Diary of Wilbert Berg, 1915-1916 - Part 2

9/9/15 Still in reserve OC
Hellyer & Wagga join us Received
mail 3 & 4 from home & 7 from
Millie (4,5 & 6 from Millie missing)
10/9/15 Water Fatigue Italians
land at Salt Lakes Things
quiet at firing line
11/9/15 Outpost duty 13^th L.Horse
(devils own) arrive 12^th L. Horse
cut up into reinforcements
12/9/15 Church in Rest Gully
Saw Frank Egan there
13/9/15 Warships bombard
Achi Baba all day & night
Fresh meat issued
14/9/15 Warships still
bombarding day & night Met
Bill Thomas & Page
1415/9/15 Water fatigue Ships
still bombarding Our Bgde.
& Line
engineers arrive. Wrote to Mrs Webb
16/9/15 Warships finish 90
hours bombardment Aust.
mail received paper & no
letters
17/9/15 Down at beach Our
doctor hit with schrapnel from
Beachy Bill. Turks attack Stand by
18/9/15 Making tiers for our
winter quarters in gully behind
firing line
19/9/15  Church in gully by
Father Murphy Harry & 
I went 

20/9/15 Invited down to
dinner by Indian Officer. best
feed I have had so far.
British arship passed over
lines after dark Warned
21/9/15 Things quiet all along
the front
22/9/15 Sapping at Hinton's
Post Warships busy
23/9/15 Beachy Bill puts
shells on beach does damage
to mules
24/9/15 Demonstration Charge
had to stand to all night.
but nothing came of it
25/9/15 Sapping at Hintons
again. getting plenty of fresh
meat & bread
26/9/15 Church at 6-30.AM
I went to Confession & Comn
& went to the Rosary at
night
27/9/15 Turkish demonstration
at night things otherwise
quiet
28/9/15 Some of our wounded
boys return glad to get
back
29/9/15 3rd Rein of 19^th Batt &
3rd Rein of 20^th Batt arrive
& are transferred to our
Batt (funny to watch
them ducking from the
shots)

30/9/15 Ol Hellyer went
away to the Hospital
with dysentry
1/10/15 Warships bombard
Achi Baba again for a
couple of hours.
2/10/15 Mail arrived got
answers to our lettrs from
the Ceramic
3/10/15 Went to Con & Cour
at 6-30 in A.S.C. Gully
4/10/15 Artillery duel not
much damage done
5/10/15 Got a few lines from
Martie in answer to my
first letter.
6/10/15 Demonstration at
Lone Pine had to Stand to
all night but nothing
came of it
7/10/15 Drafted permantly
into the Pioneers (good job)
8/10/15 Terrible Storm came up
just at dusk. The wind blew
are our waterproofs down got
Soaking wet.
9/10/15 Jim Preston going back
to Australia medically
unfit (still takes fits)
10/10/15 Storm the other night
played havoc with the beach
blew down our wharves & blew
all our lighters ashore ^Church Con.

11/10/15 On half ration of
water through water boat
being blown ashore by
the storm. Pay day. drew £1
12/10/15 Bought Chocolates &
Cake with our pay our guns
quiet
3/10/15 Aust. mail get letter
from home also Araluen &
Millie Nights getting very cold
bust days hot
14/10/15 Things ship shape
again on the beach after
the storm
15/10/15 Big demonstration at
night had to Stand to
Arms all night
16/10/15 Turks bomb Monash
Gully with old Howitzer
caught 8 or 9 of our chaps
17/10/15 Church went to
Con & Cour Very much like
rain
18/10/15 Rained all night
Aust mail in. Got letters
from home, Millie. Grandma
Virg Lyns Wood & Pearl Darby
19/10/15 Artillery very active Sap
closer to Turks at Russells
Top.
20/10/15 Very cold & windy Taube
flew over trenches with
Machine Gun on board 

Our Guns Soon made it
change its course
21/10/15 Raining all day. very
unpleasant. Turks firing bombs
from old Howitzer again
22/10/15 Our chaps exchange
Bully beef for Cigarettes off the
Turks at Walkers Ridge.
23/10/15 Harry Wallace came down
to see me. having a good time
Our batteries purt defective shells
into 6^th Bgde but no one hit
boys signal washouts
24/10/15 Church in Monash
Gully went to Con & Cour again
been raining all night very
muddy & cold
25/10/15 Turks bomb Monash
gully with walking stick
bombs but little damage
done
26/10/15 Turks bombing again
they put two bombs in our
gully but one did not go off
& the other did no damage
only threw the dirt all over
the place (the bays enjoy the
fun & signal Washouts)
27/10/15 Very windy & dusty, on
half ration of water because
of rough sea
28/10/15 Still windy & dusty, no
bread or meat could not
land them on account of
rough weather 

