Diary of Cyril Arnold Pryor, 1914 -1916 - Part 1

 

Miss [[Von?]] Matheson

c/o Standard Bank - S.A.

Cape Town

South Africa

 

 

OTAKI HISTORICAL SOCIETY

REC. No.   1110

DONOR   Otaki 'Lions' Museum

DATE OF PHOTO Item   ? 1916 ?

DESCRIPTION   Diary of an

Australian (?) soldier

World War 1. - Includes

a first hand account of evacuation

of Gallipoli by member of last party

 

Diary

Oct 26^th  Join Australian Infantry Victoria

Barracks Sydney.

Oct 27  Get position as post master at

Liverpool Camp & made Sgt on full pay.

June 15^th leave post office to leave for the

front with 20^th Batt [[L Horse in Anzac?]]

June 26^th  leave Woolomooloo by S.S.

Britania for Egypt. Great send off

through Sydney. July 27 Arrive Port Suez

July 28^th  leave Port Suez for return by train

9 hour run, march to Heliopolis camp

& take up quarters. Aug 2^nd Go into

Barracks at Kasr el Nil near Cairo.

Aug 5^th  Go back to Heliopolis. Aug 6^th

leave Heliopolis for Alexandria 7 hours run

Embark on SS [[Salunca?]] for Dardanelles

Lemnos Island Aug 22.

 

3

Aug 22  Embark by the SS Osmanieh for

the Dardanelles. Arrive Anzac beach @ 12 pm

23rd  Go ashore 4 AM on small barges & greeted

with a few Turkish shells. March two hours

trough narrow trenches on to Rest Gully & rest

unitll Aug 25^th. 25^th Eighteenth Battalion get

badly cut up in a charge. 20^th battalion move

round to Taylors Gully to reinforce 18^th Batt.

26 lose pioneer Sgt & 3 men by shrapnel.

26 Battalion moved back to Rest Gully

& then on to Walkers Ridge in to Russells

top to take position in firing line relieving

eight & tenth Light Horse & Leinster Reg {England}

trenches in awful condition dead laying in

hundreds everywhere in parapet. left from a 

charge from that position which hopelessly failed

take charge of post with four men for

 

4

48 hours. stench awful. Turkish trenches only

30 yds distant. have first pot at a Turk }

missed him by yds a little excited}

27. Spend awful time on post. nearly knocked

by machine gun going for water. first

narrow escape.} very short of rations & feel

almost starved.

28^th  Relieved from post to take on

permanent job repairing trenches & making

improvements throughout the line {quite

thankful for the change} @ night - hold big

demonstration to draw Turks fire. Guns

machine Guns & 1500 rifles from our side

blazing away. Turks retaliated & got

first taste of being under hot fire.

Demonstration quietened down after one hour

29^th. had to put trenches in order. Quite

 

5

an unthankful job burrying dead and

rebuilding parapets under fire the whole time.

From Aug 29^th to Sept 15^th. put in long hours

& hard work throughout trenches, lose many

men at different posts, through bombs &

gun fire. The position getting very warm

daily for 75's & 6 in shells. Hold two

more demonstrations but only draw Turks

fire. Rations get no better just honey on

bully beef biscuits water & sometimes a 

small lid of tea. Sickness & dysentery

playing the devil with the men, many

leave for Egypt. Sept 10^th Receive a mail, great

joy amongst the Boys. Also receive

2 pkts cigerets & tobacco. things looking up

also in living. received first meal rice

& small piece of cheese quite a luxury

 

6

Sept 15   put scheme before acting Colonel FitzGerald

to make a new firing line extending 100 yds

/  bringing us within 12 & 20 yds from Turks

line. Afternoon. Go through whole Anzac position

with Colonel Holmes, Brigade Major Wisdom

Major FitzGerald Major Murphy & three

Captains. Go through firing line from

Walkers Ridge through Popes {held by 19^th Bat

Quinns Post} held by 17 & 18^th. through

Steels {held by 6^th Light Horse & on to

Lone Pine Return to Russells Top & given

permission to start my the firing line.

Sept 16 take on 20 men & start to work

tunnelling in five places Very busy day.

Sept 16 to 22nd. Work going well strike 

many batches of our own & Turkish dead

which we have to re bury.} Turks hold

 

7

Demonstration on 19^th & charge @ Lone Pine

only to be wiped out. Turks shell our

position killing sixty & many wounded,

parapet knocked about every where. Spend

the whole night rebuilding through heavy

rain. Next day spent sleeping in dug out

first for 72 hours}. position gets worse than

ever Shells from various guns coming over

every day at intervals, bombs getting very

hot. not a day passing without casualties.

22  Receive another mail, & more cigarettes

manage to get  xx [[service?]] under

scrapnel fire. {Beach Anzac getting

like a great sea port.

23rd  Air Raid by Turks over position

dropping many bombs no casualties 

driven off by British Airmen

 

8

24^th  Given 48 hours iron rations ready

to charge. Every man hard at it cleaning

rifles and bayonet, charge timed for 4 P.M.

No one keen on job, position here deadly.

Afternoon - charge abandoned by General

Birdwood boys greatly relieved.

25^th  New firing line almost completed

inspected by General Birdwood

Colonel Lamrock {20^th} Major Wisdom

Major Fitzgerald. Major Murphy & many

others.

25^th  Midnight. Take off crust of way

in new firing line & bag up parapets

within Turks taking a tumble. lose one

man shot by stray bullet through the head.

4 pm Firing line completed & all posts

filled. Great surprise for Turks at

 

9

daybreak. During the day they shell

& bomb heavily with little damage.

Headquarter staff make another inspection

& congratulated on work by Col. Holmes

& Major Fitzgerald.

26^th to 29^th Spend the days in dug

out sleeping, completely, washed out

29^th promoted to Sergeant on full pay

& mentioned in brigade orders for good

work. Start work again making bomb

craters. 6 yds from Turks

Oct 1^st  promoted to platoon Sergeant.

one bomb crater finished & opened

From Oct to Nov 14^th. Carry on with

different works. position now almost

untenable lose many men, including three

officers, food & water supply improved

[*7NG/ON'S

4*]