Diary of Harold Edwin Salisbury Armitage, 1915 - Part 8

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We are out every night laying barbed wire - thats the
worst job to do tonight. We’ve lost no one yet at this
game yet - and anyhow after tonight I dont want any
more 'wire' for it tickles ones hands too much &
4 nights running is quite enough.
I have a Turkish incend bomb in my pozzy that
did not function It's about 15" long 7” diam & contains
a liquid- turpentiney stuff - yellow powder a damp
claggy stuff not brittle like sulphur. The mouth is
blocked with a wooden plug - which is supposed to
fall out on impact - & mix the powder & liquid &
then comes the ‘stink ‘ - signature
The Turks are reported to have gas - So have we
- & the helmets to - but so far we’ve not used it on
either side. Mail just in so will stop a while.

7-9-15
We laid our wire ok but Cox stopped a bullet 9.15
right through his stomach - but tho in great pain he
took it like a Briton - he was one of my old platoon. 
Nos. 9 & 10 have done most of the wire laying so far
At present I am acting OC of C Company - but I
will be out again tonight to finish the wire -as I
don't like asking the men to do a risky job without 
doing my share too. I read my mail. The weird
contraption Wrumps sent as a head dress - I will
wear it tho ‘ it gives no protection to my facial adornment. 
Lots of correspondence to answer so will close. Sox are ok.

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Anzac
16 9 15 

Had two mails in a week! Recd, some pads from Berna
but no pen to hand - Don't send expensive one - as they
get rough usage here. Small parcels seem to get
thro' easily - but large ones get hung up in Egypt - &
so many parcels are missing that Base Details are in
for a hot time. As long as the letters come I'm satisfied
Boltons sent me 6 or 7 parcels - but only the first got to
me - but I believe a parcel mail is about due.
I sent for some cigarettes for Jackos dead brother Abdullah
burns so much that we want something. We may need
'waders' soon for a winter campaign. However I'm in
hopes we wont winter here. The 3^rd Brig, has been in
trenches for 20 weeks now - & I'm in hopes that after
4 or 5 more weeks we will be pulled out. - If we get
fair treatment we should have a fairly long spell
& miss the winter part or a lot of it anyhow
Just now things are happening which will cause
a row in Aust. when we get back. Our chaps are
receiving 'Pommy' jackets for men about 5' 3"- boots
only sizes 9 & 6 - & for winter underwear thin cotton
stuff - & breeches we cut for 'shorts' are not to be
replaced, as they were "wilfully damaged"!!
Col. Weir has gone away sick - as has Cornish & as
Hamilton is ill too I am O.C. practically. I am in good
fettle- weigh over 11 stone - am quite O.K. - but our Battn
is a very thin line to what it should be. Hen Paul is
about 1 mile away - not seen him yet. Much love
Wrumps sent me RAVC Mag. V. good.

68
19.9.15 

Just a short note - very busy. Just had instructions
to take over Com of A Co. as Capt Rumfall is sick.
Doubled up with lumbago & has to go to Hospital
I've been running C. Co in place of Cornish away ill too
while Jock Hamilton has also been in Hosp. & yesterday
resumed command for first time - so I'm well in
the midst of work
This wont alter my title for the present - as Stopp
Hening & Lontit are all about due for return
any time now. - Being O.C. is a pretty stiff job
as I have a flighty lot of officers under me - but
I daresay they'll soon get used to me.
Gawler Coombe one of the teachers at A.H.S. is
my Sgt Maj.- but I don't think we'll find this
awkward - & anyhow we wont quarrel very much now.
Recd. mail tdy. 2. 3 & 8. but have only had
time to scan through it yet. Much love. 
23.9.2 15
(Letter to Harry - dealing with fearsome pics
of what Jocko should get. Descr. of fake
attack on Turks Guy Fawkes night. - Colored
lights at end of trenches - all rifles fired once
Jocko went mad - fired furiously for nearly
an hour while Aussie sat tight & laughed)

