Diary of Herbert Gilles Watson, DFC, 1914 - 1916 - Part 2

Island 16 miles from mouth of
Dardanelles, it is expected we
are to land under the protection
of warships to erect our stations
we are to see war at last
April 4. Struck very heavy weather
in storm at night lost 3 of our
barges we were towing had to
sail round in circles for two days
to find same: heavy gale blowing
we slip between decks in hold on
iron plates.
April 5. Barges xxxxxx found but
owing to heavy seas unable to make
fast. standing alongside wallowing
in the troughs of Seas
April 6. Picked up barges 7. AM
all made fast at 4pm proceeding
on our way. Still rough
April 7. Passing through Aonian 

Isles Grecian Archipelago. North
Mediterranean Sea lovely views
These [[parks?]] are great resorts for tourists
with Private "yachts" perfect calm
day, it seems too good to think that
war is going on not 100 miles away
we are that distance off our destination
April 8. Arrived at Lemnos Island in
entrance to Dardanelles. over 100,000
Troops already here. The great event
starts on Wednesday
April 9. Instruction from Navy procedure
as to Wireless; 11th Cpl Fry sent to
Hospital: kicked on head by horse.
April 12.  96 deaths on Island amongst
Australian Troops: buried with N. Honors.
April 13, Last of Transport arrive, now
over 50,000 British Colonial & French
Troops in harbor or 150 transports; also
33 warships. we embark tomorrow
to take part in great combined sea &
land attack on Dardanelles & Constantinople
ammunition served out to our Troop 

We are living & suffering in wet
Clothes on muddy ground. 2 days
Continuous rain & no Change our kit
being left behind in Egypt: bitterly
cold. Navy procedure completed
no chance to write home; Oh, for a square meal
April 14. We embark for the
Dardanelles tomorrow & Strike
Camp. Cha 15/6 Cpl. C. Shurman
April 15. Embarked S. S. Minnewaska
leave for Dardanelles in day or two
April 16th Arrived S.S. Minnewaska
2000 men &  1800 horses & mules
April 17 Went ashore erected station
18 Went over Queen Elizabeth.
19    --       --      Triumph
20 Bitterly cold & wet
We reembarked S.S. Novian mess
sleep on top deck with no covering
raining cold, no blankets leave as
soon as weather moderates.
April 23. Rowed round Lemnos
Harbor: went ashore laid in stock of
choco etc. 1 box Caillers Noisette Cost
1/10/-
April 23 dist of places called at to date
Melbourne: Albany.
Colombo. Aden.

Suez, Port Said
Alexandria Cairo
Maadi. Heliopolis
Abbassia Helewan

Lemnos Isd. Greece   still raining

Ishmalia Kantara
April 24. Leave Lemnos Isd  for
The Dardanelles expect to be in
Constantinople in two months: arrived
off mouth of Dardanelles at 4.30 PM.
can hear heavy firing: haze of
smoke all over hills we are to land
at 2 AM tomorrow. our rifles are all
charged. expected very heavy fighting
to take place. I have made my will
in pay Books all my Bank a/c in 

Bank of NSW Burwood to go to
my mother 8pm Submarine A15 ran
ashore at Gallipoli, Turks tortured
the sailors to death. one man was
seen on the beach with his limbs
broken & eyes gouged out we have
been told to fight to the last cartridge
& then if in fear of capture, to put that
into ourselves. We have one & all
sworn to murder any Turk we got
April 25 at 1 AM: officers have told
us that any prisoners we take are
to be fed out of our own rations?! 
this means "no live prisoners" 5 AM,
xxxxxxxx 3rd Brigade of 5000 Austns are
landed. heavy rifle fire going on
12 warships are bombarding the
fort batteries with good results
we are, to land in half an hour.
I feel shaky but O.K. & fit to do
my bit to revenge E 15
xxxxxxxx  Very heavy fighting
Sunday (all things seem to happen on
Sundays
 on land. warships bombarding &
7000 men are storming the coast of
Turkey. Gillope or Gallipoli a boat
has just come along side us with 2 dead
& 5 wounded Austns. Shells from the
fort are falling all round us. but
no hits. 7 am we leave boat under
heavy shrapnel fire [?] [elation?] dead
men & wounded all round us. Aust.
casualties 2000 for day Turks 6000,
the place is alive & one green hill is
like an ant heap with dead & dying.
soldiers: we are dug in under
heavy fire, a shell missing our
station by inches 26^th I am hardened
now & quite used to seeing awful
sights & they are awful. men with
heads & arms blown off shrieking
with pain. we sleep under the hill
April 27.  Fighting still going on
desperately. Turks are putting up
a stubborn resistance & are hard 

