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[Page 30]
The Turks now look down upon us. They are heavily entrenched, they are on the "forehead" so to speak and we are on the "eyebrows'. If the position could only be reversed things would look considerably brighter. to show you what progress we made on 7th the Ghurkas actually saw the Dardanelles from the top of the hill and the Turks riding in motor cars on the Gallopoli-Mudros Road. During the last 3 weeks we have got rid of the 13th Division and have resumed our normal strength with the addition of the 29th British Infantry Brigade (K's Army). We shall [indecipherable] of them very shortly. We have now practically dug ourselves in to winter quarters and are settling down again. It is bad for morale but till we get fresh troops it is unavoidable. We hope we may make another forward movement in about another six weeks time. I have been personally very busy but no sooner was the hard fighting off when I had to leave the Divisional Staff and cut up into the firing line to meet the New Zealand Infantry Brigade as old Johnson was again sick and this is the second time I have commanded them during this summer. I wish I could get a permanent man as a Brigadier.
There have been a great many casualties on the Divisional Staff. Lord Charles Bentinck was shot through the stomach, not dangerously, poor Manders was shot through the head, Herbert our interpreter has gone sick to the base with dysentery, Esson sick with fever, Tahu Rhodes invalided to England with enteric, my head clerk Watt shot through the leg and nearly all our orderlies wounded. So you see we are having a pretty lively time. Luckily the G.O.C., Pinwill, Thomas, Kettle and myself have been fortunate in keeping well the whole time and so managed to keep things going. The hospital ships have been very severely taxed. There are thousands of them. The Maheno arrived the other day and she is gone off again to Malta or England. She is very well fitted up but nothing like as comfortable as any of the other ships. What on earth induced the New Zealand Government to send a tea-total hospital ship? What a man wants when he is run down and sick is something to pick him up such as a glass of beer or stout or even champagne and nothing of this class can you get on the Maheno, very different to all of the other ships where you could get anything you asked for. Then again there is no separated accommodation for senior sick officers and there is no place where you can sit down. Col. Chaytor