The Australian Women's Register

Papers, comprising a “Peninsula diary”, 17 Oct.-31 Dec. 1915; two letters to his mother, 13 Jan. and 1 Oct. 1916; a photograph of his sister Patricia, an A.I.F. nurse, on a hospital train in Egypt, 1916; and Sister Blundell’s three medals. The diary describes his voyage to Lemnos and Gallipoli; the daily routine in the trenches, 24 Oct.-10 Dec., especially at Chatham’s Post; a rest spell on Lemnos, 12-24 Dec., which included a reunion with his sister who was nursing there; and return to Egypt, 26-31 Dec. The letter of 13 Jan. 1916 was uncensored, having been sent home via a civilian friend, and includes a frank discussion of poor British performance at Gallipoli; the ineptitude of the military authorities; and his approval of the decision to evacuate because of the impossibility of surviving a winter at Gallipoli.