29/10/15 Artillery on both
sides very active. Bert Dunne
etc came around to see me
30/10/15 Digging place for reserve
canvas water tanks. Greece
"joins the Allies
31/10/15 Church in Monash
Gully went to Con & Cour
things quiet
1/11/15 Very windy all day
Storm at night could not
land stores on beach
2/11/15 Aust. mail lost
overboard but got a
couple of letters. Sweep on Cup
3/11/15 Artillery active on
both sides but Turks
do no damage. Stan Cose
arrives back from Egypt
got P.C. from Splinter from
Hospital in England
4/11/15 Turkish charge on
Lone Pine but repulsed with
about 100 casualties
5/11/15 Stan Cose & I visit
Hill 60. Crawled out & got
a few discs off the dead
men. All L. Horse men
6/11/15 18^th Batt take over
Steels Post from the 21^st Batt
Pretty good post, On duty all night
7/11/15 Still on duty in trenches
could not go to Church
Got parcel from home Also letters 

8/11/15 Took over bombing
Station from the 21^st Batt
Stan Cose & Bglr McLaren also
bombers
9/11/15 Sent Christmas mail
home. Things pretty quiet. Saw
Monitors scouting for
Submarine which was sighted
10/11/15 Rained last night got
a bit wet. Talking to Carl
Coleman. Warships bombard
Turkish reinforcements five
rounds rapid every few minutes.
11/11/15 Howitzers Shell German
officers trench Engineers
blew up wire at Quinns
Had to Stand to Arms
12/11/15 Things quiet everywhere
Brigade reinforcements
Arrive from Egypt
13/11/15 Father Murphy wounded.
big beachy bill Father McCarthy
R.C. Chaplain now
14/11/15 Lord Kitchner over here.
visits the different ridges
& talks to the men. I did
not see him.
15/11/15 Storm at night made
trenches in a terrible
State. Turk gets frightened
& starts firing heavily our
boys cool & did not fire
at all hardly
16/11/15 Turks put walking 

stick bomb over & we
retaliate with hand grenades
& the turks stop
17/11/15 Another Storm Sea
very rough Could not land
Stores
18/11/15 Received parcel for
Bill Twentyman (who is away
sick) & got a tin of baking
powder in it. Mac & I make
a Stove out of an oil drum
to do some cooking
19/11/15 Mac & I make some Jam
Tarts & scones & they were
delicious we also made
some dumplings which were
also very nice.
20/11/15 We drove the Turks out
of their first trench to their
Second line with bombs.
21/11/15 Turks get fresh supply
of shells & they shelled us all day
but did little damage only Knock
a few sand bags down
22/11/15 Saw Turk out in the hills
chopping wood. Sgt Mjr Roy had
three shots at him, but missed
23/11/15 Very cold over here now
warships wreck a Turkish
flour mill & saw mill
23/11/15 Bit of an artillery duel
but no damage done only a
few sand bags knocked off our
parapets. 

24/11/15 Started keeping silent so
the Turks would think that we
had gone away No shots to be fired
& no peroscopes to be used
25/11/15 Still silent, Turks made
no move last night seems
funny not to hear a shot
fired from Rifles Artillery or Ships
26/11/15 Things still the same
Turk shot at our Crater last
night blew his brains clean
out Got his rifle & cap
27/11/15 Last night of keeping
silent Officers thought that
Turks were attacking & we
sent up one Rocket & the
Turks went back again
28/11/15 Things again as usual
Artillery on both sides active
Turks do a bit of damage to
our trenches
29/11/15 Turks bombard our
trenches with 6 in Howitzers do
a bit of damage. One shell went
in amongst about 6 of our officers
but luckily it did lust explode
30/11/15 Things very cold & sea
rough cannot land any stores
Tucker not too good & very
little of it.
1/12/15 Started snowing last
night & kept on all day to-day
very cold a new experience for
some of the boys 

2/12/15 Stopped snowing last
night about 6 inches of snow
the ground bitterly cold
3/12/15 Turks bombard our trenches
with 75. Knocked parapets about
a bit & unearthed a dead body
just near our Bomb store & the
Smell was Awful
4/12/15 Very much like rain Very
heavy bombardment by Warships
on Achi Baba. lasted consistently
for about an hour
5/12/15 Turks blow up two
wires but do little damage
to us, they did more damage
to their own trenches
6/12/15 Things pretty quiet,
lovely day. Few 75's in the
evening. Aust. mail in first
for three weeks
7/12/15 Waiting with bombs for
Turks to break through to our
tunnell. Very poor miners
8/12/15 Turk not broken through
yet still waiting, Few of the
wounded back from England
Bring good news re Germany & Co
asking for peace. Boys will be
glad when it is all over.
9/12/15 Taube flying over our trenches
dropping bombs, but they missed
our trenches & fell in the gully so
they did no damage