A letter written by an Australian soldier who was injured at Gallipoli has connected two families forever.

It was a letter written by Norman Ernest Tomkins during the First World War, which mentioned Horrie Hedger.

Horrie had helped save Norman’s life.

Both men survived the war.

Stephanie Matthews and Nick Wakeling are descendants from both sides and spoke with Neil Mitchell about the incredible story on Anzac Day.

Press PLAY below to hear them explain

Below is the letter, in full.

THE LETTER

1^st Australian General 

Hospital Helipoli

6/5/1915

Dear Dad,

Just a line to let you know that we have been into the Turks and that I got stopped on the third day and am now at the above address. All I can say is that I am mighty thankful that I’ve come out of it alive. Dad, it was perfect hell on earth and I don’t want to experience the sights I saw there again in my life. To see ones pals smashed to pieces by shrapnel is something terrible and my only concern now is for poor Horrie Hedger. He’s a real good pal Dad and was completely broken up when I got hit and he carried me out of the firing line under heavy fire and I can tell you Dad one appreciates an action of that sort. If I only knew he was safe id be quite contented but I can only hope for the best and that is for him to get hit in a soft place and get out of it alive sooner or later he is bound to get it.

We had only been in the firing line 10 minutes when he got one through the left arm but not bad enough to stop him fighting. The wood work has been knocked off his rifle several times. He got a spent shrapnel bullet in the eye but it did not go in, but I suppose by now he has stopped a good one and am hoping for news from him any day now.

Well Dad, about myself, I got mine clean through the left big toe the bone has been shattered and would not be surprised to lose his royal highness but hope for the best. It’s mighty painful now and then and is discharging a good deal but the latter is a good sign as the badness is coming out. But after all a bad toothache will give you grater pain at least that is what I think because I have had the latter for the last three days and have not been able to get much sleep, but it is now going away.

No doubt you know as much about the battle as I do, perhaps more as I only went three days but still the Melbourne accounts no doubt have been thrashed about so much that you have not got the fair dinkum account.

Well Dad, I suppose if I go into actuals the internal censor will play the devil with it.

Well to start off I don’t know the exact date (which doesn’t matter) but it was on Sunday morning at day dawn that the 3^rd brigade started to land. The actual landing was provided by heavy fire from the naval guns from the warships. We were to land on a sandy strip of beach but as we learned afterwards this was all ruined and at the last moment the powers that be ordered the landing at another point under some high banks along a gravelly shore. The Turks seemed to have anticipated this move somewhat because they were there to receive us.

Well the only thing to do was to land and under cover of the naval guns we started out from our ships in boats lowered by the naval picket boats. No sooner had we got away from the ship’s side when the Turks opened out with shrapnel and machine guns and the bullets flew pretty thick, but as luck would have it nobody got hit in our boat tho one or two stopped one in the others.

Well as soon as our boats touched bottom we all got over the side and went for our lives for cover. Hedger was the first out but as I did not want to do in the tucker in my (Rei Bag?) I took things easy and got ashore only wet to the knees some of the silly beggers got wet from head to foot in their haste to get under cover. I might say that the 3^rd Brigade had already landed and had driven the Turks back about ¼ mile so that very few of the 6^th had got hit altho we saw one poor begger with his face torn away that was the first dead one we saw but not the last, worse luck.

Well anyway, we immediately started to advance to reinforce the 3^rd and in less than 20 minutes we were in the thick of it. Well Dad, its not much use me giving a detailed account of what I went through because I could keep on writing for days and then I could still tell you more but ill just say this. Just before we got there we were laying down on our bellies just under a brow of a hill, the bullets were whistling a few feet overhead and then came the order to advance and we up and made a rush. I then got my first actual taste of what war means.

Seven of us made a rush and the Turks turned a machine gun on us we immediately dropped on our guts and held on, Lord how the bullets kicked up the dirt. A chap alongside me was in the act of making a cigarette when he got one clean through the heart he just fell over on his side and lay there, he was about two feet from me Dad and I can tell you it gave me a bit of a shock and when the machine gun opened up again I simply closed my eyes and waited but none hit me and altho one of the boys got one through the leg and another chap stopped one in the wrist and they both ducked off the next time the bullets came along.

