Geraldton Express (WA)
6 December 1915
The following letter was received by Mrs. Hepburn by last mail from her husband, Private Paul Hepburn, who was one of the troops on the Southland when torpedoed and is now in the trenches at the front: —
Gallipol Peninsula,
Sept. 11, 1915.
Dear Nance and Margaret,
We arrived here safely last Monday — a week yesterday — and this is the first opportunity I have had of writing to you, and cannot say as much as I would like to, as letters are to be severely censured, we are given to understand. To say the least of it, our trip across from Egypt was rather exciting. Our ship was torpedoed a few hours off an intermediate call. Struck her in No. 2 hold, unluckily, just where us chaps were quartered. But, anyhow, after a few hours in the water and lifeboats, we were picked up by our own destroyers, etc. and landed, more or less, in good order and condition. The casualties were very small considering the number we had on board. We lost —— out of our 20, a young chap named Pell, comes from Perth. Although most of us lost the best part of our gear, we have recovered the greater part of it since, as the ship was beached next morning. So Kaiser Bill did not get much out of that 2 or 300 quids the torpedo cost him. Nevertheless, none of us want the same experience again.
Well, dear girl, I can't describe what it is like here — the fighting, I mean. They say it's mild compared with what it was up to a couple of months back, but to us — the inexperienced — it's exciting enough. It's not a fierce fight to-day, and then silence for a week or so. It's almost constant rifle fire and big guns. Our little trouble where we are is shrapnel. We get six or eight shells dropped close to us daily, but up to the present we are pretty safe, being fairly well sheltered from the Turks' guns as they are now situated.
Soldier Identified: Private Paul Angus Hepburn, 16th Army Service Corps, A.I.F., Returned to Australia, 12 Mary 1918.
The first boatload of Australian soldiers to reach the hospital ship Neuralia after their troopship Southland was torpedoed near Agistrati Island while it was carrying troops to Gallipoli. 3 September 1915. (Australian War Memorial)
Sources:
Soldier's Letters. (1915, December 6). Geraldton Express (WA : 1906 - 1919), p. 3.
The first boatload of Australian soldiers to reach the hospital ship Neuralia after their troopship Southland was torpedoed near Agistrati Island while it was carrying troops to Gallipoli. Australian War Memorial
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