just then the Turks made a big attack. . , . The Turks were breaking through, and then somebody called, out, ‘Where are those New Zealanders? "Send them up !’ Ellisdon was sitting just a few yaulv away from Vne talking to Captain “Wallingford, Major llnme, and Eieiitenan Jack, and he called out to me—l had stayed behind: ‘Corporal, - hurry down, and tell pur men to fix bayonets, and bo ready.’ . We got at tbc Turks soon. Iu ohe place theje were only 55 Aucklanders, but we gave John Turk som olliing to remember. Soon ti.e’ retreated to a ridge 20) yards away, and opened on ns with machine guns. Wo were without protection of any kind, and the ballets swept the hills like hail.’’ Corporal Hill saw many' of his mates g/ down; theft he was wounded himself, but the wound was not so serious as it might have been had he not carried a book in his haversack- .He then-'.rfiocived. a himof shrapnel in his side. That finished and he made his way to the beach.