Chapter 56 – Jayjay

The Australian War Memorial photograph G01241 shows men at Gallipoli with petrol tins slung over their shoulders for water fatigue. AWM photograph P04604.017 shows an original grave at Gallipoli decorated with light coloured pebbles from the beach.

Charles Bean states in Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18, vol I that mail deliveries provided welcome alleviation, and were made to the men of Anzac about once per fortnight during May-June 1915 (p. 383).

Les Carlyon in Gallipoli states that The Australian Prime Minister and Defence Minister asked Keith Murdoch to visit Egypt to “investigate complaints about delays in soldiers’ mail” (p. 494) [Murdoch arrived in Egypt late August 1915].

Arthur Jose describes in Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18 , vol IX The Royal Australian Navy , the second Australian convoy to leave for the war (p. 413-414). The convoy of sixteen ships and the submarine AE2 set sail from King George’s Sound on 31 December 1914. One additional ship joined the convoy on 2 January from Freemantle.

Peter Plowman states in Voyage to Gallipoli that ships departed Sydney on 21 December 1914 to form part of the second convoy (p. 232). Plowman also states that Australian ships in the second convoy carried 410 officers, 10, 855 other ranks, 123 nurses and 4,591 horses (p. 240).