On the way to The Gully I had walked with a sergeant of the Worcester's as guide. He tells me the French did not do well to-day, having as usual advanced and retired, thus leaving our Naval Division, on our extreme right, exposed. The Turks opened fire on them and the K.O.S.B.'s and mowed them down with their machine-guns. At H.Q. they are reported to have used very strong language about this. My guide also tells me of the bravery displayed by the Sikhs and Gurkhas, also by the Territorials who are drafted through the Regulars, many of them mere boys, but they are said to have shown great pluck.

June 5th.—I believe according to programme we should have started a big gun bombardment at 11 a.m. to-day, but we have only had occasional shots—so far at any rate, and it is now 5.45, too late to do much before night comes on.

I mentioned yesterday that we had 150 field guns and howitzers, but I find the numbers were 180 French and 150 British guns. An aeroplane crossed us at 7 p.m. flying at a great height. No bombs were dropped.

"Asiatic Annie," as a famous gun across the Dardanelles is called, has thrown a number of ugly shells this way to-day, but all were short of W. Beach.

The "Majestic" is sinking gradually, her ram, which must have been 15 feet out of the water, is now nearly submerged.

June 6th.—Sunday—6.40 a.m.—The day by preference for a big fight. Last night—about 8—the Turks appear to have made a feint attack on the French, this going on for hours, the rifle fire very heavy. Then in the small hours of this morning they had concentrated on our left—the other end of the line—where they were in great force. My informants are three wounded from the Essex Regiment who have walked in to hospital. They say the Turks were ten to our one, and they came on with great dash, fighting being very fierce at a distance of only 20 yards. Then they got mixed up with the Essex and Royals, who must have been badly cut up and were the last to retire. The Turks used a large quantity of hand grenades. These are very deadly, and have been making ghastly wounds as we know. We too use these freely, all the empty 1 lb. tins of the camp having been collected for some time back, and charged with gun-cotton. For missiles they have chopped up Turkish barbed wire into inch lengths.

The howitzer fire was terrific between 4 and 5 when I woke up and came to the top of the ridge to see what was doing. Plainly something unusually desperate was on the move. "Asiatic Annie" was also busy and several shells came this way, one falling in the C.C.S. where no harm was done. Luckily it had chosen a clear spot in front of the store tent to pitch into. I had gone down to examine this when the wounded men I have referred to arrived. They say that all the trenches we took two days ago, after so much hard fighting, are lost. Now at 7.15 firing has become much more desultory, and judging from where our shells are bursting the distance we have been driven back is not serious—and so to breakfast.

10 a.m.—Firing is too hot for us to collect in groups, therefore, there is to be no church parade this morning. The walking wounded still come straggling in, singly or in groups, all greatly depressed at having such bad news to relate. Another constant stream flows from the C.C.S. to the little cemetery at the top of the Beach, each unit of this stream consisting of two bearers carrying a dead comrade on a stretcher. The cemetery may be small but it already contains many graves, and inside its barbed wire fence there is still room for many of our gallant men, who fondly fancy that the shell or bullet that could lay them low is not yet cast. This very comforting feeling I hope we all possess—more or less. One of the graves has a cross of great taste and is over a "Driver Page," a New Zealand Artillery man, and after the inscription is the word "Ake—Ake".

No one knows the extent of our casualties, but they must be heavy. The Indian contingent alone is said to have lost 1000 yesterday. The Royals, Essex, and K.O.S.B.'s are said to have suffered most in the morning's attack.

Later.—I heard in the evening that yesterday's casualties amounted to at least 1800, but some think that an under-estimate.

We hear to-night that General Wolley-Dod has been appointed to command our 86th Brigade. He is said to be a very able soldier.

In the afternoon there was an occasional interchange of shots, but on the whole it was quiet till 8 p.m., the hour darkness sets in, when the usual fusillade began. The Turks are nearly always responsible for this, and our men rarely reply.

June 7th.—I notice in yesterday's Routine Orders issued by General de Lisle, commanding the 29th Division, that the old Etonians are to have a dinner at Lancashire Landing, and those attending are requested to bring knife, fork, plate, and cup—their mugs in short. This request seems quite natural out here. Then follows a notice that some unit has lost a bay horse and two mules, finder to return them to such and such a place. This again is a curiosity, horses and mules are always straying. The correct way to do if you lose a horse is to seize the first stray one you come across, and swear you brought him out from England.

Last night about 10.30 the Turks disturbed our peace by firing fifty or sixty shells about our Beach, some being very near our camp, near enough to bespatter our tents and dugouts with lumps of earth. One of the men of the 88th Field Ambulance, just in front of us, got wounded. They began again with heavier shells—Jack Johnsons—about 5 a.m. to-day, seven falling near us, and as we lay underground we could feel the earth shake with every detonation. Last night was the first time they ever gave us such a visit. They are chary of using their big guns after dark in case they should give away their positions.

2.15 p.m.—I spent sometime on a ridge overlooking the sea and watched the Turks shelling the ships close by. Their firing from Kum Kale was wild, but there was one ship they were determined to have, shell after shell falling near and throwing up splashes mast high. At last she was hit and a loud report was followed by dense smoke from her fore part. Flames quickly followed, and several minesweepers and destroyers soon came to her aid, and unloaded part of her cargo. She was finally anchored close inshore to await events. By 2 o'clock the flames seemed to be pretty well under control.

While watching this a young officer came up and spoke to me. He had arrived with us on the "River Clyde" and since then has had very trying experiences. He said his birthday was to-morrow, and I should say it might be his twenty-first. He is in the Anson Battalion, and had come through the Antwerp retreat. His battalion left England 1000 strong with thirty-three officers. They are now 198 men, while he is the only officer remaining. He thinks we must beat a retreat from Gallipoli one of these days, to take it would mean too great a withdrawal of troops from France, but, as he says, a retreat means a greater loss of honour than Britain can bear. He told me about the Collingwood Battalion which left England on May 9, and went into the fight fresh and at full strength. They lost twenty-three officers and nearly six hundred men. In spite of all opinions and rumours we must bring this campaign to a victorious end, be the cost what it may.

June 8th.—A day of wind, one big cloud of dust, and swarms of flies. These last have become a terrible curse lately, and as time goes on they will get no less.

About a week ago Col. Yarr proposed that I should join him at Head-quarters, and this morning I was ordered to present myself at Corps H.Q. at 3 p.m. I had given the necessary undertaking to divulge no secrets, and as the hour approached I rigged myself out in my best boots and tunic, and had chosen a smart orderly to look after me—Melrose, from Kincardine O'Neil. Then the A.D.M.S. appeared, to say that their staff was broken up, most of them having gone to Gully Beach, and as there were only twelve all told remaining there was no excuse for my joining just yet. They have interesting personalities at H.Q. and I feel disappointed. Sir Ian Hamilton, for example, dined there last night.

June 9th.—We had a visit from Pirie, M.O. to the Lancs. He is terribly depressed over the fight of the 6th when they lost 450 men. They were held up by barbed wire in a charge and were shot down. I have heard of three battalions that were left with only one officer after that fight.

We are now erecting at the "two-gun fort" two naval guns of 4.7 calibre to reply to our Asiatic friends. It is supposed there are three guns on the other side of the Dardanelles of 6-inch calibre. These were carefully watched last night, and it was observed that the flashes always came from different points, as if they were placed on rails and were run sideways. This has long been suspected. These "Asiatic Annies" have accounted for 120 Frenchmen within the last few days.

Stephen and Thomson are out at the dressing station to-night. I have been watching Jack Johnsons bursting in their neighbourhood.

We received four motor ambulances to-day to reinforce our mule-drawn wagons.

June 10th.—The dust storm continues, and some one has been comforting enough to say that these storms often last for twenty-one days. They are about as bad as the flies.

June 11th.—Wind stronger than ever but the dust has been largely blown into the sea. Towards evening it fell somewhat. The sea has been too rough to get patients away from the C.C.S. to the hospital ships, and we have had to relieve it by taking fifty walking cases into our tents. All are very cheery, and I fancy most are looking forward to a short holiday after their recent experiences. Some have not yet been in a fight, some of the naval men who landed two days ago were only on their way to the trenches when they were wounded by shrapnel, which was showered on them plentifully from several points.

