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Gallipoli Days and Nights
by
Trooper L. McCustra
Late of Peyton’s Division
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This is
the rare 1916 First Edition, but with a damaged and crudely
repaired spine
“At
length the unwieldy craft began to move. Then we
crawled out, tottered gingerly down a slippery
gangway on which two men were constantly flinging
sand and landed ankle-deep in shingle. We had
arrived at the Dardanelles! We formed up on the
beach, and then, being ordered to stand easy (but
not to talk or smoke) we sat down and reviewed the
situation.”
“If a spy could have
informed the Turkish batteries what a wealth of
explosive lay in Shrapnel Valley, without any
protection to speak of, there is no doubt we should
have had a bright time at the dump there. A shell
landing about our dug-outs there would have created
a noise to be heard at Imbros . . .”
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Front cover and spine
Further images of this book are
shown below
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Publisher and place of
publication |
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Dimensions in inches (to
the nearest quarter-inch) |
London: Hodder & Stoughton |
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4¾ inches wide x 7¼ inches tall
Please note the book's small dimensions. |
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Edition |
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Length |
1916 First Edition |
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150 pages [but note that the pagination starts
at page 9] |
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Condition of covers |
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Internal condition |
Original pictorial card covers. The front
cover is completely detached from the text block (please see the final image
below) and is only held in place by the previous owner's taped repair to the
spine. The front cover is scuffed and heavily rubbed particularly around the
edges and, especially, the corners, where the card underneath is exposed. It
is a similar story on the rear cover: attached only by the taped repair,
heavily scuffed and rubbed, with worn corners and quite grubby overall. The
original paper spine has almost completely disintegrated and has been
replaced by a previous owner with adhesive tape which has now discoloured
significantly, is cracking and splitting, and will soon, itself, need to be
replaced. The images below give a good indication of the current damaged
state of the covers. |
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There is a previous owner's name inscribed,
quite heavily, on the front free end-paper (dated "Feb 27th 17" -please see
the image below). The text is otherwise clean throughout though a few pages
have grubby marks. The edge of the text block is dust-stained and most of
the corners are bumped. |
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Dust-jacket present? |
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Other
comments |
No |
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The pity is that the internal condition of
this rare First Edition is not too bad, with the text being quite clean; however,
the loss of the spine and crude repair does detract significantly. Note also
that the card covers are only being held in place by the discoloured taped
repair to the spine. |
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Illustrations,
maps, etc |
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Contents |
NONE : No illustrations are called
for |
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There are Nine untitled chapters |
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Post & shipping
information |
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Payment options |
The packed weight is approximately
400 grams.
Full shipping/postage information is
provided in a panel
at the end of this listing.
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Payment options
:-
UK buyers: cheque (in
GBP), debit card, credit card (Visa, MasterCard but
not Amex), PayPal
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International buyers: credit card
(Visa, MasterCard but not Amex), PayPal
Full payment information is provided in a
panel at the end of this listing. |
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Gallipoli Days and Nights
Foreword
THESE sketches, written in hospital, are not to be regarded as either a
personal or a regimental narrative. Their purport is to give a simple and
honest representation of what the ordinary routine really was like in
Gallipoli. Possibly some readers will be surprised at some things, others
again may recognize many of their own experiences, feelings, and conclusions
in these pages. I trust they may seasonably entertain a few. I have
purposely avoided making much mention of casualties.
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Gallipoli Days and Nights
Excerpts:
IN connection with this great war the
proudest thing any British soldier can say of himself is simply "I
mobilized." The fiery cross of August 1914 amazed the pacifist and
the unprepared. But in the ranks of the Regular, Reserve, and
Territorial Forces of Great Britain it kindled an immeasurable
enthusiasm, in which the fierce joy in action mingled with the
realization that after all they had been right, and that the time
spent in preparation had not been wasted. It mattered nothing that
the rest of the country was aghast; there was a prophecy as well as
a salvation in the intensity of their delight. It matters nothing
that the tardy volunteer has seemed to receive more than his meed of
praise. Impartial and accurate Time is steadily collecting laurels
which Posterity shall cherish in memory of those who mobilized and
quietly set about their business at once. Only one event in the
course of the war produced an excitement so keen, so pregnant with
dim hopes and fears. That was the arrival of orders for the regiment
to proceed abroad.
