Photostat copy of diaries of Benjamin Bennett Leane, 1915 - Part 9

150

and Australia may be

justly proud of the men she

sent to represent her.
Our Brigadier told us that

we must expect to get cut

up when he told us that

we had been given the

honor of forming the

covering party, but he said

he had every confidence

that we would do our job

and hang on. The Third

Brigade has been cut up

without a doubt, but

they did their work and

did it well and nobly,

and they hung on through

a perfect Hell of fire.

I am proud to be an

Australian, and prouder

still to have be of the
151
Third Brigade.  There will be

no more talk of "Cook's Tourists"

"Ragtime Army" "Harry Lauder's

Army" etc.  It was not the

boys' faults that they had

to wait for eight months

before seeing action.  When

the time came they did their

job, and none could have

done it better.  I suppose 

by this time your papers

have got the news, and I

daresay they are printing

very large headlines, but if

you want to know the

plain story ask someone

who was there how the

Australian boys behaved, and

I expect, like me, he will

be unable to answer you for

the big lump that rises in his

152
throat.  I will never forget

it as long as I live, and

I hope I can get back before

the fighting is over, so that

I can be at the muster and

join in the general handshaking.

We became so

mixed up in the fighting

that it is impossible to know

who is alive and who

missing.  I have been

unable to get news of Heritage

although I have asked

several.  I found out

today from one of the

11^th Battalion that Ray was

alright up to Monday

afternoon.
We are at present

on our way back to Alexandria,

where the wounded

153
are to be put ashore so that

the boat can return for

more.  Ours is the third

boat load to leave here, so

you can see that the casualties

have been heavy.
I shall send you a

cable when I reach Alexandria,

for I suppose you

will be very anxious when

you hear that we have been

in action.

Thursday 29^th  Wednesday 28^th  We buried

five at sea this afternoon.  One

was a Sikh, who had been

shot through the spleen.  The

other four were Australians.

I am afraid there will be

more yet.
We have two officers on

board who have lost their

154
reason, although they

have not been wounded,

so you can tell how

terrible the strain of that

forty hours' fighting must

have been.
They brought a wounded

Turk on board at the

last minute, and I am

afraid if some of the fellows

had their way he would

be overboard by now.

The feeling is natural, I

suppose, but that is not

the way to earn a good

name among the nations.

Friday 30^th Thursday 29^th - Four more were

buried today.
We expect to reach

Alexandria at midnight

tonight and to disembark 
155
in the morning.  I hope

they will let me go back

in the ship.  I think my

arm should be about

right by the time I we

got back.
I must get some new

clothes at Alexandria.  These

are matted with mud

and blood, and I

have lost my puttees.

My  The sleeve of my

shirt and tunic had

to be cut away to

get at my arm, so they

are no more use.
I also lost Jack Mossops

field glasses.  The lid

was torn off while I

was crawling through the

bushes, and the glasses

156
must have fallen out at

some time when I dropped.

I am very sorry but it

could not be helped.
But worse than all

kiddie, I have lost

your darling old photo,

the one you gave me

in those happy first days

of our love.  I have

always carried it in

my left breast pocket,

but today I was going

through my pockets and

I find that it has gone.

I cannot think how it

got out.  My paybook,

which was in the same

pocket, is still there.

I would not have lost it

for anything, for it was
157
such a bonny photo of you,

and you had written

"Your own little Phyl" on

the back.  If I go back

to the same place again

I will go all over the

same ground again, to see

if I can find it by

any chance.
Kiddie, I dreamed last

night that I was back

again with you and

little Gwen, and we were

so happy.  I hope it

won't be long now.

May 2nd. - Sunday.

When a soldier signs on

for active service in foreign

parts he cannot say with any

degree of certainty in what

strange places the coming year

158
may find him.  When

we went into camp at Morphettville

8½ months ago we

used to assure everybody

with the confidence born

of ignorance that England

was our immediate destination

and the Continent our ultimate

end.  And at that time I

believe it was.  Yet we

have seen neither England

nor France, and perhaps may

never see them.
And if anybody had

told me last Sunday that

my next Sabbath would find

me in hospital at Alexandria

I would have been inclined

to tell them to go to.
Yet it is so.

We reached Alexandria in
159
the early hours of Friday morning,

but were unable to discharge

any of our patients as there

were five other boats ahead

of us discharging their wounded.

Friday evening three of us

obtained permission to go

ashore for a run, so we

hired a garry, and drove

through the main streets.  We

attracted considerable attention,

my bandaged arm and

white sling being particularly

noticeable.  The other fellows

were wounded in the leg,

and as they unfortunately

had their trousers on their

bandages were unseen.
Which reminds me of

the charitable lady who used

to take wounded soliders for

160
drives in her motor car.

