LEMNOS & GALLIPOLI – EVACUATION & DEPARTURE
The military failure of the campaign led to the decision of the British War Cabinet on the 7th December to evacuate the Peninsula. Most of the troops returned to Lemnos, staying for longer or shorter periods of time, prior to departing for Egypt and other battle fronts. The Gallipoli campaign was at an end.
EVACUATION
Prior to that decision to end the Gallipoli campaign, some troops had already been withdrawn. Some British and French troops were transferred to the new Salonika Front in northern Greece in October, while the Australian 3rd Brigade arrived at Lemnos’ Sarpi Rest Camp in November. The over 130,000 Allied troops who remained at Gallipoli in late November were gradually withdrawn, with the final evacuations from the Suvla and Anzac fronts taking place on the 20th December, those from the Helles front on the 8th January 1916. The last Australian troops to depart Gallipoli were the engineers of the Royal Australian Naval Bridging Train who left Suvla on 20th December. There were practically no losses, the 3rd Australian General Hospital’s (3rd AGH) 35 year old Brisbane born Matron Grace Wilson remarking in her diary on the 21st December the troops all said the organisation of the evacuation was “simply wonderful – not a hitch occurred”.
RETURN TO LEMNOS & ITS REST CAMPS
Throughout December some 50,000 troops were brought to Lemnos from Anzac and Suvla, with over 14,000 transferred to Imbros. A further 20,000 sick and wounded were evacuated in hospital ships and other medical craft from these fronts. Lemnos was again transformed into the army and naval base it had been in the days before the landings. The returning troops re-occupied the former Rest Camp at Sarpi (modern day Kalithea) in the West Mudros area, as well as camps on the eastern shore of Mudros Bay, surrounding Mudros. The Sarpi Rest Camp would accommodate the largest concentration of Australian soldiers, with some 13,000 camped there. No wonder that Matron Grace Wilson would remark on the 22nd December that “the whole Island is simply a mass of men and tents” and by Christmas the 3rd AGH’s 39 year old South Australian born Staff Nurse Anne Donnell estimated that there were about “three to four hundred” battleships and troopships, including ten hospital ships, at anchor in the Bay.
Most of the Australian troops returning to Lemnos landed at the North Pier on the Turks Head Peninsula and proceeded from there across the Turks Head Peninsula to the various camp sites located in the West Mudros area. The route took them through the Allied hospitals on the Peninsula. These scenes were captured in the photograph of 25 year old English born Lance Corporal Albert Savage from New South Wales, especially the one of a group of nurses and soldiers, sitting on the Turks Head Peninsula, not far from the 3rd AGH, watching the return to Lemnos of soldiers from Gallipoli (Images 1 to 4).
As they marched passed the field hospitals, the staff and patients came out to witness the return of the troops. What they saw were the shadows of those that had been sent to Gallipoli. Just over 900 men remained of the 3rd Brigade’s estimated 9,000 original complement and reinforcements received since it landed at Anzac in April. Similar reductions were evidenced across the other units returning from the fronts. And those that returned were in a debilitated state, weakened by months at Gallipoli. Thirty-one
year old 3rd AGH Staff Nurse Evelyn Davies from Healesville described the “poor weary boys” as they marched by the hospitals on the way to the camp. Another 3rd AGH nurse, 27 year old 3rd Staff Nurse Nellie Pike from Sydney recalled that the men arrived back from Gallipoli covered in mud, bowed under the weight of their equipment, marching in grim silence. Some were in such a poor state that they were admitted to the hospitals as they tried to march past.
Although the distance was little more than three or four miles, the majority of the men were so weak that they couldn’t carry their packs and keep their position in the ranks. They approached the Sarpi Rest Camp in what was described as “a kind of skirmishing formation of many lines”, with some weakened stragglers struggling to catch up as best they could. When the last troops from Anzac arrived they were met by cheering troops and a brass and pipe band, according to 20 year old Kerang born Sergeant Rex Hall of the 1st Light Regiment Horse Field Ambulance.
Indian troops were also based with the Australian troops at Sarpi. The familiarity between Australian and Indian troops is clearly depicted in one photograph which showing them resting together on an area of flat ground, the hills of Lemnos rising in the background (image 5).
After their arrival at the various camp sites on Lemnos, the troops pitched their tents when they were given them and began to establish their camps (image 6). Stone pathways marked out, drainage systems established in anticipation of winter weather and temporary communications cables laid out. Troops would be engaged work parties as well as guard duty around the camp. A strict regime was set in place to ensure the cleanliness and orderliness of the camp, such as for the incineration of rubbish at set times, with defined locations for cooking and washing. Over the coming days on Lemnos a regime of inspections, drills and military training were also established, interspersed by periods for church services, recreation and leave.
