Alistair's+Diary+Entries

Diary entry October 1914

I stand staring at one of the ships that will take me to Gallipoli, to fight for my country, to represent my country, if I die trying, I know I would have done well for my country. I think about when we will be on the ship, all wondering how the attack will go. I have my friend Andrew next to me we’ll be in the same cabin. We’ll hopefully have fun on the boat, talking about things. Now we are on the boat the boat and were talking about pretend wars that we would do when we were kids, and I said I like making bombs out of wires, boxes, a screwdriver and a radio.

April 25th 1915

At 1am I got woken up. Nervously I got up, ate my hot meal and got told the plan one last time before I went to the room where my boat will head off from the ship. I was on t a destroyer boat. When I was on the boat, I could feel the darkness creeping up on me. I was wondering would I make it back home alive or would I be shot and die.

April 25th 1915 later on that day

We are about 50 meters from the shore when the first boat lands on the shore. The people hopped out of the boat quietly but also nervously. When the boat I was on was about to land on the shore the Turks started shooting at some of the Anzacs. Before I heard the “everyone overboard” I had shot at a couple Turks. A person standing next to me got shot right in the arm and got injured. A couple of minutes later I started to smell the gunshots through the misty air.

April 27th 1915

I just watched as a Turkish person got shot right in the shoulder. I’m creeping back to the trench to grab a sniper to take out some other Turkish snipers. All the dead bodies around here make it smell like my dad’s just gone to the toilet.

April 28th 1915

My best friend, Andrew, just got shot at, but luckily his metal tin of metal cards stopped the bullet going into him, no chance of playing a game of cards with now (Sigh).

April 29th 1915

Today I have to go on 36 hour guard duty and a duty I made up, Killing Turks duty. I have killed 10 Turks in the last two hours.

April 30th 1915

I have got about 12 hours left on duty and I just killed a Turk.

June 16th 1915

I am really hungry now. I have had no food in 3 days, luckily I am on cooking duty, hope I can make better food than my brother. I just want to get back home so I can stop dodging bullets that are rocketing through the air.

August 1st 1915

I just got my machine gun to shoot some of the Turks that are hiding behind some bushes. The smell of dead bodies is so annoying, so revolting, worse than my brothers cooking.

September 15th 1915

I was crouching in my bunker, because I got a machine gun, I found a pack of playing cards so I will try not to get a bullet through them, But I would rather a hole in my playing cards than me.

December 2th 1915

I couldn’t sleep in the trench that night. I am starting to get used to the smell of dead bodies, it is still annoying seeing all those people die, and on the other hand I also have killed a lot of people.

December 13th 1915

I have to collect all the tools and supplies. We are heading to Egypt tomorrow.

December 14h 1915

We did not sleep in the trenches last night, we slept on the ground. That was not comfortable!

December 15th 1915

I got on the boat that will take me to Egypt. I’m just glad that I can go back home.

Alistair Sharp