Letters from Norman Griffiths Ellsworth to his Mother, 1914-1915, Part 12 of 27

[*My boys chalk on each of our shells 
"with complements from 'A ' Sub 4th Bty. 
& all our names*] 
  
Happa Teppi 
29th 28th April 1915 
Gallipoli Pensular
  
Dearest Mother & all at Home 
We are in our Glory at 
last & are under continual fire of the 
Turks shrapnel & rifle fire; It is a 
very wasteful expenditure on their 
part as it only hits the Atmosphere 
here & our positions are most safe 
& excellently concealed. We landed 
under the fire of our battleships & 
altho' there was plenty of shrapnel along  
the beach, we managed to get "A" Subs 
gun into a high position on a hill & 
he we at once got to work & located a 
Turkish battery (6 Guns) & we gave 
them a taste of direct fire & put them 
completely out of action in 18 shots

2 
This battery had been shelling the 
landing parties along the beach & 
were very annoying & the battleships 
could not locate it & it was not until 
we were firing in a different direction 
that we discovered we were getting 
it from them & our Major suddenly 
located them & turned us on them. 
Our Infantry got a terrible time 
until we arrived & were being killed 
& wounded by the scores by the Turks 
shrapnel & I am glad to say that 
our arrival put fresh heart into 
them. We were the only Gun in 
Turkish territory for 24 hours & we 
were under fire from 3 different direct 
ions & the snipers are the worst of  
the lot, but we are quite safe

3 
& don't mind the shrapnel a bit. We 
have had only 2 wounded in my 
Sub, Powell, the Range finder, got hit 
by a spent bullet & was a little 
stunned. Jack Heywood was making 
some tea & a bullet grazed his hand, 
but he was most unconcerned about 
it & went on making the tea after he 
had made a few uncomplimentary 
remarks about them. I must say  
that the behaviour of my boys is 
marvellous, they go about whilst 
bullets are flying in all directions & 
take not the Slightest heed of them. 
Ammunition is plentiful & we fire 
about 300 to 400 rounds per day. 
We are all mixed up as batteries 
& I am right away from the other

guns of our battery. Moons gun is 
about 3 miles from us attached to 
the 3rd Brigade, & I am with another 
gun of the 5th Battery. Colonel Johnston 
got hit in the leg whilst washing & 
our Dr got it in his "sitting down" 
place, washing. The warships are 
doing great work & are shelling 
continuously & the "Queen Elizabeth" 
with her 15 inch guns, shakes the 
whole place when she fires & the noise 
is deafening, but we like her music. 
Our horses are still on the boat & 
are not likely to land for some time. 
The Indian Mountain Batteries are 
doing good work & their mules carry 
enormous loads up the steepest hills 
without much effort. The British division

Page 5 
landed at the foot of the peninsular 
& we landed half way up, so you 
can see that our job was by far 
the hardest, but we are holding them 
safe & are well "dug in" & there is 
tons of barbed wire in front of our 
trenches. We are under fire all 
day & all night, but we all sleep 
well as it nearly all falls into 
the sea. We are very comfortable & 
have good tucker, etc & the health 
of all is splendid & I have never 
felt better in my life. We all 
assembled in Lemnos & after a 
weeks stay, sailed for here & at day 
break, the battleships were pouring 
in broadsides & it was a sight 
I'll never forget. Aeroplanes &

6 
seaplanes were flying all over the 
place & we could here the Turks 
machine guns trying to bring 
them down, but to no avail. 
We go down to the beach for 
a swim in the afternoon, so 
you see, this isn't too bad, eh. 
I intend to give this letter to 
 anybody going back to the boat 
& one of the crew will post it, 
otherwise it will be censored. 
It is great to see the war 
boats standing off & firing  
over our heads. Truly the 
British Navy is wonderful. 
The Queen "Lizzie" got onto the 
Turks-German Armoured train & 
blew it sky high with her 15 inch 
guns.

Page 7 
Men, guns & train was scattered in 
all directions. They had been 
doing a lot of destructive work. 
The weather here is delightful 
& we have had only one little 
shower for about 3 minutes since 
we arrived. 
At the present minute, 4 war  
ships are firing right over our 
heads to the forts on the other  
side of the Pen_^insular, They are the 
Triumph, Prince of Wales, Queen; 
& "Buccaneer" & the noise is 
deafening. That is the advantage 
to us of the place being only 5 
miles wide. We expect to be 
here for a week until the other 
division drive up the Turks

8/ 
from down below, then we  
press them into a position & 
blow them to "blazes". 
Now Mother, dear, don't be 
alarmed for us, as we are in 
a strong winning position, & 
altho' the Infantry have lost 
a lot, there are no casualties 
whatever with the Artillery, & 
the Turks are retreating every- 
where. I hope all are well 
Give my love to everybody & 
don't forget our "dinner". 
With fondest love 
I am 
Your loving son 
Norman