pressing our left flank 2 of our
men out of 12 were hit by shell
the warships are firing over us
With _^6,9,10,12 & 15 guns at Turks, doing
great damage: I am out on left
flank with 4 other of our troops
on W. stn. 6. the enemy are
bombarding our Aeriels so we
keep under cover until they finish.
long streams of wounded & dead
men are being carried past us
the Turks fire on our Red Cross
so we have been ordered to
ignore the white flag kill all
1 PM. A Turkish battalion of
900 men & 9 machine guns were
captured by the Austn & N.Z troops
great joy we are now getting
a bit of our own back. our 3rd
Bde of 5000 men. Austns almost
wiped out, there will be some
aching hearts when the list goes
out.
April 28. We are under very heavy
shrapnel fire all day: bullets are
falling on the bags (over my head)
needless to say I am well behind
the bags: 2 donkeys tied on to a 
cart alongside us were killed & our
mast damaged; the warships
are bombarding the Turks batteries:
as I write this, shell is bursting
all round me knocking the
sand out of my barricade:; I
thank God,  I have been spared
so far. The Turks are murdering
all our wounded as they get
them: The position is very
favorable on our side: 3 horse
& 2 men have just been shot alongside
me, some of our escapes have been
miraculous. 11. P.M.
April 29. Things are much quieter.
New Battleships have apparently settled 

the enemys batteries, reports state
that large reinforcements are
arriving which is very encouraging
we are to proceed: The enemy still
continue to torture our wounded
one man was brought in fearfully
mutated & all his dying, was conscious.
our killed to date are 500 wounded
about 3000; graves are all round
us with small + to mark every 6 to 80
Men: our work has been warmly
commended it is considered that
the work done by our station of
men is costing the Turks thousands
of lives & saving the same number
of our chaps: I have had no
sleep for 4 days or nights. Feel
thoroughly blown out but I shall
have to keep pegging: a chap
dosnt mind when he knows he is
doing such good work. Several
Turkish Spies have been brought
 in dressed in Austns. uniform our
chaps caught one tickled him up
with bayonet other strung him to
a tree with a bayonet, he squealed
like a pig. 10 P.M. we were all called
out to protect our station as a party
of Turks were coming round the beach
to outflank us. however a warship
saved the situation with a single shell,
Fort Chanak bombarded our Transports
but no hits were recorded.
April 29. Very cold rivel: heavy reinforch
of Marines have arrived so every
one is more cheerful; our warships
are still causing the Turks to run
like pigs, & making their losses enormous
3 pm Warships are bombarding &
kicking up hell. we went up to
the trenches for a shot & we got it
bullets from snipers wizzing all
round; after falling over a few dead
Turks, one of whom had his head 

blown off. we caught a German
& several Turk spies this pm: the
German made a break for liberty,
whereon our chaps kicked him to
death they also blew the Turk
from a gun & left a few ribs where
he should have been. our chaps
who have earned the name of
"The Australian Gurkas" are shooting
all the Prisoners, after tickling them
us with a bayonet had a very
narrow shave, went to perform a
small duty up the sandhills when
a sniper from the far ridge opened
fire on me. The shots missed by
inches only rebunked into the sand
needless to say I beat a hasty
retreat: our boys are still doing
fine work: 11 PM: the Turks have
just made a night attack we
mowed them down in hundreds
the hill is black with dead & 
 dying niggers: Lord Kitchener has
sent us his warmest congratulations
or our fine work & we are expecting
to be mentioned in despatches for
Sticking to our Signal station &
working under such heavy fire
for four dreadful days & nights:
a number of our boys have come
in for the first roll call. & it is
heartbreaking to hear the names
called out, one after another, & no
reply, except a Comrade to say
"killed sir" or "wounded sir" A
number of Companies have lost all
their officers most of thew men; one
coy. had 1 man to answer the roll,
out of 20:  A party was told off to
bury some of our lads in a boat
on the beach where they had lain
since Sunday, none of them had
landed even: 3 of our chaps were
killed & 3 wounded by the brutes 

I think their day of reckoning
is near
April 30. Heavy bombarding all
day: we have had several more
narrow escapes. the enemy getting
the range of our station & putting
in two or three good shots,  one of
our wireless chaps was shot by
a sniper on the hill near us, a
message has just come through
that the enemy are retiring in a
N.E. direction; Fort Chanak said
Good Afternoon to us then we
heard she was 'Non est';  a shell
setting fire to the Fort. Many
stray bullets are still wizzing about
& we go about very warily. I am
not feeling too well. think I am
getting a touch of influenza the
weather is lovely: a poor chap
has just been taken past us with
his head half blown off. he was
 given a Military Funeral Major Page
May. 1. The Turks have brought up 2 big
guns, but after firing a few shells into
the sea & knocking up fountains bigger
than ships, the warships clapped their
joke: 11 AM. a man was killed near
me by shrapnel while on guard at
the water tank. our flank has
extended a mile & half.: 3 pm. We
are enjoying a perfect hell: words
cannot describe) how we feel with
hundreds of shrapnel bursting over
& round us, as we are working, &
should our masts go we will
have to immediately erect same
again shell or no shell: we have
again, been commended on our work
6 PM things are quiet except for a
few snipers.
May 2. The Turks usual 'good AM'
with big guns. & our warships
polite return has had a mutual 