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ANZAC
23 .9. 15 

I'm still O.C. of A. Co. I have lots of work. Poor
Rumball will probably be fixed for life with lumbago
& rheum as he kept on too long. I reckon anyone
who has the luck to come through this stunt O.K
will bear the effects for life in rheumaticky shoulders
& short temper - and a chap gets no extra thanks
for staying on when he ought to be in Hosp.
Shaw has given me this job over the heads of
two or three of my seniors - who are probably hurt
about it - but anyhow I've done more work than
they have by going out with wiring parties to,
whilst they directed operations from the trenches.
I don't like the job as I am such a nipper
still - the responsibility is pretty big - and it
also has taken me away from the men who
knew me thoroughly. Anyhow no officer is
being appointed to my old N^o 9 Platoon - so I
will be able to go back to them.
Two parcels came lately both from Australia
Berna's from you contained socks, hankies, etc . Don't
send too much clothing etc. at one time as our
accom is very limited. The things were very welcome
especially the camphor - which is the best antidote
to Vermin I've yet met. The 'chats' don't worry
me much - & at present the camphor seems to have
worked them out of a job with me. The other
parcel was from Millicent & camphor pills etc. will

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come in tip top - the Eucal. oil especially. There
was a grease splodge over the pad where someone's
cake had been squashed on the parcel. - The parcel
came to me as a cakey brown mass of cardboard & string
but inside everything was alright
Christophers is here now with the rest after the
next reinf. for Munros old battⁿ. I have only
seen him two or three times - He seems a bit
timid but then of course this is all new - as so
far he has not seen a Turk - thus not been in
a scrap yet - The first scrap will wear this off
although he says he's already "full up of Anzac"
Had a big job yesterday. Had a plan out -
traverse, & contour a certain areas as the
winter quarters for a large body of men.
Had to plan out 1. Where the men could be
placed in certain stipulated formation
2. Type of most economical timbering for shelter
3. Safest kind of Shelter 4. Best weatherproof idea
I daresay my plan will be first 'cut to
blazes by Bat H.Q . - then annihilated by the
Brigade H.Q. - chewed up by Divisional Brass
Hats - & then probably a whole lot of useless
material will be sent to me to erect some
flimsy structures according to some pommies'
plan - whose ideas may be altogether wrong

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Anyhow I hope I'm not here in Com. of A Co
when the building operations are on. The job
really requires a complete Military education
but I've got through the work somehow & sent it
in - & am now awaiting results - much the same
as we'd await results of Varsity Exams.
Some day I must write a full account of the
operations here - so that you may see the
many huge blunders that have been made here
Still we keep cheerful & gaily joke & whistle - so
that when we do get relief we wont be unduly
excited by the fact we are leaving this portion of
Europe. This show was taken up altogether too
faint heartedly. It was to have been a naval oper.
supported the an army - Now it is a MILITARY
OPERATION rendered necessary by blunders of
the Admiralty - & very weakly supported too.
The person concerned in this colossal blunder should
get DEATH as his reward at end of war.
I hope to be able to give full details of a few
crimes 1. Lone Pine Action 2. 971 Hill Action 9.8.15
& one or two others that were worse than blunders
but just now I must keep mum. Anyhow if
we'd had decent support & good tactics we'd have
been through this job long ago. Good wishes to.
Seen Edwards & Pranerham a few times.

72
ANZAC COVE.
LONE PINE 24. 9. 15 

Last Aug 5 I mentioned we were in for a big action
& expected it might lead to a general advance allround
We waited for 3 days hourly expecting to be sent to
take up a position on San Barr (or Gun Ridge) about
1 1/2 to 2 miles ahead. The chief objective was Hill 971
(the Mt Lofty of the whole hill system here) If we
could get & hold that, we hoped to be in a dominating
position as far as operations here were concerned
From various indications we knew there was a
big move being made elsewhere - for our Naval
dept. had been particularly busy, and our
gullies terraced & manned by many reserve troops
not Australians. One certain day these reserves
as we thought them were moved right round to the
left so that on Aug. 6^th we had an army landing
at Suvla Bay, & many fresh men on our left.
At 4.30 p m. the action started - our Artillery
concentrating on certain objectives, The 1^st Brig.
was on our (10^th) left. (only about 100 yds from C. Co.)
& on their left was the 2^nd Brigade The 1^st had in
front of them Dead mans Plateau leading to
Lone Pine Hill - about 200 yds. in front of the line.
We could see that the Turks had 3 lines of trenches
on Lone Pine - a rise of 20 in 100 yds, & on the left
top there was another trench - German Officers Trench
At 5 pm. so as to draw the Turks to our end we

