THE STORY OF THE "SOUTHLAND"
The transport of the Second Australian Division from Egypt to
Gallipoli was not to pass without at least one striking incident,
which proved that the Australian army, if without traditions of its
own, is able at a moment's notice to live up to the finest traditions
of the soldiers of the British race. There is probably no Australian
who has not been made familiar with the history of the _Birkenhead_,
and it fell to the lot of one battalion of the Second Division to
show that "To stand and be still in the _Birkenhead_ Drill" is not
too tough a thing for the untried troops of the south.
This battalion was the 21st, a Victorian Battalion mainly composed
of farmers' sons from the Wimmera district; and it left Egypt on the
last Monday in August on board the transport _Southland_ in charge of
Colonel Linton. The transport had also on board General Legge, the
officer in command of the Second Division, and his staff--the brains
of the Second Division, as one of the men told me. And, when she
left Egypt, it was freely prophesied that she would be the object
of attack by the submarines that were at that time very busy in the
Ægean Sea.
No precaution was omitted on the voyage. The men were daily paraded
by their Colonel (Colonel Hutchinson) and instructed in boat and
lifebelt drill. All went well till Thursday morning, just after the
early exercises. It was a beautiful morning, and the deck was crowded
with men, smoking and chatting, and some of them cleaning their
equipment in readiness for the imminent landing.
Suddenly a cry was heard, "God, is that a torpedo?"
No one who saw the deadly thing ripping through the water had any
doubt of it. A moment later there was a dull clanging roar, and
a hole nearly thirty feet in diameter was blown in the side, two
holds being destroyed. In a second the siren was blowing the signal
to abandon ship, and the Australians, conforming to the drill
regulations, lined up on deck as if on parade.
The ship's officers kept magnificently cool. The captain, by a
magnificent piece of navigation, contrived to avoid a second torpedo
which if it had struck the _Southland_ would undoubtedly have sunk
the vessel in a couple of minutes. The engineer closed the bulkheads
and a number of open portholes, and to him also must be ascribed the
credit of having prevented the vessel from sinking.
Obeying the order conveyed by the siren, the crew of the _Southland_
made for the boats, and most of them were afloat before any
Australian moved. They stood at attention along the deck and waited
for a lead from their officers.
It came from the General himself. In full uniform, with spurs and
cane, he stood at the side of the ship and lighted a cigarette.
General Legge was joined there by his Chief of Staff, Colonel Gwynn
of Duntroon College, and the two chatted unconcernedly as they
surveyed the scene.
The order was given to the men to remove their boots, and they began
to do so. One of them noticed the General standing there, booted and
spurred, and ventured the question, "What about General Legge?" "Oh,
the General is going to walk it," he was told.
There was a heavy rolling sea, and the ship was now in a bad way,
listing as though she were about to sink at every roll. Some of those
bush boys could not swim, and to all of them boats and lifebelts were
unfamiliar articles. But they stood in line and saw the sailor men
go, waiting for orders.
Then they were set to launching boats and life rafts, and it cannot
be said they made a very good job of it. The first boat was launched
by one rope only, and turned all its occupants out as it struck the
water. It was one of four boats overturned for some reason. In one of
these was Colonel Linton, the Brigadier, who unfortunately died of
heart shock in the water.
While this was happening destroyers were steaming to the spot at a
rate of thirty knots, and did not arrive one moment too soon. The
water was dotted with the floating rafts and coops and with the heads
of swimming men. Remarkable gallantry was displayed by many, and one
young officer who was a fine swimmer is mentioned as swimming about
and helping the struggling men to places on the rafts and collapsible
boats.
But before all had left the ship, the captain of the _Southland_ made
a call for volunteers to stay by the sinking ship, on the chance
that she might be driven under her own steam to the beach. He had
a response from three times as many men as he required, and the
Australians, officers and men together, stripped for the stokehold.
Their bravery met with its just reward. The _Southland_ held out long
enough to be driven ashore at Lemnos, and all who had remained aboard
got off her safely. In all there were some twenty men drowned, among
them the Brigadier, and several were killed and about fifteen wounded
by the explosion of the torpedo.
[Illustration: General Legge, who succeeded General Bridges.]
The steadiness and grit displayed by the men on the deck of the
shattered transport was matched by their behaviour in the water and
on the crowded boats. Although some of the collapsible boats were
loaded almost to sinking point, and although the heavy sea had made
many of the men extremely seasick, they waited for the expected help
to come with the utmost sang-froid.
