October 24th.—A particularly cold, wet and rough day. According to an article which appeared in the "Westminster Gazette," and was reprinted in our local "War Office Telegram," there is always a cold rough snap from October 20 to October 25. The first date was correct, and I trust the latter, which is to-morrow, will be as accurate, for we are miserable. Geese are crossing in very large numbers to-day.
The thirty Welshmen who were attached to us were exchanged for an equal number of the 4/1 Highland F.A. from Aberdeen. Our men had taken to the Welshmen and were sorry to part with them, especially as they were doing excellent work.
October 25th.—The above weather forecast was wonderfully accurate, the cold snap ran from the 19th to 24th. Yesterday opened rough, wet and cold, but later in the day the wind fell to an absolute calm and the temperature rose. To-day is ideal, not a breath of wind, a few fleecy clouds, and delightfully warm. Geese are flying south in thousands. Where do they all come from?—the lakes of Norway and Sweden, Finland and Northern Russia, or where? Their destination is no doubt that delectable country for the winter, Africa. Yesterday the A.D.M.S. thought I required a change and recommended me to go there also, but I refused absolutely. I prefer the hardships of Suvla and it may be the Balkans, to a life of ease and comfort in the hospitals of Alexandria. Had things not looked so bad here I might have accepted such an offer, but now that the outlook is as bad as could be, and the danger to ourselves gradually thickens, it is out of the question. Mackensen is said to be in Servia and pushing south rapidly. He has an army of 216,000, while the Servians can oppose them with only 80,000 or 90,000. French and British troops have been rushed north from Salonika, and we are in contact with the Bulgars, if not the Austro-Germans. All here expect to be ordered to the Balkans any day; at Suvla we are now being wasted, all we can do is to hold up the Turks which is not good enough.
October 26th.—We hear to-day that the "Marquette" which brought us from Avonmouth to Alexandria was torpedoed two days ago, on her way to Salonika. About 1000 troops were on board, and 600 are said to have been lost, including thirty nurses. The "Marquette" sent out the S.O.S. signal, but the submarine came to the surface and signalled, "No assistance is required".
October 28th.—Nothing much doing except artillery fire. According to evidence given by the Turkish prisoners our artillery fire does little harm, they are so well dug in, one Battalion putting its daily casualties at six. Yesterday about mid-day every Turkish gun opened fire on our trenches from the extreme right to the extreme left and along Anzac, and all at the self same moment. We wondered what it meant and whether it was preliminary to a wild assault all along our lines, which was to drive us into the sea; one would have expected something extraordinary to follow, but in less than fifteen minutes it was all over. No doubt they caught many of our men in the open, sitting smoking on their parapets and such like, and 100 or 200 may have been knocked out. We are continually being caught napping, and one shell often lands in the middle of an unsuspecting group and plays terrible havoc.
I see in G.R.O. (General Routine Orders) that General Sir C.C. Munro takes over command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force from yesterday's date.
November 2nd.—The weather on the whole gets colder and more bracing, sometimes too much so, but by day it is occasionally uncomfortably warm. The Turks and ourselves keep shelling each other as of old.
I am now feeling so very much off colour that I know I ought to go home, but I am unable to tear myself away from Suvla in case I should miss the chance of going to the Balkans. Still, I am afraid I will be left behind if our Ambulance was to go. During the summer I had two months of dysentery. Since then I have never felt quite fit although I have carried on the whole time, and for the last three weeks I have had an attack of jaundice, of which there has been a very widespread epidemic. (This epidemic was afterwards proved to be Paratyphoid.)
November 7th.—For some days the weather has been perfect, bright and warm as midsummer, and the nights cool without being cold, but with dews heavy enough to drench the tents.
To-day we had the most deliberate shelling the Turks ever gave the Red Cross. So far they have shown us more or less respect, in fact no one could find fault hitherto; when shells came among us, there was always some excuse for it. To-day I think they must have been retaliating for some mischief our guns had unintentionally done to their Crescent. The 88th F.A. is encamped alongside us, and six big high explosive shells fell among the two of us, costing each of us a tent, but strange to say no other casualty occurred. All, including about sixty sick, made for our two big trenches which we made some time ago in case anything of this sort should happen.