HLI Chronicle 1915 - The Royal Highland Fusiliers

104 HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY CHRONICLE.
The H.L.t. Brigade.
THEIR SPLENDID WORK AT THE
DARDANELLES.
RACY STORY OF STIRRING
EXPERIE'NCES.
(By A GLASGOW MAN.)
I AM going to write a little history of the
H.L.I. Brigade since we first set foot on
this Peninsula about a month ago. Of
course a great many of the most interesting
details will have to be omitted, in case some
wily Turk disguised in red tape gets hidden
in the mail-bag. And there is no doubt
our friends from Constantinople have now not
a few grudges against the Glasgow boys.
THE TURKS NOT ADVISED.
The authorities, by some oversight, did
not advise them of our coming, so we landed
without even one shell of welcome. It was
stark midnight, and I can tell you it Was
exciting. No lights were allowed lest we
should disturb the slumbering Turks on the
Asiatic shore. Even the furtive "fag" was
forbidden. But that did not worry us much,
because after the long voyage cigarette-cases
and tobacco-pouches were generally empty.
And there were surely cart-loads of the real
Turkish variety waiting to be captured in the
enemy trenches. If we might only get there!
But instead of rushing us right against the
Turk they made us rest awhile on the dark
and silent beach, while the officers held what
we eagerly hoped was a council of war. You
will understand our eagerness to be up and at
'em if you will recall the weary days of waiting
around Dunfermline, watching younger battalions
being played away to France, while
we dreed our weird of watching water-works
and suffering kit-inspections. This time, however,
it appeared we were but waiting on the
guide who should lead us to the particular
font reserved for our baptism of fire. And in
a very short time he crept upon us out of the
darkness-a weird figure in imagination,
misty and mysterious, shrouded with the
smoke of battle. But he suddenly opened
his mouth in answer to some officer, and 10 !
his accent anyway was rich with the, reek of
Glasgow.
OUR GLASGOW GUIDE.
He told us we were going up near Sauchiehall
Street, but seemed somewhat annoyed when
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some of us inquired if Lauder's Bar was aye
there yet. At the time we thought ~im a
trifle touchy, but now, alack! we slmply
sympathise. It is a dry and weary .land
flowing with water which with the ald of
another degree Fahrenheit could be used
against the Turks as liquid fire. And if there
were the remotest chance of a barrel of Alloa
ale being on the farther side of Achi Baba Hill,
the H.L.I. would be beside it now and the war
securely over!
'At anyrate we set a lumbering pace, laden
as we were with packs and rifles and emergency
rations, for Sauchiehall Street. It
took us half the night to get there, and the
other half we spent in the sweeping and garnishing
of our various lodgments. Th~se
were trenches vacated by our advanmng
comrades, and we were thus saved a great
deal of digging. We merely improVid the
little hollows wherein we would burrow from
the anticipated Turkish shells, banked up the
trodden-down places in the parapet, spread
a waterproof sheet, and laid us down to sleep.
WHEN THE SHRAPNEL COMMENCED.
In the morning we had a warm breakfast
and a warmer welcome. The enemy did not
long remain in ignorance of the coming of
the ~--. The last dixie had not been long
emptied when the. shrapnel commenc~d to
whistle from the hlll, the balls and sphnters
dropping all about us. But ,,:e snl;ggled
cosily into our trenches, and walted till the
Turkish cordiality had in some degree cooled
off. Then, like the stokers of the "Isle of
Arran" as she draws near Rothesa y, we
climbed up into the fresh air, mopped our
fevered brows, and had a look at the passengers-I
mean the inhabitants of the neighbouring
trenches. You could see from the
tartan patches at the side of their sun-helmets
that all within view owed allegiance to the
H.L.I., waiting patiently their chance of
driving the Turks doon the Gallowgate. And
one of the long communication trenches
which lead towards the enemy's position will,
I'm sure come in time to bear the name of that
Glasgow' street for ever associated with the
early fame of the H.L.I.
GLASGOW OUGHT TO BE PROUD.
The chance was not long a-coming. They
wanted the H.L.I. in the trenches. One or
two English soldiers down on a visit from the