In the dead of night I examined the steep slope of the hill in front of me.
It was about hundred meters away.
The sand was covered with red ripped-apart bodies.
You could barely see the little golden pebbles
That had previously inhabited the stark beaches of Anzac Cove.
Dawn appears with the sound of soldiers souls smashed against the boat.
The sound of bullets and bombs going off terrorized me.
My thoughts were interrupted by noise
I could barely hear my inner voice
That had been keeping my hopes and spirits up.
With the midday sun slowly creeping into the sky, comes heat around us. The stink lingers on the dead innocent bodies.
A trace of gunpowder flows through the air.
I could barely smell the fresh air
My nostrils search for the fresh smell of freedom
Dusk began while I felt a cold, deep breeze of
It seeped through my body.
My nervousness makes my body tremble
With my heart pounding like crazy it’s hard to concentrate
I continue to fight for my King and country.
Written by Jazz
Staying Alive
There was a knock at the door. They said I needed to go to war. I didn't want to. “Too bad,” they said.
I said “Goodbye Mum and Dad. See you next year - if I survive.”
I was on my way to fight the Turks. I felt nervous. The man on the boat said “What is your name?”
I answered “Bob.”
“Ok Bob, your partner is going to be Jim.”
I said “Hi Jim.”
And he said “I can't wait to work with you.”
The clothes were awesome. We had a hard green helmet, big boots, a rough camouflage jacket that felt like sandpaper on my skin, long pants with a crease down the front and a heavy day pack, complete with a canteen. I like to wear the uniform. It makes me feel proud.
We fought with guns, rifles and grenades. It made me feel bad as I hated shooting other people but I had to stay alive. I didn’t have a horse but other men did. I could hear the horses hooves thundering over the ground. We eat hard tack biscuits and bully beef. The food was disgusting. It made me miss Mum’s homemade cooking. We drink water, whiskey, beer and rum. And we smoked, a lot! It helped pass the time.
We could see dead people, bullet shells, mud and guns. I will never forget seeing innocent people getting shot. We felt nervous and angry because people were shooting at us. We could hear guns, screaming, horses, and yelling.
We felt mud hitting us from the bomb explosions. I was filthy, wet and cold. I feel proud that I am fighting for my country but have had enough and I’m dying to go home, but I can’t because I am fighting for my country.
Reuben
Jim At War
Slowly Jim wakes up with flickery eyes. He feels the vomit rising. He tries to swallow it down, insead vomit rushes up.
The pain was dreadful it was like an elephant standing on your toes. Jim slowly reaches down to where there was just thin air. From the knee down he feels nothing. Then Jim’s eyelids drop. He wakes up startled with panic, then Jim starts remembering what had happened.
Jim and his friends were so excited to be at war fighting for their county. They were so brave and they thought it was a huge honour to fight for their country. There was a real sense of camaraderie amongst the men. They fought extremely well.
Then they found themself climbing up a steep rocky cliff while shooting as hard as they could in the bucketing rain, then suddenly parts of shrapnel hit Jim in the ankle.
“Time for more pain relief” yelled Jim’s nurse from on the other side of the room. The vomit was racing up again worse than all the other times. He turned his head just in time as the vomit explodes out. Vomit splatters up the white sheeted bed next to his.
Chloe
Landing at Gallipoli
Suddenly the chief shouted “Come on get off this boat! You have Turks to kill. Whatever you do just remember what they have done.” Quickly, Jack and Bob jumped into the ice cold water. The weight of their packs shoved them down into the soft sand and sucked their feet in. Slowly they crept out of the water.
Boom! Boom! Two giant shells shattered in front of the boat. “Arrrghhh!” screamed a soldier as he clenched his arm tightly.
“Fight back!” commanded the chief. Jack shot. Rocks tumbled down the cliff face. Bob’s tongue turned rough like sandpaper as his knees started to buckle. Some soldiers sprinted to the banks. One boat sank because it got hit by a shell.
“Come on let’s climb this mountain!” madly yelled the chief. Suddenly a man fell to the ground. His head was covered in blood. He didn’t talk. He didn’t move. He was dead. Bob shot at the Turks. Jack and Bob decided to do what the chief said. They slowly made their way up the mountain shooting as they went.
“Good job! Now we need to make trenches. If you come from New Zealand you are on the trench digging.” Jack and Bob started digging. Both of them got handed a pick axe each. Bob and Jack dropped their heavy packs and grabbed a cigarette. Boom! A massive bomb went off to start the trench.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The Turks started attacking. “Arrrrrhhhhhhhhhh!” screamed Jack. The cannon ball with the force of an entire army had blown Jack’s arm off. Quickly Bob sprinted over. Rivers streamed from his eyes. He grabbed his medic kit and rips out a bandage. He then started wrapping it around and around Jack’s arm. After he yanked him up onto his shoulders and carried him back to the hard rocky beach.
Finally Bob reached the beach. Luckily there was a nurse boat coming in. “Goodbye Bob.” Jack whispered gently. “Goodbye Jack.” sobbed Bob before bursting into tears. Later the nurse ship pulled up near the beach. The nurse pulled him up onto the ship. “Can I come with you?” Bob asked anxiously.
“No sorry.” the nurse said kindly. Suddenly both of the soldiers burst into tears. “If I ever make it back… can we stay together?”
“Yes.” Jack said weakly.
Callum