RECREATION & CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS
Despite the occasional enemy aerial attack on the Allied camps on Lemnos, the change from the horrors of life at Gallipoli for largely peaceful hours on Lemnos was stark. The 13th Battalion history records that the soldiers found this time on Lemnos uncanny as there was no sound of gunfire or need to duck for cover. The 22nd Battalion War Diary records that it was a “relief at again being free to walk and move without restrictions.”
Troops could enjoy the various recreation activities and concerts organised by the military authorities. While some would spend Christmas aboard ships anchored in the Bay or on the voyage from Lemnos, many others - perhaps the majority of those who were on Lemnos at this time - would now celebrate Christmas on the Island. The Australian nurses and troops came together, enjoying the festive season, playing or watching sport and enjoying musical entertainments. Christmas brought with it not only fine weather but also the provision of ample foodstuffs, supplies from Australia and arrangements for recreation which no doubt restored some of the soldiers’ spirits.
For many of the troops their Christmas celebrations began before Christmas Day itself, with the arrival of mail and the parcels from home containing goods donated by the public. They also received Christmas puddings from Australia – all the way from the Swallow and Ariel Factory in Port Melbourne - as well as “Christmas billy” cans (Image 7). Their contents were very personal, often containing the names and messages of those who had donated them. One digger is reported to have found 25 gold sovereigns in his tin, a gift from the Mayoress of Bendigo.
The 21st Battalion’s 23 year old Port Melbourne born Captain George Furner Langley wrote that men were happy to receive these gifts from home, reacting “just like children with Christmas stockings.”
Christmas Eve saw a truck carrying carol singers with a piano doing the rounds of the field hospitals on the Turks Head Peninsula. As night began to fall and as many of the soldiers camped around Mudros Bay enjoyed their Christmas gifts, the singing of Christmas carols and music of military bands could be heard across waters of the Bay, with Lance Corporal Albert Coates remarking in his diary how this reminded him of home.
The morning brought a beautiful day, with Staff Nurse Anne Donnell writing of “a glorious sunrise and the most beautiful day we have had on Lemnos”. The routine for Christmas Day for the troops camped on Lemnos began with a Church parade, followed by free time as it had been declared a holiday for the troops. The patients in the field hospitals awoke to enjoy opening their Christmas stockings, filled with gifts from the Red Cross, followed by a hearty meal, with plum pudding, sweets and jellies for dessert. The hospitals had done their best to provide a Christmas atmosphere for their patients, with Staff Nurse Evelyn Davies writing that the whole place “had a festive air”. The nurses themselves only had lunch on Christmas Day, having to wait until the next day to enjoy their own Christmas dinner due to the late arrival of their turkeys.
The Christmas season also brought the opportunity to socialise. Sergeant Rex Hall caught up with old friends staying at the same camp. On the 20th December 24 year old English-born Lance Corporal William Lycett, a boilermaker from Flemington, travelled from his camp at East Mudros across Mudros Bay by the ferry to meet up with his fiancé’s brother who was at the Sarpi Rest Camp, enjoying a “good yarn [and] … dinner with him.” The Australian nurses also visited the Camp, often invited by officers to join them for dinners or concerts as well as to witness the various sporting events.
The 3rd AGH also became a social centre for all ranks. There are a number of references to soldiers, known to the nurses, paying visits or being invited to the hospitals at this time. Staff Nurse Lucy Daw wrote on
the 25th December of the nurses inviting some soldier friends from the Sarpi Rest Camp to join them for afternoon tea in their specially decorated mess tent, with three orderlies dressing up in costume and singing for the attendees. Their guests included three 10th Battalion’s soldiers, all South Australians. The 23rd Battalion’s Manchester born Lieutenant Robert Goldthorpe or Goldy Raws was a 28 year old merchant living in Elsternwick in Melbourne when he enlisted. Goldy wrote home to his family in January 1916 of his appreciation for the company of the nurses during afternoon tea at the hospitals after his evacuation to Lemnos.
It was after lunch on Christmas Day that 33 year old Queenscliff born Lieutenant Colonel de Crespigny sent word that he wanted the 3rd AGH’s staff to be photographed. As Matron Grace Wilson wrote on the 25th December it was a bit of “a scramble” as nearly all the staff assembled outside the officers’ lines. A whistle was blown and many cameras snapped away photographing the scene, one of those being that of Lance Corporal Albert Savage (Images 8 to 10). Albert also took the time to create a Christmas greeting card with a photo-montage of life at the 3rd AGH on Lemnos (Image11).
