Five Months at Anzac

Five Months at Anzac

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Title: Five Months at Anzac A Narrative of Personal Experiences of the
Officer Commanding the 4th Field Ambulance, Australian Imperial
Force
Author: Joseph Lievesley Beeston
Release Date: May 24, 2005 [EBook #15896]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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MONTHS AT ANZAC ***

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[Illustration: ANZAC COVE. _Photo by Lieut.-Col. Millard._]

FIVE MONTHS AT ANZAC
A NARRATIVE OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF THE OFFICER
COMMANDING THE 4th FIELD AMBULANCE, AUSTRALIAN

IMPERIAL FORCE

BY
JOSEPH LIEVESLEY BEESTON
C.M.G., V.D., L.R.C.S.I., Colonel A.A.M.C. Late O.C. 4th Field
Ambulance, late A.D.M.S. New Zealand and Australian Division
WITH PHOTOGRAPHS
SYDNEY ANGUS & ROBERTSON LTD. 89 CASTLEREAGH
STREET
1916
W.C. Penfold & Co. Ltd., Printers, 183 Pitt Street, Sydney.

DEDICATED TO
THE OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND MEN
OF THE 4th FIELD AMBULANCE, A.I.F., OF WHOSE LOYALTY
AND DEVOTION TO DUTY THE WRITER HEREBY EXPRESSES
HIS DEEP APPRECIATION.

CONTENTS
THE FOURTH FIELD AMBULANCE
THE VOYAGE
EGYPT
TO GALLIPOLI

THE ANZAC LANDING
AT WORK ON THE PENINSULA
INCIDENTS AND YARNS
AIR FIGHTING
THE OFFICERS' MESS
THE ARMISTICE
TORPEDOING OF THE TRIUMPH THE DESTROYERS
THE INDIAN REGIMENTS
THE SWIMMING
TURKISH PRISONERS
POST OFFICE
SANITARY ARRANGEMENTS
SIMPSON
CHURCH SERVICES
THE ENGINEERS
TURKS ATTACK
RED CROSS
PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCE
THE ATTEMPT ON SARI BAIR
AMBULANCE WORK

ARTILLERY
TURKS AS FIGHTERS

THE FOURTH FIELD AMBULANCE
Shortly after the outbreak of War--after the first contingent had been
mobilised, and while they were undergoing training--it became evident
that it would be necessary to raise another force to proceed on the heels
of the first. Three Infantry Brigades with their Ambulances had already
been formed; orders for a fourth were now issued, and naturally the
Ambulance would be designated Fourth Field Ambulance.
The Fourth Brigade was composed of the 13th Battalion (N.S.W.), 14th
(Victoria), 15th (Queensland) and 16th (Western
Australia)--commanded respectively by Lieutenant-Colonel Burnage,
Lieutenant-Colonel Courtnay, Lieutenant-Colonel Cannon and
Lieutenant-Colonel Pope. The Brigade was in charge of Colonel
Monash, V.D., with Lieutenant-Colonel McGlinn as his Brigade Major.
As it will be necessary from time to time to allude to the component
parts of the Ambulance, it may be as well to describe how an
ambulance is made up. It is composed of three sections, known as A, B,
and C, the total of all ranks being 254 on a war strength. It is
subdivided into Bearer, Tent and Transport Divisions. Each section has
its own officers, and is capable of acting independently. Where there is
an extended front, it is frequently desirable to detach sections and send
them to positions where the work is heaviest.
As the name implies, the Bearers convey the wounded to the dressing
station (or Field Hospital, as the case may be). Those in the Tent
Division dress the cases and perform nursing duties, while the
Transport Division undertakes their conveyance to Base Hospital.
It was decided to recruit the Fourth Field Ambulance from three States,
A Section from Victoria, B from South Australia, C from Western
Australia. Recruiting started in Broadmeadows, Victoria, on the 19th

October, 1914, and thirty men enrolled from New South Wales were
included in A Section. Towards the end of November B Section from
South Australia joined us, and participated in the training. On the 22nd
December we embarked on a transport forming one of a convoy of
eighteen ships. The nineteenth ship ---- joined after we left Albany.
Details from the Ambulance were supplied to different ships and the
officers distributed among the fleet. Our last port in Australia was
Albany, which was cleared on the last day of 1914--a beautiful night
and clear day, with the sea as smooth as the proverbial glass.

THE VOYAGE
The convoy was under the command of Captain Brewis--a most
capable and courteous officer, but a strict disciplinarian. To a landsman,
his control of the various ships and his forethought in obtaining
supplies seemed little short of marvellous. I had the good fortune to be
associated with Captain Brewis on the passage from Colombo to
Alexandria on board the ---- and his friendship is a pleasant memory.
The fleet was arranged in three lines, each ship being about three
lengths astern of the one ahead. The sight was most inspiriting, and
made one feel proud of the privilege of participation. The ---- towed the
submarine AE2, and kept clear of the convoy, sometimes ahead, then
astern, so that we