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Conditions at Hill 60

By the time the August offensive had failed it was some four months since the initial landings had occurred and the pattern of daily life had been firmly established. To the men who fought there, Gallipoli was their home from the moment they arrived until they left or died. A few survived the whole nine month campaign whilst others were evacuated after only a few hours. To grasp the unique nature of the Gallipoli campaign it is necessary to understand what life was like for the men who were there; that experience is not just a perfunctory adjunct to battle description, but its essential complement.

The physical conditions that had developed on the peninsula were particularly severe and the British troops lived in circumstances of utter squalor which resulted in a sick list that more than matched the casualty list in actual battle. Hill 60 was just one small sector of the line but it illustrates many of the problems of life at Gallipoli. We examine the realities of life using the tape recorded interviews with two young British officers held at the IWM Sound Archive.

Peter Hart (IWM)

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Recorded Interviews

  

Second Lieutenant Malcolm Hancock, 1/4th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regt. describes conditions in trenches at Suvla.

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Hill 60 was a very compact sector, as Malcolm Hancock explains. Listen to this recording
Malcolm Hancock describes how dugouts were scratched into the sides of the trenches. Listen to this recording
Malcolm Hancock tells how British snipers used a periscope rifle against Turkish positions. Listen to this recording
Hand grenades were improvised too. Malcolm Hancock explains. Listen to this recording
Second Lieutenant Eric Wolton, 1/5th Battalion, Suffolk Regt, describes the problems caused by corpses in front of his unit's positions. Listen to this recording
Conditions were not improved by army rations, as Malcolm Hancock explains. Listen to this recording
Malcolm Hancock vividly recalls the problems flies caused for the troops at Gallipoli. Listen to this recording
Eric Wolton's account of the latrines at Dixon's Gully shows how the British troops kept their sense of humour despite the horrors around them. Listen to this recording