This day two years ago I was lying in bed in Brussels, reading Baedeker, when I discovered it was the 98th anniversary of Waterloo. I had given up all intention of visiting the battlefield, being pressed for time, but after such a discovery I felt compelled to pay it a visit. I was thankful I went, it proved one of the most enjoyable days I ever spent. At that time Holland and Belgium hated each other, but were outwardly kept friendly by their common enemy, Germany, of which they were very suspicious. What has now happened has surprised neither of these two States.
7 p.m.—Returned a few minutes ago from my favourite Observation Post at Y. Beach—Major Ward dragged me over to....
11 p.m.—The preliminary big gun bombardment was to commence at 7, and I had just made a start with my diary when the din began, and I had to stop short. We are in the very middle of four batteries—two mountain (Ross and Cromarty), one 64-pounder, and a fourth of four 6-inch howitzers. All blazed forth at once, and all drew fire. As far as we could make out this was the hottest corner of the whole front. Shells in hundreds burst about our ears, chunks of shell and four nose caps came into Aberdeen Gully. The noise of our guns and the bursting of Turkish shells was the worst I have heard since the day of our landing. Stones and earth we had flying about in plenty. In the midst of it all Captain Rowland, R.E., shouted from the mule track, asking if a M.O. would go and see Major Archibald in the front trench. I set off with two bearers and a stretcher, and found him in a side trench close to Gully Beach. He was mortally wounded. I dressed him and left him where he lay, in charge of an orderly. We now hurried back to the mule track, the whole length of which we had to traverse. It had been repeatedly and most thoroughly shelled from end to end during the day, and we expected the Turk to sweep along it again at any minute. We had just cleared it when this actually happened, and howls behind us took us back to find that some Indians had been caught in the fire. A Sikh had a leg almost entirely blown off. Though suffering badly he was most plucky.
From that time onwards we had a steady flow of wounded, which still goes on, but those now coming in are being dressed by the Regimental M.O.'s before they are carried in by our bearers.
As far as I can gather from the wounded the Turks made an attack on our extreme left at the very hour appointed for the attack by the French and us. They came on four deep protected by their artillery which blew in two of our front trenches, which were held by the S.W.B.'s and Inniskillings. These had to retreat, as many as possible through their communication trenches, but many had to get over the parapets and rush back over the open. There were 500 Turks in this part alone, and our men say only two ever returned, our men forming up and charging quickly retook what they had lost. We have had several K.O.S.B.'s from the centre where there was also an attack. These were more successful from the beginning, and within fifteen minutes had taken the Turks' first line.
June 19th.—The above was not the end of last night's work. A little after midnight we were requested to send a M.O. and as many nursing orderlies as possible to the Inniskillings Aid Post, where they were said to be overwhelmed with work. This was at the very top of The Gully, three-quarters of a mile beyond our station. I jumped at the opportunity of a little excitement, and set off with five orderlies. We found the road dotted with dead mules and horses, but could not find the M.O. for some time. At last he was roused out of his hole half asleep. He said he had never sent for help, that they were quite able to cope with the work, his men being at the time occupied with cases, which seemed to be coming in fast. What cases he had we took back with us, an Inniskilling who had a bad wound in the foot from a grenade I helped back with his arm round my neck.
The guide who came for us deserted us half-way to the Aid Post, and on returning I found him minus his equipment making himself comfortable for the night in our gully. I ordered him off to the firing line knowing that this was a favourite dodge to escape for a time. After half an hour I found him in our cook house, when I took his number and name to report him to his C.O. The man was in a state of funk, and declared that the Turks would certainly break through before morning. Believing that there might be some reason for his alarm I made sure before starting that my loaded revolver was at my belt, in case of our having to beat a retreat.
By 3 a.m. I was able to lie down for a short time, but another furious attack by the Turks commenced at 4.15. Later in the day I was relieved by Fiddes, and about 11 o'clock set off with Agassiz who had ridden out from our base. On reaching Gully Beach we took the high road for home, but opposite X. Beach the explosions of high explosive shells on the road in front of us were too terrifying, and we descended to the under-cliff road.
W. Beach had had the worst bombardment it had so far experienced during the morning, hundreds of shells falling. Many horses and three men were killed. At Corps H.Q. and V. Beach the same went on, and no doubt with similar results.
June 21st.—The A.D.M.S. Col. Yarr, called at 9 a.m. and asked me to relieve him for the day, and I am now in his dugout at H.Q. of the 8th Army Corps, perhaps the hottest place to shell fire on the whole peninsula. I found six aeroplanes drawn up waiting for messages, and before 10.30 we had twenty-nine shells all within a few yards of us. Only very few exploded luckily, but the others buried themselves at least six feet in the earth. H.Q. is a network of deep dugouts with communication trenches, but a direct hit will pierce any one of them. Already two have been struck since I arrived, and the wings carried off a French biplane. They had 200 shells here yesterday, one of the orderlies being killed and another has been showing me how his tunic was riddled by pieces of a shell that exploded. The aeroplanes are really the target aimed at. Two have just ascended, but as long as it is daylight they will come and go. We usually get less fire when a few of our planes are up, when the Turks' guns lie low not to give away their positions.