Our first task on mobilizing was to secure mounts. This occupied the
first week, and thereafter the regiment commenced in England the six
months' training prescribed for it in the Territorial Force
regulations. In August 1914 volunteers were asked for foreign
service, and the response was not immediately gratifying. Even those
who did signify their willingness at that time had but little hope
of speedily seeing active service. They had not considered the
probable duration of the war, and volunteered simply on principle.
But as the war proceeded and the common eye at length conceived a
little of its immensity more volunteers were forthcoming, and the
hope of actual participation in the great struggle began to be
strongly felt by all ranks. Recruits were enlisted to hike the place
of those who would not volunteer, and their recruiters assured them
that after a short training in England they would see active service
abroad.
The active service regiment then commenced what proved to be a very
long course of hard training. There were few in the regiment who did
not believe that by the end of the first six months the regiment
would be sent abroad. A Brigade inspection by H.M. the King
intensified all hopes, but the weeks and the months succeeded each
other, and rumours of orders for abroad grew monotonous. The chagrin
of those who were really keen to go can be imagined when they heard
of so many chums joining infantry regiments after mobilization and
proceeding abroad after two or three months' training.
The actual thrill occasioned by the genuine orders for abroad was
however anticipated during our early training. We were billeted
comfortably in a charming little town in the Midlands when word to
move came in the early hours of a Monday morning. At reveille we had
orders to pack everything and to send all extra kit home. All day we
packed, sorted out saddlery, fitted up remounts, and got ready
generally, as many fondly imagined for "somewhere in France." At
night we entrained. But our destination was only the Lincolnshire
coast, and we spent the next few months trooping from one
Godforsaken spot to another. We dug miles of trenches along that
coast; we erected barbed-wire entanglements for the sea to play with
; we patrolled bleak stretches of coast day and night in all sorts
of weather; we watched patiently for for spies and Zeppelins, and we
were disappointed. Nothing happened; the Germans would not come.
The monotony of this home defence business began to damp the ardour
of those who had mobilized and volunteered in the hope of "seeing
life." We began to murmur, and wonder when those orders would . . .
WE were up and about early next
morning making our final preparations for landing at Suvla. We left
one kit bag at Lemnos and took the other with us, but we were warned
that all Immediately necessary kit had to go into our packs.
Emergency rations were served out, and picks and shovels. About 10
a.m. two long low tramps glided up to the Ariadne, one on each side.
Our last meal aboard the liner was a good one, and with the early
prospects of bully and biscuits we took full advantage of it. At one
o'clock we were all loaded up, and our feelings varied between those
of a pack pony and an elephant with a heavily freighted howdah.
The process of transference was necessarily slow, and some brand new
" fantassins" sat down on deck with all their gear on. Their
struggles to get up when their turn came to move would have
convulsed a cinema audience. Our packs were crammed to bursting, we
had blankets and a waterproof sheet outside, picks, shovels,
entrenching tools, rifles, and 200 rounds of ammunition, besides a
bundle of firewood and a haversack full of rations. If the triumphal
march into Constantinople had come off I am afraid a good many
Government articles would have been lost on the road.
The Gezrieh was a long low fast boat manned by Greeks. She bizzed
along very cheerfully on the last stage of the voyage, and the only
ugly thing we saw on the way was the swollen body of a dead mule.
Just before dark came on we discovered a small private canteen
amidships, and we were much chagrined to find that we had missed the
last bottle of Bass on the Aegean by about five minutes. However, we
consoled ourselves with Schweppes at is. per bottle, and wondered
when we would be so near civilization again. Rumour, that
unscrupulous jade, discoursed of the taverns of Stamboul.
