Illustrated With the Gallipoli Campaign Pack – 71 photos and 33 maps The Gallipoli Peninsular in 1915 was an awful place to be an Allied soldier, for the Australians who had travelled thousands of miles to answer the call of their mother country it must have seemed like hell. Overlooked by intrenched Turkish and German soldiers, the narrow strip of land that they lived on was hard won with blood, the air whistled with shot and shell day in and day out. For Dr Joseph Beeston, a native of Newcastle New South Wales, his duty was the wounded of the Anzac forces which he tended with great care and skill. As he records in his memoirs of Gallipoli the fighting was tough and the conditions even worse, but despite all this he and his comrades kept their wry sense of humour. He was always cheered by his fellow Anzac soldiers and dedicated his book of anecdotes to them; stating that “One never ceased admiring our men, and their cheeriness under these circumstances and their droll remarks caused us many a laugh.” A lively and engaging memoir from an Anzac veteran.

In "Five Months at Anzac" by Joseph Lievesley Beeston, the author provides a vivid and moving account of his experiences during World War I as a soldier at the Gallipoli peninsula. Through a combination of first-hand observations and heartfelt reflections, Beeston takes the reader on a journey through the harsh realities of war, capturing the camaraderie among soldiers, the horrors of battle, and the resilience of the human spirit. Written in a straightforward and unembellished style, the book offers a raw and authentic portrayal of life on the frontline, making it a valuable historical document and a gripping read. Beeston's work exemplifies the tradition of war literature, offering insights into the emotional and psychological toll of conflict while paying tribute to the courage of those who served. Joseph Lievesley Beeston's own experiences as a soldier in World War I undoubtedly informed his writing of "Five Months at Anzac," adding a layer of authenticity and depth to his narrative. His dedication to preserving the memories of his fellow soldiers and providing a voice to their experiences shines through in this poignant and powerful account. I highly recommend this book to readers interested in firsthand narratives of war, as well as those seeking a deeper understanding of the human experience in times of adversity.

“Oliver Hogue (1880-1919), journalist and soldier, was born on 29 April 1880 in Sydney ... He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in Sep. 1914 as a trooper with the 6th Light Horse Regiment. Commissioned second lieutenant in Nov., he sailed for Egypt with the 2nd L.H. Brigade in the Suevic in Dec.. Hogue served on Gallipoli with the Light Horse (dismounted) for five months, then was invalided to England with enteric fever. In May 1915 he was promoted lieutenant and appointed orderly officer to Colonel Ryrie, the brigade commander. As ‘Trooper Bluegum’ he wrote articles for the Herald subsequently collected in the books Love Letters of an Anzac and Trooper Bluegum at the Dardanelles. Sometimes representing war as almost a sport, he took pride in seeing ‘the way our young Australians played the game of war’. Hogue returned from hospital in England to the 6th L.H. in Sinai and fought in the decisive battle of Romani. Transferred to the Imperial Camel Corps on 1 Nov. 1916, he was promoted captain on 3 July 1917. He fought with the Camel Corps at Magdhaba, Rafa, Gaza, Tel el Khuweilfe, Musallabeh, and was with them in the first trans-Jordan raid to Amman. In 1917 Hogue led the ‘Pilgrim’s Patrol’ of fifty Cameliers and two machine-guns into the Sinai desert to Jebel Mousa, to collect Turkish rifles from the thousands of Bedouins in the desert. After the summer of 1918, spent in the Jordan Valley, camels were no longer required. The Cameliers were given horses and swords and converted into cavalry. Hogue, promoted major on 1 July 1918, was now in Brigadier General George Macarthur-Onslow’s 5th L.H. Brigade, commanding a squadron of the 14th L.H. Regiment. At the taking of Damascus by the Desert Mounted Corps in Sep. 1918, the 5th Brigade stopped the Turkish Army escaping through the Barada Gorge. As well as the articles sent to Australia, and some in English magazines, Hogue wrote a third book, The Cameliers,...”-Aust. Dict. of Nat. Bio.

