Diary for Arthur James Adams, 1915-1916, Part 4 of 10
June 24th Thurs
Turks do a deal of harm on beach with
their shells in daytime. Up gully at night
June 25th Fri
Turks howitzer shells too constant today
their bombs doing much damage also
Mild attack by T at Quinns. Yarn all
night with Norm Brotherton & say ta ta
to Y.Brennan of 2nd L.H. Fd Amb
June 26th Sat
2nd L.H. Fd. Amb return to Lemnos at
3 am. Many casualaties on beach.
D.O'Carrol, D. Daly & rest have —
committee meetings, Met on beach
with A.S.C. Horne at 12 pm
June 27th Sun.
Very hot day, gully at night. Bad
attack of diarrhea
June 28th Mon
5th, 6th & 7th Lt Horse make a sham
attack on right, to draw T reinforcements
from point where we are landing more
troops, L H casualaties about 300.
June 29th Tues
Heavy bombardment near point all day
Up gully, awful hot
June 30th Wed
Have a dip before breakfast, sea very rough
Major Dixon takes up duty in gully
sketch for An Zac again. Go round to
right flank trenches & have a look round
with Dick Daly, but have some
near escapes from shrapnell coming
back. Meet B. Hartley from 9th details
who is taking cover have a yarn
July 1st Thurs
Have a rest all day with
diarrhae & billious attack
July 2nd Fri
27th Birthday, feel am getting old
Work up S. gully, very hot & diarrhae
July 3rd Sat
Receive letters & cards from home one
re birthday wishes.
July 4th Sun
Report sick, service in front of hospital
at night, quiet day.
July 5th Mon
Dysentry . . starve myself
July 6th Tues
Dysentry. only eat a little rice
July 7th Wed
Heavy bombardment from each side
new howitzer at foot of hill
July 8th Thurs
Harry Lauder leaves us. with bad knee
we give him a sing-song send off in
his dug out.
July 9th Fri
Get a very busy night up S Gully
Dysentry very bad
July 10th Sat
Make a frame for to hold Co notices
on board. also make some fish
hooks & spend 3 hrs with line at
night. bait bully, flour & wool no luck.
July 11th Sun
Setting razors & good clean up in dug
out in morning, Service outside hospital
at night also heavy firing. feel very weak
July 12th Mon
Got two papers & four letters but no parcel
tropical weather. Capture a trench at
Quinns in early morning. Work up
S. gully all night.
July 13th Tues
Make another complaint to adjt about
parcels. carve pipe for S. Sgt Fitz'Gerald
July 14th Wed
Work up gully in tropical heat all day
July 15th Thurs
Little doing in day, A Jacob. Claude Dawson
B. Gill, come ashore from Trawler
Catch a couple of small bream at night
July 16th Fri
Major Button, Margate. Allison T. Hart
Armitage, Pasty, & rest of C tent section
come ashore, fish for breakfast & taste of
tinned fowl at dinner with Sgt Anderson
July 17th Sat
Our squad & Andy's up gully all day
diarrhae very bad. F Carter 8th Batt killed.
July 18th Sun
General clean up. Receive a letter from Pen's
girl at Melbourne Mary Tarrant 135 Westgarth.S.
Northcote. Melbourne. Shelled heavily by
Turks howitzers all afternoon. write to M. T.
Service at night after which C., Taylor gets hit
again (in abdomen & arm)
July 19th Mon
Q M fatigue all day. heavy shelling at night
July 20th Tues
Cutting hair all morning, & visit 6th Lt H in
morning & find that D Daly got 7 pellets
in back and is in Egypt also Wiggins just
returned from one in side, A. Jacob returned
for home with clot of blood in leg. Shell our
camp again marvelous escapes
July 21st Wed
Stomach bad. prepare every where for big
attack. our whole squad up gully. do
fatigue in day
July 22nd Thurs
All standing to arms for big attack
big gun duels. shells every where
We work gully with C section.
