A LETTER FROM GALLIPOLI

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2538, 12 August 1915, Page 2

A LETTER FROM GALLIPOLI

In a letter which Nurso Barker, of the Wellington Hospital, has received from her urotlier, rnvato barker, of me Dunedin Signaling (Jorps, the writer says, June wliat great rejoicing t-nero was w'nen a iNew Ziealanu mail amved lat Gaua Tepe, Shrapnel Gully). "Wo were all so anxious," lie goes on to say, "to get tho mail to hear what i\'ew Zic-alaaia reported ol : the doings of tho Forces, aiid how they, were received, but t'lie mail has not'taken us far enough. The casualties must take weeks perforce to come out, as there was vast work here getting names and the conditions of cases. It was terrific work, and all so much upside down, and parents wore all to bo notified first before tho public. All gaps aie full again now, and the same spirit, of determination is on top, but most of my many mates are gone—no one can find where or how they are. as they are all over Egypt, Malta, and England. A Main Body friend is a curio indeed. I have met one or two. "Very , few of the, hospitals are in the firing line, tho main ones being kept well away. The clearing hospitals or field ones only hold patients for as short a time as possible. Some of the men who have seen things through so far aro a bit shaken and tired, but full of spirit yet, and many first woundeds are well in it again. The wounded now get prompt .and ' good treatment aboard the hospital ships, which lie off' shore, but many of the first suffered terribly lor days and days, 1 believe. It is agreed at this stage, I believe, that nurses are in the way, and not needed because of the necessary housing, etc., as you will understand. Many of our boys would give anything to be under our own nurses even though,' of course, they get excellently treated by the others. As for casualties, all we know is we once had friends who are not here now. Inquiry only leads one more astray, as everybody tells one a different tale. Wo will have to rely on New Zealand lists to get at the truth of things.

"You will see wo are a little above Gaba Tepe, and at Sari Bair we hold about two miles of beach and at most a mile in, but our firing lines extend about four milos, I suppose, in a semicircle. Wo have about as largo a front as the French and the Tommies, who ar croughly six miles up tho peninsula, and aro advancing now. We are playare roughly six miles up tho peninsula, gards strategy, and no easy job is beforo anyone, as defences on all sides each day get more and moro impregnablo and dug in. Maidos, you see, has. yet to fall. You may discountenance all brilliant rumours, as things will _ be slow but sure. Wo are proof against many things here, and just now I got my preventative against gas. Tho factors that are going to decide this' war are not going to be largo victories, but steady pressure brought ■ slowly to bear 011 the vital parts. As ono Main Body; hero (a Canterbury boy)_ said: "I am full up of this. There is none of the glorious old rushes and' clasping of bayonets, to your bosom; that is all of the past and a fairy tale. This gets on one's nerves." That is as fair a description as I liave seeii. with much else that followed, but it is all a matter of the survival of tho fittest. Each can endure indefinitely in the present impregnable positions provided - all things go right in, tho,.rear. .The one who can keep the most- material in reserve,' whose manufactory and supply are good, will eventually win." The monthly meeting of the Levin •Memorial Home was held on August 10 ■ The Matron reported that tho ohildren were all well. The committee desires to thank the following for gifts : Mrs. Hurcombe, Mrs. West, Mrs. Evans, and Messrs. Hurcombe and Sons for a.weekly supply of fish. It was decided to hold the ariiiual gift tea in October. ' I)r. and Mrs.;Crosby, of Te Awamutu, returned from'a, visit to Sydney by the Makura early this week. Mr. and Mts. D. Cameron, of Moevaki (Hinakura), return to-day from a brief visit to Wellington. . As anticipated, tlio fur sale at Messrs. A. L. Wilson and Co.'s rooms yesterday was largely attended,' the predominating bids being principally for fur sets and fur coats. In' spite of the demand for the various lots yesterday, the balance of unsold articles, and the low prices which they can be purchased, have warranted a private salo at the auctioneers' rooms all day to-day, and doubtless the sale will be availed of by many ladies. (Continued on next page.)