Correspondence between Field Marshal Lord William Birdwood and Lady Janetta Birdwood, 1915 - Part 12

waste their ammunition & resort to one ruse

after another - Last night I should think 

they must have got through about 100,000 rounds 

as we managed to scare them properly &

think they were going to be attacked in force

tonight. I really do mean to Take one of their 

Trenches. I hope they will then think it is only

a cry of wolf & not be fully ready. The

Turks we find are full of respect for my

men as we have just seen in one of their 

reports that they look upon them as fiercer

fighters than the Bulgarians. The Germans

had told the poor Turks that the Australians 

were savages, that they never gave quarter 

Cutting the throats of all prisoners & that some 

of them were even cannibals! This was of 

course to prevent desertion as I fancy a 

lot of these men would really give anything to 

come in if they dared do so. I cant think 

their hearts are in it & it is only the German 

influence & Enver Pasha who makes them 

stick to it. The big Russian reverse in Salicia 

is a real bad business as far as we are 

concerned for we had looked to them to 

co-operate near Constantinople & by having 

a good force there to prevent the Turks sending 

more troops here. As it is I much fear they 

will not have men to send there for a long

2 (June 15)

time & more Turks can then flow down 

here - unless of course Greece, Bulgaria & 

Romania or any of them should come down 

really strong on one side. Greece I fancy 

will do so very soon & will then possibly 

be followed by one of the others. We still 

get a lot of casualties I am sorry to say 

daily but not nearly so many as we had 

the first fortnight here. The annoying part 

is that so many of those now killed or 

wounded are from stray shots which is how 

poor Genl Bridges was killed which is so
annoying.

..............................................................................................

I made an attack on some of the enemys 

trenches last night & was successful up 

to a certain exten in that we got right in 

& turned the Turks out - but they came 

along in large numbers with an enormous 

number of very large bombs which they hurled 

into the trench from all sides as they had a 

regular ramification of trenches around their 

firing trench. My fellows stuck this till 

dawn & then I am sorry to say decided they 

could do so no longer & came away which 

annoyed me very much as I had hoped

to make this a pivot from which to 

seize a lot more trenches further on.  However

we killed a good many of them & captured 

24 prisoners which all counts & we didnt 

lose much ourselves.

 

DONATED RECORDS LIST

3376

(15)

3rd Series

M.E.F.

20 June 15

My own darling girl,

Very glad indeed to get your letter of 1st & 3rd  & to
know you had at last got my first letters from here - I do 

hope you have really got them all as I expect you have - the 

post office may purposely have held them all up for a week or so 

before delivering them. I wonder how on earth the Daily Mirror 

can have got hold of that yarn about me having been killed - 

I have just been shown the photo they published & along side 

of it is one of Genl. Cunliffe-Owen who is my artillery staff 

officer. As a matter of fact. I left him on board ship to arrange 

about their gun fire for this first week of our landing & he has 

never been touched in any way, though they report him as 

"killed while leading the Australian troops to the attack"!! 

It just shows how they can get hold of things. He is a very 

nice fellow & excellent R.A. officer. He has I believe a very 

nice American wife (with I fancy, money) and he is writing to 

tell her to write to you to see if you can arrange to meet 

when we are next in town - she I fancy lives somewhere 

down Aldershot way & motors up. She apparently at once 

wrote a contradiction to the Morning Post on her own. She

is asking me if it is possible to prosecute the Mirror.  

I have told him much better to leave it alone, that 

I doubt if it is a libel - I have just been shown

though the photo of myself & I'm not at all sure that

that isn't a libel!!  For I am not nearly so bald

as they make me, & such little hair as they give me

seems to be lank & parted in the middle, which certainly

does not meet my description.  As a matter of fact now I 

have had all my hair off with horse clippers which is the only

thing to do for cleanliness in these parts.  Did the reporter

give any excuse at all as to how they published their

statement & the photos Owen says he is sure they must have

enlarged from that large group copies of which I sent you from

Cairo.

We haven't been doing much since I last wrote, but have

our daily "hate" doses - Going out to some of my trenches 

yesterday a Turkish gun seemed to be deliberately 

following us, though of course it wasn't, and one round 

after another came plumeting into the road a minute 

or two after I had passed that particular spot.  I really 

think, we have quite frightened the Turks round us & 

have established a complete moral superiority over them -

partly by the numbers of them we have killed & now they 

never dare show a head over their trenches anywhere 

or they are at once shot - & partly in the excellent trenches 

we have made. Consequently they devote their 

attention in attacking on the force further south 

which is a great nuisance.  As I am hoping for 

them to come along and have another go at them

2)  when I'd hope to kill another 4000 of them

which would probably lead to their complete route.  

I don't think the other Divisions have anything like the 

good trenches I have, nor have they made up "periscope 

rifles" as we have which enable my men to sit down 

comfortably behind the parapet & shoot with their rifles 

18" above their heads, so that all the Turks can see 

is the muzzle of a rifle - and they don't like it a bit!

