The rations were monotonous and ill-suited to the climate. They consisted of bacon (for breakfast), bully-beef and biscuit, with a little jam and cheese, a tin of Maconochie’s vegetable rations being at first, but not later, considered a treat, but Maconochie was particularly unsuited to a hot climate. Fruit—even good tinned fruit—and fresh vegetables would have done much to preserve the health of the men during the intense heat of the summer. In due course every man became a more or less expert cook, and to be on visiting terms was a privilege not unattended by risk, as it involved the sampling of many weird experiments and decoctions. Bread from the tents on Bakery Beach was first issued on May 21, and was received with acclamation.
Firewood was very scarce, as there were few trees or bushes, but it had to be obtained somehow for the trench fires over which the men brewed their tea and cooked their food. It was therefore not uncommon in the Helles area, in spite of orders issued to diminish waste, to see a caseful of tins of bully-beef tipped out on the roadside, that the invaluable wooden case might be split up for fuel. Butts of rifles which lay beside their dead owners met the same fate. Evidence of the awful waste of war abounded—weapons, ammunition, equipment, food, clothing, trodden under foot, and left to rust and decay. Where man could not expose himself by day these things remained unsalved for months, but elsewhere they were collected and returned to store. The best place where wood could be “won” was above Bakery Beach. A sentry was put over the wood-pile, but interesting conversation and a few cigarettes would occasionally distract his attention for the needful time.
On May 21 the Brigade Commanders received instructions from the Divisional Commander on various points connected with the latest methods and conditions of siege warfare, such as the use of bombs, sandbags, and loopholes, and the action of snipers. One officer, one N.C.O. and four men from each company were instructed in bombing, under the officer commanding the R.E., and each infantry brigade was allotted 400 bombs. It was found, however, that no more than 225 bombs were available for distribution among the three brigades. The bombs were made from empty jam tins sent down from the trenches to Lancashire Landing, where they were filled (chiefly by the divisional butchers and bakers at first) with old nails, bits of shell and of barbed wire, and other scraps of metal and an explosive charge. At first a time fuse was fitted through the top of the tin, and this had to be lighted by the aid of a match, but before long a detonating fuse was fitted. Matches were scarce and valuable, and in wind and rain many were wasted before the fuse could be lighted. These bombs were first issued in very small quantities about an hour before the attack began on June 4.
On the 25th of May occurred the memorable cloud-burst on Achi Baba, and in a few moments the nullahs were in spate, the trenches flooded, and thousands of men soaked to the skin. It was an Act of God which could not be foreseen or provided against, and the hardship inflicted upon the troops was very great. For a time the Krithia Nullah was impassable, and many dead Turks were carried down. The Lancashire Fusiliers Brigade Headquarters was under four feet of water for several hours, and the Signal Office was washed away. One battalion was enjoying beef-steaks in the dug-outs when a roar of water was heard, and a stream twenty feet wide quickly filled every dug-out. With British tenacity the men held on to chunks of bread and of steak as they scrambled for higher ground.
The Submarine Menace
Towards the end of the month the submarine menace developed into a very real danger to the men-of-war in these waters. The battleship Triumph was torpedoed on May 25 as she lay at anchor with nets out, off Anzac. She sank in ten minutes with a loss of ten officers and sixty-eight men. Two days later, the Majestic, Rear-Admiral Nicholson’s flagship, lying off Cape Helles, fell a victim to the same German submarine, and sank in six fathoms. Fortunately all but forty-eight men were saved. This disaster was witnessed by many of the Territorials on the beaches and cliffs. As other British and French battleships were attacked by submarines about the same time, it became clear that naval co-operation must be dispensed with, or considerably reduced, as ships at anchor offered too easy a target for torpedoes.
The Queen Elizabeth had been ordered home on the first hint of danger, and now all the large ships were sent back to the safety of Mudros, and the regatta-like gathering at the mouth of the Dardanelles melted away. The Turk promptly seized the opportunity for propaganda purposes. An ingeniously worded pamphlet, printed in English, French, and Hindustani, and dropped from aeroplanes, notified the invaders that all their battleships and transports had been destroyed, that the Germans had gained control of the seas, and that no further supplies need be expected. “Don’t take our word for it, but see for yourselves. Last week you saw a large fleet of all kinds of vessels off Cape Helles. Look for it to-day. You have fought bravely; give yourselves up now to an enemy who respects your valour and will treat you well.” Tommy laughed. He had got his rations for the day, and the morrow would take care of itself.
On the 25th of May the designation of the Division was changed, and as the “42nd (East Lancashire) Division” it took precedence in numerical order of all other Territorial divisions. The Lancashire Fusilier Brigade became the 125th Infantry Brigade; the East Lancashire Brigade the 126th; and the Manchester Brigade the 127th. On May 27 the 126th Brigade was split up among various battalions of the 29th Division in order to bring those depleted battalions up to strength pending the arrival of drafts from England.