Unit Diary update - 11 December 1915 - leaving Gallipoli

On 11 December 1915, 5th and 6th battalions of the 2nd Infantry Brigade withdrew from their trenches. In the late afternoon they silently made their way to North Pier. They embarked on lighters and after being on the water for two hours were embarked on HMT Abbassiah. They were shipped back to Lemnos that evening and arrived at Mudros Harbour at about 9am on 12 December. The men were all ashore by lunchtime and marched to Sarpi Camp.

On 13 December the 8th Battalion arrived from Anzac and later on 20 December the 7th Battalion joined them at Sarpi.

So by 20 December the whole 2nd Brigade were together again and joined by the 4th Light Horse and 1st and 2nd Field Ambulance. They commenced training and refitting.

The Brigade remained at Sarpi Camp over Christmas and until the end of December 1915. As a result they did not take part in the famous evacuation of Gallipoli just prior to Christmas.

In December 1915, Athol was still in Egypt.

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Ah well! We’re gone! We’re out of it now.

We’ve something else to do.

But we all look back from the transport deck to the

land-line far and blue:

Shore and valley are faded; fading are cliff and hill;

The land-line we called ‘Anzac’ …

and we’ll call it ‘Anzac’ still!

Lieutenant Oliver Hogue, 14th Light Horse Regiment, NSW, of Glebe, Sydney, NSW.