Wounded in the Gallipoli Landing

[frev]

Archie Shepherd landed with the 5th Bn & Joe Watkins with the 7th. Their letters home tell the story of their parts in the famous Landing:

[note: Arch transferred to HQ Sig May 1915]

INGLEWOOD ADVERTISER:

Tues June 22, 1915

A LETTER FROM THE FRONT

The following interesting letter has been received by Mrs D. Bird, of Rainbow, from her brother, signaller Archie G. Shepherd, headquarters signaller, 1st Australian division, who, as recently reported in this journal, was wounded at the Dardanelles: -

15th General Hospital, Alexandria, Egypt, 8/5/15.

I sent a wire home, which I suppose you will get very soon, just saying I was a bit wounded, but getting O.K. Of that more anon. We left Egypt on April 4th (that is Mena) at 3.15pm, and marched to Cairo, taking train thence for Alexandria, where we embarked on board the [censored]. About 1200 were on board and 300 horses, on a ship of 5,000 tons! After a three day’s trip we anchored at Lemnos, an island about 25 miles off the Dardanelles. This is a very nice island. We went ashore to practice landing operations, curiously enough on my birthday (14th April), and had a really good holiday. The grass on Lemnos is all flowers, like ours. Daisies, sweet peas and wild poppies are the most common. There are a number of Greek villages here. Ships poured in until there were well over a hundred, including warships, amongst which were “Queen Elizabeth”, “Inflexible”, and “Majestic”. We lay off Lemnos until April [censored], and then moved up with many other boats to the north side of the Gallipoli peninsula. We awakened to the sound of firing, and when light broke the shore batteries and several of our warships engaged in an artillery duel. Our navy, of course, promptly silenced battery after battery, but there were so many that the 3rd Brigade had to land under heavy fire – shrapnel, rifle and machine gun. Then they had to charge a veritable mountain lined with Turkish snipers and entrenched; all under heavy fire. I don’t think any other troops would have liked the prospect, but our chaps did it in no time. I landed later with the 2nd Brigade, and we landed without much opposition at all. But then the concert began. Shrapnel was bursting all round, and bullets were humming over head all the time. We sneaked up and round a hill side, and took a touch of cover. It was here my bullet found me out. I stopped it in the left lung, but it never came out, so goodness knows where it is now. The X-rays will show in a few days. A couple of stretcher bearers soon found me out, and took me back to the beach where I, with a lot more, was carted into lighters and towed to a hospital ship. The Turks tried badly to sink our boats, and afterwards the hospital ship. Shells fell all round, and some very close, but they couldn’t hit us. As soon as the ship was full (casualties were very heavy, so it soon filled), we sailed for Lemnos, and again for Alexandria, arriving very early on Thursday. Most of the boatload went to Heliopolis (Cairo), but I and a few others came to Alexandria Hospital, to the excessive wonder of the local niggers. I had a bit of bother with my bullet for a day or so, but it has been fine for a long time. I’m to be allowed up in a couple of days, and will soon pick up condition there. Our chaps will have no trouble in giving the Turk a little hurry-up in return for the “Turkish delight” given us. When the casualty lists come out I think there will be a great deal of sorrow. I have been kept in bed so far, so I can’t see who is here, or hear of anyone killed but I am afraid that many have paid the full price. Well, I am quite sure that there is not a man that came out of that landing but was lucky to escape with his life. I was very sorry I could not do more before being shot but it was my bad luck to be shot so soon. All the performance was on April 25th. Sunday is a favorite day for matters military in our experience.

INGLEWOOD ADVERTISER:

Tues Sept 14, 1915:

Tidings of Soldiers

(Passed by the Censor)

