November 12th.
Getting rather cold now. Fleet firing heavily to-day, and Turks, as usual, busy with shrapnel. “C” Beach badly shelled, and 13th Division Supply depot gets it badly; several casualties. A year ago to-day I received my commission and joined the 13th Division. If I had not joined the 29th Division I might have been on the “C” Beach to-day with the 13th Division. Go up to Brigade with Elphinstone and see new Staff Captain—Armstrong. Hadow is now with the 11th Division, and I am sorry he has gone. Stay till dusk. Turkish snipers always creep out at dusk. Bullets freely coming when we take our leave. Over the gorse outside the Brigade H.Q. I say to Elphinstone, “At this point at night I always walk fast,” and he, this being his first experience, says, “I am with you.” Out of range we light our pipes, then a comfortable walk back in the moonlight. Finish up work at the depot. Dinner and a smoke, and to Hell with the Kaiser!
November 13th.
It is getting very windy and cold, but day quite fine. Flies still worrying, but not nearly so badly as a few weeks back. No shelling from Turk. Ships firing on Turkish batteries, which are badly shrapnelling Chocolate Hill. Kitchener in neighbourhood. Matthews leaves to be Adjutant of train at Helles, and Hunt and I go out in his pinnace to see him off. Sea a bit choppy, and I, sitting on the top of the engine-room, nearly fall through the skylight into the engines. Horne arrives to take his place. Has seen Kitchener at Mudros with a numerous Staff. Staff-Captain 86th Brigade comes to tea. Show him over our new camp for winter, which is in course of preparation. It is going to be “some” camp. It breaks the monotony, making this camp. Guests for dinner. Beautiful moonlight night and very quiet.
November 14th.
A bit of a gale blowing. Another quiet day, absolutely no shelling. Kitchener arrives here at three o’clock with Staff. Was up Brigade with Horne at the time, and so missed the show; but my sergeant told me about it. He landed at little West Beach, walked through the Main Supply depot, and then past our depot, up IX Corps Gully to the top of the hill, and had a good look round the positions. He was only here about two hours. Tommies came running up and stood in groups at attention, while their C.O.’s and officers saluted, and he passed along saluting gravely right and left, now and again stopping to look at some dugouts. There is now general satisfaction that Kitchener has been and seen for himself what things are really like here. No shelling of the beaches while he was on shore, but the low lands were being shrapnelled.
November 15th.
Quiet morning. In the afternoon the Turks put a dozen of the best over the beach, but did no harm. Bit of a battle on Chocolate Hill this afternoon at five, and rifle fire, and a great deal of shrapnel, for half an hour. Our battleships firing heavily and making a deafening din. Heavy thunderstorms at eight, with vivid forked lightning and rain. I suppose this is a foretaste of what is to come.
The safety of the beaches has now greatly improved. West Beach and the beach adjacent are now joined by a deep cutting. A deep trench, starting at the Main Supply depot, runs down to West Beach, in which is laid a tramway used for carrying supplies from the piers to the depot. This is under cover, entirely hidden from the enemy by day. The earth taken from this cutting or deep trench has been thrown up in great mounds at the back of the two beaches, rendering them safe from high explosive shells, though, of course, not from shrapnel. But “Whistling Rufus” has not worried us since the late days of October, devoting his attention to the unfortunately situated “C” Beach on the other side of Lala Baba. The road leading up on the higher ground to our D.H.Q. is now sunk and the dug out earth, thrown up on the side facing the enemy, hides all transport by day entirely from his view. Since this has been done this road has been almost entirely free from shrapnel.