Item 01: Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett diary, 1915-1917 - Page 23
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[Page 23]
"Queen Elizabeth" for Commodore Keyes to censor. Amongst other things I sent through an account pointing out the extreme difficulties of the task ahead, and also showing that it was impossible for the attack on the 18th March to have succeeded. Strangely enough, not only was this passed by Commodore Keyes, but also by the Admiralty in London, and was duly published in the papers, and caused the first of the many sensations which the Dardanelles were to produce in the course of the next eight months. At this time Lawrence and myself were under the Admiralty, and had no official connection with the Army at all, so that our position was somewhat anomolous.
In fact I did not know even if I would be allowed to land with the Army, which would of course be essential, once the Expedition was put ashore. I always found Commodore Keyes and his assistants censors, Captain Godfrey of the Marines, most accomodating and agreeable, and as long as the censorship was conducted by the Navy, it was carried out in a broad and benevolent spirit and worked absolutely without friction of any sort.
In fact Admiral de Roebeck's staff were all charming and delightful people to deal with. Up to this time I had seen nothing of Sir Ian Hamilton, and his Staff, and they had not yet arrived from Egypt. An expeditionof this sort naturally entails an enormous amount of preliminary preparations and part of this was carried through in Alexandria, and the final touches put to it in Mudros Harbour. Every day fresh transports would arrive, packed with troops, or stores, or ammunition, or coal. Warships would be continually arriving or departing, and not only with our great Fleet of pre-Dreadnuahgts assembled in the