Impression sketch
of NZ Medical Corps soldiers under Red Cross flag - by
Jamie.
See the original at: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/soliders-gallipoli-red-cross-flag
From
employment of Reuters,
A
Reporter made experiences
With
the ordinary soldier from
Gallipoli.
Comparison begins,
With
what is rainwater, shells
And
mud to the western front -
Sun
heat and flies are part
Of
the Gallipoli experience.
Time,
over prior two months
Had
a bleaching relentless sun.
That
hung unbroken in the sky
Devoid
of cloud or rains - only,
Exception
had been two tropical
Night
storms - such high drying,
Hard
weather was likely to carry
On for
another two months more.
For
the pale skinned Britisher,
Now
at this continent, will be
More sun he would have seen,
Than
in any of the previous two -
Years
spent at home in Britain.
The
languor of Asiatic breezes
Skimmed across the alien lands
In
shimmer of a lazy heat haze.
Men
urged willing relief for an
English
North Easterly breeze.
While
such heated conditions
Are
more normal for soldiers,
Of
Egypt and Australia. A trend
In
the heat for open neck shirts -
With
Envy of Gurkhas who then
Exposed
lower limbs in shorts.
Shorts still worn with puttees,
Allowed
air to circulate - less
Shocking
than English knees
Until
tanned by a heated sun.
Those
who could not get hold
Of 'sun knickers' improvised,
By cutting off trouser legs; such
Men
became classified as a nut.
For
some in a further enterprise
Were
men who made a hem -
The
fashion conscious for shorts
With
a turn up - disadvantages,
To
this look came in populations
Of
local flies, that had tendency
To
swarm and crawl any exposed
Anatomy;
always irritation of flies.
The
most annoying of presence;
Flies
of Gallipoli – perhaps more
So
than the Turks themselves.
An
absence of the lord was taken,
By
beeelzebub, who employed
Vermin
- all foods placed on table
For
more than a few moments,
Turned foul black with movement.
Flies, big and bloated sought
More
and when jam appeared
On
the menu - as it often did,
A man
was required speed,
To
get jam rapidly into mouth.
A
letter sent to supplies, noted
This Reuters
man, tells supply
A
need for dull coloured jams.
Khaki
Jams, such as apricotm
To
avoid attraction of airborne
Devil, sending men to madness.
For
those who try to catch rest,
In
midday dug outs to avoid
Fly
swarms - flies that swarmed
On
army waste and the unburied,
Between
opposing trenches.
Flies
that flick about faces and
Exposed
flesh; flies enflamed
Tempers -
increasing suffering
Of
the wounded- even a breeze,
Blowing
off the straits hardly
Touched
flies -to fly in wind's teeth.
Whenever
a gale caught a swarm
Out
to sea – the air would darken,
Like
some pending plague - black
Swoops
back the devil's Diptera -
In
spite of flies armies in Gallipoli
Is
described as solidly healthy -
Added to the biscuits and bully
Beef, a variety was then added
With
fresh bread and arrival
Of
Frozen meat from Australia.
Foods
included potatoes, onions
As
other supplies are provided
For
- as with adequate cigarettes,
Whose
quantities not as many,
As
they would like - demands
were more paper and envelopes -
A
Greek run 'restaurant' provided
Additional
variety to their diets.
Greeks supplied butter and milk -
While
many prices were beyond
Means
of some Tommy’s, they
Could
buy canned vegetables,
Or
fruit - this Reuters agent knew
Of one
Tommy, in much umbrage,
Having
parted for a shilling, a can
Of
milk to find it was German.
Another
time a box of cigarettes
Appeared
on which was stamped
An
English esquire who was
German
- other cigarettes seen,
Were
made expressly for one hun,
'Sache-Feldartillerie
Regiment
Nr
68 '- described as a very poor
Standard
wishing that Rgt. many.
One
rarity was the appearance
Of
newspapers - leading to locally
Made
local daily paper 'Peninsula
Press' supplied to the battalions,
In
order to keep abreast of wider
War, each fighting government
Are
covered - even to learn what
Happens
close along Turkish front.
by Jamie Mann.
Anon.,1915. A
Soldier's Life at the Dardanelles - Plague of Flies - German Made Luxieries. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 15 July.
P.11. Col.1. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11732049/Daily-Telegraph-July-15-1915.html [Accessed: 15 July 2015].
Mann, J., 2015. 100
years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 15 July
2015).
#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #WW1centenary
#worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered #WW1Gallipoli
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