Diary of Trooper Ion Llewellyn Idriess-1917- Part 9

only gone a few yards when the running
man was shot dead, . . . . We are
getting damnwell starved again. One
watery stew every twenty four hours
and a shortage of bread and jam. If
the Turks are worse fed than us, then
the poor devils have got all our
sympathy, But the beggars we capture
are all fr big, fat healthy men so we
can keep our sympathy for ourselves
. . . . . 11th July. Out in the front line again.
At last everything is fixed up about
the rifle. I am now attached to the N.Z
Ordnance, and this armorer S.M. and I are
again working on the rifle, and it looks
very much as if it is going to be a success
Three days later. We tried the rifle yesterday
and she fired, ejected the empty shell,
and reloaded herself so fast that I
couldn't see the bolt work. There were
four separated cases out of nine shoots
but we can remedy that. Hurrah! There is
nothing now to stop it being a complete
success. The Turks got two of our 'planes
yesterday, 16th. The artillery fire is a bit
heavier to-day. Sometimes at night the
batteries along the line open up a furious
cannonade a rolling volume of crashing.

sound that wakes a man up out of a deep
sleep. There are night raids along the
line, but as I'm working on this rifle it's
no good trying to describe raids that I
never took part in, We are within six
hundreds yards of Tel el - F and, a
small, circular, abrupt hill on which
the crusaders once built one of their
strongest forts. So many forts have been
on that hill. Abraham himself has trod
it. Every great fighting nation of the past has
held that hill, the Saracens, the Chaldeans, the
Assyrians, the French under Napoleon, the
Turks with their Austrian and German
engineers, and finally the British, Today I
intend to go up there and take some photos
of the Waddy, and I will be standing on
dust that was once the bones of countless
warriors who fought there and died
through thousands and thousands of
years. And to day British, Australian
and German aeroplanes are flying
overhead, the Waddy is covered and
held by many thousands of British troops
everywhere are lines of horses, straggling
camel trains and a locomotive train
puffs over a bridge the engineers have
built over the Waddy, on all sides

are batteries, there are the desultory
boom of the guns, and on the distant
hills the cloud of earth and smoke
the dull crash; that shows where the
shells are landing on the Turkish
trenches around Gaza. Up in the air
are the shrapnel clouds of smoke the
strong crash of bursting high explosive
shells, that mark where the British and
Turkish gunners are shooting at the
circling aeroplanes, 19th July We had a bit of
excitement this morning. The order came out for all
the regiments to stand to arms as the Turks were
attacking. What rushing to saddle the horses. Th
In less than half an hour thousands of mounted
troops had swarmed across the Waddy, and
galloped out towards the Turkish lines in one
great cloud of dust, miles long, It was a
great turn out. I think it is only a Turk
demonstration, as the artillery fire is not
exceptionally heavy. The guns are blazing
away now. An old taube dropped a few bombs
by way of a morning salute. . . . The rifle
is nearly complete. 23rd There was a furious
bombardment down towards Gaza a few
nights ago. Though the firing was fully

tell miles along the line from us, the small
hills were kept constantly lit up by the
flashes of the guns. What was on we don't
know. We're not told, and don't care.
If it was a win for us we'd soon know
the heads would blow about it to all the
world and then I keep a watch out
for the honors list. But if they've only
got a few hundred, or a few thousand
of our men killed, then nothings said,
which is a rotten principle. . . Last night
some 44 New Zealanders went out on a
dare devil expedition. They wore shorts
and running shoes, and were armed
with bombs and sheath knives. Their job
was to sneak on to a Turkish outpost, and
fix old Jacko lively. As they have not
yet returned, we don't know how they
have got on. 29/7/1 The N Zealanders
managed to get back with good information,
and next day the brigade went
out with them being the Somerset battery
which shelled the Turks camp and
played up small hell in general. . . .
And so the game goes on. Heavy
rifle and machine gun fire down
around Gaza at night by the infantry,
and by day and often night the

mounted men go out on the right
towards Beersheba, harassing and
shelling Jacko and being shelled
fired on in return. They are
out to-day, from here we can
plainly hear Jacko's shells falling
in among them. . . . . The rifle has
turned out trumps. The armorer and
I are taking it into Cairo to the
inventions board in a couple of days
But as usual my rotten luck has
cropped up as just at the critical
time, just as it always does, I have
got a poisoned arm, and the doctor
says probably the pieces of bomb
that are in it from the Peninsula
have decayed the bone which if it
turns out so, means hospital and
an operation. I am one of those
unlucky poor devils who will
go right through the war until
a week before peace is declared
and in the last week will be
killed. 23^rd Aug. 1917 The trial came
off yesterday, and was a success. But
there is a frightful lot of red tape to
be overcome, and finally the rifle is

going to England, where there will be a
lot more red tape. The O.C at Zeitoun
explained everything. Meanwhile, King
and I are going back to Palestine
to night. We have given the English
nation a weapon more deadly than any
the world has yet known, and they
wont take advantage of it. As the
O.C. Zeitoun said he doubts whether the
rifle well be gone through and finished
in time for this war. Besides being an
automatic and Repetition rifle, it is the
cheapest and most perfect machine
gun ever made if the fools would
only see it. And King and I could
have the thing ready for active
service within a month, if we were
only put into a proper workshop.
Well I am going to leave this old
diary in my kit bag and hope very
much that I see it again. If I am
killed in the great battle that will
take place should Gaza be forced
and this dairy fall into the hands
of any damned military authorities,

will you just forward the diary to
my Father. Address.
W. Owen- Idriess,
Court. House,
Grafton
N.S.W
Australia
And Damn the World