Stephen and Thomson had such a hot time at the dressing station that they were forced to return to the Beach. There were eighty-eight shells in their vicinity within an hour. About 2 p.m. when I went out the Krithia road with several squads of bearers in answer to an urgent but vain message, we were held up half a mile on this side of the dressing station by a perfect tornado of shrapnel just in front of us. I heard afterwards that the road in that part was entirely ploughed up.

June 12th.—A quiet day but full of rumours. Late last night we had five Jack Johnsons with their terrific crashes, and in the distance rifle fire went on all night. About 5 a.m. to-day a number of shells landed among the shipping off our Beach. Due north about the same time, at the distance of a good many miles, what sounded like repeated broadsides from warships. Probably the Australians are having a big fight. Then at 7 a.m. ten or twelve rifle shots on the aerodrome behind us took me up in a hurry, this being unusual. I half thought they might be shooting a spy, but found some one had been blazing away at some huge bird, either a vulture or an eagle. I watched its large dark form as it flew towards X. Beach. Shrapnel and Jack Johnsons were flying about in other parts during the day, but none near us.

Now for rumours—(1) the 29th Division is to be withdrawn for certain, having done its bit out here. This is an old rumour which we still doubt. I for one would be sorry were we withdrawn before seeing this part of the campaign through. (2) The Russians are landing an army north of Constantinople. (3) The Italians have landed at Rhodes, and are to make a descent on Smyrna—the last two cheer us up.

Kellas and Agassiz had a quieter time at the dressing station than yesterday's two. The latter returned about 8 and said "Arthur" was too busy playing with a spider and he left him behind.

June 13th.—Had a walk with the C.O. to the top of The Gully to find a site for a new dressing station. We breakfasted at 7 as we wished to cross the exposed piece of ground between this and Gully Beach. For sometime back this has been a favourite mark for the Turkish guns, and we thought the morning the most likely time to be allowed to pass unnoticed. We were in the foot of The Gully before 8 o'clock. The whole valley between this and Achi Baba was so quiet in the brilliant sunshine that we remarked that it might have been a Sunday at home. Near the top of The Gully we found Taylor of the 87th Field Ambulance at breakfast and had a cup of tea with him. He came along with us to find a suitable place, and one was fixed on, but I do not like it. In my opinion it will be terribly exposed to a dropping fire, the surroundings are not high enough to give much protection. The ground is also much soiled—I preferred a small side gully but the C.O. thought it unfeasible.

We called on Major Ward of the 88th F.A. who was also in the neighbourhood. After much labour he has got an ideal spot, very safe, and plainly made by a man of artistic tastes. He is as happy as a lark up there with his camera, and is studying the birds and their nests.

Col. O'Hagan and Major Bell were next called on at Gully Beach, and we reached our camp about 1 o'clock.

We hear that Gen. de Lisle estimates that the European war will be ended by September—absolutely without fail.

June 14th.—I marched a number of our men up The Gully to work at our new dressing station. I had a look at the place chosen but liked it worse than ever, and proceeded to tear down the sides of the little gully I preferred. By night we had converted it into a most romantic and safe retreat for the wounded and ourselves. The dry bed of a stream, for about 100 yards, we levelled down into a beautiful path, with several twists and high towering walls, and in the extreme end we levelled the floor of a water-worn amphitheatre making room for about twenty stretcher cases. A little water drips over the centre of the 40 feet high overhanging wall, which in wet weather would be a raging torrent. (This was afterwards known, and figured in our maps, as Aberdeen Gully. It was most suitable for our work, very safe, and much admired by every one.)

June 15th.—Been working all day in our Gully, and am now prepared for the night, and am sitting in my new dugout, which is merely an excavation on a slope with a projecting cliff overhead. At the present moment a long string of Gurkhas are filing up a twisting and high path on the north side of our little gully, on their way to the trenches for the night. We have watched all sorts on this path, but mostly Sikhs and Gurkhas on their way to the firing line, and Indian water carriers with their great skin bags which look as if they would hold about six gallons. Much water has gone up in tanks, slung on mules.

One of our big guns is immediately above us on the top of the cliff, and is making a terrific din, with long rolling echoes. All our guns have been very busy to-day and the Turks still more so, and I am afraid from their long range, which I observed in the morning, these have got new guns with very high explosive shells. It is now 7.45 and they may soon stop, as it is dark by 8, but for the last few nights they have fired at all hours.

June 16th.—Still at our new place, and all of us busy with pick and spade all day. Had a good night's sleep in spite of a continuous rifle fire very near us. We had a visit in the afternoon from the C.O., Agassiz, and Dickie. With the two last I walked over to Y. Beach, and at the Artillery Observation Post there, under the guidance of the officer in charge, we had a capital view of all our trenches on the left flank, including one that has been a bone of contention for some time, and was the cause of an attack by the Turks last night. This trench was formerly Turkish, but half of it is now in our possession and between us is a pile of sandbags. Over this barrier each takes it into his head to throw a few bombs at his enemy. We are trying to rectify our position by cutting a new sap. The whole of the Turkish trenches from Achi Baba to the sea are visible from Y. Beach O.P. For a long way in front of where we were the distance between the two of us is not many yards, and in one part the trenches look as if they were mixed up in an extraordinary way.

I spent the evening making a table for our new quarters, and retired to bed about 9 in the midst of big gun, machine and rifle fire, all very near.

June 17th.—Aberdeen Gully. We opened our new station to-day and relieved the 87th F.A. We had but a few patients. Agassiz visited us in the afternoon with Fiddes and Dickie. The first and I walked over to the O.P. at Y. Beach. On the way back along the sunk mule track we had to pass a string of mule water carriers. Each Indian leads three mules in Indian file. One brute took it into his head to rub the sharp edge of his tank into my ribs, and with his feet well to the side he stood up and jammed me as hard as he could against the wall of the trench. Agassiz, as transport officer, had to dilate on the amount of intelligence he has noticed in the Indian mules, while I could only use strong language over the wickedness of this particular brute.

We had a number of visitors to-day from neighbouring units—M.O.'s and others. Padres Creighton and Komlosy and Major Lindsay dined with us.

June 18th.—The centenary of Waterloo. I hear the French are to make an attack to-day. I hope they will be more successful than they were this day one hundred years ago. This morning we have been annoyed by the Turks' shrapnel, the whole of the gully being peppered, and also by defective shells from our own battery above our heads. Several since we came up here have burst almost as soon as they left the gun.

After breakfast I walked to Y. Beach, and for the first time scrambled down to the foot. "The Dardanelles Driveller," whose one and only copy was most amusing, said about this spot, "Why call it a Beach, it is only a bloody cliff"? It was here the K.O.S.B.'s and S.W.B.'s landed on April 25 and met with no opposition at the landing, and had proceeded nearly two miles inland, when they were attacked by the Turks in overwhelming force, and lost a large number in their retreat to the Beach and then to their boats. This was afterwards retaken by the Gurkhas, who pushed through from W. Beach, and the high cliff on the north side is now known as Gurkha Bluff. The Indian Brigade have their H.Q. here, and this morning there were about 2000 Gurkhas and Sikhs about. I was toiling up the "bloody cliff" when some Gurkhas passed me, thinking nothing of the steep ascent; while I straightened my knees slowly at each step, I noticed they brought their legs straight with a jerk.

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.

Corps H.Q. is on the east side of the aerodrome, while our camp at W. Beach is on the other. When I entered the mess for lunch the only person there was an officer in a half faint, seated in a corner glaring at a shell on the floor. This had come through the roof that very minute and was luckily a "dud". The roof is made of heavy beams, thick iron plates from the "River Clyde," sandbags and earth, but this shell entered at the edge of the iron which did not project far enough over the wall. The place had just been excavated and completed and was used to-day for the first time. General Hunter-Weston and his staff were present at lunch, also Compton Mackenzie, author and war correspondent.