An officer on another transport, which came up three hours later
and took many of the men on board, tells of their coolness and
unconcern:--
"We slowed down as we came up, but missed some of the boats, as no
rope was thrown out to them. They drifted past us, calling out 'Don't
you want us?' and another wag added, 'We've just been fishing.' In
another boat they were singing 'Here We Are Again.' All were more or
less merry, including the injured, for some had their hands torn with
sliding down the ropes; others had got under the capsized boats, and
had a struggle to get out, especially if they had the lifebelts on;
others got cuts on the head."
"You couldn't get bustled," one of the 21st told me, "when the
General and all the officers were taking it so coolly. And the
skipper of the _Southland_ too; talk about the spirit of a British
sailor, he showed us what it was that day. And I think from what I
heard him say he likes Australians. I was one of those who escaped
a ducking, being lucky enough to be chosen for stokehold duty. So I
never even got my feet wet."
The story of one of the men who had a swim of over a mile is eloquent
of the spirit of the fellows, and of the dangers in which they found
themselves:--
"Some of the sights I saw I'll never forget. A boat full was being
let down and one of the ropes either broke or slipped, and one end
dropped, and there it was hanging end on. Naturally its occupants all
fell out all ways, and then the other end broke, and the whole boat
dropped on them. There were yells, etc., but I didn't wait to see any
more, and espied a boat some distance away and made for it.
"Eventually I reached it, about a mile or so from the ship, and
got hauled in, although I don't remember that; I was feeling a bit
goosed. However, after five minutes' spell, I got on to an oar and
started to row. Not that we wanted to row anywhere, but just to keep
head on to the waves and keep the water down. It was a collapsible
boat, and lived up to its name admirably and collapsed frequently.
After about an hour or so smoke appeared on the horizon, and it
turned out to be a hospital ship, coming up fast. Then another
appeared, and then another, and then a destroyer came in sight,
and soon quite a collection had arrived, but all made for the ship
herself, which was still hanging on to life.
"Then our boat went to the pack and started to sink. Oh! it was a
lovely sensation--I don't think. Eventually after four and a half
hours up to our knees in water, baling and rowing like fiends, we
reached the hospital ship, and--talk about a relief to feel something
solid again! As soon as we came up the ladder each man was handed a
packet of cigarettes, and we were then bundled below, and had beef
tea and dry clothes given us.
"I forgot to say that soon after we were hit our little 4.7 let fly.
I don't know if she hit the submarine; at all events she scared it,
or we'd have stopped another for a cert. And God only knows what
would have happened if we hadn't had wireless to let every one know.
However, it's all over now, and I'm safe and sound, bar a bang on the
head and the ankle, but have only a pair of pants and singlet and my
knife; no hat, or boots and socks."
Throughout their trying experiences not a man among the Australians
showed a sign of panic or concern. Naturally their General was very
proud of them, as they of him. General Legge, as soon as all were
collected together, issued an order congratulating them upon their
pluck and fine discipline at a critical time.
Later General Birdwood, the officer commanding at Anzac, issued an
order commending them in the eyes of the whole forces in the Anzac
zone. It was worded in the following terms:--
"On behalf of all the comrades now serving on the peninsula, I wish
to convey to the Australian unit concerned our general feeling of
admiration for the gallant behaviour of all ranks on the transport
_Southland_. All the troops of the army corps have heard with pride
of the courage and discipline shown at the moment when the nerves of
the bravest are liable to be so highly tried. Not only was there not
the slightest confusion on the part of the troops, who quietly fell
in and prepared to meet whatever fate might be in store, but later,
when there was prospect of the _Southland_ being able to make way
under her own steam and stokers were called for, the men at once came
forward and successfully helped in getting the _Southland_ into port."
The episode of the _Southland_ confirmed the impression created by
the gallant behaviour of the 18th Battalion at Hill 60, when they
were thrown into the thick of the fight within a few hours of their
landing on Gallipoli, and behaved like veterans. It was established
that the Second Division was composed of the same splendid fighting
material as the First. They had a thankless task before them, as the
reader will learn from the last two chapters of this book. But they
carried it through in the fine spirit displayed by the men of the
_Southland_ and of Hill 60.
THE V.C.'s OF ANZAC