Gallipoli 100 - A Letter by Pte. William Hood, 6th Battalion, A.I.F.

This account is by Pte, James William Hood of the 6th Battalion, AIF and was published in the WEST WIMMERA MAIL on July 16th, 1915.

Private Hood did not actually take part in the Landing at Gallipoli on April 25th, but saw all the action on board ship with the unloading party. His account offers a unique perspective of the landings.

"Private Jim HOOD, son of Mrs. HOOD of Polkemmet, has written two interesting letters home. The first was written on May 2 on the troop ship Galeka, off Alexandria, and is as follows:--

"I suppose you were pleased to hear that Australia won her first victory in one of the severest battles of the war. I was unlucky enough to miss it, as I was left on board to help unload in the hold party, and after the hospital ships were filled with wounded they sent them onto our boat, and so we have been nurses and general sickmen's orderlies ever since. It was a rotten job, just about turned me up. I thought I could stand blood. They talk about the way the Germans play dirty tricks, but the Turks can loose them at it. They hold up the white flag and then shoot our men as soon as they approach them. German officers are everywhere in our uniforms, giving our men orders in English, and playing our bugle calls to entice our men out of the trenches. The Turks seem to use more explosive bullets then any other kind.

The wounds they give are awful. One chap had his hand blown off with the explosion. In the trenches they pop off above you just like crackers, and when you open them there is just an outer coat of nickle, filled with powder and a little soft lead to hold the powder in. The troops landed on my birthday. We had the ship right close to the shore, and the shrapnel was flying all over us. It was a terrible rough landing for the boys. First time under fire, and an awful lot were shot in the boats before they reached shore. One boat was sunk by a shell going through it, and the men were picked up in the water. The boys behaved beautifully. They charged as soon as they landed, in fact they jumped out up to their necks in water and charged the Turkish trenches 50 yards from the shore, and then chased the Turks a mile and a half inland.

Their snipers took heavy toll of our men. You couldn't see them 12 yds from you and they just murdered our chaps wholesale. One sniper they shot had 12 identification discs and about £200 in Australian money from those he had shot, and another had wristlet watches up to his elbow on one arm. I suppose you will have heard all this news long before you get this letter; but we have no time to think of anything else at present, as you may guess. It is a unique experience for all of us, and it is a scene that some of us will never forget. There are a lot of our fellows gone. Three of my mates at Mena are dead and two more wounded. Goodbye for the present. I will write first chance, but we land in firing line this week. Love to all home and Polkemmet, and to all the girls near home.

The second letter is thrilling :--

Some spot in Turkey, May 18 -- I must write a line to let you know I am still going strong, though the shrapnel are screaming musically about and above our heads, and rifles and machine guns are also doing their share of the orchestra. I don't know where my mail has been getting to, as I have only had two letters since we left Mena on the 14th of April. I met Bruce GREGSON (wounded) the other day, but he is back in the firing line again. If the Australians can do nothing else they can play this game well. At present they are laughing and joking at every shell that comes. It is funny the difference between death in civil life and death here. It seems such a common thing to expect to get your turn, and still it doesn't come, and even when you see a friend shot you have no time to do anything but just fire on for all your worth.

There is one thing about the Turks, you can't bayonet them, because they won't wait for you and you have no chance of catching them for they run like hares. They say this is more serious fighting than that in France, and they call it "Hell on Earth". It is worse here because it is full of bullets, Lyddite, hand grenades, shrapnel and various other articles. Tell the girls I have no time for more than one letter and not much time for that. I am writing this on my water bottle, well down in the ground in a dug out with just room for three in it. Jack CHARLTON, Will HOLDEN, and myself all writing. It may be the last time for months or it may be forever (Kathleen Mavourneen style). Someone just sang out that from the amount of fireworks there were here he reckoned it was the 5th November and not 18th May. The light horse are in the trenches with the infantry now. Goodbye mother. Say goodbye to all I know, as it is 10:1 chance if I ever see them again. You can't realise what it is like.

[ An official post card, dated May 20, said he was well, but have since heard that he was wounded on June 24 ]

Later Mrs. HOOD informed us yesterday that she received a wire the night before containing the bad news that her son had been severely wounded in the right leg. "

James William Hood enlisted on 14th September 1914, in the 6th Battalion AIF as 2nd Reinforcement, he was injured in 1915 and returned to Australia.
However, he reenlisted when recovered on the 16th March 1916 again with the 6th Battalion, 18th Reinforcement.

On 18th August 1918 he was awarded the Military Medal for his bravery during the Battle of Lihons.

The citation reads:

Military Medal

'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on the 10th day of August 1918 at LIHONS. During the attack this Stretcher Bearer did magnificent work and displayed great courage in going out under heavy Machine Gun and rifle fire across extremely flat and open country and rescuing wounded. On many separate occasions, after his comrade had become a casualty, he bandaged the wounded by himself and at great personal risk repeatedly carried them great distances on his back to a place of safety. His courage was superb.' (Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 109. Date: 15 September 1919).

He survived the war and returned to Australia on 22nd August 1919.