July 23rd Fri
Fatigues all day all expectation everywhere
Turks observed reinforcing strong
July 24th Sat
Big shells doing a deal of damage again
With two squads up gull, very busy
time. Pioneers cookhouse near us blown
up by large football cannon ball
2¼" thick W Ireland sent away with
scalds & shock, Mc Lean also sent
away
July 25th Sun
Col Sutton leaves camp for Alex after
giving farewell speech at service
July 26th Mon
Fatigues all day, Spells of firing all while
July 27 Tues
Put roof on officers mess, & cover
in sides with bush trelli, heavy
shelling. Turks aeroplane busy
July 28th Wed
Turks howitzer nearly got big howitzer
at foot of our hill.Turk aeroplane
busy with bombs.
July 29th Thurs
Turk aeroplane gives a fine display of
looping the loop over the sea at about
3000 ft, Work up gully. Turk aeroplane
dropping bombs& darts
Cm Gaunt gets hit in hand & leaves
for Lemnos
July 30th Fri
Snow Baton & myself go round to
left flank to get details of F Snell
& G Henderson & find George died at
dressing station, & F. Snell shot
in arm first & other wounds unknown
Rush still away Smith away sick
Stormouth made lieutenant, Call at
A S C on return when aeroplane drops a
bomb just close. Get some prunes off
Staff Fitz & have same for tea with
Snowy Bayton
July 31st Sat
F. Gill & Kempy take up a dug out
on other side of hill, I clean place out
well. Bombs & darts drop about in plenty
3rd Bde capture a line of trenches
on right.
August 1st Sun
Up S. Gully all day , very hot. Turks
very busy but does little damage
Attempts to bomb Gloucester Castle
Hospital ship
August 2nd Mon
Begin digging new D Station up
next big gully on our right
Landing a lot of imperial troops all
night
August 3rd Tues
Ted Langlount & myself apply for
transfer to 2nd Fd Co Engrs & are
accepted by Major Martin C.O. My foot
awful sore. Digging dressing station
up gully at night, Tidy up in
day time & cutting hair
for our boys
August 4th Wed
Digging D station up same gully
big preparations being made for a
move. Thousands of Imp troops coming
ashore. S W. Borderers Wilts Cheshires
Welsh Fus, etc Give a S W B man
a good feed at tea all of them have
diarrhae Heavy shells all over us
& several of the new troops killed
August 5th Thurs
Cannot walk with bad leg. big
temp too. Sent with ¼ hour warning
to Hos ship G. Castle arriving about
2 pm. Turks attack trenches captured
by us on Sat night & are driven
back with heavy losses (at night)
August 6th Fri
Take up more wounded & sail at 12-30 pm
arrive Lemnos at 5 pm. Take up more
patients from Lemnos.
August 7th Sat
Anchored all day at entrance to
Lemnos Island. which is full of naval
& transport boats. some of which
have been beached owing to damage
Leave for Alex at 8 pm
August 8th Sun
Get on deck for a few hours in daytime
A Light Horse Colonel buried about
midday. burials taking place over stern
of ship every day (seven yesterday)
August 9th Mon
Up on deck at 5 am I enjoy seeing
the cloudy. sunrise open sea today
August 10th Tues
Hop about deck in day, carving pipe etc
Arrive Alexandria at 6 pm, usual bustle
Yarning with Wallace Attention
on boat from nurses awfully lacking
August 11th Wed
Entrain for Cairo at 12 noon and arrive
at 4 - 15 when we are met with tea
& biscuits by Red Cross workers. taken
rest and journey by Amb motor transport
to Palace Hotel, Heliopolis. Meet young
Harris of Brisbane there and have a
yarn over poor old Pen. Sent to Sporting
Club No 3 Auxilliary Hospital where we
receive every attention from Sister Kemp
in No 1 Medical ward. This ward
like a huge bush house netting roof
holds some 500 to 600 patients.
Indian Ambulance in Red Cross train
give every attention .
August 12th Thurs
Australian nurses every time say I ! Meet
Ron Annold in Palace Hotel where I
get clean clothes, He is nursing orderly
Aug 13 Fri
Quiet day. Meet Frank Rooke in
hospital. Stroll in Heliopolis at night
& see Ballantyne with 3 stripes up
Aug 14th Sat
Stroll around Heliopolis in afternoon
& see little wonderful Have tea
in town and get back back way) early
Aug 15th Sun
Nothing of note
Aug 16th Mon
Trip into Cairo with J Birch. Call
at Soldiers Home& hear that Miss
Maconochie has left for Alexandria
Nellie Affendoule still there. lots of
faces about which I remember.
