Item 02: Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett articles on the Gallipoli campaign, 1915 - Page 97

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[Page 97]

brings down the roof on the top of you but if you sit below the ground level you are fairly save from the splinters flying round outside. Almost every tent is riddled with holes. In one which has been in constant use there are no less than two houndred and ninety four seperate holes and it is exciting work sitting on the floor watching fresh peeps of sunlight coming through the top. The relied of hearing the shell burst is enormous for then you know it cant make a direct hit inside.

When the firing dies down you venture out and go on your respective ways. Sometimes you enjoy several hours of complete immunity sometimes a shell burst at regular intervals of half a hour or and at any unexpected moment you may have all the guns open up at once. Do not imagine you enjoy a respite at night. Far from it for of late the Turks have frequently bombarded us during the night and their favourite trick is to fire a shell at regular intervals of half and hour right through the night on the weary slumberers waking the majority up just as they are falling asleep and so on repeating the process after the favourite custom of the old Chinese torturers who prevent their victims from sleeping by opening their close eyelids at regular intervals.

The worst bombardment to which Lancashire Landing has ever been subjected was five days ago when the Turks made their big counter attack. They started at four am and between that hour and eight am they landed at a conservative estimate nearly three thousand shells amidst the bombproofs dug outs and stores. Yet the result was small.
A few were killed and more wounded but the majority lay low and escaped. Sometimes a fortunate hit will blow up some ammunition or des-

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