5th February 1915

An 18 pound field gun concealed in a freshly dug gun pit,

on the outskirts of Mena Camp, 1915.

[Courtesy of Australian War Memorial - J03256]

Mena Camp

Friday February 5 1915

The 3^rd Brigade goes out to bivoic at 11 am till tomorrow.  They have to dig more gun pits and place the guns and wagons in from after dark and have to have everything ready and placed in before morning and as all artillery movements have to be done in night time now, I am on detention guard tonight till retreat tomorrow.  There is 7 prisoners in guard and we got three more tonight so have a fine time with these ten.  There is two sentries on at the same time we are in for two hours and off for four.  The detention tent is away from the other lines of tents and has a fence of five barbe wires around it and the fence is made on a triangle.  The sentries have ball cartridges and the rifles are loaded and cocked.  If after calling on a prisoner the second time to halt, he doesn’t stop; he is to be shot.  It is very cold tonight and I don’t envy those out of the desert their task of digging trenches and gun pits.

Friday 5th February

On manoeuvre area. The 2nd Brigade was to have commenced shooting, but as Colonel Owen (now Brig Gen Owen) could not come out and was particularly anxious to see the shooting, it was postponed till Monday. We bivouaced near Pengelley’s date plantation and had a much better night than Tuesday last. Dug in the whole battery with forward observing posts and my own shelter, all connected by Telephone. Very cold night.

[Courtesy of State Library of New South Wales - Sir Charles Rosenthal diary]