The next day I was sent to the training depot at Portsmouth, where
I received my uniform and kit. I was two weeks training with the
rifle and bayonet and one week at target practice. On April 16, after
physical examination, I was declared fit for service on His Majesty's
ships. That afternoon I was drafted to the torpedo boat destroyer
_Lynx_, which reached the Dardanelles in safety at noon of April 19.
There I was assigned for service on the _Queen Elizabeth_, which I
boarded two days later when she came out from the firing line for
ammunition.
In the distance the _Queen Elizabeth_ appeared like a huge island,
with four trees in the centre, but on a closer view was seen to be an
immense floating fortress with huge guns, ready for action.
The complement of the _Queen Elizabeth_ is twelve hundred men,
including all ratings. I was assigned to No. 4 boiler room, which
to my surprise, was not a grimy place but scrupulously clean, and
everything in it polished as bright as a mirror. The ship uses oil fuel
exclusively. My duties were: To keep the oil sprayers and steel combs
clean, to take the density of the water every four hours, to regulate
the supply of water and the fan engine for supplying the air pressure
to the fires, and lastly to test the different safety valves. All
orders are given by means of two telegraphs, an engine room telegraph
and an oil supply telegraph.
The _Queen Elizabeth_ went into action from midnight April 21 to
midnight April 24. I was on duty without relief. During that time I had
four times a day biscuits and water, with a half pint of rum. At noon
I was allowed two hours' rest, but could not sleep on account of the
noise. Our ship was hit every few minutes.
During action the fire pumps are pounding tons of water over the deck
to prevent fire in case of a shell exploding on the wooden deck. It
was our duty to keep the pipes and connections clear, for the water
sucked up from the sea often contains foreign substances. One occasion
we were subjected to a heavy rapid-fire gun bombardment. The structure
shielding us was punctured like a piece of Swiss cheese and the deck
about us was splintered before the guns on our ship found the range and
destroyed the enemy's battery of guns that were turned upon us. It was
a miracle that the seven of us escaped.
Once I was sent to the store room for tools. I had to pass the six-inch
guns and neglected to get a piece of India rubber to place between my
teeth; the result was a dislocated jaw from the shock of the firing. I
hastened to the doctor and pointed to my jaw. He put his left hand on
my head, and with his right gave me a couple of "Jim Jeffries" punches,
and, while I saw stars, reset my jaw.
On April 26 the _Queen Elizabeth_ was ordered out from the firing line
to bring up troops to the Gallipoli Peninsula. The Royal Scots were
taken aboard from a transport in the Aegean Sea. We returned at once
and landed the Royal Scots safely under heavy fire.
We withdrew at once about ten miles from the enemy's range, and,
borrowing a telescope, I watched the Royal Scots, 1,100 strong, make
their heroic charge, which began at 2 P. M.
They advanced on the double and took the three rows of Turkish trenches
at the point of the bayonet without firing a shot. Then, without
waiting for reinforcements, they advanced two and a half miles into
the enemy's country. Their lines were gradually getting thinner, and
realizing that they were in a tight place, they began to retreat. That
is all that I saw. Corporal Joseph Nicolson was the only survivor of
that ill-fated regiment.
On May 8 the news of the sinking of the _Lusitania_ reached us by
wireless, and the bombardment by the _Queen Elizabeth_ became doubly
terrific. I think more damage was done to the enemy that day than
ordinarily in a week.
The next day there was a call for 1,000 men, 200 from each of the five
largest ships, to support the soldiers on land on May 9. I was one
of the number from the _Queen Elizabeth_, told off to go as landing
parties at 6 A. M. Every man received a rifle, bayonet, two hundred
rounds of ammunition, and two days' supply of food.