73

made a demonstration - then a few minutes later
a L.H. Brig on our left right made a feint, & then just
at 5.15 out went the 1^st Brig. (2^nd Battn on our
immediate left) to take the 4 trenches to their front.
Meantime the 3^rd L.H, the 4th Batt, & the N.Z. troops
assisted by some Tommies had [[marched?]] out, and
were attacking the ridges just below 971. How
they got on I will tell you later - but I will
now give a brief description of the Lone Pine Fight
I was busy controlling the 'covering fire' of the
10^th when the 2^nd Battⁿ took the first trench & as
they were also somewhat to our rear I did not
see that part of their work. I caught glimpses
of the fight for 2^nd & 3^rd trenches. The Turks
in our front were evidently thoroughly scared
or many were called away to hold the 'Pine' -
for the fire in front of us appreciably declined
& all we could see in front of us was an
occasional pair of arms as Johnno fired his 
rifle over the parapet without any aim at all
I then had an idea of what loss of 'morale' means
& I feel certain that having gained fire superiority
that if we had been "allowed" to go out we would
have taken Jockos first line without much loss,
& as our boys were keen & confident it is a great
pity we did not go out. Never had of seen such

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enthusiasm - cooks- fatigue parties - etc. were all
up in the lines, & it only needed the word 'GO' to
start us - & I guarantee that in five minutes
there wouldn't have been a live Turk on either of
the two ridges in front of us. The third ridge
& valley we knew nothing about - it was because
of our ignorance of these we were kept back.
(I believe Munro lies out in the second valley to
our front. - The Valley of Despair - so Holland of
the 13^th Battⁿ told me - but as I also heard he
was killed on one of the hills flanking the Beach
I am a bit sceptical - anyhow Munro lies
somewhere beyond the Turkish lines.)
The 2^nd Battⁿ took the first Lone Pine Trench with
comparatively little loss - but as they left that
trench to get the second - they got it 'hot'.
Machine guns were on them from all directions,
& communication trenches were unusable owing
to bombs - so our chaps had to go 'overland'.
About 30 yds. in front of the trench they came
to wire. - The few planks they brought were
insufficient, & the guns had not cut the 'wire'
so that no gaps could be found. The machine
guns simply mowed our boys down like hay until
they made a gap through which they rushed.
The next difficulty was to get into the trench

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for the Turks were covered in with extra strong 
bomb proof shelter- their thick overhead cover had 
not been hurt by our heavy bombardment. You 
may imagine how we felt to see our boys moving 
up & down looking for an opening, & all the time 
being sniped & bombed. The din, dust, & smoke were 
frightful, occasionally we would get glimpses of 
an Aussie firing his rifle into the Turkish trenches 
with his barrel out of sight poked through the
covering or loophole - others were trying to take 
off the overhead cover by lifting the planks to. 
I dont know how they did it – but the second 
trench was taken. Then the other Aussies had 
fought their way up the communications with 
great losses (hand to hand fighting) but being 
soon reinforced - set out 'overland' to No 3.
Here they met the same trouble cross fire from
M.G, rifles, bombs, shells, & turnout wire followed 
by overhead covers. I saw a score or so go up 
& down till they found a breach, then one with
his bayonet well down & jumped in to certain
death probably, for by this time the Turks had
their rear trenches choc a bloc with men.
Anyhow his mates followed the first man & I
guess they soon made a stir down below
After this the 3^rd trench was fairly in our hands