The French have been very busy all day. The Turks are only a little less active from their having fewer guns—fifty-two on Achi Baba said to be, and they must have six very big guns on the Asiatic side, and these have been throwing huge shells into our lines, across Morto Bay, all morning. Occasionally there is a burst of rifle fire which would show that the French are making an attempt to regain two trenches I hear they lost yesterday or the day before. It is said that to-day's attack is to be entirely French. We are giving no help at present, but for an hour in the early morning we bombarded, likely with the view to distract the Turks' attention from the French front.

10.15 p.m.—The French are said to have been very successful in their attack at 4.30, when they captured two Turkish trenches. The story about their losing two trenches is said, at H.Q., to be incorrect. About 8 o'clock a counter-attack was made, the result of which is not yet known.

June 22nd.—The fight between the French and the Turks raged without the slightest intermission for seventeen hours, in which time the former must have fired at least 60,000 shells. I hear the French had taken either two or three trenches in the early morning, and during the day had repulsed several counter-attacks. Just before dark I observed the continuous bursting of French shells on the S.E. corner of Achi Baba, as if the Turks were forced back out of Kereves Dere, which has so long been a natural protection to them.

I have been asked to-day for a report of the case of —— No. —, who is to be court-martialled for spreading alarmist reports of the fight the other day. The double charge of leaving the firing line without permission and spreading alarmist reports is a serious one.

The last time Agassiz and I were at the Y. Beach O.P. we had peeps at the Turks' trenches from four different points, and at each a bullet flew past us, showing that their snipers keep their eyes open. Major W—— and I were fired at the other day when out in the open, and we had to take to our heels to find cover.

To-day the 5th Battalion Royal Scots have received the highest praise from General Hunter-Weston for their brilliant work. They have three times retaken trenches from the Turks that had been lost by our Regulars. This is the only Territorial Battalion in the whole of our Division, and was looked on by the others as our one weak point. Their Lt-Col. (Wilson) received the D.S.O. from His Majesty by cable the day after he was recommended.

Later.—The French captured five lines of trenches, a large concrete redoubt, and possibly a battery, but there is some doubt about this last. All are greatly satisfied at the result, although the cost to the French was very heavy. A great number of Turks are said to have been slaughtered and a large number taken prisoners, but so far I have heard no exact figures.

Still Later.—The French casualties are placed at 3000 and they are said to have taken that number of prisoners, but as a man said to me, "Where are they then, they must have buried them?" General Hunter-Weston, I was told, "is as proud as a dog with two tails over the French success".

A Taube visited us early and one of our biplanes gave chase and is said to have winged it, as it was seen to descend behind Achi Baba, while our airmen dropped bombs on it. I watched the chase as the two circled about. While the chase was in progress a second Taube appeared, and the coast being clear it flew round us and dropped a couple of bombs.

Yesterday I passed in The Gully what remained of the Dublin Fusiliers—less than a company. They were parading in their gas respirators, their M.O. lecturing them, and saying that if a rifle is a soldier's best friend, his respirator should come next. We are all provided with these.

A strange occurrence happened the other day at W. Beach, when I was up The Gully. A figure appeared over the sky line in petticoats, as it was thought. Our men began yelling "A wuman, a wuman," and all tore out to see what they had not seen for months. Lieut. Thomson and Corporal Morrice were the most excited. These two have not yet got over their disappointment on discovering this was an Egyptian—and a male one—in a long coat.

June 24th.—Whyte left us to-day on sick leave. There is a proposal that the rest of us should get short leave—four days to Lemnos.

I have just had a visit from a couple of Senegalese—French troops. They were going through our camp, grinning as only a nigger can, our men making fun of them. One carried off a tin of jam in great glee. They stopped at my dugout and I could not get rid of them till I gave each a chunk of Turkish delight, which pleased them immensely. I had to get rid of two sailors the same way yesterday, giving each a Turkish nose cap. Every Turkish curio is valued in the Navy, extensive barter being carried on between them and men ashore, whisky and all sorts of goods being received by us.

10 p.m.—I have been watching a big green frog which came jumping through our tents at a great speed, as if bound on business. He went straight to the cook's tent and crept under the flap. Plainly he had been there before. Flies are everywhere by the million, but he knew where they were particularly plentiful. Half an hour ago I saw a brilliant speck of light on a piece of heath, which I thought was too bright to be the reflection of the moon from some bright object. I found it came from an insect nearly one inch long, jointed like a lobster, the glow coming from the last two joints on the under side. Even when held close to the flame of a candle the apple-green glow was still very bright.

June 25th.—Walked to Aberdeen Gully, but nothing worth noting to-day.

June 26th.—Like yesterday an uneventful day—unless a visit from a Taube is worth noting, and a thunderstorm over in Imbros. The sky has been more or less cloudy, which is certainly unusual, while yesterday in The Gully the heat was perhaps more trying than I ever felt it.

All preparations are ready for a very big day on Monday (28th) when the Turks on our left are all to be blown sky high; such a bombardment as Flanders has never seen the like of. So says General de Lisle who has been in France from the beginning of the war until the other day, when he became our Divisional-General.

June 27th.—I went to Aberdeen Gully to-day with Kellas, Agassiz, and Morris. We wondered if we could extend our accommodation for wounded in anticipation of to-morrow's fight. We did nothing in that direction, but Kellas getting a message to attend a meeting at Brigade H.Q. as we went up The Gully, he brought up word that General de Lisle wished us to open another dressing station, as far as I could make out, in the slight dip immediately in front of our first firing line to which we are expected to creep out, and dig ourselves in, and wait for to-morrow's advance. I know the ground, and saw his sketch of the site, and pronounced it impossible. We next went to Y. Beach and along a small gully beside Gurkha Bluff, till we were stopped by our front trenches, and could find no possible way of opening another station. We next visited the A.D.M.S., Major Bell, who had not heard of this suggestion.

The bombardment by the naval and field guns commences at 9 to-morrow, and as Thomson and I, who are at present in reserve at W. Beach, are both anxious to take part in what is likely to be one of our biggest fights, we have permission to be out in Aberdeen Gully before it starts. I have just been ordering breakfast for 6.45 to-morrow, the cook remarking sarcastically to a bystander, "Widna five be a better oor": "I dinna think ye shud gang to bed, min," was the reply.

We had seven aeroplanes up at one time this evening, viewing the land and the movements of the Turks, preparing for to-morrow's row.

June 28th.—After an early breakfast Thomson and I set off for Aberdeen Gully, and as our three mule ambulance wagons were going up for the day we had a ride in a four-in-hand to Gully Beach. All the way out we watched the Turks' shells falling right along The Gully, all the batteries, which are numerous there, getting their attentions, while we sat and wondered what we were to do. At the foot of the steep descent into Gully Beach Major Bell shouted to me from a high terrace in which he lives, and advised us not to risk taking the wagons and mules further, especially as mules were getting scarce and are very valuable, so, after consulting with Col. O'Hagan, he suggested parking them where they were. Col. O'Hagan, thinking this gave him the power to do with our wagons as he liked, dared our men to do anything without consulting him, otherwise he would put them under arrest—a threat not much to the liking of Serg. Philip.

We now decided to give The Gully as wide a berth as possible and took the track by the foot of the rocks to Y. Beach, about 2-1/4 miles further on. The attack was to commence at 9 a.m. and we had three-quarters of an hour to do this, climb the long, steep ascent at Y. Beach, and cross by the sunk mule track to Aberdeen Gully. The guns had been unusually active for the last two days, and to-day from daybreak the heavy howitzers had been throwing shells among the Turks to knock in their trenches, and these and many others were dropping their shells a short way to our left as we crossed the mule track. The heat by this time was intense, and I was absolutely soaked by the time I reached the top of the cliff, scrambling through the Gurkha and Sikh dugouts by the nearest cut possible, not much to their relish I thought. Many of the Gurkhas were handling their knives, and one or two sharpening them on stones. These knives of theirs are not so sacred as some say they are, although I was once warned sharply not to touch one I was to pick up beside its owner. I have often seen them chopping wood and meat with these, hence the necessity for their requiring sharpening this morning. Poor Gurkhas! later in the day some of our men mistook them for Turks and mowed down seventy of them with their machine-guns. In every battle we have had some such mistake, and the Dublins in the afternoon had the same experience as the Gurkhas.

