Photostat copy of diaries of Benjamin Bennett Leane, 1915 - Part 10

170
I had intended to send you
a cable, but could not
get ashore.  I scribbled
out a fairly long letter and
gave it to some sergeant on
the wharf to post, I hope
you get it alright.  If
possible I will cable you
from England.  I shall
also get in touch with
your Uncle as soon as we
reach England, and perhaps
he will be able to come
down to see me.
There must have been
a consignment selected from
each of the hospitals in
Egypt, for the boat is full.
Most of the cases are able
to get about, but a lot
are confined to their beds,
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some being very badly wounded
One fellow from the 10^th
to whom I was speaking tonight
got an explosive bullet in
his left forearm, and he
has had to have the arm
taken off just above the
elbow.  Another has lost
the sight of one eye; yet
another has lost the sight
of both.  I am very
thankful that my wound
will not deprive me of
any of my limbs or any
of my senses.  Even if
I should permanently
lose the power of my
left hand it is a small
matter compared with what
might have been.  The
main trouble is that it
 

172
will finish all the piano
business, and I will 
miss that terribly.  But
I still have my good 
strong right to earn our
living with, and I think
it will suffice.
This ship is beautifully
fitted up, and spotlessly
clean.  We have all
been issued with pyjamas
and slippers, so are quite
comfortable.  Also the food
is excellent.  We have
English doctors, but the
assistants and orderlies are
all Indians.
I discovered the O.C. of
my company - Capt Jacobs
here today.  Also Major Beevor
of A Coy.
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Wednesday - May 5^th
Beautiful weather.  A cloudless
sky and a smooth sea.  I have
heard a great deal about the
wonderful blue of the Mediterranean,
and I now know that the
most lavish description could
not be extravagant.  Our ship
glides along so evenly that it
might be in dock for all
the motion that is felt, other
than the throb of the engines.
Today six of us who are of
the rank of sergeant major and
quartermaster sergeant have been
fixed up with second saloon
accommodation.  The food is
excellent.  For lunch there was
soup, fish, cold turkey, & sweets,
and for dinner we had soup,
fish, roast goose, plum pudding
 

174
Breakfast is at 8.30 am; lunch
at 1pm.  Afternoon tea at 4pm
and dinner at 7 pm.  So my
lines have again fallen in
pleasant places.  After
dinner I had a smoke and
a walk on the promenade deck,
then came down and had a
hot bath, and am now
lying on my bed in my pyjamas
scribbling this.
There is some talk of our
calling at Malta and possibly
staying there, but I hope we
go through to England now we

have had our hopes raised.
I am having such a 
glorious loaf kiddie.  It
is the first trip that I have
not been stuck in the confounded
orderly room. I
175
have absolutely nothing to
do all day except sit in
the sun and read, and
I can assure you I am
making the most of it
Thursday - 6^th May 1915.
The sea is fairly choppy
this evening, and our ship had
a very perceptible roll. I have
not noticed anyone affected by
it though.
This evening we buried two
of our comrades who died
yesterday.  Major Beevor read
the burial service.  I wonder
if the wives or sweethearts of
the two stiff bundles we dropped
over the ship's side while the
bell tolled and the men stood
round bareheaded, had any
presentiment of evil, or were
 

176
they perhaps merry and laughing
or maybe sleeping, unconscious
of loss;
I had such a happy
dream last night, girlie,
I dreamt that I was home
again, and that I was
undressing little Gwen for bed.
She was such a darling
mite, and prattled away
with her dear little baby
talk.  And when I had
finished you put out your
arms to me and said I was
a good old man.  And
I had just kissed you on
the lips when eight bells
(4 am) struck, and woke me.
As I lay there half awake
and half asleep I could
still feel your kiss, and I
177
tried to go to sleep again so
that the dream might proceed
unbroken, but it was no use.
I went to sleep again, but
the dream was gone.
I think your spirit must
actually have come to me
and kissed me as I slept,
so vivid was the dream.
It will be a happy day
when I can so kiss you
again.
Friday - May 7^th 1915
I forget to tell you that I 
went under the "X" Rays yesterday.
It is most interesting.  The doctor
did not trouble to remove any
of my bandages, or even the
iron mesh splint.  I simply
put my arm on the canvas
bed; he switched the electric
 

178

light off, set the motor going,

and then placed a glass

plate over the arm ( the

x rays apparatus was underneath

the bed ). And there I

could see clean through

bandage, splint and flesh

to the two bones of the forearm.

I could even see the splint

and the underside of the arm.

Sure enough, the bone was

fractured about halfway

between the elbow and the

wrist. I could see a splinter

of bone right away from the

main bone. I don't know

whether the doctor intends to

do anything with it, but I

shall know tomorrow.

This afternoon we came

within sight of Malta. Everyone

179

watched anxiously to see if

the ship was going in, and

there was a sigh of relief

as we passed by. Judge

of our astonishment then

when, just as we were

passing the Isle of Goza,

the boat suddenly turned

clean around in her tracks

and headed for Malta.

All faces fell, and there

was wailing and gnashing

 of teeth. Then suddenly

she turned again, and

headed in our original direction.

