1915:07 Times Are Tough

Times Are Tough

 

Water was in short supply. It too had to be carried up the cliffs of Gallipoli to the men in the trenches. Water was a luxury and dirt and sand was a way of life.

 

On occasion the troops welcomed the chance to come down from the hills to Anzac Cove and wash in the sea. It was a risky business as the Turks would often shell the beach with artillery or get their snipers 'into the action'.

 

"Whilst swimming in the sea, one of the party was fatally shot through the head by a Turkish sniper."

  3/84 Private Roland Chadwick, NZ Medical Corps

 

During daylight, the sun beat down on the men. As darkness fell the troops shivered from the cold in their trenches. Cooped up for days and nights on end, the men suffered from exhaustion and a lack of proper food. Tea and sugar was mixed with water in a billycan and rations consisted of bully beef, biscuits, bread, jam, fatty bacon and cheese which often melted into an oily mess in the hot conditions.

 

Many lost their lives to disease brought on by lack of good water, adequate food, and the unsanitary conditions they were forced to live in.

 

"I've seen men literally dying on the latrines. They crowded to the latrines, they couldn't get anyone to carry them to the latrines. They died on the latrines and were buried anywhere about."
12/553 Sergeant Joe G Gasparich, Auckland Battalion