We were not many minutes in Aberdeen Gully when the Turks shrapnelled the mule track very thoroughly, as they did in our last battle, and wounded came in thick from here. Of course the Turks, by means of spies, who are said to be numerous, knew the exact minute of the attack, and were fully prepared to give us a hot time. The mule track is merely an old trench widened and deepened, and when there is fighting many troops pass along this, and the Turks guessed they could get a rich harvest here.

From 9 to 11 every gun on the peninsula fired as fast as it could be loaded—between 300 and 400 guns. We were in the thick of it, between the two artillery lines, and the shells of both passed directly over our heads. Orders to the artillery were that ammunition was not to be spared.

At 11 the infantry assault on the first Turkish trench was to be made, and the guns were then to lift and be trained on the third. All along the first line seemed to fall easily, and many of our men rushed to the second, some even taking a third, while a Scotch battalion even took five. This sort of thing usually proves disastrous, as most of our own big guns are out of sight of their objective, and fire entirely by range, and in this case the guns were trained on the third trench while this battalion rushed through to the fifth, with calamitous results. This battalion—either Royal Scots, Scotch Fusiliers, or K.O.S.B.'s I forget which—had lost all its officers, but, with no one to lead them, they dashed on, greatly to the admiration of all onlookers. Two Munster officers had finally to go forward and recall them. Pushing forward at this rate, even apart from the chance of running into your own artillery fire, generally ends disastrously; if too much progress is made we can rarely retain our position.

The Turks were entirely demoralised by the heavy bombardment and cleared out of their trenches, some of our men, as they came to us wounded, complaining that they ran so fast that they could not get near them. Many got down on their knees and surrendered, still shouting their war cry, "Allah, Allah".

Large bodies of prisoners, all motley crews, passed us during the day, and we had a good many wounded Turks to attend to. I dressed one I was much interested in—a short, swarthy chap of middle age, who was brought in by some Fusiliers. This man had jumped on the parapet of his trench, where he coolly stood upright and shot five Fusiliers dead before they managed to bowl him over, but a shattered left arm left him helpless. He walked in with about sixty other prisoners, with a bullet through his upper jaw and tongue, which had come out at the back of his neck; another shattered completely his left arm, the splintered humerus being at a very sharp angle, and a third through his thigh. He had lost much blood from the divided brachial artery, and was very thirsty, and soon drained the fill of a feeding cup of water, in spite of the state of his mouth. He soon wanted more "su" (Turkish for "water") and was given a bowlful, but he would have nothing to do with the bowl, he stuck his finger to its side to show that he wanted the one with the spout. Evidently he was surprised I did not cut his throat, and all the time I was dressing him he patted me with his sound hand.

All the guns were trained on a small patch to begin with, a troublesome part known as the "boomerang," a redoubt with sixteen machine-guns. This was blown to smithereens.

The whole fight was on our extreme left, with a front of not much over half a mile. This must have been very thoroughly ploughed up, and a large number of Turks blown to pieces. One woman was found among the dead, but it is believed that many of them had their wives with them. Many of their underground dwellings were so elaborate that they had evidently made up their minds that they were to spend the coming winter here.

Our casualties, although light compared with the Turks, must be heavy. Over 300 passed through our station before dark, but at that time perhaps the bigger half was still to come. Those lying between trenches have usually to lie where they fall till dark. Our losses would likely be 3000 to 4000.

The Asiatic guns, finding they could take little active part in the proceedings, although they fired occasionally on the French, amused themselves by firing at W. Beach and the battery on Tekke Burnu, and with forty-two shots managed to kill two men and wound eight. One of our men, Corporal Dunn, got badly hit while in Aberdeen Gully by a two-pound shell cap. It was due to the premature bursting of one of our own shells. (Corporal Dunn died a day or two afterwards.) So far the wounds received by our Ambulance have been slight.

Padre Creighton had a peculiar experience at 1 a.m. to-day, while asleep in his "crow's nest". He has taken up his quarters with us in Aberdeen Gully, and has a dugout about 15 feet above the path that winds the length of our Gully. This is almost sheer up and is reached by steps cut in the rock and sandbags. It was formed by levelling a natural recess, and had a galvanised iron roof. Sheer up from this again the rock rises another 70 or 80 feet to the mule track above. A packhorse with two heavy tanks lost its footing on its way up and fell crashing down on Creighton's place, carrying away the roof and a number of sandbags, and dropping one of the boxes in the middle of his bed. The padre escaped untouched. Kellas, sleeping further down the path, rushed out and found himself face to face with the runaway steed, which, still more strange to say, was also unhurt. The padre in the bright moonlight was standing in his pyjamas on the top of his steps, scratching his head, and wondering what it all meant.

The heat all through the day had been most trying, and as I trudged down The Gully by myself, Thomson remaining behind, in the sweltering heat, the whole way packed tight with ammunition and other wagons, through a dust that filled The Gully to the very brim, I felt dead tired after a hard day's work and the long tramp of yesterday, when we looked in vain for a site for a new advanced dressing station. The road seemed without end. As I neared "home" and came over the slight rise at our cemetery the moon rose through a slight haze over the classic Mount Ida, as a great blood-red ball, while on my other side, out in the Gulf of Saros, a dense cloud hung over Imbros, which every few seconds was lit up by a flash of lightning. I had little food all day, and was too tired to eat, but after a big drink of lime juice I retired to bed and slept the sleep of the just—of the tired at any rate.

And so ended a day in which we had had a good specimen of a modern battle, where both sides had shown equal and indomitable pluck.

June 29th.—Spent the day resting and washing clothes. When I can I have a washing day twice a week.

Many wounded passed through Aberdeen Gully after I left last night, the total up to some hour this morning being 566, which meant a lot of hard work.

After I left, Ashmead-Bartlett was passing, and recognising Padre Creighton he went over our Gully, and greatly admired the place for its suitability and picturesqueness, and is to give a description of it in one of his early articles to the home papers—so he says. He told our fellows the following story of a friend of his, who had been through the landing of April 25. He wrote home saying that shells flew thick about his ears, torpedoes chased him about, and mines floated all round; still he was not in the least afraid, he just thought of what his padre told them the previous Sunday, when he exhorted them when in danger to look upwards. He looked upwards, and behold! here was a bloody aeroplane dropping bombs.

Early in the afternoon we had a goodly number of shells. Yesterday, when I was up The Gully, a large piece of shell flew through our mess tent, where the servants were sitting, and landed in a jam pot on the table, splashing an orderly all over; he, mistaking jam for his own blood, did not know whether he was really alive or dead.

June 30th.—We had seven large shells during the night, all landing on our side of W. Beach. Two traction engines have been fitted up lately down on the shore, and one of these was smashed, and a tool-house beside it blown pretty well to pieces. There was also some fighting about our left and centre, but I have not heard the result. The Turks have now a plentiful supply of ammunition, and all yesterday afternoon and this morning have poured a constant stream of high explosives into the French side of Kereves Dere.

Soon after 8 p.m. lightning flashed thick about Imbros, which had an inky black cloud hanging overhead. The storm moved to the east, till it came over Achi Baba, and by this time the flashes were almost constant and the thunder loud. It was one of the grandest thunderstorms I ever saw, and what made it more impressive was the din and flashing of all our guns, the searchlight from Chanak, which always plays over the Dardanelles and us, and then we had a severe shelling from Asia all to ourselves. We just wanted a good rattling earthquake to complete this fearsome picture of hell where both man and the gods warred.

The Turks have started a new form of frightfulness. They shell us every now and then from Asia, and from there last night they dropped into W. Beach a huge shell that detonates with a terrible crash, and every twenty minutes or so they treated us to one of these, and made the whole night hideous, and sleep impossible.

This afternoon a French battleship stationed herself off the entrance to the Dardanelles, and fired about fifty rounds from her biggest guns at a point on a hill about a mile beyond Kum Kale. As the Turkish guns are believed to be in tunnels they were firing practically at right angles to these, and I could not possibly see how they could get a direct hit, and prophesied that as soon as the ship left they would show that there was life in the old dog yet, by giving a worse cannonade than usual, and this was just what happened. No fewer than five shells fell in the C.C.S. beside us, killing the cook, and wounding two orderlies, and a number of the already wounded. I saw several horses and mules fall to their bag also. Then as soon as it got dark they made up their minds that we were not to be allowed to sleep, and every fifteen to twenty minutes we had a terrific crash in the camp up to 5 a.m. This becomes very trying, and all wish that something could be done to silence these guns. Nothing will do but a landing on the Asiatic side.