She complained to the

matron one morning that

she had been getting too

many leg cases  "Can't

you give me some arm

and head cases this

morning" she said "no-one

can see whether the others

are wounded or not."
The poor lady evidently

wanted the picturesque.
Anyone after the "picturesque"

could obtain satisfaction

from us, I think.  We have

all been fitted out with

hospital suits and clean

underclothes.  The suits are

wonderful creations - trousers

and jacket, - made of some

soft, serge-like material,
161
but of a brilliant peacock blue!

They are lined with some soft

white woolly material, and

as the trousers are usually too

long and have to be turned up

at the bottoms you get a six

inch white gauntlet as a set off

to the blue.  Add to this a

bright red arm sling and

you have the whole striking

picture - quite a dashing,

bandeleroesque appearance.
The Hospital was previously

a college - the Victoria College

-and is a very substantial

building with fairly spacious

grounds.  It at present is

known by the simple title

of No.17 General Hospital.  The

doctors and orderlies are

all English; the nurses are

162
also English.  I think (They weren't ; they were Australians). They

are kept very busy.  There

are 1050 beds altogether;  we

have long since overflowed

from the building into big

hospital tents, h each holding

24 beds.  My bed is next

to the opening, and I can

see the Mediterranean about

a quarter of a mile away,

and a beautiful cool

breeze blows right across my

bed.  Life is very monotonous

here, though, for we are not

allowed outside the grounds,

and as we have no books

or magazines the time drags

heavily.  We will be

glad to get back to Turkey

again.  The doctor

has been here all the morning
163
dressing our wounds.  Some of

them are ghastly looking affairs;

one man has two fingers blown 

off, another his kneecap;

several have bad shrapnel

wounds.  The chap in the bed

next to mine has a great gaping

wound in his left side that

your hand could not cover,

and it is so deep that you

can see his kidneys at the

bottom.  The doctor told him

he had had a very narrow

escape.  He made an

examination of my arm this

morning.  The wounds are

healing nicely but he found

that the bone called the

radius has been fractured,

so I have to get it set

this afternoon.  I am not

164
looking forward to it with

any great relish, but my

hand will be useless unless

it is done.
I wonder how you are,

darling.  Your time must be

very near now.  I did not

send that cable to you

after all, for I did not

quite know how to address it.

Aso I thought you might

worry yourself to let mother

know, so I sent the cable 

direct to her and asked her

to let you know.
I wish I had you to

look after me, chicken.  I

lay awake last night,

unable to get comfortable

for the pain in my arm,

and I thought how lovely
165
it would have been to feel your

dear old soothing hands about me.

When I did at last go to sleep

I dreamt about you, so that was

the next best thing.
I suppose it will be some

time before I get any letters from

you now.  They will be

dodging me to and fro, and

I suppose I will never get 

some of them.  It grieves me

much to think of that.
Perhaps at this very minute

you are writing to me.  It is

2pm here, so that it would

be about 8pm in South

Australia, and you often

write your letters on Sunday

evenings, don't you!

Monday, May 3^rd  -  They did

not come to set my arm

166
after all, yesterday.  A new

doctor came through the ward

this morning to do the dressings,

and when he came to me

I told him what the other

doctors had said.  He twisted

my arm about a bit, but

said he could find no fracture.

He said that it was nerve

lesion which made my left

hand useless, and said

that was more serious than

a fracture.  I asked him

would I get the use of my

hand in time and he

shrugged his shoulders and

said it was impossible to

say.  Anyway, I am glad

it is the left, and not the

right.  We got a new

nurse in our ward today, a 
167
bright, jolly, plump little

girl, who has livened us

up considerably.  What is

more, she is a South Australian

-comes from Unley - so we

are good friends already.  She

knows Heritage's sister well

(she is also a nurse, you

know, but is at Mena).
There is some talk about

sending a party of us to

England.  The doctor came

through the ward this afternoon

I was out at the

time, but the other fellows

say that he put my name

down as a probable.  In

some ways I would like to

go.  The change and the

trip would be pleasant;

I would be able to get the

168
best treatment for my wrist;

and I expect the English

people would give us a

good time.  Also I would

see your Uncle Arthur,

and I would be glad of

that opportunity.
But then, on the other

hand, I am afraid it would

be a long while before I

would be able to rejoin my

Battalion and get to work

again;  also I would lose

my chance of promotion,

which would be certain if I

could only get back.  Also

it will be still longer before

your letters pick me up, and

I do want your dear old letters.
However, if I am detailed

I must go.
169
Tuesday - 4th May.

(Memorable day.  

Little did I know what

you were going through 

while I was making

this entry.)

Do you remember what I said

a few days ago about the uncertainty

of a soldier's movements.

I would have ridiculed anyone

then who said that England

would be my next destination.

Yet here I am, on the hospital

ship "Goorkha" already some

five hours out from Alexandria,

and bound for England.  There

were about seventy selected

from the Victoria Hospital,

and I was one of four

from our ward.  We were

given an hour to get

ready and into the motors.

We were rushed down to

the wharf and put straight

on board, and a little

while afterwards we sailed.