Part 5 (1/2)
The Warrant and Non-commissioned Officers had a good mess, which was presided over by the Regimental Sergeant-Major. The Officers joined and took over control of the Garrison Officers' Mess--very well and cheaply run. Here many pleasant acquaintances were made and a good deal learned in regard to the organisation and working of the British units.
Short leave was still granted liberally to those desiring it, but numbers found sufficient attraction in or near the Citadel to pa.s.s away many hours. The views from the walls, or from the tops of the old towers, the mosques, the well and its echo, the remains of Saladin's palace, the Church of England chapel (established in the bathroom of a former Sultan's harem), where service was frequently held, all received much attention. Occasional trips by souvenir hunters were made to the adjacent ”Dead City.” These were sometimes fruitful, for in one barrack room an ancient skull was observed reposing on a shelf above an inmate's bed.
Now and then concerts were given for the benefit of the hospital patients, and an invitation for members of the Battalion to attend was received.
[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CITADEL.
As seen from the Moqattam Hills. Cairo and the Nile in the distance.
_Photo. by Sergt. Arundel._]
On Sunday, 29th August, a visit was received from a party of Western Australians who were friends and relatives of some members of the 28th, and were making a short stay in Egypt. The party included the Rev.
E. M. Collick, Archdeacon of Kalgoorlie; Mrs. Campbell Wilson; Mrs. and Miss Montgomery; and Mrs. Makeham.
About the middle of August news of the heavy fighting, which had been going on at the Dardanelles, began to dribble through. It was gathered that the results had not been entirely such as could have been hoped for, and that the casualties--particularly of the 10th Light Horse, the 11th and 16th Battalions--had been heavy. Information was also received of a disaster to the Yeomanry on the 21st August.
Hospital trains began to arrive and discharge large numbers of wounded into the hospitals. From the less seriously injured some idea of the last advance was obtained, and it seemed evident that the 2nd Australian Division would soon be called upon to play its part. In the third week of the month the 5th Brigade marched off _en route_ to the front, and was followed a few days later by the 6th Brigade.
These indications caused some stir in the Battalion and, although definite orders had not been received, preparations for another move were commenced.
On the 24th August were issued the colour patches which were to be worn sewn on to the upper part of each sleeve of the jacket. In the case of the 2nd Division the patch was diamond in shape. The 7th Brigade colour was a light blue and the Battalion colour white. The ”28th” therefore wore a blue and white diamond, and by this badge was ever afterwards distinguished.
About this time a slight change was made in the Battalion Staff. W.O. J.
Gettingby was promoted to be Quartermaster and Hon. Lieutenant. His position as R.S.M. was filled by C.S.M. P. T. C. Bell.
On the 28th August orders were received that the Battalion would be relieved on the following Monday and march out to camp. On the 30th August the 5th Australian Training Battalion, commanded by Major J. S.
Lazarus, took over the garrison duties and the 28th, after being photographed in ma.s.s formation, moved by way of the desert road, through the Tombs of the Khalifs and Abbasia, to Aerodrome Camp, recently vacated by the 5th Brigade. Only tents were available here, and the camp was very dusty. As the tenancy was likely to be of a few days duration only, these inconveniences were submitted to with a good grace.
Wheeled transport and riding horses could not, at that stage, be either safely or profitably used on Gallipoli, so to the bitter disappointment of Lieut. Graham and his section, the Divisional Commander ordered that they be left behind--later on to be grouped with the rest of the Divisional Train, exercised, and held in readiness against being required.
On the 1st September a message from Brigade Headquarters directed that the Battalion would proceed ”overseas” on the 3rd September. All surplus stores were at once got rid of, and spare baggage collected to be handed over to the care of the Australian Base. The Regimental Orderly-room Clerk, Staff Sergeant S. S. Thompson, was detailed and departed for duty at the Australian Headquarters in Egypt, where he would be responsible for the proper keeping of Battalion records.
The 2nd September witnessed the departure for Alexandria of a small advance party, under Lieut. H. E. C. Ruddock, charged with the duty of making all necessary arrangements for the reception of the troops when arriving at the wharf. Tents were struck that afternoon and a bivouac formed for the night.
After the evening meal on the following day the Battalion fell in, and a check of the _personnel_ was made. Previously a number of sick, and the few men in detention, had been struck off the strength and shown as transferred to the Training Depot. It was now found that three or four men were missing. As time did not permit of a search being made, a report was sent to the A.P.M., and the additional names were also removed from the roll.
Late that night the move commenced to Qubba station, where the train was boarded. Each man was bearing a heavy burden. All ranks were fitted with web equipment, carrying in their packs great coats and a few necessaries and personal belongings, and bearing a blanket, waterproof sheet, three days' rations of biscuits and preserved meat, together with an emergency ration in a sealed tin, and (for those with rifles) 200 rounds of ammunition. Officers carried revolvers, field gla.s.ses, prismatic compa.s.s, and various other extras. They were also allowed to place their valises on the train but, according to rumour, it was doubtful if they would ever reach them on Gallipoli.
The entrainment was expeditiously carried out and, with the usual amount of discomfort, the journey to the quay at Alexandria was completed by daylight on the 4th September. Here Lieut. Ruddock was waiting and, after some delay, the Battalion embarked on the transport in a similar manner, minus the sympathetic crowd, to that witnessed at Fremantle.
CHAPTER V.
GALLIPOLI.
At this stage it is necessary, in order that the future environment may be fully understood, to give some account of the Gallipoli Peninsula and of the events of the 25th April, 1915, and later.
The Peninsula forms the European side to the Straits of the Dardanelles and is about 53 miles in length. On the north-western side it is washed by the waters of the Gulf of Xeros and on the western side by the Aegean Sea. Near its northern end, at Bulair, it is only two and a half miles across. At Suvla Burnu[G] it broadens out to about 12 miles, but narrows again between Gaba Tepe[H] and Maidos to a bare four miles. Gaba Tepe is about eight miles south of Suvla Burnu and h.e.l.les Burnu--the southern end of the Peninsula--13 miles further. Cliffs of marl or sand, rising very abruptly and varying in height from 100 to 300 feet, mark the greater length of the sh.o.r.e. These are broken here and there by the gullies which bring away from the interior the waters of the heavy autumn and winter rains. From Gaba Tepe northwards to Suvla Bay there is an almost uninterrupted stretch of beach from which, opposite the latter feature, a somewhat marshy plain runs back to the foothills of Tekke Tepe.
Groups of hills are marked features of the interior, the most prominent being known as Sari Bair[I] which rises to a height of 971 feet at Koja Chemin Tepe and is the one most familiar to the Australians. These hills possess very steep--even precipitous--slopes which are much excoriated by wind, rain, and frost, and broken into an amazing tangle of gullies and hollows. Firs and stunted oaks, brushwood, oleanders or rhododendrons, and other shrubs are thick wherever they can hold, and form no inconsiderable obstacle--two to four feet high--to anyone's pa.s.sage.