July 1st.—I came out to Aberdeen Gully after breakfast. Here one feels comparatively safe, and we are enjoying the peace after our nocturnal shellings, and the thought of a good night's sleep braces one up wonderfully. Fiddes and I walked over to the Artillery Observation Post to see the extent of our advance, the other day, and I was surprised to find our front trenches so far forward. Some of these front trenches we still divide with the Turks, and during their attempts to recover some of these last night the darkness of the night and the thunderstorm terrified the Gurkhas so much that they nearly lost their most advanced line.

July 2nd.—Spent a quiet day out at the dressing station—as far as work went. I went over to Y. Beach by the mule track, but as shells were dropping about both these places I returned sooner than I intended. In the afternoon a message from the Turks, dropped from an aeroplane, gave the whole army half an hour to clear out of the peninsula, otherwise they would shell us into the sea. The shelling had to be resorted to, and commencing at 5 p.m. they worked so vigorously that plainly they meant what they said. The artillery duel then started was on this left side, and, our Gully being between the two fires, all the shells went right over our heads, and the shrieking was as bad as any I ever heard. At periods during the three hours this lasted they crossed at the rate of 200 per minute. We were close to three of our own batteries, and these had to be peppered over our heads, and most of the shells being shrapnel, timed to burst in the air, we had many an explosion immediately above us. We all cowered as well as we could up against the rocks, and although shrapnel bullets and half a shell base came among us no one was hit. In spite of all this bombardment, an artillery officer told me next day that all the casualties he knows of are one man and five horses wounded. All these were hit in a small side Gully like our own, a shell bursting in their midst.

Padre Creighton came back tired and hungry at 8.30 and found no supper nor fire to cook it with, the cook's life having been frightened out of him he forgot the necessity for bodily sustenance for the rest of us. I noticed the cook at one time flourishing a spade like a cricket bat, and on asking him what this was for he declared, "You can easy see the bloody thing comin'". He intended to let fly at the first shell that came his way. Creighton in his usual energetic way buckled to, and prepared an excellent supper of fried onions on toast, with a little bacon. This was much enjoyed, as was also the Bivouac cocoa with which it was washed down.

July 4th.—Aberdeen Gully. A glorious Sunday morning. A slight shower during the night has refreshed the air and nature's dusty face, and now, with a brilliant sun and a gentle breeze, one can feel as happy as one can out here, thousands of miles from home—but are we downhearted? No! There is also almost an absolute calm from those noisy death dealers, shots being only very occasional. A big howitzer is going off at times, but apart from that the unnatural silence seems ominous, like a calm before a storm.

Padre Creighton is to-day offering five pounds to a shilling that it will be Christmas before we take Achi Baba. My forecast is we will be there before this day week, while any combatants I have spoken to say it will take us to the end of July. At the present rate we will take months, but in my opinion it will be necessary to push on faster than we have been able to do so far, although I believe by wearing out the Turks slowly our casualties will be less. But a more rapid advance would be a greater help to our comrades fighting in other parts of the Continent.

Afternoon.—Had an excellent lunch cooked by Fiddes, who is a first-rate chef. An officer lunched with us who says he is the last of his battalion. He came in slightly wounded, but his nerves have so completely gone that he says he will never be able to shoot a rabbit again, and sheds tears at the thought of such cruelty. Many will follow in the same condition if we cannot get relief, and out of reach of the Turks' guns for an occasional rest.

July 5th.—We have had a terribly hot morning, we opening the artillery ball at 3.45, when the Turks made an attack on the most important front trench we now hold, and took from them this day last week. Now, at 9 o'clock, things are still very warm, but nothing to what they were during the first three hours, when the fire from both sides was about equal. After the first rush of the Turks the fight has been nothing but an artillery duel.

In Aberdeen Gully, we are wonderfully protected by our high rocks, and natural banks which have been improved by ourselves, and although many pieces of shell have fallen in it to-day no one was hit.

The Turks are said to have suffered enormously, being taken by surprise in a nullah along which they were marching in close formation. An officer with a machine-gun says he alone accounted for about eighty. We have had about twenty-four wounded Dublins so far, some mere boys. Those boys who are slightly hit are in great glee over their prowess, one as he walked proudly in exclaiming, "Py Jasus, we gave them a holy paestin' this mornin'".

Last night we had a call from the M.O. of the Scottish Rifles. He was telling us about the casualties in the Lowland Brigade on Monday last. They went in 2900 strong and only 1200 came out. Their Brigadier and three Colonels were killed. I have spoken to several officers of the Brigade, and they unanimously put this loss down to some tactical mistake. They charged much too soon, and moreover the men had to assault trenches that had never been shelled. This M.O. says he had been speaking to an officer who said he assisted to cut the rope by which one of the Turkish gunners was bound to his machine-gun. To prevent their running away we have heard that they are sometimes tied to their guns by chains.

6 p.m.—I am back again at W. Beach where I find they have had a perfect hell of a time. A big French transport was sunk off this by a torpedo on Saturday.

In the morning after the fight of the 29th I met in The Gully three wounded soldiers of the Lowland Brigade, two of them trying to put a sling on the third, who had a smashed hand. I assisted and asked about their casualties. One said, "We lost our Brigadier, Scott-Moncrieff, did ye ken him, a wee wiry beggar?"

After dinner to-day I walked to the Dublin trenches with Creighton, who was to bury some of the men killed last night. As we passed a workshop and engineers' dump on our way back, Creighton was again asked to bury a man. While he was doing so I sharpened my pocket knife on a grindstone standing by, and asked a soldier if that was all the killed they had last night. "Yes," he said, "and we had an officer buried to-day." "Oh," said I, "when was he killed?" "He wasn't killed at all." "Then why did you bury him?" "A shell blew in a trench on the top of him, but we dug him out, and he was none the worse."

Another mule—but it was a horse this time—toppled down from the path above us this afternoon. He started on his career with his full load, but he had nothing but his saddle when he dumped himself down on the path three yards from my sleeping bunk, after a drop of about 50 feet. I would much rather have a whole mule flying in among us than a chunk of shell. He picked himself up and looked scared, and went away puffing hard, but quite unharmed except for a bleeding nose.

July 6th.—W. Beach. What's wrong? Not a shot in our neighbourhood during the night, and I must have slept seven hours.

Later.—By afternoon we had a few shells, some dropping uncomfortably near—forty-five in all, so many from Achi Baba, and ten huge ones, with big explosions, from Asia. These last were aimed at our ammunition dumps, where some damage was done.

At supper our Q.M. Dickie told us the following little anecdote, which I jot down as it was connected with our Corps. One evening a recruit presented himself at Fonthill Barracks, Aberdeen, and informed the CO.—Captain Robertson—that he wanted to "Jine". "But we are full up," says R. "Oh, I thocht ye wintet men." "Oh well, as you are a likely looking chap, I think I'll take you; when would you like to be examined?" "I'll be examined noo, far's the doctor?" "I'm the doctor," said R. "God," says the chap, "ye dinna look muckle like a doctor." "But why do you wish to join?" "It's jist like this, I hid a dram, an' the maister said I was a damned feel, so I telt him if I wis a damned feel, he wis a damneder, an' he telt me to gang tae hell, sae I jist gaed, an' here I am." "When can you join?" "Weel, this is Saeterday nicht, it wid need tae be Tiesday or Wednesday. Ye see I drive the milk caert, a damned responsible poseeshen." Not much of a story but real Aberdeen.

July 7th.—Had seventy shells to-day on W. Beach, mostly big ones from the "Asiatic Annies"; bag, two killed and three wounded.

July 8th.—W. Beach. Yesterday we had a big mail—great rejoicing.

