Series 01: George Lillie war diary, 24 August 1914-24 April 1915 - Page 43

[Page 43]

6th March
On Saturday 6th March the 9th Battalion went ashore on to the Island by means of the ship's boats which were towed by a pinnace of H M.S Blenheim.

7th March
On Sunday 7th The troops went for a route march over a large portion of the island. There are a good few cultivation paddocks & some sheep grazing roundabout. There are also the old wind mills for crushing the grain & making flour. The population of the island who are Greeks are all a healthy sturdy race & they say that they don't know what sickness or medicine is & consequently they live to a great age. The dress of the peasantry is very comical. The villages are not very large but they are scattered all over the Island. On Sunday night 7th March we were on guard & the rest of the battalion were bivouacked on Lemnos Island when it rained very hard & the whole battalion received a severe drenching. As the weather here