TROOPER C. R. HOLMES.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 290, 20 September 1915, Page 4

TROOPER C. R. HOLMES.

A TAIHAPE VOLUNTEER'.. SOME INTERESTING EXPERIENCE^. Trooper C. K. Holmes, an old Taihape resident’ and who enlisted at Tnihape. has returned from the front. He v.as interviewed by a Hastings press-

man and lx is experiences are as follows;—He reached Gallipoli on the 12th May, and was in the* firing-line for fid days, and although under fire during all that period escaped without a-. scrateh.

First Contact with the Turk. hen the moon teds landed in May the New Zealand infantry were at (.ape Hellos, and advancing agfiinst the

enemy, who were in • strong force. Against great odds the infantry put up a great performance, driving the Turks before them. On the I.lth the-' mounted relieved the Imperial men,, and sl'opt in the scrub that night. At this particular point (Walker’s Ridge)* the Turks evidently know the infantry were away, so they attacked all along the line in strong force, and kept upthe.attack for days. But the New Zealand troops held their own and their lines were never broken, although many a poor follow lost the number of his mess.

Confidence in the Australians. We were then supported by the Australian Light Horse, our force not being strong enough. We had great confidence in the Australians, and we took it ill turns to relieve one another in the fighting. Our infantry beingworn out, speDed at Gaba Tepe, and’ were reinforced by more of our own* men from Egypt. The men suffered" their losses and bore up cheerfuly alb through those days of the fighting, which was terrible. At night we would meet on the* beach, where the landing - of guns and ammunition went on uninterruptedly. The advantage of being on the beach was that it gave our men an opportunity of locating the Turkish batteries. As soon as the flash of a gun was seen men were told off to silence it, and it was always sudden death to the Turk if he did not shift, his quarters. The Work of the Aviators. The British airmen did great work in bomb the Turkish positions. Thesemen take their lives In their hands and incur great rsks. They had to fly lowenough to draw- the fire of the Turkish gunners and then shells would be sent flying after them. Ho Thought of Eetreat, e had great confidence in onr officers, who were brave and grand, who,, whether at night or day, only thought of the welfare of the men. During the whole of the fighting,- says Trooper Holmes, the word “retreat’ * was never heard, although they were in a tight' corner, and the men realised there wasno going back. They were grim and determined and knew - not the meaning of fear. Shipping “As Usual.” The How- Zealand monntods, the Australian Light Horse, and the Hew- Zealand Infantry were not attached. Tlu v Australians were good mates and good ■fighters. We were all well fed and clothed, with plenty to spare in fact, thanks to the Jack Tara in keeping the waterway open. It was simply marvellous to sec the amount of shipping—those monsters of’ the sea did not seem to fear in the least the German submarines, in facW they were treated with contempt. Enormous quantities of provisions were stacked on the beach, and the wonder was what.to do with it all. In the trenches there ivas no distinction between officers and men. They all dossed together in their dug-outs.

A Good Word for the Turk. The Turk was a clean and gamefighter and the Mauser rifle used by them was a fine weapon, which he kept scrupulously clean. The mechanism of the rifle was also very simple and eould bo loaded and fired rapidly, which was - ' very necessary, as most of the fighting was done at point-band range. TheTurks never relied on the bayonet,which was evident by the state of their weapons, which were mostly rusty and blunt.

How McDonald Lost His Arm. I saw one instance of lighting at close quarters, in which Corporal C. McDonald, of Waverley, had his arm shattered, and which had afterwards tobe amputated at the shoulder. We were pursuing some of the . enemy through scrub-covered country, when a Turk thrust his rifle though scub to have a shot at Corporal McDdh-.' 'W aid. The New Zealander was quite close to the Turk and just had time to grab the muzzle of the rifle when the Turk pulled the trigger, which shattered McDonald's arm. Had McDonald not grabbed the rifle he would have had. his head b&wn oft'.

It was a common occurrence to see a Turk poke his rifle out of the scrub, but the New Zealanders never lost their presence of mind and would rush forward whenever they saw a Turk's" hfrai a '■ .1 go him with the bayonet. This -fiort v, thing was happening-v-v drv. ■ ■ n .iih; re of the-

many that occurred in the daily life off the soldier.

Medical and Ambulance Men { Surgeon-Major McLean, of the Wellington Mounteds, was a splendid fel- ' low and was loved by the men. He was alway about, no matter how great the danger, looking after the welfare of the men.

Shrapnel was exploding all round, but this did not’deter the ambulance and stretcher-bearers from going about their work as calmly as if nothing was happening. The stetcher-bearers had a hard task and were ceaseless in their care of the wounded. Sniping the Turk. Our snipers were an easy match for the Turkish snipers, and we could bear them every time at their own game. At any spot where the Turkish rifle shots were troublesome someone would crawl away and locate them—and then, good-bye, Mr. Turk. Hand Grenades, Bombs, and Mortars. The throwing of bombs and hand grenades into and from the enemy trenches was a great business. For every bomb the Turk threw wc threw back a dozen. There was an abundance and variety of bombs,* hand grenades, and trench mortars, the latter of the Japanese kind, wdiieh did effective execution. Effective French Artillery. The French artillery was considered wonderful and wrought havoc with .. the Turks in the trenches. ( V At Achi Baba, w-hich was shelled by 'French guns, tremendous damage was dene. As soon as the artillery tiro ceased, the British rushed the position, led by a Scottish regiment, but when the kilties reached the trenches they found dead Turks piled up in heaps, so great had been the effect of the fire. The British had to hold the position, and to enable them to occupy the trenches, the dead had to be thrown out. It was a gruesome task. When the work was completed the kilties sat down and Jit their pipes. Miccellaneous Notes.

Trooper Holmes was not at Cape Hclles himself, but from what he had been told it was a hot shop. The chaplains were always with the troops, and some of them laid down their lives as dearly as a in' soldier. The Turk died very hard, a striking contrast to the Tommy, who, mortally wounded, would lie down and never even moan. Any man in his wildest dreams could not exaggerate the bravery of our men. We watched the Triumph go down. It was so sad to sec her sink so close to the shore after all her good work, but Jack Tar did not seem to mind a bit —it was all in the game. The Turks who were captured seemed pleased to be taken prisoner. They * were poorly clad and badly fed. Their ■ chief diet was pea dust and olives. They never saw- meat or bieuits. There was no alternative for the Turk but to sell his life dearly. They had to go forward and be shot down. If they did not they were shot by their own officers. They were good clean sports, but we could not give them any quarter. It was a question of keeping the magazines full and shooting rapidly. • The trip homo was a pleasant one, a clean ship, good fare, and excellent attention, and no one could wish for more. The only regret Trooper Holmes has was that he had to come back. He will have to undergo special treatment for his legs, the ligaments of which completely gave way.