Letters from Douglas Barrett-Lennard to his parents, 1914-1915 - Part 2

Active Service
13th May 1915
My dearest Mother
I must try & scribble you a few
lines somehow before the mail tonight, but it
is writing under rather difficult circumstances,
having been under heavy fire for the last
fortnight. I am writing with a borrowed pencil - 
using stolen paper - & my very last envelope.
When this is gone I shall send cablegrams
fortnightly & my Service P.C's. I am absolutely
well & sound & Tom is also although
we have both had our share of excitement
& fighting. For the last ten days we have
worked severty every night & nearly all
the days & the whole Battery is absolutely
exhausted & fatigued. We have been
sent to the beach to rest for two days
to recover. During that ten days we
have been digging gun pits over our
Infantry firing line so as to be able to

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shoot out of them the following day &
have been under fire & exposed to
snipers & shrapnel the whole time.
Our casualties up to date have been
rather heavy - about 25% of the Battery
that has landed are wounded (only one
actual death) the rest having gone
into hospital. Fred & Cedric Patterson
were both hit by shrapnel at the same
time & Roy Braidwood who is my Sergeant
was unfortunate enough to stop a bullet
while we were running our gun into
action a few morning ago.
Our Infantry have suffered terribly - 
Barnes-Lalor & hundreds of others
are dead but of course their names have
been published long ere this.
The food we are served out is exceptionally
good though sometimes the water is
scarce. I am satisfied that I will be
able to rough it with any of them
also the hard work that we fall in
for at times & lack of sleep, I am able to
stick it out with most. I must explain
Mater that while camped at Mena
when we thought we were never going to the War - 

III

I feel quite friendly towards the old Turk
& would not mind having a pot with
him anywhere but these German [[cons?]]
I feel I can never trust. We have been
afraid that they would make use of
their asphyxiating gases so have been
issued with Ir respirators which we
carry round our necks at night time
& are kept in a handy place during
the day. They certainly will have the
advantage over us if they come at that
dodge because they have the wind
blowing from their direction but still
I think there is little to fear in that
quarter & the gases are fairly harmless
if we have our respirators on. I have
received no mail from home since writing
to Mother but am expecting some in the
near future, also some writing material.
I suppose you & the boys are busy
pruning - I would like to be with you
but still would not miss. this show
for anything. Hoping you & Mother are
quite well & to hear from you again soon
with love to everybody from
your loving son
D. Barrett - Lennard

III 

Major Brown asked me to become a gunner
& to try for promotion, because drivers are
always drivers & are never promoted. He
gave me a week to think things over
but at the end of that time I decided
to remain a driver, he chaffed me at
the time for not being ambitious &
spoke of future Officers being needed for a
permanent Battery at Guildford or Midland
Junction but I told him straight that my
ambitions ran in different lines & I would
never have sufficient time to attend
drill parades, etc, & that I was quite
content to remain a driver. When we got
here all the gunners were sent ashore
& only a very few drivers & horses to
accompany them as luck would have
it I was sent also as a spare driver.
I saw at once that the gunners were
going to have all the fun in the
firing line - our present position being
too dangerous to land many horses, I
grew rather afraid that I might get left
rather in the back ground so I changed
my opinion about drivers & gunners &
the first opportunity I had to speak to the

IV 

Major I begged him to let me be a
gunner which he has done. At present
I am still a driver doing gunners work
but my transfer is to be made as soon
as possible. I don't know very much
about the gun but hope soon to learn
Tom Cusack & I have both decided
not to worry about promotion & I think
that after this campaigne is finished
we have done all the soldiering that
we ever want to do. I am afraid
you won't be able to read half I
have written, I am fearfully squashed
up under one of our lumber waggons
waiting for my clothes to dry, the
only change I was allowed to bring.
Our two days rest is up tonight & we
go back to our gun.
I trust everything is well at home.
Lots & lots of love to every one
especially your dear self from
Your loving son
D. Barrett -Lennard

Written just before going into action for the last time.

Gaba Tepe
July 17th 5.A.M

Dear Pater
Mail day has come round
once again, the days simply fly here
although the weather is now becoming
a trifle hot which will help to
make the days seem longer as we
are very badly off for shade.
In a Sub Section there are walking two
different detachments which means
that the one on duty have to have
their swags packed by 4.A.M. & to
be ready to man the gun if called
upon at any possible moment - 
consequently the present early hour
for writing. News is as scarce as ever
but rumours to further orders, also
letters having to be censored by one of
our own Battery Officers which causes a
certain amount of embarressment & helps
to make a letter less interesting. At
daylight this - morning a German aeroplane
flew over our heads & presented us with
two bombs- one fell about a quarter of a

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mile away & the other one landed quite
close but luckily did not explode,
however after dropping the bomb she
was nearly brought down by her own
men who mistook her for one of ours
& gave her a pumping of shrapnel.
before they discovered their mistake.
I also heard this- morning that Major
Brockman stopped a bullet in the
chest & hit slightly in both legs when
on the beach by a sniper, but it is
not considered dangerous. At present we
are still holding our position but we
seem to be preparing for a big move
which should take place very shortly
now. Our heads seem to think that if
this present move is successful, & it is
sure to be so but only at our own cost
that the time here in Turkey will be
practically over. I do hope it will be
true because I am not looking forward
to spending winter in the trenches.
One has to admit that these Turks
an damn good fighters & have always
played the game so far but it is the
German Officers that cause all the trouble.