Signallers reorganised but still have to do duty in trenches like the rest. 24 hours in trenches in firing line. All night the rattle of incessant musketry came up on the wind from Achi Baba. The Tommies must be attacking again. Had short sleep from 4 to 6 (or in the new naval time from 0400 to 0600) when Abdul’s reveille came along in the shape of a 10Mll shrapnel shell which fell in our trench but failed to explode. My mate on observation post is one of returned wounded – not fit for duty for weeks yet, wound only partially healed, but declared “cured” by some incompetent doctor in the base hospital. Wounded men who can use their hands have to hobble about and act as orderlies for their sick mates- 13 in a tent in hospital this chap was in. They must be short of staff.
When the rum came ashore from the wreck all the hard cases collected every dixie and tin they could lay hands on. But one officer was ahead of them, and he staved in the tops of the barrels.
Heard one case were stitching broke loose through want of attention, and patient bled to death. Another lost a foot through wound being left undressed for days, till mortification set in.
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