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It was a miracle how it missed me; must have just shaved my head in the position we were standing. Well, Bob, you can guess how I felt to lose my mate, not practically 30 hours after landing. I was dumb-founded, as the saying is; all sorts of queer things passed through my brain. I got about as if lost, not caring should it be my turn next. After seeing him to the hospital we parted "Au-Revoir", he was the second in our Battalion to get wounded, there was a spare man the Trombone player he was put with me, then, well we had just got nicely settled for a couple of hours got orders to move off. I think they got about for [four] in that Gully. We got orders to leave our packs there, which was a signal there was something doing, all prepared we moved off again round to our left farther getting closer to Suvla Bay, all that time just at the back of us there was a continuous fire all the time; getting round to our position we had to cross a flat about two hundred yards length, which was quite visible to our enemy from their positions they must have spotted our move, if they had only waited till night they could saved it all, the first Company of our Battalion in the front had to cross over in extended order, that about eight at a time a distance of twenty yards apart.
The first Company got across "O.K." then they started to put the schrapnel in, all the time this was going on we were looking on waiting our turn, you would just get about half way across when they would put two or three in quick; Suddenly they got a stray one in it seemed amongst where we were sitting, by jove, you should have seen the scramble to shelter. Our turn came at length so we proceeded, just as we got about half way across, bang just over my head as luck happened or I should have been a goner; my mate dropped the stretcher at the back, I thought it had got him, looking round he was slowly rising again, so we off for our lives got across threw everything off come back to collect our wounded, such sights I don't wish to see again.
Well we grabbed the nearest chap to us, had his arm nearly blown off, took into hospital which was a continual stream all the time, as soon as they were dressed you had to take them on for another couple of miles to the clearing station. They got twenty five of our boys in that lot, so that was a fair introduction. The best of the fun was when going back to collect wounded they never offered to fire on us. We received a message from them afterwards to say when carrying stretchers always close them, otherwise they would fire on us, of course, we were carrying the Doctor's Paniers on them. We got orders then when moving into positions we had to carry stretchers closed, which I can tell you was much appreciated by the boys, as they used to make mules of us.
Well after that lot we were camped with the Gurkhas for a week, our boys digging trenches linking up the line, between the Tomies from Suvla and the Gurkhas from X to Hill under 971, this was tedious work for our boys; carried on only at night out in the open, practically at foot of Hill W, which was held by the enemy. You had to go for your life so as to get yourself under cover. Our work here the three weeks was our worst occasion, one here and there getting popped over; we were called out at all hours