effect. 4P.M. The day has been very
quiet it is the calm before the
storm: 5 P.M. 11 warships are going
hell for leather, firing salvos
broadsides, the Turks are getting
it hot. shells are wizzing all
round us:  a gang of Prisoners &
2 German officers have just been
brought in they are working
like blazes making roads, dugouts
etc. our principal danger
now is snipers & an occasional
shrapnel of which, we cannot
be too careful, as they come
on us so suddenly & scatter all
round us before we know where
we are; we landed a party this
afternoon & caught an observation
office with his men & stations, the
Turks fire has not been to fierce or
accurate since: 11 pm We made
our attack on the Turks trenches
 captured 700 yds of same, but the
attack drove a large body on to our
left flank. Things were very serious
for a while: every available man
on the beach, being called up

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losses were very heavy on both
sides, a long list of wounded
men being brought in.
May 3. Good Morning as usual
from the Goeber. She hit one
transport knocked a hole in her
& wounded three of the crew;  the
Aus. went up directed the "Lizzies"
fire had the Goeben going for
their life: things have been very
quiet with the exception of a few
strays & shrapnel bursting over our
heads. I wrote to Mother. 4 PM
May 4 Things are very quiet only
pulsing going on & a few shrapnel 

but there is going to be a heavy go
tonight: our chaps are to take a line
of trenches: the Goeben again big
us 'G.M'. but the Lizzie was again
on her tail sent her off. large
numbers of wounded many of
whom have been lying in
trenches for 4, 5 days are being
brought in: little graves are
springing up all over the beach
where our poor fellows lie: they
are the bravest of the brave & show
the English Troops points.
May 5 . The Turks have been
bombarding our beach all day. but
did not cause much damage: beyond
hitting a few barges: The warships
cleared a trench when the Turks
cleared out. our chaps mowed them
down. The Triumph fired two
broadsides at the Goeben from the
Gulf of Saros. where we are now.
 

to the Dardanelles; knocked her about
a bit, She wont be so free with her
G.M.'s in future. I hope; Things on
the front are unaltered: few losses
being incurred by both sides: as is
the usual daily occurrence, we
have all had narrow escapes; but
come back smiling every time.
wither placed of call
Dardanelles: Gulf of Saros
Gallipolli: very warm here
We have had no mails for 7 weeks.
a chap has just been killed & 3 
wounded near the Wireless stn. by
shrapnel: I am quite used to seeing
poor fellows cut down: some with
fearful wounds: many being caused
by loft nosed bullets others by
shrapnel. 10.30 PM. The Turks at last
succeeded in cutting our aeriel wire, 
we had to turn out repair same, with
bullet whizzing- all over us & the weather 

bitterly cold: The Turks sent down a
messenger giving us 36 hours to
surrender. ha ha!! very heavy
fighting took place this morning
clearly: no result
May 6 Turks bombarded our Sations
with Howitzers & had the Range to a
T. They killed 5 donkeys. wounded
2 men: besides cutting our wires &
knocking off the insulators: we had
to turn but fix the wires up, they
then turned their attention to the
trenches, but owing to our men
being well dug in they did no
harm beyond giving us several
nasty shocks. more reinforcements
are arriving: our casualties to
date are 7,000 which is very light
considering the task in hand an
Officer came in today proposed to
Surrender: we gave him terms & let
him go again, but he was a spy &
we said heavily for our courtesy, as he
went back to his lines & gave the ranges
of the Hospital, which they shelled for
an hour. The Turks sank our water
barge & we have to go without water; cant

even get enough for a shave. 4 pm further
shelling has just ceased. This time.
7 horses. & 11 mules caught it, but no
men were hit. one of our chaps was
sleeping outside our [[Or.?]] with his hat
on his chest, when the first shell
cut the hat clean in two. but missed
Brownie needless to say, we resembled
a next of centipedes in a hole while
the Turks sent their greetings. most of
our boxes are shot through: I found
a blood Stained bayonet. That was used
by one of the fateful 11 th Regt. in their
fire charge up the hill. As soon as
the boats touched the beach. they
rang out. & with one cry "Australia"
they charged. bayoneting hundreds of