In some of the shelling here a few days ago, one came 

right into John McConaghy's "dug out"- so it was just as 

well I had sent him to Alexandria a few days before to see 

to one or two things or it might have found him at home!  

I have sent dear old Lotbiniēre (who is his Brig-Genl) 

there too for a few days to try & get me some water boats

or we will be having a water famine here. My dug out has 

been reinforced since a shell landed at the entrance & literally 

within six inches of me when I was having my hair clipped -

a real astonisher for the clipper!!  Lucky he hadn't scissors in 

his hand or he might have had a ear off!! Onslow is very

well & when bathing the other day, Skeen heard an Australian

say "That's a fine young fellow. I wonder what is job

here is"- Not quite the same as another Staff Officer

who was accosted by a man with "Hullo-Sonny, you

look about fit to be killed you do - get a double

ratis ration of biscuit I expect" - You can

expect no respect of person when naked!

We can't have any mess here & all feed together in

little batches of twos. I always hare feed by myself

except dinner, for which each of the staff come to me

in turns so I see a good deal of them all. Carruthers

is looking very old.

You certainly seem to have been doing lots in the Australia

Committee meeting line & I am sure they will all

appreciate this. Mrs Osbourne seems very kind, though I did

not know she was looking out for work for Nancy - an excellent

thing, if she can make herself quite useful.

Judith must have loved Madame Tussauds, if she wasn't

frightened?

The poor Michaels!. I feel so sorry for them as I am sure

they must both be most disappointed people, while she is

a dear kind hearted person. I haven't yet seen The

honours gazette, but fear he will not have got

anything, though I much hope Bob has - he in so

thoroughly deserves it.

Fancy old Lady Reid being golden haired & painted!

Seeing him makes one quite surprised, as he has

remained so simple & does not I think pretend to

be anything but what he is - just a man of the

people - & such a kindly hearted one - I

daresay though that she is very nice & I hope golden

3) golden hearted as well as golden hearted-

I am sure he is.

Have you seen M^rs Lobo or M^rs Carruthers at all?

I'm glad you have seen M^rs Marlow & M^rs Armstrong

seems quite forthcoming. I think she is nice. I

wonder who Lady Robinson's husband is - Is he an

Australian? What a let down Sir Dighton is. It was

just like him to find out at once from the War Office

then to let you know. I shouldn't be surprised if he hadn't

also let the Daily Mirror know too!

I wonder if anything like a big air raid has been made

on London. We have heard boqg vague rumours of

such but I don't believe them yet. I can't think

how it is that fleets of very much faster moving

aeroplanes can not at once pounce  on & destroy the

slow lumbering zepolins - You would think it must

be a case of a submarine being able to get at a

battleship, with the advantage that the aeroplane

can always keep the air ship in sight.

I don't know that I remember that Lady Edith

Charles, but I used to know her brother 

well. Such a very nice fellow he is too.

He was then Ulick Browne in the 12th

Bengal Cavalry - afterwards became Lord U.B.

7th Marquis of Sligo _ I last saw him

when he came out, to India one winter after

he had left the B.C.

Goodbye my own little lamb and all

my love to you.

Ever your very loving old.

Will

Have you seen anything of Dorothy & how is she -

You mention lunching with her - But I am not sure

if you mean Halhed's D. or D.R.? Halhed

tells me his D. has got over her operation

all right. I wonder where she is living?

 

DONATED RECORDS LIST

3376

3rd Series (15)

3 DRL. 3376 (15)

Med. Expdy.Force

28 June

1915

My own darling girl,

Some real hot weather we are having here & all work

is now a case of shirt sleeve parades. I'm so glad I bought my helmet

here from Egypt, as we had heard those were not really necessary here & 

I daresay they are not, as many still wear caps, but I'm sure it is

much better to have a helmet. What we should do without the sea to

swim in, I really do not know - it's a sin since it's being so dangerous.

& I had 3 men killed swimming yesterday - It's only just the first shell, as

after it men can take cover, but a good deal of the bathing is now

done at night to avoid risk. I think they have taken to shelling

us generally a good deal more than previously with some guns

which outrange mine. - They won't come up to an attack though.

Early yesterday they tried to screw themselves up to one. At 1.a.m they

started bombing some of my trenches like bs devil, but for every

bomb they threw in my boys hurled 2 or 3 back. Then at 3a.m.

their Artillery began- smashed down some trenches & am sorry to

say, caused a good many casualties. Then at 5.a.m. their rifle

fire attack started & they expended thousands of rounds of ammunition

but though we could see their bayonets all ready fixed in their

trenches yet they evidently couldn't be got to rise to a charge

across at us. We will find them all right & ready, though to

oppose us most stoutly when it comes to our turn to have

to attack their trenches & they have always said that

Turks are at their best when holding trenches.