See the old Esebekia triangle
The Wazza is a complete wreck.
Call at P,O. for parcels (call tomorrow)
Aug 17th Tues
Look round Wassa & back streets
on my pat. Find Mariana who
cries when I tell her of Pen's death
Have a gam. lose 4/- Meet Ron Arnold
in Esebekiah Gardens & later when in
Helios – meet Gaffney of old 'Linton' with
a friend and while we are having a
drink in Royal, some lout looks for
fight and gets it. No parcels in Cairo
Aug 18th Wed
Joe & I go to Cairo & call for parcels
but get none. Train out to Mena camp
wonderful change.
Aug 19th Thurs
Motor to Bab-el-louk station & train
to Heloua, where we march to Al, Hayat
Hotel, Large & plain building sleep on floor
about 1000 occupants. Meet W. Towel again
Aug 20th Fri
Get a pass and have a look
round Helouan, very quiet place
Crowd leaving & more coming
Aug 21st Sat
Loll about all day. very ho, usual
exchange of patients. Write home.
Aug 22nd Sun
Go to Church Parade in Dining Room
at 10 am. W Towell goes to Zetoun
Service on balcony at 7 pm
Aug 23rd Mon
Little doing in daytime. Rather good
show of pictures at night beautiful
moonlight. Nile rising fast.
Aug 24th Tues
Pack up and get away from Heloun
at 9 am arrive at Zetoun at 11 am
Go to Heliopolis to Sporting Club Hospital
with Joe in afternoon. Meet Bernard
Harris & Jim Ramsbottom & spend
after tea with them. Home in gharri
sleep in large wooden shanty
Aug 25th Wed
Go into town with Joe, no parcels at
GPO. Call on Rosa & have tea there
back by train & gharri.
Aug 26th Thurs
Have to meet Sister Kemp in town
& miss her but meet H. Kay & have
fun with German coat of arms. Home
together by train & gharri
Aug 27th Fri
Go in town in afternoon & buy pictures
for Sister Kemp. get a pair of pictures
for mother & get cases made of tin
for same. Call in to see Arthur Holby
at Sport-Club. home at 10 pm
Aug 28th Sat
Usual parades Have my watch
repaired. Post pictures home. also letters.
Cannot get some registered in Heliopolis so go
in town with Jim Ramsbottom. I have a
quiet look round.
Aug 29th. Sun
Go on fatigue in morning & to Pyramids
in afternoon with. A. Holdaway & his brother
Meet J Pratley & have a good yarn about old
mates who have recently been hit 13 killed
Home at 11 pm in gharry.
Aug 30th Mon
Fall in several times during day no pay
as. xpected. Go into Cairo to see Rosa for a
hour, back to Heliopolis & stay a hour
at Les Pyramids to see concert home at 10-30.
Aug 31st Tues
Usual parades in day pay 10/- write
home. & several to Australia, Go into
Cairo at night & say, good bye to Rosa
Aug Sept 1st
Fatigues in daytime. little doing
otherwise, very hot
Sept 2nd Thurs
Fatigue & ragtime parades in day
Guard at night at Zetoun. have
a good ride on horses of red caps
Sept 3rd Fri
Leave Zetoun station at 10 am
and arrive Suez at 5 pm reach
camp about 6 pm. Go in Suez
at night little doing.
Sept 4th Sat
Write several letters do odd duties in
day Guard over canal crossing at
night
Sept 5th Sun
Guard at Canal Crossing all day and
nigh, fish in canal at intervals
Sept 6th Mon
Leave for Suez during day. Go for a
long walks among gardens alongside
of Nile. Feed of grapes in a vineyard.
Shoot a large kingfisher with a Greek's gun
Have a swim in sea & spoil my watch.
Stroll around Suez with a Jack from Cruiser
HMS. Fox. Walk round wazza with the
Police sergeant at 12 pm
Sept 7th Tues
Police on trains between New Camp
Suez & Port Tewfik. nothing startling
Smith loses P.75 from out of his tunic pocket
Suspicions cannot be proved on the culprit .
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