Later General Birdwood, the officer commanding at Anzac, issued an order commending them in the eyes of the whole forces in the Anzac zone. It was worded in the following terms:—
"On behalf of all the comrades now serving on the peninsula, I wish to convey to the Australian unit concerned our general feeling of admiration for the gallant behaviour of all ranks on the transport Southland. All the troops of the army corps have heard with pride of the courage and discipline shown at the moment when the nerves of the bravest are liable to be so highly tried. Not only was there not the slightest confusion on the part of the troops, who quietly fell in and prepared to meet whatever fate might be in store, but later, when there was prospect of the Southland being able to make way under her own steam and stokers were called for, the men at once came forward and successfully helped in getting the Southland into port."
The episode of the Southland confirmed the impression created by the gallant behaviour of the 18th Battalion at Hill 60, when they were thrown into the thick of the fight within a few hours of their landing on Gallipoli, and behaved like veterans. It was established that the Second Division was composed of the same splendid fighting material as the First. They had a thankless task before them, as the reader will learn from the last two chapters of this book. But they carried it through in the fine spirit displayed by the men of the Southland and of Hill 60.
THE V.C.'s OF ANZAC
[CHAPTER XVII]
THE V.C.'S OF ANZAC
In all records of bravery, and in all chronicles of devoted deeds, there occur some acts that stand out even against the brilliant background on which they are set. It was so at Anzac. The immortal story of the landing is set with such resplendent actions, but in many cases there was no responsible officer at hand to report the amazing daring of the Australasians on those first days. Afterwards it was possible to keep a closer record of individual actions, and the result was that a number of the men of Anzac received the supreme award for valour in the British army, the Victoria Cross.