Hedger let out a yell and started wriggling about like a rabbit I thought for a moment that he was done and sang out to keep down till I could go get back to him but off he made for cover so I started backwards for cover too. On the way I picked up his rifle and brought it along. I found him just behind the hill and found that he had got a bullet would in the left arm not very bad but bad enough to make a man jump.

Anyway, the machine gun seemed to let up a bit and we managed to get up into line again and have a pop at the Turks but the damn guns started up again and for seven hours we could not lift our heads but the bullets were going overhead which did not worry us much but then shrapnel opened up and they simply made that (word missing) of a hill a perfect hell. Chaps were getting knocked over every where, one of our company got his leg chopped off by a piece of shrapnel then a few minutes afterwards the same chap got his arm cut off, poor begger. He kept on telling us to shoot him for Christ Sake. He dies in ½ an hour. Then another one of our boys got a bullet over the heart and dies in a few minutes. Then one of our officers got hit in the hips which put him out of the fight. At least one shell burst about ten feet above is the concussion damn near killed us alone, it blew my cap off and pushed our heads clean into the dirt and made my nose bleed. That one tore a shoulder off a chap three feet from me and took the leg off another to the left.

God how the boys stood their ground there was not a funk amongst them and all were joking even the chap that had his shoulder torn off smiled and asked me if I was any good at first aid. I looked at him thinking he had got hit with a bullet but when I saw the mess he was in, God sake, just like a piece of liver smashed to a pulp. I told him to get down to the beach as soon as he could and he and another boy ducked off.

Well Hedger and I saw that it was no use simply lying down there waiting to get smashed to pieces so we made a break for a bit of cover about 50 yards to the right and it was not so bad there. But an officer came along and got us carrying picks and shovels to different parts of the firing line. This as you can imagine was more dangerous than in the actual firing line so after carrying half a dozen to different parts we did not report to him again so stopped in the line. Anyway, we could not do anything and simply lay down till night fall. The Turks came out at us in thousands but for some unknown reason they did not come right up to us. God help us if they had. They stopped about 200 yards off and got into trenches that they had previously prepared and that’s where they were for 3 days afterwards.

When I got hit on Monday morning the sixth had a muster parade and only 52 answered the roll call. So you can see what is left of us. Of course we got mixed up a good deal but im afraid there is mighty few of our boys left. I asked our Boer War officer if this was anything like the Boer War. He said, ”Good god boy, this is not war, this is butchery” and I think it was “ no quarter is given on either side”. It’s a fight to the death they are using explosive bullets and are killing our wounded where ever they can and dressing in our clothes. Even the German officers dressed in our officers clothes, are in our lines and as they speak so good English as we, they are hard to detect in the excitement. One was caught right up against head quarters and was promptly shot dead.

Well Dad, how I got my pill was with Hedger as a guard for an ammunition train. There was seventeen (17) mules in the team, and seven (7) of us was told off to see it safe into the firing line. We had to go a mile and a half up a gully and the shrapnel was simply bursting everywhere I never expected to get a hundred yards but we got to within 50 yards of the firing line when the mule in front of me got hit in the head and dropped. Just then a shell burst over my head and I felt as tho a train had run over my foot I didn’t recall much pain only a hot tingling sensation. I saw where the bullet had gone in and started off down hill on my backside. I got into a sheltered spot. Hedger got a A.M.C man I got my boot off and my toe was a pretty sight. A hole clean through the middle of it , the army medical painted it with iodine and put the field dressing on and good old Horrie got me on his back and carried me through a mile and a half of shrapnel and explosive bullets. We had not gone very far before a sniper had a shot at us. The bullet went under Hedger’s chin. So we decided to wait till dark before venturing out in the open again as soon has (sic) it got dark we started off again and with the shells still bursting over head we at last got down to the beach.

