WW1 an epiphany (1)

This is just one of a series of old newspaper articles that I have been reading. I have been conducting some personal historical research from old newspapers and magazines. With particular interest in the major issues of the day. Its good to take a look back at what people were saying and doing in the past. Reading old newspapers can throw up some rather interesting stories. Here is what we would call today a poignant public interest story.

Caveat: Some of the articles are difficult to read and even using modern electronic scanning and text conversion methods. The odd punctuation, word or character may have been transcribed in error.

The WW1 Gallipoli Campaign began in April 1915. It's estimated that 50,000 men from Australia, Britain, France and New Zealand lost their lives. This poignant letter was received by an Australian woman and printed in the Tamworth Herald:

HOW AUSTRALIANS FACE DEATH. 

From a letter received by an Australian woman in London, from a nurse at the Dardanelles. "I am doing transport duty to Gaba Tepe, where we take on wounded Australians and New Zealanders direct from the field dressing stations. We take all the serious cases. The slightly wounded and the medical cases are taken on mine-sweepers to where troopships are used as hospitals. When they have a certain number of cases they take them back to the hospitals in Egypt. It's a sad time for us all, but you can be proud of being an Australian. Our men are perfect dears at all times. They bear suffering and trouble without a whimper, and just die smiling. It breaks my heart to see them. I hear to-night that the casualties to date are 12,000, and killed 4,000, but that must include British also; but really I am not sure. Every place here is full."