When we came out of the mess tent to-day at 1.15 we found a great swarm of what we all think must be locusts, but no one is sufficiently well up in zoology to be certain. All are flying inwards in the same direction, as if they had come out of the sea, but it is more likely they have come from Asia, across the Dardanelles. There is a slight breeze and they have difficulty in flying, and are resting everywhere, and bump up against tents and everything that comes in their way, and are not strong flyers. They have powerful grasshopper legs, red from the knee downwards, and an inner pair of wings, which are also red and give the whole animal a red colour when in flight. Now, after an hour, they are still more plentiful, and are flying past actually in myriads.

At 4.30 I got a message to relieve Col. Yarr at Corps H.Q. An aeroplane was drawn up there, and along with myself a second one arrived. Now I am in for a shelling, I said to myself, and I had just entered Col. Yarr's dugout when the first shell exploded a few yards off, and this was immediately followed by two others. Near the middle of the aerodrome a large gun emplacement—or whatever it is—is being dug, which, it is hoped, will draw some of the fire away from here.

The swarm of locusts (?) did not diminish for three hours, when it tailed off. Their bumping into one's face made walking almost impossible.

July 9th.—Head-quarters. We have had a quiet night. The shelling does not commence here till the aeroplanes arrive from Tenedos. Last night at dinner various subjects were discussed, such as the duration of the war. The views of all were very depressing, although no one had the slightest doubt as to the ultimate complete smashing up of Germany, and the longer the war lasted the more complete would the smashing be. One man was sure it would be ended by next spring, another, who had lived long in Macedonia, is positive it will take two years from now. General Hunter-Weston took no part in this discussion, but looked interested and amused while his juniors threshed the subject out. All agreed that it was most laughable to read the forecasts in the papers at home, and that it was only now that England was realising how enormous the task before her was, and that the war will continue till both sides are just about played out, but there can be no doubt of our ability to hold out longest.

The plans for the next big attack were also discussed. The General, who commands the whole army on the peninsula—including the French—arranges all details, under the Commander-in-chief, Sir Ian Hamilton. The dates of former attacks were known to us all several days before they took place, and these invariably reached the Turks. To avoid this more secrecy is now observed, and it amused me last night to hear the General emphasise his dates in a voice that denoted that he did not mean them to be taken literally. This was to bamboozle me, I thought, the only non-combatant present, but occasionally he stumbled. As it was always with regret that I came to know the dates of former attacks some days ahead I was glad to observe this attempt at secrecy. I remember we were once to commence at 7 o'clock, and the Turk let fly at us at 6.45, determined, sensible man, to get in the first blow.

When talking about crushing Germany, all regretted that our country was so soft, and would not crush sufficiently; however, they thought they could rely on Russia and France insisting on this being carried out very thoroughly.

After breakfast I walked down about 300 yards to Helles point, wondering what had come of all our shipping. The hospital ships are there, one small supply ship only, a few mine-sweepers, and close in under the rocks a British and a French submarine, lying beside the keel of the "Majestic". It appears a German submarine had been sighted last night, hence as many of the ships as possible had fled. A French ship is battering Kum Kale, and kicking up a tremendous dust. An officer from H.Q. was regretting the inability of the Navy to help us. At last, I hope, even the Navy has discovered this for themselves, for land operations they are of little use. Then we must rely on our field guns and howitzers, and these only. Another 5-inch howitzer battery arrived last night, I hear, and we have 9.2-inch guns somewhere, but I fail to gather whether these had been actually landed.

July 10th.—We had an unusually good dinner last night, a feast fit for the gods to one who has had nothing but camp rations for three months, where the staple diet is bully beef. We had various liqueurs before dinner, and excellent cocktails made by the General's A.D.C. But I never enjoyed anything so much as a bottle of Bass the night before. The A.D.C. is a jovial fellow, always happy, with plenty of foresight, and with a fatherly interest in everybody. General Hunter-Weston has been spending the night at Imbros with Sir Ian Hamilton, and the Staff had asked several of their friends to dine with them. I was able to find out from one of our visitors that there is absolutely no truth in a most persistent rumour we hear, that the whole of the 29th Division is going home to be re-equipped, after their almost complete annihilation. He says we are to get a rest, but we only go to Lemnos. Why send troops away in the meantime?

The Turks for some days back have been making a huge excavation on this side of the actual peak of Achi Baba. Its purpose is a great puzzle here. The first object one would think of is that it is a big gun emplacement, but, as they say at H.Q., they have made it on the wrong side of the hill. Still I cannot see why not, if they front it with a big enough mound. But there could be no advantage in making it on this side, where we could so easily "spot" our shots.

We, too, are making a big excavation on one side of the aerodrome, but when the first aeroplane enters it for the night I am mistaken if the Turks do not knock it out within an hour. It is intended for a monoplane that can fly 113 miles an hour, and its special purpose is to give chase to the first Taube that appears.

That Achi Baba excavation makes one suspicious that the German officers with the Turks are to be up to some form of frightfulness. It cannot be gas, but, if it is, we have been prepared for that for some weeks, and every man has his respirator. To-day I was asked by the A.D.C. about a paper dealing with gases, with which we are to retaliate should the Turk use these first, but it contains names I never heard before, and can give him no enlightenment on the subject.

6 p.m.—I have been on the General's observation hill with one of the staff, and his opinion about the excavation is probably correct. It must be a redoubt, in which the Turks will have a large number of field and machine-guns, which will mean some taking, but our artillery should make short work of it.

July 11th.—Was knocked up at 6.30 to see the General who is ill. This is awkward, as I have just gathered at breakfast that the next big fight ("stunt" is the word always used) comes off to-morrow. I also heard at breakfast that in our last stunt when the first lines of the Turks were slaughtered, new troops as they were brought up refused to cross the masses of their dead comrades, and that one of the reasons for General Hunter-Weston refusing the armistice asked for by the Turks two days ago was that he wished to retain their dead as a wall of defence.

Much business has to be transacted in preparation for to-morrow and the General is getting little rest.

6 p.m.—I walked over to the Ambulance to notify them about to-morrow's stunt. The road between the aerodrome and the Beach was being shelled, so I took the other side of the aerodrome, past the Ordnance Stores, and as I was nearing these the Asiatic gunners thought they might pepper this side, and I had some big crashes near me. A shell entered the road just behind the 89th F.A. without exploding, and one of our men pushed a 7-foot stick down the hole without reaching the bottom. The hole was the cleanest I ever saw, 7 inches in diameter, and every mark of the rifling of the driving band was beautifully moulded in the clay. Here at H.Q. they dug up one of these new and unexploded shells, and it had penetrated 14 feet into the ground.

A New Zealander was telling me yesterday that his people closely resembled those of the old country in every respect, while the Australians seem to completely alter. When the British and New Zealanders hear a shell approaching they duck, while an Australian straightens his back, gets his head and shoulders over the parapet, and swears.

General Hunter-Weston kept improving during the day, and by evening was much better.

July 12th.—An important battle took place to-day, and still rages, beginning at 4 a.m. but in real earnest by 5, when many new big guns were used for the first time. Our centre (Naval Division) and the right (French) are mainly involved, although the whole line took part in the preliminary bombardment. News came in that the first attack failed, but that by 7.30 the first line of the Turks was captured. On the top of the Observation Hill at H.Q. I met an interesting fellow, who said he was the only civil surgeon who had got permission to join us. He had a Government appointment in the Soudan, and having three months' leave he was allowed to spend it here without pay. He said he would have been ashamed to go home.

The General feels better to-day, and by lunch time looked as if things were going well at the Front. However, the French have a most difficult piece of work before them, namely, the capture of Kereves Dere, which has blocked their way since April 28. This gully runs in a S.E. direction from the foot of Achi Baba to the Dardanelles, is flat at the bottom, and about 400 yards wide, with steep perpendicular cliffs on both sides, nearly 200 feet high. At the bottom each side holds a trench facing the other, while there are others half-way up wherever there are slopes. In a spot or two the French are said to have pushed through before, and for a time held a piece of the other side, but the difficulty is to get the Turk entirely out and the position consolidated.

The enemy submarines would like to do some mischief to-day, could they find something worth a torpedo, but all our shipping has gone, except three hospital ships and the torpedo craft. Within the last fifteen minutes a destroyer has given a long blast on her whistle, followed by two short, the signal that a submarine has been sighted. Three destroyers are at the present moment grouped together evidently having a conference.

