At Suvla Bay Being the notes and sketches of scenes, characters and adventures of the Dardanelles campaign   By: John Hargrave (1894-1982)

Being The Notes And Sketches Of Scenes, Characters

And Adventures Of The Dardanelles Campaign

By John Hargrave

("White Fox" of "The Scout ")

While Serving With The 32nd Field Ambulance, X Division, Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, During The Great War

To MINOBI

We played at Ali Baba, On a green linoleum floor; Now we camp near Lala Baba, By the blue Aegean shore.

We sailed the good ship Argus, Behind the studio door; Now we try to play at "Heroes" By the blue Aegean shore.

We played at lonely Crusoe, In a pink print pinafore; Now we live like lonely Crusoe, By the blue Aegean shore.

We used to call for "Mummy," In nursery days of yore; And still we dream of Mother, By the blue Aegean shore.

While you are having holidays, With hikes and camps galore; We are patching sick and wounded, By the blue Aegean shore.

J. H.

Salt Lake Dug out, September 12th, 1915. (Under shell fire.)

TURKISH WORDS

Sirt summit. Dargh mountain. Bair or bahir spur. Burnu cape. Dere valley or stream. Tepe hill. Geul lake. Chesheme spring. Kuyu well. Kuchuk small. Tekke Moslem shrine. Ova plain. Liman bay or harbour. Skala landing place. Biyuk great.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. IN WHICH MY KING AND COUNTRY NEED ME

II. A LONG WAY TO TIPPERARY

III. SNARED

IV. CHARACTERS

V. I HEAR OF HAWK

VI. ON THE MOVE

VII. MEDITERRANEAN NIGHTS

VIII. THE CITY OF WONDERFUL COLOUR

IX. MAROONED ON LEMNOS ISLAND

X. THE NEW LANDING

XI. THE KAPANJA SIRT

XII. THE SNIPER HUNT

XIII. THE ADVENTURE OF THE WHITE PACK MULE

XIV. THE SNIPER OF PEAR TREE GULLY

XV. KANGAROO BEACH

XVI. THE ADVENTURE OF THE LOST SQUADS

XVII. "OH, TO BE IN ENGLAND!"

XVIII. TWO MEN RETURN

XIX. THE RETREAT

XX. "JHILL O! JOHNNIE!"

XXI. SILVER BAY

XXII. DUG OUT YARNS

XXIII. THE WISDOM OF FATHER S

XXIV. THE SHARP SHOOTERS

XXV. A SCOUT AT SULVA BAY

XXVI. THE BUSH FIRES

XXVII. THE DEPARTUR

XXVIII. LOOKING BACK

AT SUVLA BAY

CHAPTER I. IN WHICH MY KING AND COUNTRY NEED ME

I left the office of The Scout, 28 Maiden Lane, W.C., on September 8th, 1914, took leave of the editor and the staff, said farewell to my little camp in the beech woods of Buckinghamshire and to my woodcraft scouts, bade good bye to my father, and went off to enlist in the Royal Army Medical Corps.

I made my way to the Marylebone recruiting office, and after waiting about for hours, I went at last upstairs and "stripped out" with a lot of other men for the medical examination.

The smell of human sweat was overpowering in the little ante room. Some of the men had hearts and anchors and ships and dancing girls tattooed in blue on their chests and arms. Some were skinny and others too fat. Very few looked fit. I remarked upon the shyness they suffered in walking about naked.

"Did yer pass?"

"No, 'e spotted it," said the dejected rejected.

"Wot?"

"Rupture."

"Got through, Alf?"

"No: eyesight ain't good enough."

So it went on for half an hour.

Then came my turn.

"Ha!" said the little doctor, "this is the sort we want," and he rubbed his gold rimmed glasses on his handkerchief. "Chest, thirty four thirty seven," said the doctor, tapping with his tape measure, "How did yer do that?"

"What, sir?" said I, gasping, for I was trying to blow my chest out, or burst.

"Had breathing exercises?"

"No, sir I'm a scout."

"Ha!" said he, and noticed my knees were brown with sunburn because I always wore shorts.