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and if fortune is kind to us I may some day show it to you.
A sad episode occurred during the afternoon. A big gun, 4.5 they call it, is place down the hill from the light horse camp. One cartridge fired by it exploded before reaching the top of the ridge, the contents went in amongst our men killed one, severely wounded another, and slightly wounded a third. The third man looking at the second and noting that he was sufficiently seriously hit in the neck to be sent away remarked: "Give you a fiver for your wound I'm sick of this blooming place". What think you of that?
Last week a like accident happened from the same gun. Since then on a whistle is blown three blasts to warn the men at work and living on the hill side that a shot is about to be fired. More or less of a move is made from the line of fire.
As I was returning to my quarters I called in to see Dr Bean from Wallsend. He is in charge of an ambulance on the beach near the right flank. Five medical men are with him several being from Sydney. He looks well but I am not sure whether he was pleased or not to see me.
7.30 p.m. Here I am again in my dug-out with a lamp beside me writing to you. The last few sheets were filled before dinner. Jerrom has gone for the night.
A great battle is taking place on the highest point of the ridge behind the main camp and up from the beach, a small area taken by our men soon after the first landing. Rifles shots. Machine guns & big guns follow one another and accompany each other in rapid succession. The clack clack clack
[Lieutenant Colonel Harold Knowles Bean, 1857-1916, medical practitioner of Wallsend, NSW, served with the Australian Army Medical Corps in the South African War. He joined the AAMC on 1 November 1914 and embarked from Brisbane on 16 December 1914 on HMAT A30 Borda in command of the 2nd Light Horse Field Ambulance, 2nd Light Horse Brigade. He served at Gallipoli and later with the 3rd Light Horse Filed Ambulance in Egypt. He became seriously ill there, and died at sea on the way home to Australia on 25 September 1916.]