Gallipoli by Les Carlyon

Author:Les Carlyon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Published: 2014-09-29T00:00:00+00:00

18

Gehenna

On his first day in London – June 6 – Ashmead-Bartlett finished writing a résumé of the campaign. The same day he saw Sir Edward Carson, the Attorney-General in the new coalition government. Carson arranged for him to meet Bonar Law, the Colonial Secretary. Bonar Law took Ashmead-Bartlett’s résumé and said he would give it to Arthur Balfour, who had taken over from Churchill at the Admiralty.

Ashmead-Bartlett a few days later dined with Churchill at Lady Randolph Churchill’s home. Winston seemed years older, pale and unusually quiet. Suddenly he let fly with a diatribe about the Dardanelles, directed not at Ashmead-Bartlett or the other guests but at his mother. Lady Randolph listened ‘most attentively’; it was apparently his habit to lecture her. Churchill complained that the battle of March 18 had never been fought to a finish. ‘The loss of the ships leaves him undismayed,’ Ashmead-Bartlett noted. ‘His only regret… is that the sacrifices were stopped, before the full number of victims, waiting to be laid on the altar of chance, had reached their destination.’

When the women left Churchill rounded on Ashmead-Bartlett. He had been running down the expedition. Not true, said Ashmead-Bartlett. He merely wanted to see the operation ‘handled in the right manner’. Churchill calmed down. He would arrange for Ashmead-Bartlett to see the Prime Minister.

Around midnight Ashmead-Bartlett walked to Admiralty House with Churchill, who had not yet moved out of his rooms there. Churchill became angry again once inside. ‘They never fought it out to a finish,’ he cried out. ‘They never gave my schemes a fair trial.’

‘But,’ Ashmead-Bartlett replied, ‘they did, and lost three battleships sunk, and three others badly damaged without ever reaching the minefields at the Narrows.’

‘That is not the point! They ought to have gone on. What did it matter if more ships were lost? The ships were old and useless … ’

It apparently didn’t matter to Churchill that the crews of these old and useless ships were young and useful. He calmed down and talked to Ashmead-Bartlett until 3 am.

Ashmead-Bartlett and Churchill saw the Prime Minister the next day. Asquith was affable and benevolent. The three pored over maps Churchill had brought along. Asquith agreed a landing north of Bulair seemed a good idea. He asked Ashmead-Bartlett to prepare a memorandum for the following day’s Cabinet meeting and to attend in case ministers wanted to question him.

Ashmead-Bartlett then lunched with Lady Jean Hamilton, wife of Sir Ian, who was troubled by the failures at Gallipoli. Ashmead-Bartlett says he tried to cheer her up, and one has trouble reading this without smiling. That night he dined with Balfour. He told Balfour the military authorities at the Dardanelles often failed to tell London the truth. Yes, Balfour said, he had discovered that already. Everyone was frightened of Kitchener. ‘You will find him a harmless enough old gentleman, somewhat slow in grasping points when they are placed before him, but far from inspiring this vague terror.’ Ashmead-Bartlett left to write his memorandum.

Anzac, he said, was a stalemate.

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