Private J. Watkins writes from Jembrook Camp, Malta, to his mother as follows:-

"Just a few lines hoping to find you well. I am not too bad, but could be better. We are having a good time here, the people are so kind. We have about three concerts a week, and are invited out to tea about two or three times each week. I suppose you have seen my name in the casualty list. Frank Dawson is here with me. He got shot through the leg, but is alright again, and will be going back shortly. There are about 6,000 wounded on the island, but not so many coming now. I will give you a bit of my experience at the front. We arrived at Gallipoli on the 25th April, at about 2 a.m. We were called up at 4 o'clock for breakfast. Ted Butterworth and I were mess orderlies that morning, and after we were finished all the troops were called up on deck. We had to stay below to clean up the boat a bit. We were below about half-an-hour, and I went up on deck to throw some rubbish overboard. Just as I got on deck a gun-boat that was lying just astern of us opened fire with a 12 in. gun at the Turks on the beach about 1½ miles away. We could not see them, but they saw us. It was a sight never to be forgotten. You could see the shells hit the beach and skid along for about 10 yards, and then burst. I stood watching for about 10 minutes, and then went down and told Butty to come up. I need not tell you no more work was done after that. At about 6 o'clock we got orders to disembark. Our corps was nearly last to leave the boat, so we could see all that occurred. There was one gun boat on our right shelling Gaba Tepe fort to stop it from shelling the troops on the boats leaving the ships. Every now and again you could hear a shell whistle over the top of the boats, or else see it lob in the water near us and shoot up the water like a fountain. We left at about 6.30 for our journey to the shore, and that was the worst part of it. It is bad enough getting knocked in the firing line, but when you get hit in the boat and cannot return the fire, that is when it hurts. We only lost two men in landing. We had to jump into water about 4 feet deep, paddle out, and then rush for our lives to the cliffs for cover. We had a spell for about 10 minutes, while we took off our packs. Then we started up along the beach towards the firing line. We walked for about 100 yards, when a shell hit the top of the cliff where we were. We ducked our heads amidst a shower of dirt. A piece about the size of my fist came down and caught me on the back. I thought it was knocked off for a while, as it was quite numb. It didn't last long, and just as well it didn't. I could not help laughing after a while when I thought of myself feeling to see if it was still there. D. Coy, was supposed to be reinforced, so we got orders to advance about half-a-mile and line a ridge. We went off in single file for a while, and when we got under rifle fire we got orders to extend, with about 2 yards between each of us, and drop down. Then we knew what being under real rifle fire was. You could hear the buzz-buzz of the bullets as they flew overhead, but we were pretty safe so long as we laid flat. We had to lay there for about a quarter of an hour, and then we were ordered to crawl forward towards a trench about 100 yards away. We got within 30 yards, and then had to jump up and make a rush for it. Some of the poor fellows were knocked, but not many. We stayed in the trench for a while waiting for orders to advance, and while we were waiting Joe Stagg and I fixed our equipment in fighting order, that is, with the haversack and water bottle on the back instead of on the side, but as we got word to be ready I did not have time to fix my bottle on. We all jumped out of the trench and rushed for a gully that led nearly up to the firing line. They call it Shrapnel Gully now, and it is well named. The shrapnel bullets must be an inch thick there, the way they sent it over. We got to the gully alright, and were safe enough from bullets. The snipers were the worst, and there were plenty of them. They had bushes tied on them, and were painted green so as to look just like the color of the ground. They waited for the wounded returning to the beach and shot them. I got into the firing line about 8.30, and I shall never forget it. You could hear some poor fellows cry out that they were wounded, and other singing out for stretcher bearers, but you have to get used to all that. I got the range off a chap that was near me. They were firing at the Turks on a ridge 1100 yards away. I fired four shots, and was just firing the fifth when a shrapnel burst in front of me. I felt something hit my rifle, and when I looked my bayonet was lying on the ground. A bullet had hit my rifle just on the end where the bayonet is fixed, and smashed all the woodwork off. I thought, here's a go. I couldn't use it, but I saw a poor fellow crawling away who had been shot through the leg, so I dressed his wound for him, and, as he was going back to the beach, got his rifle. I never heard how he got on. I used his rifle for a couple of hours, when a shrapnel burst in front and I got hit whop on the back. It is just like getting a kick from a horse. I laid for a while till I got my breath, with blood running about my chest. I went back to get my wound dressed. I had just got up when they started firing with a machine gun, so I laid down again and waited till they stopped and then made another rush. I kept on till I got out of the firing line, and met five or six getting their wounds dressed, so I asked one of them to dress mine. I told him the dressing was in a haversack on my back. He opened it, and in the middle was a rifle bullet. Only for the haversack it would have gone right through me. I laid down for a while after my wound was dressed, but then shrapnel burst all round us, so I tried to get back to the beach. More shrapnel fell, the Turks shelling the gully to prevent reinforcements coming up. There was a bugle chap in a dug-out, so I laid with him for a while. We thought we heard footsteps, and, looking round, saw two of our fellows with a sniper they had captured. I went back to the beach with them. There was a terrible lot of wounded here, and the Turks kept shelling them as fast as they could. They killed a couple of wounded lying on stretchers. We got on board a boat about 8 p.m., so I didn't last long, worse luck. It was a rotten trip to Alexandria. We had to lie on the floor. Tom Parker was on the same boat. He had a wound on the arm. I haven't had a line from Australia for four months, and would like to hear from you. I hope soon to be better and able to help my mates again."

Though surviving the landing - both were eventually casualties of war:

Archie died of illness 3/11/17, France, age 24.

Joe (Thomas Joseph) was gassed, suffered Meningitis, and was eventually invalided home with TB in 1917 - he died in Sept 1919 of double pneumonia.

They suffered for us.

Cheers, Frev.

[Ozzie]

Their dismay at not lasting long is very moving. They were wounded and yet dissapointed because that wound took them of Gallipoli.

Thanks for this one Frev

Kim

[marina]

Very gripping, frev. Are all the letters you find from the newspapers or other sources too?

Marina

[frev]

Marina

Most of the letters I have are those I've transcribed from the 'Inglewood Advertiser' - 4 years of them - makes quite a book.

I have a few others from other papers, plus the odd one from descendants of the Soldier's I'm researching.

I'm always on the look-out!! It amazing how much is out there - it's just finding the time to scan through the micro-films of the various papers & then copy them out.

Cheers, Frev.