Gallipoli Landing - One Soldier's Account

[frev]

Pte E.T. Butterworth, 886, 7th Battalion, AIF

The following letter was written to his parents - from England in 1915:

[i've taken the liberty of breaking it in to paragraphs to make reading a little easier]

"Just a line to let you know I am quite well, hoping this finds you the same. I sent you letters just before I went into action, hoping you got them alright.

We landed on the Gallipoli Peninsular at the Dardanelles on the 25th of April. It was on a Sunday, about 4 o'clock in the morning. We had to land there no matter what it cost us. Well, we got off our transport boats into little rowing boats and rowed ashore. We got a bad time, the Turks riddling some of the boats, which sank, some of the poor chaps never putting a foot on the shore. They were shot dead in the boats. Then again there were barbed wire entanglements in the sea, and when some of the chaps got out of the boats they never came to the surface again. I happened to be one of the lucky ones, and landed alright. I helped to row our boat to the shore, but there was no landing place, so we had to jump into water up to our chests. It felt pretty cold at that time of the morning after hot rowing, but that was nothing, as we were being bombarded with shrapnel. Shells were bursting over our head and all round us like rain - it was grand fun, I can tell you.

When we did land we had to take a high hill straight away, so we charged with fixed bayonets, and the sailors who were in charge of the boats came with us, and charged with boat hooks. We took the first row of trenches in about 10 minutes. The Turks can't stand the bayonets at all. After a short time we captured another row of trenches, and again advanced. That was where the trouble was - we got too far and lost heavily. I think it was a bit of a trap they led us into. It was all mined, and they had their big guns and machine guns and thousands of rifles turned on to us. Although we had all the war ships in the bay bombarding the Turks, it was pretty warm. It was marvellous how we reached the firing line, bullets, shrapnel and big shells falling everywhere.

Just before I reached the firing line I was hit over the heart by a bullet. It knocked me down, but didn't do any damage. As luck happened I had my little wallet in my breast pocket, with all the letters and postcards I got from Australia in it, and also a pocketful of cartridges. The bullet went right through my wallet and all the letters and postcards that were in it, and bent a lot of cartridges. It also knocked one bullet out of the case, but it didn't touch my skin, because when I got back to the hospital I found the bullet in my pocket.

Well, I went on a bit further and saw an officer, so I laid down beside him for a while. A short time afterwards he was shot. The bullet went right through his arm and hit me without hurting me. The blood from his wound was over my trousers, coat and rifle. I bound his wound up while bullets were falling all round, and sent him back to the beach. Upon being covered in blood I got my 'mad' up and made one rush for the firing line, and I got there alright. Where I laid down every living soul except myself was shot. I thought it was time to move as I had no one to talk to, so I moved along a bit further to the left, and everyone except myself was wounded here. I thought we were all going to be wiped out, so I got a little to the left again, and here I stopped. I had a great bit of fun for a few hours, and was beginning to think I had a charmed life when a shrapnel burst over my head and I got one of the bullets in the back. I thought a ton of bricks had fallen on me. I had to stop there in one position for 7 hours - until it was dark on Sunday night - before I could crawl away without the enemy seeing me.

When it got dark a lot of us wounded chaps got up to get our wounds dressed at the back, when the Turks turned the machine guns on to us, and only another chap and myself got away alive. It was a cruel sight going back from the firing line - dead and wounded lying everywhere. Both of us helped two more wounded chaps that we met going back on our way. They were shot in the feet, so we had to help them along the best way we could. My right arm was hanging helplessly by my side, but we had to make the best of it. There were snipers firing at us all the way down, but they were unlucky. When we had reached the beach and had our wounds dressed, we were made to have a sleep, but the Turks would not leave anyone sleep - shelled the beach where the wounded were so badly that we had to go on board.

I didn't mind getting a bullet, because I had a good time while it lasted 'pinking' them over, and I can well account for some dead Turks, and will account for a lot more soon, I hope. We were taken on board the next morning at about 4 o'clock. The doctor asked me if I wanted my bullet ..... out, and I afterwards sat down on a form and had it extracted. It was an ugly one to get out, as it was round, and made me bite my tongue for a while. We were taken to Alexandria Hospital, and from there to England, where I have now quite recovered, and hope to go back soon.

I am at Manchester, at the Victoria Auxiliary Home Hospital, but I am going out shortly on leave for a week or fortnight before I go back to the front. I could have filled a book telling you about the first landing on the Gallipoli Peninsular, but this is all I can think of at present. Well, I am having a good time at Manchester. The people treat us like lords - Australians more than others. I have made more friends in England during the last three weeks than I ever had before, so you can just imagine what kind of a time I am having."

Ted returned to Gallipoli in August 1915, then went on to serve on the Western Front, and was returned to Australia in December 1918. He served in the 2nd WW (V.D.F.) from 42-45, and lost one of his sons in Korea in 1952. He died in 1972 at the age 75.

Ted & my grandad came from the same small Victorian country town, served together throughout WW1, and remained best mates until my grandad's death in 1962. May their memories & what they did for us live on forever.

Cheers, Frev.

[Robert Dunlop]

Thanks very much, Frev

It is a fascinating account. I was not aware that there was barbed wire in the sea where the AIF landed. This was certainly a problem at the Cape Helles landing sites.

Robert

[Geoff S]

Yes thanks Frev,

I found it very interesting as well.

Particulary the bit about the sailors who were in charge of the boats charging with boat hooks.

Cheers

Geoff S

[Guest bonza]

Robert

The Seventh perhaps fared the worst of any of the Australian Divisions. The tows were late in reaching the Galeka, whose Captain brought her closer inshore than intended but 'despatched' part of the 7th beachwards in the ship's [life?] boats. These were rowed ashore at the northern extremity of the "Landing" near Fisherman's Hut. There were minimal survivors from those boats. A sanitised account is at pp105/6 of LINK : ANZAC TO AMIENS

Geoff.

Looks like we can all still "learn a little every day" after all

ooRoo

Pat

[Andrew P]

Thanks for the account Frev. Very interesting