6.15 p.m.—The battle has raged the whole day, but less violently from 11 to 4, but at the latter hour, a warship, lying close in, with all our field guns, raised a great roar, and a solid mass of smoke and dust rose high in the air enveloping the whole of the Turkish lines from the west of Krithia to the Dardanelles. The Turks have replied all day, but feebly in comparison.

Most of the day I had been watching the battlefield from the Observation Hill, then at 5 went to tea in the mess where I was alone. General Hunter-Weston entered in a few minutes, and sitting opposite me said, "What an extraordinary thing war is". The progress of the day had greatly satisfied him I could see, and he was in great glee. "Yes," I said, "but I wish to goodness it was all over." "My dear sir," he replied, "we'll have years of it yet." I asked if he thought there was any possibility of its ending this year. "Absolutely none; I think there may be trouble in Germany over the food supply by the beginning of next harvest and, if so, there will be a chance of its ending in twelve months, but it is more likely to take two years." I was afterwards speaking to Major —— about this, and I have always agreed with his remark, "It is all damned nonsense to talk about starving Germany".

After tea I returned to the Hill where several of the Staff were collected. We watched a body of Turks, about 200 in number, leave their own lines and come towards ours with a large white flag. Within three seconds after their forming into a body five of our shells landed among them, and there was nothing to be seen when the smoke cleared off. But in a few minutes those remaining gathered into a body again, and immediately two more shells exploded in their midst. The few remaining could now be seen coming out of the smoke and tearing down a slope to a nullah a short way off, and they were not seen again. Major —— was here called away to interpret to three Turkish prisoners who had come in, but I have heard no particulars of their examination.... I hear from one of the orderlies that a prisoner complained that their own guns opened on them as soon as a body formed up to surrender. (This is what actually happened, Turkish shells, not ours, fell among them, a lesson to others what would happen if they surrendered.)

We seem to have made a great advance in front of our Naval Division. It is more difficult to say what the French have done, their line is more hidden from here, owing to the contour of the ground. It will be dark by 8, and now at 6.45 it is high time we were straightening up our line, otherwise the forward positions will be enfiladed by night.

I heard our Artillery Staff-General being asked at the Observation Hill if he was satisfied with the day's work, and he replied, "Quite, on the whole, quite, quite".

I was interested to find that none of our Generals left H.Q. to-day; everything is worked from there by telephone. Each was at his own post and spent little time on the Observation Hill—much less than I did myself.

July 13th.—Rumours after a battle are always plentiful, but at H.Q. one has an opportunity of sifting these, in fact I could always get the exact truth by asking members of the Staff, but I feel as a non-combatant that I have no right to openly poke my nose into purely military matters. Rumour said we had taken 700 prisoners yesterday; another rumour puts the number at 2000. I heard at dinner that eighty had come in. Mention was laughingly made of "the lost regiment". I could not imagine at the time that we had lost a regiment and thought it was a joke of the General's, but to-day I find that a whole battalion of K.O.S.B.'s are amissing. Those must be prisoners in the hands of the Turks. They had lost so heavily before that they could not have been at anything like full strength. The curious thing is the officers are said to have turned up, and can give no account of what happened. I expect this is not the exact truth. They are said to have pushed too far forward, which is the usual cause of our worst disasters.

Three violent counter-attacks were made last night. Fighting had never ceased the whole night, and I hear we had to retire all along the line. The extent of our falling back I do not know, but the news is most depressing.

Major —— told me yesterday that the best troops in the world would get so completely demoralised under a shelling like that we gave the Turks that every man would be absolutely limp, and could not even aim when firing. Then, the more shells we have the better, as we all know here and at home. Yesterday we used very little shrapnel, it was almost entirely high explosives. At home it was discovered that we had used too much of the former in France. The demoralising effect of shrapnel is slight, and it has little effect on troops under cover, but you might as well fight an earthquake as the other, if it is anywhere near you.

Yesterday's casualties up to evening were put at 3000 to 4000, but this number will have been added to over night.

10.55 p.m.—Fighting has gone on all day, and with great success on our side; we have regained our lost trenches and taken several new ones.

I had a very exciting and hot motor ride in search of the Liaison officer, at General Hunter-Weston's request, word having come in that he was badly wounded. I had many narrow escapes, especially from high explosives fired at a battery astride the road through which I had to dart, and afterwards from bullets when I left the car and went forward on foot. On stepping out of the car a man seeing I was on business stepped up to me and immediately dropped dead with a bullet through him. I searched our own and the French front lines amidst showers of bullets but could find no trace of the man I wanted. I had taken Col. Yarr's orderly with me, an old regular. After clearing the battery, where big shells from Asia were dropping on all sides of us, and at a terrific rate, he picked himself up from the floor of the car and swore roundly, and said Col. Yarr would never have taken him into such a hot place.

July 15th.—About 5.30 a.m. we had a Taube overhead, which dropped two bombs on W. Beach, the acres of boxes at the Ordnance Stores being aimed at. A man's arm was blown off and two or three mules killed. We have moved our ammunition from Tekke Burnu, where it was too exposed, and the Turks seem to think we have mixed it up with these stores as a deception, hence these bombs to-day. The machine was at an enormous height, and its approach was neither seen nor heard, and the French monoplane gave it a start of at least five minutes before pursuing. The Taube went in a westward direction, ours directly north, evidently with the view of cutting it off from its usual landing place. Our machine returned after forty minutes, but I have not heard if it was successful.

I went to Aberdeen Gully this morning having returned from H.Q. yesterday forenoon.

July 16th.—Woke this morning about 6 after a delightfully peaceful night. I lay in my bunk, surrounded by muslin to keep the flies out, and felt wonderfully contented with my lot. Such peace could not last long, soon the booming of guns was heard some way off, others nearer followed, and one over our heads joined in the chorus, and by 10 o'clock rather a fierce Turkish cannonade commenced.

6 p.m.—I took the temperature of the air to-day for the first time and found it 92.5—not the hottest day I have felt here, still uncomfortably warm. Walked over to Y. Beach in the forenoon, and up The Gully later, meeting the Hants and Worcesters marching down with their full kits—all off to Lemnos or somewhere out of the reach of shells. These are the very last of the 29th Division to leave except the three ambulances.

July 17th.—W. Beach. Returned from Aberdeen Gully to-day. Last night the Asiatic guns were troublesome about W. Beach, also a Taube which dropped bombs about the ammunition dump. By shell or bomb a fire was started that cost us 1,000,000 rounds of rifle ammunition.

I had an order in the forenoon to inoculate the H.Q. Staff against cholera. On going over at 6.15, the appointed hour, I found General Hunter-Weston had gone some hours before, along with Col. Yarr, to Lemnos for a much-needed rest. I inoculated two other Generals and forty-five others, finishing up with a dose for myself.

One of our men had a letter from a friend who is with the 2nd Highland F.A. in France. He spoke about them retiring out of shell fire for a rest, and after pitching camp a shell fell in the next field. They then struck camp and went back another 5 miles. "Good God," some one heard him declare, "an' here's his, we could na gang five inches."

July 18th.—Last night about 11 o'clock seventeen shells came over from Asia, and one hit a huge pile of cartridge boxes and set it ablaze. It burned furiously, with a very alarming sputter, bullets flying everywhere, although their velocity was not great. They were flying over our heads and we had to go underground. Several about the fire got rather badly wounded. When fully alight the noise was the most earsplitting I ever heard, not that it was so very loud, but there was something painful about it. This pile was composed of cartridges taken off our own dead and wounded, and those picked up about the trenches, where a sinful waste goes on, although I believe the big half was captured Turkish ammunition. Many millions were burned.

In the morning I was asked to spend the day at H.Q. to relieve Col. Yarr's successor. Major-General Stopford (afterwards in command at the Sulva landing) was acting as G.O.C. Everything seems very quiet at present, as if we were to be in no hurry to make another attack—a pity, I think.

