“On the morning of the 8th, orders were issued for the New Zealand Brigade to pass through the British Regulars, and advance towards the village.”

“It became obvious that a move of some kind was on foot. Working parties were continually being sent down to move guns. Batmen and others on foraging expeditions to the beach found stores of all sorts thrown open. Several battalions of the New Army went away for a rest. Sections of the Field Ambulance moved away, none knew whither. More guns were moved. Fresh stores were thrown open. Rifles and ammunition were destroyed. The secret was becoming more open, but still men refused to believe the inevitable. The ground had been so hardly won, surely it would not be abandoned?

“The most elaborate arrangements were made for the evacuation. The success of the whole movement depended on accurate timing and on everyone knowing just exactly when and where he was to move. The evacuation, as far as Auckland were concerned, was to stretch over two nights—Saturday the 18th, and Monday the 20th of December. The first night two parties were to leave, one at six, and the other at nine o'clock.

“An official announcement, issued on January 9, stated: “General Sir Charles Munro reports the complete evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula has now been successfully carried out. All guns and howitzers were got away, with the exception of 17 worn-out guns which were blown up by us before leaving. Our casualties amounted to one British rank and file wounded. There were no casualties amongst the French troops.” “ [Illustrated London News, page 4, Issue 4004, Vol CXLVIII, 15 January 1916]

“ I woke up about 5 a.m. to find bullets whizzing about overhead. Turkish snipers were getting busy on our left, from the hills overlooking the beach. I had a wash in the sea, and breakfasted on bully beef and hard biscuits. Scores more wounded men came in during the morning. Some of them were in horrible condition, having been lying out since the previous morning without getting any attention. My friend Bob Watson was killed as he was bringing a message from the firing line.”

[Chamberlain p10]

Robert Watson 12/483, Private, Auckland Regiment, DOW 26/04/1915

“Artillery Headquarters landed with the boats of the first tow, which reached the shore a few minutes before 10 a.m. [25 April], and the C.R.A. [Commander(ing) Royal Artillery] and staff immediately commenced to reconnoitre positions for the Brigade. It needed no reconnaissance to show that in such country it would be a matter of the greatest difficulty to select positions for the 18pr. batteries; it was, however, quite suited for howitzers.

“On the evening of May 5th, after dusk, the men crowded on board the lighters and were towed out to the destroyers and minesweepers, which were to carry them to the southern sector. During the embarkation Brian Willis was fatally hit, but there was no other mishap, except that, in the darkness, some of the lighters were lost and drifted round in the cold for a couple of hours.” [Excerpt From: O. E. Burton. “The Auckland Regiment.”]

The assembled force in the fleet at Mudros consisted of over 75,000 personnel in 84 ships:-

29th Division 17,649 personnel in 15 ships
ANZAC Division 30,638 personnel in 35 ships
French Division 16,762 personnel in 22 ships
Royal Naval Division 10,007 personnel in 12 ships

The first of the New Zealand troops arrived at Mudros on the Lutzow on Thursday, 15 April. On board was Godley’s Headquarters, the Auckland Battalion, and half the Canterbury Battalion. The rendezvous of the Division was complete by 20 April with the arrival of the Goslar.

Originally the plan had been to make the landings at the Dardanelles on 23 April 1915 but bad weather and poor inter-ship communications delayed preparations.

William (Bill) Ham was born in Ireland on 14 April 1892 and emigrated to New Zealand with his parents and brothers in 1900. The family originally settled in Gisborne but later moved to Nelson.

At the time he enlisted at Nelson on 15 August 1914 he was employed as a labourer by the Waimea County Council. He embarked from Wellington with the Canterbury Infantry Battalion (part of the Main Body) on HMNZT 11 (the “Athenic”, the same ship that had transported him and his family to New Zealand) and departed for Egypt on 16 October 1914.