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[Page 25]
On Nov/25/15 a three days silence was commenced and two days later snow fell early in the morning. The cold was acutely felt as we were in poor condition and badly nourished, and a good many men were taken to the hospital with frost bitten feet. Rum was issued during this cold snap.
The earth from the tunnel was emptied into the valley from a dump on Courtney's Post, where a fine panorama could be seen of the Turks trench system (called the Chessboard), which was opposite Walker Ridge. Occasionally the snipers fired at us, but I never heard of anybody being hit. Imbros Island was about seven miles out to sea, and 20 miles away, the island of Samothrace with its snow capped mountains towering in the clouds. On a fine day, it was a scene of indescribable beauty and the sunsets were glorious.
I witnessed a bomb attack on Quinns Post, one early morning and watched the burning spitting fuse bombs as they came through the air; a fascinating sight. We had wire netting on wooden frames placed in front of the trenches to stop the bombs, falling in, but the wily Turk wrapped rag around them to make them hang on to the netting, which had to be frequently renewed. A trench mortar, called the "Garlin" Gun, was used by us, which threw a large grenade and made a tremendous noise when fired.
The three days silence made the Turks wonder what our game was. Some came out of the trenches and wandered about but not a shot was fired at them until the time was up. Then our land batteries fired and things were as usual. The Turks made good use of the time, as they brought up some big guns (said to be obtained from the Bulgarians,) and bombarded Lone Pine heavily, causing the 6th Brigade 200 casualties.