Contains over 55 photos and 10 maps. “Someone once remarked that the ‘NZ’ in ANZAC is silent, and perhaps people associate ANZAC especially with Australia with its ANZAC Day parade and commemorative services. This book, part of the Official History of New Zealand’s effort in the Great War, clearly shows the extent of New Zealand’s part in that ill-fated Gallipoli campaign. The NZEF sailed from Wellington on 16th October 1914, in all 351 officers and 7410 other ranks making four infantry battalions, four mounted rifles regiments, an artillery brigade, sappers, signals, medical and other divisional troops. They disembarked in Alexandria on 3rd December and the infantry battalions were attached to the Canal defence force where, in February 1915 they had their first brush with the Turks, repelling an attack on the Canal. In Egypt they combined with Australian troops to form the New Zealand and Australian Division, landing on Gallipoli on 25th April 1915. By the end of the campaign they had suffered 7,197 battle casualties (Medical History of the War ) or almost one hundred per cent of the original expeditionary force. [It] gives a clear picture of the terrain over which the battles were fought, the climate, the conditions, the intensity of the fighting and a realistic account of the horrors of the battlefield. The easy-to-read text is supported by a wealth of contemporary photos and clear maps. There is a list of honours ... (one VC) including Mention in Despatches .... The appendices also contain tables showing ships transporting the NZEF and which units each carried; the ships carrying the division to Gallipoli; the detailed strengths, by units, of the original expeditionary force and subsequent units raised during the Gallipoli campaign. There is a very useful glossary of all the place names mentioned in the text with translation of some of the Turkish features e.g., Tepe, a hill; Kale, a fort; and there is a Gallipoli Diary.” —N&M Print Ed.

The Gallipoli campaign has been written about by many authors. However, few have been as well placed to offer eyewitness testimony of the higher echelons of command as the famed War Correspondent Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett. His dispatches from the field were instrumental in forming the public opinion of the campaign and were at the forefront of creating the enduring Anzac legend. In this volume he recounts the pain and suffering of the troops in the field juxtaposed with bitterly critical vignettes of the commander’s errors. He moved in the highest and lowest circles of the expeditionary force, writing of the men as much as the dithering generals at the top. His acerbic dispatches, which were printed at the time, although highly censored, led to his dismissal as correspondent. He lobbied in the highest circles in London to get the troops recalled, in the British government starved sober information from the front listened, and his intervention was pivotal in ending the murderous campaign. After the war, he set his sights on ensuring that the events which he witnessed would be left to posterity without the pen of the censor, giving his account in this book. Author — Ashmead-Bartlett C.B.E., Ellis, 1881-1931. Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in London, Hutchinson & Co. Ltd, 1928 Original Page Count – 286 pages. Illustrations – 25 and 2 maps.

Contains over 100 maps, photos and illustrations “Formed in Egypt in March 1916 the division arrived in France a month later. It acquired an elite status, fought on the Somme, at Messines and Third Ypres. 49,000 casualties, ten VCs. A very fine and comprehensive history. ...As may be expected this is a remarkably comprehensive account of one of the finest divisions of the BEF of which Earl Haig wrote: “No Division in France built up for itself a finer reputation, whether for the gallantry of its conduct in battle or for the excellence of its behaviour out of the line. Its record does honour to the land from which it came and to the Empire for which it fought.” A German assessment of the division was seen in an Intelligence document captured at Hebuterne in July 1918:- “A particularly good assault Division. Its characteristics are a very strongly developed individual self-confidence or enterprise, characteristic of the colonial British, and a specially pronounced hatred of the Germans.”... The NZ Division of this history was formed in Egypt in March 1916...The infantry consisted of two battalions each of the Auckland, Canterbury, Otago and Wellington Regiments and four battalions of the NZ Rifle Brigade, all the divisional troops-artillery, engineers, medical etc .were NZ units. The GOC was Major-General Sir A.H. Russell, promoted from command of a brigade of the composite NZ and Australian Division; he was to be the only commander of the division. The NZ Division arrived in France in April 1916 and it remained on the Western front throughout the war....The author commanded the 2nd Battalion Canterbury Regiment and in preparing this official account he has drawn on all available material - War Diaries, Operation Orders, Intelligence summaries, Narratives of operations prepared at Corps level and below, Honours and Awards recommendations, Divisional reports and correspondence, personal diaries and papers and Haig’s Despatches. ...”—N&M Print Ed