Volume 2: Letters written on active service, M-W, 1914-1919 - Page 193
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[Page 193]
[Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Raymond Guy Poate, a surgeon of Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW, joined the Army on 24 August 1914 aged 30, and embarked from Sydney on HMAT A14 Euripides on 20 October 1914 with the 1st Field Ambulance. He served at Gallipoli and in Egypt and France and returned to Australia on 3 October 1917..
Includes a description of the Gallipoli landing and conditions there.]
"Somewhere"
1st Aug 1915
My dear Spencer,
Had a letter some time ago from Eileen but fancy I have not yet replied to it as we have been so much on the move for the past 4 months i.e. since we left Cairo early in April. I was up at the landing but did not get ashore. Our boat was quite close in as we had ammunition & so we saw it all very well – in fact came in for a few shells which dropped round us but did no harm. We were there 3 days and then had to bring a crowd of wounded back to Alexandria on one of the troop ships. Of course all our bearers got ashore at once but there was no room for the tent subdivision owing to the limited advance so ever since then we have been looking after sick and wounded on troop ships – mostly very unsuitable for the work. The proper hospital ships were very few in number & used to clear out as soon as they had their beds full & did not have to overcrowd as we did
[Written sideways at the top of the page:]
P.S. Dorothy says you sent me some books. Not to hand yet except the Poems of Hate for which thanks. Hope the mountain stay agreed with you all. H.