From the Journal of Jack Simpson
23 May 1915

Shrapnel Valley, Gallipoli

Today was awful.  I found one of my friends badly injured in the

bush. I took him to the hospital tent down on the beach on a

stretcher.  I wish he had lived but he died on the way because he

had been shot in the chest.

Every 5 minutes I am tending to another soldier.  I am so relieved

that I have a donkey called Duffy to help me with all the injured

soldiers.  I love helping them but it makes me sad seeing them in pain.


At night I cry to myself wishing I was home.  I do not like finding

people dead because I know how upset their families will be.  I am

getting sick of sleeping on the ground and wish I was in my warm

bed at home.  I also wish I could be eating the fresh fruit I usually eat.

 I do not like the sound of bombs crashing into the dry crusty

ground.  I feel unsafe here at war.  I hope I don’t get shot by a

sniper because I know that they also shoot the medical people.  I

keep coughing and it’s getting annoying.  I am always thirsty and I

can’t have a big drink because we have to bring water in off the ships.

The best part of today was not getting shot by accident.