Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/17/1 - September - October 1915 - Part 2

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searchlights did one of two things
- either flashed straight onto them -
when they could not see the fall o /
shell unless it went short (they cd see it
then sometimes; or else shut its
iron eyelids as soon as it saw their guns
flash - each light is behind steel doors.
That ws absolute protection agst their
shrapnel. The Chanak light they say
ws a splendid one - but there were at
least 4 - probably many more.
The wonder is they had none on /
coast of / Saros Gulf.

Of course / navy meant to
go thro' tt night. The French ships
were very gallant - went at it
splendidly.

The Canopus used to be on our
left flank after ^from the first Monday morning at
Anzac. The of naval officers are all
very modest abt their guns - wonder
if they do any good at all. They say
they doubt it. But tt second morning
they did - & they know it. They cd see
/ Turks coming down / main range
by Baby 700, "getting out of trenches" one
officer told me; & / ships guns were
getting right into them.

They also told me of several

8
attempts to rescue / men in / boats
near Fisherman's Hut. One ws on the
Monday - & ws unsuccessful apparently.
They saw our men go out, armed, &
without a red cross flag. They saw them
suddenly fall & lie there. Some went
on firing & a stretcher party went back;
they think some were hit & tt /
stretcher went back empty. One officer,
/ doctor, sketched / scene very well
indeed. A parson ws w / party - went to
read / burial
service & they
began digging
graves but
were
fired
on.
Diagram - see original scan
They cd see / naval coxswain in /
boat sitting up by / tiller, dead.
The men lying down may have bn
dead; some shamming dead possibly.

They passed an overturned
boat 2 miles out - it belonged
to the Devanta.

Fire ws coming probly not
from Fishermans Hut but from /
top of the hill ^just above - / small hill

9
[The Venerable is now doing some good
firing, punishing / Turks quite a
lot, I believe]

Thursday Sept 23.
Mudros - at daybreak -
& smooth water. My inside is still
quite upside down w this tropical
dysentery; but it managed to
keep straight last night in spite
o / wind. I ws sleeping on a stretcher
in "virginity alley" outside / officers'
cabins & the doctor had got his
servant to bring me (at my urgent
request) a big wooden bucket in
case of necessity. But it never
arose - ^neither the necessity nor anything
else for tt matter.

We left our kind Latona at 9.30
for / Imbros trawler - or rather for /
Europa, / useless old cruiser
wh never was any good except for
swallowing men – under gunned,
under engined, over sized. She is
acting as flagship here now - &
makes quite a good post office.
On board her they told us in
one breath tt / trawler had gone
at 8 a.m. & tt they could not put
us up - they didnt wait for us to

10
ask; poor beggars - every lost being
tt comes along I suppose asks for
a berth in /  Europa. However -
Lawrence knew 2 men the Cornwallis
people; so we went alongside her e
& her captain like a good Samaritan
took as all in - 5 of us including a
Greek interpreter being sent to GHQ
(Ross & Ashmead Bartlett stayed
in Mitylene waiting for / Victory
but it must have bn far too rough for
her to put to sea as yet. It is still
blowing a gale.) The Cornwallis is
all very young seamen or old men
& naval reservists - but a cheery
lot of chaps. She has many reserve
& volunteer officers & a Number One
who is a rather brilliant man
but who had / bad luck to pile
up two torpedo boats as a you
youngster - The Admiralty will
forget one, but two - never.
It is a pity because he really
is a good man - I cd see he ws
a keen man intelligent above /
average. She has also a London
surgeons who had just settled down

11

to a good practice & married when
he ws called up as a volunteer

- he ws sunk  in / Hague but
managed to escape because he ws
able a fine swimmer. He ws a Cambridge
man & used to sing at in Kings Chapel &
he keeps / wardroom alive w his songs
- Irvine by name, I think. Also a
midshipman who got / V.C. for his
work in the River Clyde.  Gallipoli
has won ever so many V.C.s & deserved
them;  but our Australians & N.
Zealanders, who are certainly
beyond comparison the bravest
corps here - the 29^th Divn &
possibly / Yeomanry may be
excepted but it doesnt stand
argument in / case o / rest - 
have only got one. I suppose it
will get thro / thick British

head someday tt these Australasians
are not inferior to but at least
3 times as good as / British
soldiers of / same training &
quite as good as / best British
regiments. To begin w they're not
in / least nervous o / Turks -
even on / darkest nights they are
hoping tt / Turks will come at them.
They are quite content, if necessary

12
to let / T. get into a trench, knowing
tt they can drive him out - so we can
hold our trenches lightly in certain
circumstances - a very great advantage.

