HMS Talbot gives Abdul a rough time.
I spotted for her. By “spotting” I mean finding parties of enemy from observation tower that are not visible from the sea and then signaling their correct whereabouts to the cruiser. J. A. Graham
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Duty 0600 to 1200. Confoundedly hot.
Five of my mates killed this morning while observing. Heavy artillery bombardment by HMS Lord Nelson and our guns against Hill 472 and 704. Frightfully thirsty and no water to be had. Have been without water for four days. My tongue is swollen and lips all cracked. It’s awful. Abdul retaliates and shells us for three hours. Another chum of mine killed. Duty again 1800 to 0600. J. A. Graham Duty 0600 to 1500. Weather perfect.
Abdul appears to have taken the day off. Have been issued with helmets and respirators as protection against gas. Moved our position to observation tower. We look a ferocious lot in our helmets. J. A. Graham My birthday.
On duty from 0600 to 1800 (Field telephone at Chathams Post). Things getting quieter. Abdul sends his usual morning greetings in the form of shrapnel. Fairly comfortable in new quarters. Meals fair, own cooking. Am quite an expert cook now. My favorite dish is Welsh rare bit. Other dishes are porridge made from crushed biscuits, fried bacon, fried bread. Anzac rolls (fried meat, biscuits, potatoes and onions), rice etc. Glorious weather. C Squadron moves to trenches held by A Sqdn. Navy time to be used. That is from 1-0 o’clock to 24-0 o’clock. J. A. Graham The demonstration was right enough if it had been handled properly but it wasn’t. Some of the officers flunked and others got muddled. They are supposed to be leaders of men but half the time the men were leading them. Only for some of the Sergeants. Sergeant Waite (now Lieutenant) in particular there would certainly have been more casualties and it was only his promptness that prevented it.
The idea of the demonstration was to keep the enemy busy on the right flank, so as to prevent reinforcements going to Cape Hellas, where the British and French were attacking strongly. Our duty was not to take trenches, but to stand off the enemy and keep him going. One troop would advance and then retire and another troop would do the same and so on. Once again, on night patrol, Lt Rutherford (a mere boy) and a party of men went out to reconnoiter. On getting near the enemy’s line, fear overtook him and he bolted back to our lines for dear life, leaving the men to do what they liked. (from 5 April 1916) J. A. Graham |
AuthorJack Graham, ANZAC soldier, kept a diary from 1914-1918. Here it is, blogged 100 years later to the day.... Archives
February 1958
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