The second morning after arriving at Z Valley, the Assistant Director of Medical Services of the Division attended at the "sick parade." Being a very humane man, he was concerned at the appearance of the soldiers present and told them that they ought all to be in hospital. This thought was attractive. The vision, obtained a few days before, of real beds and clean white sheets, combined with the prospect of being waited on by the comely nurses of the Australian and Canadian services, could only have one result. On the following sick parade the attendance was trebled. But disappointment followed. The A.D.M.S. was not about, and a far-seeing regimental medical officer pronounced his verdict—"Medicine and duty"—on all but a few.
The drill exercises commenced with the squad formations, and here arose the rather ludicrous situation of N.C.Os. not being able to describe the movements required. This was brought about by the promotion on the Peninsula of men who fulfilled the requirements there and got things done by giving orders in a few terse phrases of their own coining, but had never handled a section on parade or seen inside the cover of a text-book. The position was aggravated by many of the officers being "rusty" themselves and not having books of reference handy. However, the difficulty was got over by forming a class of instruction in each company, and the desired result was obtained in a few days. Five hours daily were given to parades and a half-holiday observed on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
THE CAMP AT SARPI,
Lemnos Island.
Photo. lent by Lieut. H. V. Woods.[ToList]
THE SHIPPING IN MUDROS BAY, 1915.
Photo. lent by M. Rene de Marigny, Paris.[ToList]
Although cold winds blew occasionally, and rain fell intermittently, the climate of the island was not unpleasant at this time of the year. Members of the Battalion, in their leisure hours, visited the neighbouring villages of Portianos, Mudros, and Kondia, although this latter place was subsequently placed out of bounds owing to an outbreak of typhoid fever amongst the inhabitants. At Portianos occurred one of those incidents the like of which is not altogether foreign to army life—even in peace time. A solitary Australian encountered a "Tommy" town picquet commanded by a tyrannical corporal. For a breach of certain orders, of the existence of which he was unaware, the Australian was rather roughly abused and handled by the picquet. Retiring discomfited from the scene he met several of his countrymen. A brief conference was followed by a return to the village and resulted in a very successful "clean-up" of the original aggressors.
Some men walked considerable distances and penetrated to the western side where is situated the principal town, Kastro—a place of some 3,000 inhabitants. Here they were able to inspect the Genoese fortress which stands on a rocky peninsula and has an eminence of some 400 feet above the sea. Souvenirs were obtained in the form of small roundshot from the ancient cannon which formerly surmounted the walls.