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Page 13
While swimming, the opportunity was taken by a good many to soak their
pants and shirts, inside which there was, very often, more than the
owner himself. I saw one man fish his pants out; after examining the
seams, he said to his pal: "They're not dead yet." His pal replied
"Never mind, you gave them a ---- of a fright." These insects were a
great pest, and I would counsel friends sending parcels to the
soldiers to include a tin of insecticide; it was invaluable when it
could be obtained. I got a fright myself one night. A lot of things
were doing the Melbourne Cup inside my blanket. The horrible thought
suggested itself that I had got "them" too, but a light revealed the
presence of fleas. These were very large able-bodied animals and
became our constant companions at nighttime; in fact, one could only
get to sleep after dosing the blanket with insecticide.
My little dog Paddy enjoyed the swim almost as much as I did. He was a
great favourite with everybody but the Provost-Martial. This official
was a terror for red tape, and an order came out that dogs were to be
destroyed. That meant that the Military Police were after Paddy.
However, I went to General Birdwood, who was very handsome about it,
and gave me permission to keep the little chap. Almost immediately
after he was reprieved he ran down to the Provost-Martial's dug-out
and barked at him. Paddy was very nearly human. One day we were down
as usual when Beachy Bill got busy, and I had to leave the pier with
only boots and a smile on. I took refuge behind my old friends the
biscuits, and Paddy ran out to each shell, barking until it exploded.
Finally one burst over him and a bullet perforated his abdomen. His
squeals were piteous. He lived until the next day, but he got a
soldier's burial.
TURKISH PRISONERS
We saw a good many Turkish prisoners at one time or another, and
invariably fraternised with them. They were kept inside a barbed-wire
enclosure with a guard over them; but there was no need to prevent
their escape--they would not leave if they got the chance. On one
occasion twelve of them were told to go some distance into the scrub
and bring in some firewood. No one was sent with them, the idea being
to encourage them to go to their lines and persuade some of the Turks
to desert to us. But they were like the cat; they all came back--with
the firewood.
I saw two of our men on one occasion bringing in a prisoner. They
halted on the hill opposite us, and one of them went to headquarters
to ascertain how the prisoner was to be disposed of. In a very short
time he was surrounded by fourteen or fifteen of our soldiers, trying
to carry on a conversation, and giving him cigarettes and in fact
anything he would accept. An hour before they had been trying their
best to shoot one another. In one of the attacks on our left the Turks
were badly beaten off and left a lot of their dead close up to our
trenches. As it was not safe to get over and remove the bodies, a
number of boat-hooks were obtained, and with them the bodies were
pulled in to our trenches. One of the "bodies" proved to be a live
Turk who had been unable to get back to his line for fear of being
shot by our men. He was blindfolded and sent down to the compound with
the other prisoners.
The difficulty of obtaining sufficient exercise was very great at
times. We only held a piece of territory under a square mile in
extent, and none of it was free from shell or rifle-fire, so that our
perambulations were carried on under difficulty. Major Meikle and I
had our regular walk before breakfast. At first we went down the beach
towards Gaba Tepe, and then sat for a while talking and trying to see
what we could see; but a sniper apparently used to watch for us, for
we were invariably saluted by the ping of a rifle in the distance and
the dust of the bullet in close proximity to our feet. We concluded
that, if we continued to walk in this direction someone would be
getting hurt, so our walks were altered to the road round "Pluggey's
Plateau." We were seated there one morning when our howitzer in the
gully was fired, and we felt that the shell was not far from where we
sat. We went down to the Battery, and I interrogated some of the
gunners. "How far off the top of that hill does that shell go?" said
I. "About a yard, sir," replied the man; "one time we hit it." I asked
him if it would be convenient for the battery to elevate a bit if we
were sitting there again.
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