At 9.30 p.m. I went over to the "River Clyde" to guide an ambulance that was coming out from England. They landed at midnight, and are to encamp with us—we fondly hope and believe for the purpose of relieving us. Asiatic shells were flying as they landed, and for some hours afterwards, an unfortunate and alarming experience as all were raw to warfare.

July 19th.—For some days we have been looking for orders to go somewhere for a rest. The order came suddenly to-day at 8 p.m. and we were ordered to be on board at 10 at V. Beach. A tall order indeed, all had to pack up and stow away what we were leaving behind. The most of B Section was at Aberdeen Gully, 4 miles away. Word was sent to these, but the note miscarried, and by the time they were able to come in it was long past midnight.

July 20th.—Last night C Section was sent off in advance, A following about 11 o'clock. We hoped to get off quickly, the object of the rest being to take us out of shell fire. We had to pass along the road at the top of the lighthouse cliff, and C Section, as they waited for us beside the "River Clyde," observed a signal about the time we had been passing that point. The Kum Kale guns gave us what they considered a fair time to cover the remaining piece of ground, and just as we were coming up to the "River Clyde," under whose shelter we were to embark, we heard the whistle of an approaching shell. We lay flat but there was no time for shelter. Instead of one shell, as we thought, four (some say six) burst simultaneously about us, all high explosives. Not a man was hit, which was an absolute miracle; all had burst beside us, and actually among us, as I thought. I rushed back through the dense smoke and dust, expecting to find terrible havoc in our ranks, and found the men had bolted to shelter, leaving their packs in the middle of the road. I shouted but got no reply, but in twos and threes they collected near the pier, and rushed along to the side of the boat. Other men had been passing along this pier when the shells burst, and a number were killed and mangled, one of the barges being simply splashed with blood. All this was most unfortunate, but it did not end until we got sixteen shells in all. The officers after the first salvo sheltered at the entrance of a deep dugout owned by a Frenchman. Whenever he saw the flash of a gun over the water he shouted "Kum Kale" and pointed to his dugout, when we dived down in beautiful style, tumbling over each other down the dark steps. At last our mine-sweeper came in and we boarded her about 1.30 a.m. to-day. She took us beyond the reach of the guns to the "Osmanieh," a fine boat of the Khedivial mail line. I had had practically no sleep for the last three nights, and I was soon on the top of my bed half undressed and fast asleep.

We breakfasted at 8 as we were entering the outer roads of Lemnos. Here we had two more transfers before we landed on the most inhospitable looking shore we had ever seen. We soon wished ourselves back in Gallipoli with its shells. The wind blew, and such a dust. All the land round the harbour, and far inland is one large camp. The harbour is covered with battleships and transports, most of the former flying the tricolour flag, and among the others are many of the largest liners in the world, the "Mauretania" with her four funnels being one of them. We trudged on for 1-1/2 miles through the most terrible dust, underfoot and in the air, and took possession of a rushy piece of ground, the only natural piece we could find, all the rest being under cultivation of vines, French beans, maize, and other crops. It is a god-forsaken place in the meantime. We could get nothing to eat or drink, but finally, after 4 o'clock, we managed to "borrow" sufficient water to make tea. After a meal of bread, and a small tin of salmon between us all, we felt a bit revived, and the desire to return to the shells of Gallipoli lessened. But we are ordered to strike camp, we are interfering with the privacy of some fellows who have the honour to belong to H.Q. of the 87th Division, and we must be off to-night.

July 21st.—I expected to have to go to bed hungry last night, but Pirie of the Lancs. called and asked Kellas and myself to dine with him, so that I finally went to rest under the stars feeling quite comfortable. I spread my two coats on the ground, thought twice about undressing, but, wishing to have a good sleep, got into my pyjamas, and with a single blanket over me slept till about 3 a.m. when I woke up feeling bitterly cold. We are now encamped in the midst of vineyards, where there is an excellent crop of grapes, but they are sour and unripe. I got hold of a Greek yesterday and asked him if he could bring a supply of fruit to us in the evening. He did a big trade among the men with oranges and lemons, and when he saw me produced a special sack with some really fine pears and oranges, and a huge red-fleshed water melon which we had for breakfast, in spite of the warning that we were to guard against all sorts of fruit, but melons in particular. This morning I gathered a supply of French beans and think a good dish of green food will benefit our health. Except at H.Q. I have never had an opportunity of anything of the kind.

The 29th Division, which left Gallipoli less than a week ago, are ordered back already, before they have time to benefit much by the change. An officer of the Dublins was lamenting about this to me, and compared his men with Kitchener's army, which is largely represented here, being on their way to the Front for the first time. All the old campaigners are thin, hollow-eyed and haggard. I know I myself have lost over a stone weight, and feel very tired—to do anything is an exertion.

Here the heat is intense, and we have not a particle of shade, there being no trees where we are, but this morning we are arranging about tents, and in a few hours we may be able to escape from the sun's perpendicular rays. I hope within the next day or two to explore part of the island and its villages. The natives are inclined to be very friendly, the Greek who brought me the fruit absolutely refused payment, saying, "It's for the commander, he take Constantinople and me give him this". I promised to take it in less than no time. If I could fulfil my promise the Greek would have the best of the bargain, but this has been characteristic of the race from all time.

Towards evening Thomson and I walked to Mudros by a back road, and were fascinated with the primitive ways of the natives. Their mode of threshing in particular interested us. We wandered through the village, meeting crowds of native men, women, and children, the men mostly squatting in front of dirty cafes, or lounging inside, sipping, as far as I could make out, syrup and soda water. This love of syrup I have seen in Holland and Belgium and in France, and I fancy is universal in hot countries. We visited the church, which I had been in three months before. An old verger—for such I took him to be—took us round, a venerable old fellow with kindly eyes, and long beard, long robe, and tall brimless hat. He pointed out everything, talking a mixture of French and Greek; showed us the Bible on the altar, a beautiful silver covered tome, the various pictures, etc., and the pulpit of the "Episcopos". "Oh, the bishop," said I. "No, no, Castro Episcopos." He meant the Bishop, who perhaps pays the place periodic visits, his palace being in Castro, the largest town on the island. A candle—a mere taper—had been lighted for each of us on entering, and was set in a circular candlestick. For this performance we were expected to pay of course. Before leaving I dropped a piastre (2-1/2d.) into a plate, and handed Thomson another, but he finding he had three British pennies dropped all in, greatly to the delight of our guide into whose pocket all this wealth went. "Merci, merci," says the old chap who dives for another candle, and lit a second for the good of Thomson's soul.

July 22nd.—Thomson and I set off after breakfast to Rosapool, a village to the N.E. On the way we studied the method of threshing the wheat, which seems to be occupying the full time of every member of the families at this time. The threshing floor on which the operation is conducted is twenty yards across, circular and laid with flat stones. About sufficient sheaves to form half a dozen of our "stooks" at home is evenly spread on the floor, while a pair of oxen draw a sledge made of two stout boards, about 5 feet long, turned up at the point, and studded most carefully with flints projecting fully half an inch. The driver, who is usually a woman, stands on this and directs the cattle round and round, prodding them freely with a goad. Some of the larger floors have a second team: several I saw to-day consisting of two donkeys and a pony. These were not muzzled like the oxen, they had no sledge, their hoofs doing the work, and they were kept going round at a good pace. The winnowing follows, after the whole is reduced almost to snuff. This is carried out by throwing shovelfuls in the air, the slight breeze we have to-day carrying the pounded straw away and leaving the heavy grain.

Rosapool is off the beaten track and is not much spoiled by the present influx of men. We managed to get a drink of excellent beer—Pilsner, from Athens—the old fellow who served us explaining that he had no right to let us have it, but as soon as a military policeman who was standing at his door, moved on we were placed on chairs at a small table and had our repast. We visited the church which was not unlike the bigger one at Mudros. With her head on the doorstep was a wizened old woman fast asleep, guarding three piles of salt she had laid out to dry in the sun. She got on her haunches, mumbled to us in a friendly way, and showed us how she worked her spinning machine, which she had with her. This consisted of a pole about 2 feet high, with a base which she clutched with her great, coarse, bare toes, and as she teased out the wool from the bunch at the top she twirled a short spindle with her right hand making a remarkably even thread.