threatened to prove as hard a task as that which we
had just accomplished, and the C.O. remarked he would keep an eye on the
trench he had found lest it should attempt to disappear again, and a
party was sent off to find Major Downie.
And, after all, Major Downie found himself for us. His arrival was
almost dramatic. He, too, fell into the trench. He had heard the search
party calling for him and had come out to meet them. Missing them in the
dark he had chanced upon the trench from the front and tripped over the
parapet. With his assistance it did not take long to retrieve the
missing half-company.
Instalments of "B" Company began to arrive. Casting about to the front,
rear and flanks of our original discovery, traces of other less finished
trenches were found, and parties were set to work to complete and extend
them with the object of having some apology for cover ready for the
whole Battalion, before daylight could reveal our presence to the
enemy.
As the night wore on additional parties joined up from the beach.
The _Whitby Abbey_ had now arrived and was disembarking the left
half-Battalion. The first party of "C" Company reached the trenches
about 5 a.m. The enemy must have spotted us soon after daylight, for
they saluted us with a few rounds of shrapnel at irregular intervals.
These did little damage, but served to stimulate the flagging energies
of the digging parties, encouraging them to special effort to get the
trenches completed.
It was 8.30 a.m. before Major Jowitt appeared with the last party
landed. By this time sufficient trenches of sorts to accommodate the
Battalion had been completed.
While getting "D" Company into our most advanced trench, Capt. Findlay
was slightly wounded by shrapnel. He was sent back to Mudros on the
_Whitby Abbey_ which had brought him across a few hours before. His
first visit to Gallipoli had not been a prolonged one.
Throughout the day the enemy sprayed our trenches with occasional bursts
of shrapnel. By this time we had discovered that they were officially
described as "rest" trenches, and were some considerable distance behind
the firing-line. So we "rested" as best we could, each man effecting
such improvements to his own personal bit of cover as could be carried
out unostentatiously behind the shelter of the parapet.
That afternoon Colonel Morrison and Major Jowitt, with other senior
officers of the Brigade, were shown round some of the forward
communicati
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