Voices from Gallipoli

The Landing on the Memorable 25th April 1915. From Railway Budget NRS 15298-1-4[24]_p288

Anzac from New Pier, September, 1915. From Railway Budget NRS 15298-1-4[24]_p276-277a

Probate packets can sometimes contain personal items, such as letters and photos, that provide a glimpse into the soldier’s life in World War I.  This selection of letters highlight some of the experiences of Australian soldiers in the trenches on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Some of the soldiers make light of living in a dugout and eating army rations.  George Bowman describes the hard work of trench life:

We are working 4 hours digging trenches and 4 hours off and have to carry our water in our spare time from the beach, and that is a good mile and a half walk up hill from here.
NRS 13660 4-79443

Godfrey Archibald Fuller describes life in the “Firing line” at Gallipoli in May 1915:

This is the beginning of the fifth week and so far have been favoured with splendid weather …. the Turks were reinforced & made several determined attacks on our position.  As I have told you before the A.I. Force proved equal to the occasion …. Living very high bacon, bully beef, biscuits, cheese, potatoes, and lastly rum.
NRS 13660 4-71784

Bowman again tells a story of a rare parcel from home that contained wedding cake:

One of our chaps got a piece of wedding cake sent him and when he got it he shared it out between 7 of us and we took half an hour to nibble it because it was too good to eat it straight out.
NRS 13660 4-79443

There are reminders throughout their letters of what was waiting for them on the battlefield.  There are stories of shells bursting around them, Turkish forces attacking and the ever-present threat of death.  Bowman:

While I was writing this a shell burst  right outside of my dug out and got a chap through the both legs, above the knees and through the left arm, he was lucky not to get it through the body.
NRS 13660 4-79443

Charles Edward Grimshaw was killed when a dug out collapsed on him at Gallipoli.  The Commanding Officer of 7th Light Horse wrote a letter to home to Charles’ father to inform him of what occurred:

A fall of earth occurred during the night in the dugout and in which he was sleeping and in the morning his comrades found him suffocated …. A burial service was held by our regimental chaplain, Capt. K Miller, and was attended by the whole regiment, we sang “Nearer to God to thee” and then laid his body to rest in the military cemetery here a cross will be put over the grave.
NRS 13660 4-70958

All the letters are from NRS 13660 Probate packets.