Part 01: Rupert Nixon letters, 28 November 1914-2 October 1917 - Page 90
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[Page 90]
5.
our men never hesitated or wavered. The New Zealanders held it hurled themselves solidly on the Enemy. Our line entered one Turkish trench in a rush - Bayonetted all there & then charged over a lot of broken ground shooting & stabbing every Turk we met. No sooner was one line charged than another pressed on then a third & the line was as straight as though on parade. Our chaps fell like "nine-pins", but one has to shut one's eyes to these all too common scenes. It was here I received my second wound which put me out of action. During my three miles trip to the Beach I did not care much what became of me & I was feeling pretty queer from loss of blood. How the Shrapnel missed me, I don't know as it was dropping all round me, & stirred up the ground like heavy rain beating on dust. Half way down I met a Tasmanian who had been hit in the thigh, but was going fine, when he spotted a Turk who had been shot in the foot. This "Tassy" left me & went hobbling over to the Turk & pushed his bayonet through him; after he had done his job we started off again, but in less than 50 yards he dropped dead, being shot through the head by a "sniper". I reached the Beach safely & after being patched up I was put on board the Naval Launch & started for the ship, during our journey the Launch conveying the wounded was shelled with shrapnel & we had many narrow escapes - many Naval men were killed in this way, but they took it all as a matter of course & seemed to ignore the shells bursting in the water, although sometimes it nearly swamped them. Since being in this Hospital this wound in my neck has been photographed twice by doctors & once by a Newspaper man, they all told me to get a ticket in "Tats"!