We breathed again. I must

explain that most of the 

fellows on board belong to

regular British Regiments, and

have been stationed in India

for some good time, so naturally

180

they are keen to get home to

England, and Malta would

have been a dreadful dis-

appointment to them. One

of the members of our little

mess is a quartermaster sergeant

of the Dublin Fusiliers, a

man by the name of Brown.

He was in a trench with seven

others when a shell burst 

among them. All his mates

were killed, but he escaped

without a scratch. The shock,

however, has struck him

dumb. He is a grand little

fellow, the others say

that when he he had his speech

others were unable to get a

word in edgeways. So now

we barrack him and all

he can do is to laugh and

181

shake his head. Sometimes

he will get one in on us

by means of paper and pencil.

 The doctors say that speech

will come to him again in

time. We tell him that

he wants some sudden 

shock. So today, after

the false alarm re Malta

 we went looking for Brown

to see if the shock had

 restored his speech. He

laughed and shook his head,

but pointed to his heart as

as much as to say that he

had been affected in that

region. He is married

and his first baby has been

born since the war commenced,

so I can sympathise

with him. I wish you

182

were in England now instead

of in Australia.

We are having a photo 

taken of our little family

party tomorrow. If I can

get a copy I will send it

to you.

I have been fixed up with

a cabin, so am moving out

of the ward tonight. It is

a two berth cabin, and I

am sharing it with Major

Oliphant's brother ( you remember

Major Oliphant, Ted's old friend )

His brother is Regimental Sergt

Major of the 6th Battalion ( the

same position that Whitbourn

held in the 10th Battalion ). He

is a very decent fellow.

I have volunteered for

night duty in the Officer's ward

183

tonight, and my watch

is from 10pm to 2 am - 

so I must get along.

Saturday May 8th

Today has been a grey day, 

and towards sunset the rain clouds

worked up into black masses and

a fierce storm began. The sea

itself was calm enough, but

lightning played incessantly, and

thunder rumbled and roared

continually. When darkness

came on the scene was grand.

The flashes of lightning were

as frequent as the flashes of

a morse lamp, and at each

flash the surface of the sea

was lit up so brightly that

a ship many miles away could 

be seen quite plainly. We

had another burial planned for

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8.30 pm; and just before

that time a terrific down

pour commenced, and

continued right through the

service. A more effective

 setting could not have

 been conceived in the

mind of any dramatist.

The yawning gap in the

ship's side, through which

the black sea and white

foam could be seen scudding

past ; the staff, silent,

something in it's soldier's shroud

-the Union Jack - , the funeral

party grouped around, with

bared heads and gleaming oil-

skins ; the slow, solemn voice

reading the burial service ;

the slow toll, toll-ing of

the big ship's big bell , the

185

soldiers clustered thickly on

the hurricane deck above ;

and the whole lit up by

the uncanny whiteness of

an arc lamp, and at

intervals more brightly illuminated

with the flashes

of lightning ; the rain

literally pouring down, and

the thunder rumbling in

a deep angry undertone.

And then, as the waters

closed over the canvas

bundle and drew it deeper

into its embraces there was

a vivid burst of sheet lightning 

and a roar as of

many cannon, which went

rumbling away in the distance

like echoes rolling along the

valleys. The ship has

186

slightly slackened speed,

and is continually sounding

blasts on the fog-horn, to

avoid the risk of a collision

with any passing vessel.

I asked the doctor

about my arm today. The

bone seems to me to be quite

displaced. He says, however

that he will not have to

do anything to it ; that

 time and nature will do

all the mending necessary,

and that I will get the full

use of the arm back again.

I hope he is right, but

I don't like the continued

"dead-ness" of my wrist

and thumb. Still, for

the present I can only

wait. I had my

187

first shave for ten days today.

You can guess what I

looked like with ten day's 

growth on my face.

I feel like a new man

now that I am clean once more.

I wonder how you are all

this time, kiddie dear, and

how everything is going with

 you. Goodness only knows

when I'll get news of you.

If I can draw some more

pay when I reach England

I will cable you.

In the meantime I can only

hope and pray that you are

safely through your illness,

and that everything is as it

should be.

Sunday - May 9th.

A fortnight today since that

188

never-to-be forgotten baptism

of fire. It seems months ago.

And tonight for dinner

we had turkey to commemorate

it. But getting turkey hot

was a much pleasanter experience

tonight than it was

a fortnight ago. I wonder

how our fellows are faring.

I wish I could have

gone right through the 

campaign. But I am

content that whatever is,

is best.

The sea has been very 

calm today. Scores of porpoises

have been frolicking round

our bows all day, and this

afternoon we passed a school

of dolphin. They are quite

big fish, and jump out

of the water to a height of

three or four feet.

We have been in sight of

the African coast practically

the whole time today. This

afternoon we saw the

town of Algiers in the

distance. We expect to

make Gibraltar sometime

Tuesday. I hope we pass

the Rocks in daylight.

In the absence of a 

chaplain, Major Beevor

conducted a short service

this afternoon.

News came through by

wireless today of the

sinking of the "Lusitania" by

the Germans. It stated that

there were 2000 souls on board

and that only 600^survivors have been