The time passed slowly after dark as we lay below in an orgy of
equipment. At length we imagined we heard artillery fire, and began
to get saddled up. Then the Gezrieh stopped, and we knew we were
there. But the worst part of the voyage was still before us. We lay
in a pitch-dark night about two hundred yards from the beach. A huge
ugly lighter was barged alongside, and we were crammed into its
capacious maw like herrings in a barrel. With all that gear about us
that little voyage in the lighter beat the Burntisland-Granton
Sunday night pleasure trip all to sticks. Officers came bellowing
into this inferno to close up and close up yet. What with packs,
blankets, helmets, picks, shovels, and rifles, chaps had not room to
swear. It was a marvel that no one suffocated.
Yet as in Shakespeare so in life: the tension of the tragic
situation was relieved by timely wit. One trooper, hailing his mate,
jocosely inquired what layer of sardines he was in. At length the
unwieldy craft began to move. Then we crawled out, tottered gingerly
down a slippery gangway on which two men were constantly flinging
sand and landed ankle-deep in shingle. We had arrived at the
Dardanelles!
We formed up on the beach, and then, being ordered to stand easy
(but not to talk or smoke) we sat down and reviewed the situation.
The ugly lighter was still disgorging its human beasts of burden.
Behind lay the Gezrieh. Behind that again lay a brilliantly lighted
hospital ship. Behind us we could distinguish little.
Strange to say, the first person to welcome us to Gallipoli was a
Scot. But he had no sooner commenced to interview us than he was
rebuked by one of our subalterns, whose mind still glowed with the
glory of those wonderful night alarms in England when we disturbed
the whole countryside to no end. As a matter of fact the Scot was in
the right; but as he was also in the ranks we had to postpone
acquaintance. He was employed in the A.S.C. on the beach, and the
Turks being entrenched five miles away, and having but a small
knowledge of the " braid Scots," were not likely to derive much
benefit from our whispered remarks. It was a bitterly cold night,
and we were not sorry when the Colonel was inspired to get a move
on. We drew ourselves up and thanked God we were not officers' "backmen."
Then we set out, blundering and stumbling, up a sandy apology of a
road. We heard some rifle fire away up, and saw an occasional star
shell. But our chief thoughts were of the pack which we now carried
for the first time, and before we had gone a couple of miles, dreams
of Christian at the Cross of Grace were substituted for dreams of
the triumphal trek to the City of the Golden Horn. However we halted
at last, and then extending across the plain took possession of an
old line of trenches. We had about five hours' sleep that night.
In the morning we woke, blithe and brisk, for the ground was not so
hard as a concrete floor. We lit little fires, and breakfasted on
emergency and Oxo. Then the fatigues began. We got our hand in at
necessary and unnecessary digging, and belonging, as we did, to a
regiment which earned honourable distinction in England as
billet-cleaners, thoroughly fumigated all the trenches in the
neighbourhood.
Incidentally we had a smoke and a look at the lie of the land . . .
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Please note: to avoid opening the book out, with the
risk of damaging the spine, some of the pages were slightly raised on the
inner edge when being scanned, which has resulted in some blurring to the
text and a
shadow on the inside edge of the final images. Colour reproduction is shown
as accurately as possible but please be aware that some colours
are difficult to scan and may result in a slight variation from
the colour shown below to the actual colour.
In line with eBay guidelines on picture sizes, some of the illustrations may
be shown enlarged for greater detail and clarity.
The front cover is completely detached from
the text block and
there is a previous owner's name inscribed, quite heavily, on the front
free end-paper
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U.K. buyers:
To estimate the
“packed
weight” each book is first weighed and then
an additional amount of 150 grams is added to allow for the packaging
material (all
books are securely wrapped and posted in a cardboard book-mailer).