Poor old Horrie he was clean broke up and so was I. After nine (9) months close companionship we both felt the parting. He to go off alone back to the firing line. I with a smashed foot to the hospital ship. His last words to me where as we shook hands : Good Bye Norm old son I’ll be with you in a day or two or else pushing up the daisies. If I only could get word of how he is Id be content, but here I am on my back thinking, thinking all day and night wishing to God I was with him where ever he is if he gets killed Dad I wont get home. I’ve sworn to be revenged against as cowardly contemptible and dirty enemy and by God I’ll get a Turk for every minute he suffered. However Dad, perhaps I worry too much he might be within a mile of two of me, no more hurt than I am, Its my only hope.

Nobody can possibly go through this hell without getting hit and I wonder how I went three days. All the boys that landed the first day are dead or wounded. I know that all the officers are, our Platoon Commander is dead, our Captain dead all our sergeants dead, our adjutant dead Major Hamilton dead, two of our Lieutenants dead, God it’s awful. Some reason that considering the number of troops engaged the casualties were greater than at Mons. I don’t know myself but we have got unusual praise for holding out has (sic) we have done. So far there has been nine (9) shiploads of wounded arrived at Alexandria and they are getting all the suitable buildings here and there to put the chaps in and has (sic) each ship averages 1000 wounded you can imagine what a busting we got 9000 out of 20,000 is a pretty big percentage but I suppose we are to blame to a great extent.

Most of the officers got pinged off the first day and we were on our own which was just into our hands  and it was amusing to see the boys taking a hand in things on their own. In fact the officers complimented is the way we were using our blocks and one English Johnnie describes us as follows, “Those damned Australians, you will never be able to knock discipline into them but by God they are perfect demons to fight”.

Anyway the boys got all they were looking for in that way. But to look at them under fire you would be surprised. They did not give a damn for bullets or shrapnel, simply walked about as though they were walking down Collins Street. They did not know the moment that they might get torn to pieces but went their way as cheerful as you like.

Well Dad, now I don’t want you to worry about me, im alright. Tod was in to see me today, so I am in better spirits but it’s in the between times that a man feels it. You can’t help thinking of it all. Poor beggers we buried 21 at sea in the 2 (2) days we were coming across. I got my lot on Tuesday afternoon about 4 o’clock. It was day light next day before we got aboard the ship and it was not until the following Saturday that my foot was seen to and then it stank like a bit of rotten meat so you can imagine how some of the poor beggers suffered with broken arms and legs.

I forgot to say that the ship we were put on was not a hospital ship but a german prize called the Dafflinger and we only had two officers and a A,M.C chap for 700 patients so you can understand how the slight cases are not yet treated. But the painting of my wound with iodine I think has prevented blood poisoning anyway I don’t think ill be much use for fighting for a month or so. Damn it, I wish I was there now but I suppose ill have to be patient and wait till I’m better.

Well Dad I trust you are well, I saw Dr Aberdeen at Mena the day I left for the front and saw him at hospital. I’m darned sorry that I was not under his care. Has Mr Hedger been to see you at all? He mentioned in one of Horrie’s letters that he was going to look you up. He is a real good sport. The way he writes to his son, every mail that comes in Horrie used to get 2 or 3 from his mother and dad and he used to give me all his letters to read and he used to read mine. But I’ve only received one from you in 9 months and you can draw your own conclusions how I feel. Anyway if you have not got any good news to tell I rather not receive any at all. Did I tell you a wry fact I received a letter from Percy about 3 pages out of a notebook full of the usual brag about the Yanks being on our side etc. I wrote to him saying that if he only knew what we thought of the Yanks he’d keep his sympathies to himself.

Well Dad, excuse writing I stopped a bit of an explosive bullet in my right thumb and it makes letter writing a bit of a worry- broken parts of the letter you can put down to my big toe giving me rats as it is now. They have just re-dressed it so far has (sic) putting on some caustic on gauze and pulling it right through the hole to clean out the matter. I can tell you that it does tickle one some.

Go and see the Hedgers they are fine people. They live at St Kilda ( 140 Barclay Street) you can give this letter to Mr Hedger to read if you like, he will at least know he has a son that whatever happens he will be proud of and as it is a  100 to 1 chance of him not getting hit. Who knows that sooner or later we will all be reunited again.

Goodbye Dad, remember me to all with love.

Your loving son, Norman