Archive for April, 2016
Gallipoli Letters 2
Richard Bassett served with the 8th Battalion at Gallipoli. He was born in Colac, Victoria in 1887. He enlisted in 1914 and wrote many letters home from Gallipoli. These were posted in the Colac Reformer. These are some of the extracts.
“I have been having a good time up to the present. You will know all about what we have been doing by now. We have had some very warm work to do, and things are pretty brisk as I write. A few minutes ago a shell burst on the bank of our dug-out, about three feet away, and partially buri…
Gallipoli Letters
On 25th April 1916 the first Anzac Day was held. As Australian forces began to arrive in France, to begin their three years of horror on the Western Front, those at home came together to remember the events of 1915 at Gallipoli. Newspaper reports, long lists of casualties and especially letters from the young men who served enlightened those at home in Australia about the reality of the war. Their letters are just a compelling today as they were in 1915. So before the we begin to relived the slaughter on the Western Front, we should review Gallipoli through the eyes of…