The Christmas season also saw many sporting events organised for the Allied troops on Lemnos. The three major codes of football were popular sports for the evacuated troops, as they had been at Sarpi the previous October (see Chapter 4). Matches across all three codes were played, with at least some of the games taking place on a flat area of ground near the Sarpi Rest Camp. The English-born Lance Corporal William Lycett had been a keen soccer player in civilian life, his having been selected for the Victorian state soccer team before the war. William wrote of his unit being beaten by 6 goals to nil in a soccer game against a team from the British Army’s Royal Scots Territorials after dinner on the 23rd December.
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee 2023; Original Text © Jim Claven; Map Design © GPD Design; Modern and Archival images reproduced with permission; Layout and Printing by Kosdown Printing. This project was supported
MEDICAL CARE AND MORE DEATHS
Despite the successful evacuation and the end of the military campaign, the work was not yet over for the medical services on Lemnos. The debilitating condition of the returned troops saw many sick soldiers transferred to the various hospitals located across the inlet on the Turks Head Peninsula, with some 200 being treated at a temporary a medical facility was established at the Sarpi Rest Camp itself. While most sick soldiers recovered, some did not. The 17th Battalion’s Major Francis “Frank” Murphy was a 40 year old accountant from the Melbourne suburb of Malvern. Frank and the Battalion had been evacuated from Gallipoli to Lemnos, the first component arriving at Mudros Bay on the 19th December and the last the next day. Yet before Frank had left Gallipoli he was already felling unwell and by Christmas Day he was reported seriously ill. When he was admitted to the 3rd AGH on the 26th December, Frank was now diagnosed as critically ill, suffering from cerebro-spinal meningitis. Delirious, struggling violently, suffering severe headaches and high temperatures, Frank was placed under the direct care of 42 year old Geelong born Captain Thomas Lynewolde Anderson, assisted by three nurses. After undergoing a spinal puncture operation and temporarily recovering, Frank lapsed into a coma and died on the 11th January 1916. He was last patient to die during the 3rd AGH’s service on Lemnos and is buried at Portianos Military Cemetery (Image 12).
FINAL DEPARTURES – AND THE AUSTRALIANS CELEBRATE NEW YEAR ON LEMNOS
The time was soon approaching for the Australians and the vast majority of other Allied troops to depart the island that many of them had come to know so well. The embarkations for Egypt began before Christmas and would continue into January.
For some of the Australians who had celebrated Christmas on Lemnos, the end of the festivities would herald their departure. The troops would strike camp and make their way to a nearby pier, where they would board motor barges to take them to the troopships anchored in the Bay. The departure of the 4th Field Ambulance from its camp at East Mudros in late December was photographed by 22 year old Sergeant James McPhee from Essendon (Image 13).
Many more Australian troops would remain camped on Lemnos until early January, enjoying the New Year celebrations on the Island. Nineteen year old Ballarat born Lance Corporal Albert Coates of the 7th Battalion recorded the celebrations in his diary. The weather on New Year’s Eve was fine and camp concerts were held, with songs and speeches. On the stroke of midnight the sirens of the ships anchored in the Bay began to sound, bands played and crowds of soldiers joined in banging tins to ”make a great noise.” Rockets were fired into the sky, lighting up the whole place. Then the “fun begins” as drunken diggers start pulling down their tents. According to Albert, the troops still on Lemnos were greeted by heavy rain in the morning of New Year’s Day, the day being recorded as “wet and showery” in the 12th Battalion War Diary.
Meanwhile the hospital staff on Lemnos held parties and concerts, with a special supper, music, dancing and the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” as the clock struck midnight. One convalescing soldier wrote home of having enjoyed New Year’s Day celebrations in a local village.
After New Year’s Day, the evacuations continued. As the remaining troops left Lemnos for Egypt, so the Australian hospitals also prepared to leave, transferring any remaining patients to hospital ships and packing up their camps. The 2nd ASH was the first to depart, embarking from the South Pier on the Turks Head Peninsula on the 14th January, its final departure from Mudros Bay delayed until the 17th January due to poor weather (Image 14).
The 3rd AGH followed. While the hospital nurses boarded their transport on 14th January, the “terrible weather” delayed the loading of the hospital equipment and the hospital’s final departure until the 21st January. The Canadian nurses serving on Lemnos would depart a few weeks after the Australians, the last departing on the 6th February.
The departure of the 3rd AGH from Lemnos is vividly captured in the series of photographs taken by Lance Corporal Albert Savage. We see the hospital equipment being packed for transport, the hospital staff forming up and the staff marching off to the pier and the hospital equipment at the beach ready for transportation (Images 15 to 20). We see the Australian nurses waiting to embark at the pier and on the barge headed for their transport, with one moving image showing Sister Florence Elizabeth MacMillan holding a cat that had been brought to Lemnos from Gallipoli a “mascot, born in the trenches.”(Images 21 to 2).
With these final departures Lemnos’ role in the Gallipoli campaign was at an end.