However, this is by / way.

Went over to see / 3rd Australian
Hospital. No's 1. 2. 3 are all at
Mudros, & No's  1 & 2 Canadian next
to them - all on a very bare hill on /
S. side of / harbour.  When No 3
(wh is / biggest & has a gl surgeon &
Sir Alex MacCormick & Col. Fiaschi
at / head of it) came to London it
ws ordered back here after 3 wks
in England. But the transport with
its stores ws not sent along w
it. Consequently the staff, nurses
& all, arrived at Mudros
without any equipment at all. The
medical authorities on / Arragon
wdn't give / Australian hospital
anything - bec. it ws supposed to have
its own kit (wh by / arrangements
o / British authorities it did not
have) and consequently / staff had
to sleep out in / open / - except /
nurses.  For sometime / surgeons were
sleeping under their deck chairs - /
only shade they had.  Patients rolled
in & they had 150 or more of them

13
sleeping out in / open on / bare ground.
They were given no food for typhoid.
& dysentery patients or anyone else,
nurses or doctors included - except
bully beef & biscuits - they fed their
typhoids I believe on a little
condensed milk. Finally Capt. Grant
of the Cornwallis, I believe, saw / state
they were in & took it on himself
to go aboard / Arragon & tell /
heads there / conditn of affairs. At
first they said it ws impossible tt
this cd be so; then they sd it wd
be irregular or something o /
sort to supply / Australian hospital.
At last after a frank talk they
did do something. But even then
when / wretched dysenteries &
paratyphoids - (its almost all
paratyphoid here - / innoculatn
seems to prevent typhoid) got better
& were discharged from hospital
to a "rest camp" / rest camp
consisted of / hard ground, /
open sky above, & no gear at all.
A thunderstorm came down &
drenched them one night, – & / weather
is getting very bitter now - & /
consequence was tt over 50 were

14
back next morning asking to be
taken in - & many of them really
ill. Where on earth are all /
Red X comforts & money Australia
has subscribed? & why are these
British medical people allowed to
live?

The Canadians had a very hard
time too. They only had bully & biscuits.
The nurses all got typh dysentery
like / rest & two o / Canadian
nurses died as / result o / conditns
they were working in -  so / naval people
say. The Australians are nursing
more British Tommies than Australians
- but they tell me tt if it hadnt bn for
/ navy they don't know where they wd
have been. The navy sent them ice,
& all sorts of little delicacies -
some o / nurses ^too were delighted w
presents of cakes & a few little dainties
from / ships. All this time / Arragon
ws simply wallowing in ice. The
navy - it wasn't its business,
but it put up the condensing
plant - lent / men for / labour
& supervised it.
30 Aug The Mudros Hospitals
dealt w many o / cases wounded after /
great fight of Aug 6 -- 10. They were

15
operating on men lying on bare
boards or on / ground w a little
antiseptic lint under their heads;
but they managed to boil /
instruments & / cases did wonderfully
well - They have a magnificent staff.
But now they are limited to cases of
sickness wh will be right in 3 weeks,
paratyphoids, dysenteries & diarrhoeas;
& there is Sir Alex. MacCormick, a
surgeon of world wide reputation,
going around looking at mens / tongues
of men whose livers are out of order.

Frid. Sept 24. Started at 8 by
a very slow trawler for Imbros
& arrived at abt 4. Saw Mt
Athos on / way, for / first
time, I think.
Diagram - see original scan
I hear things have bn dead
quiet at Anzac & rest of front
except for aeroplanes.

Sat. Sept 25.
Heard today details
of / amusing raid made on

16
Aug 6/7 into Turkish territory
which the "Nation" calls / "most
ambitious" landing yet made.

It occurred at a place called
Cari Kalar - or something like it, on /
West & N.W. coast o /  Gulf of Saros,
opp. to Bulair. It ws made by
abt 350 Cretans. These scallywags
were sort of half-enlisted in / French
foreign Legion - at any rate they were
under a French officer & were given
French uniforms. They were to be taken
up there by / cruiser Minerva & the
destroyer Jedd. The French say
tt these ships called at /  wrong
end o /  island of rendezvous &
were therefore a bit late - or something o /
sort. Anyway / expeditn started
under / sup control of Lieut. C.S.
Binns of Intelligence Dept.
They were put ashore alright &
were supposed to go 3 several miles
inland, cut certain wires, &
genly lead / Turks to believe a
landing ws to be made there.
They were seen from Bulair as
they went up & signals were