The weight of the book and packaging is then rounded up to the
nearest hundred grams to arrive at the postage figure. I make no charge for packaging materials and
do not seek to profit
from postage and packaging. Postage can be combined for multiple purchases. |
Packed weight of this item : approximately 400 grams
Postage and payment options to U.K. addresses: |
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Details of the various postage options can be obtained by selecting
the “Postage and payments” option at the head of this
listing (above). -
Payment can be made by: debit card, credit
card (Visa or MasterCard, but not Amex), cheque (payable to
"G Miller", please), or PayPal. -
Please contact me with name,
address and payment details within seven days of the end of the auction;
otherwise I reserve the right to cancel the auction and re-list the item. -
Finally, this should be an
enjoyable experience for both the buyer and seller and I hope
you will find me very easy to deal with. If you have a question
or query about any aspect (postage, payment, delivery options
and so on), please do not hesitate to contact me.
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International
buyers:
To estimate the
“packed
weight” each book is first weighed and then
an additional amount of 150 grams is added to allow for the packaging
material (all
books are securely wrapped and posted in a cardboard book-mailer).
The weight of the book and packaging is then rounded up to the
nearest hundred grams to arrive at the shipping figure.
I make no charge for packaging materials and do not
seek to profit
from shipping and handling.
Shipping can
usually be combined for multiple purchases
(to a
maximum
of 5 kilograms in any one parcel with the exception of Canada, where
the limit is 2 kilograms). |
Packed weight of this item : approximately 400 grams
International Shipping options: |
Details of the postage options
to various countries (via Air Mail) can be obtained by selecting
the “Postage and payments” option at the head of this listing
(above) and then selecting your country of residence from the drop-down
list. For destinations not shown or other requirements, please contact me before buying.
Due to the
extreme length of time now taken for deliveries, surface mail is no longer
a viable option and I am unable to offer it even in the case of heavy items.
I am afraid that I cannot make any exceptions to this rule.
Payment options for international buyers: |
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Payment can be made by: credit card (Visa
or MasterCard, but not Amex) or PayPal. I can also accept a cheque in GBP [British
Pounds Sterling] but only if drawn on a major British bank. -
Regretfully, due to extremely
high conversion charges, I CANNOT accept foreign currency : all payments
must be made in GBP [British Pounds Sterling]. This can be accomplished easily
using a credit card, which I am able to accept as I have a separate,
well-established business, or PayPal. -
Please contact me with your name and address and payment details within
seven days of the end of the auction; otherwise I reserve the right to
cancel the auction and re-list the item. -
Finally, this should be an enjoyable experience for
both the buyer and seller and I hope you will find me very easy to deal
with. If you have a question or query about any aspect (shipping,
payment, delivery options and so on), please do not hesitate to contact
me.
Prospective international
buyers should ensure that they are able to provide credit card details or
pay by PayPal within 7 days from the end of the auction (or inform me that
they will be sending a cheque in GBP drawn on a major British bank). Thank you.
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(please note that the
book shown is for illustrative purposes only and forms no part of this
auction)
Book dimensions are given in
inches, to the nearest quarter-inch, in the format width x height.
Please
note that, to differentiate them from soft-covers and paperbacks, modern
hardbacks are still invariably described as being ‘cloth’ when they are, in
fact, predominantly bound in paper-covered boards pressed to resemble cloth. |
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Fine Books for Fine Minds |
I value your custom (and my
feedback rating) but I am also a bibliophile : I want books to arrive in the
same condition in which they were dispatched. For this reason, all books are
securely wrapped in tissue and a protective covering and are
then posted in a cardboard container. If any book is
significantly not as
described, I will offer a full refund. Unless the
size of the book precludes this, hardback books with a dust-jacket are
usually provided with a clear film protective cover, while
hardback books without a dust-jacket are usually provided with a rigid clear cover.
The Royal Mail, in my experience, offers an excellent service, but things
can occasionally go wrong.
However, I believe it is my responsibility to guarantee delivery.
If any book is lost or damaged in transit, I will offer a full refund.
Thank you for looking.
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