Swimming in the sea was a popular past-time for men on Gallipoli. It was the only way they could have a proper wash and escape the lice, flies and heat, if only for a short while. But it became an increasingly dangerous exercise, since the beach was exposed to Turkish sniper fire. Eventually commanders were forced to ban swimming during the daytime because the casualty rate was becoming too high.

Bertie Cooksley’s swimming companion, General William Birdwood, was made commander of the combined Australian and New Zealand Army Corps while they were training in Egypt in December 1914. Although an Englishman, his down-to-earth manner suited the colonial troops and he was generally well-liked. It was Birdwood who requested that the spot where his men had landed be called Anzac Cove, and it was under his command that they began referring to themselves as “Anzacs”.

“Birdie”, as they nick-named him, was a daily swimmer and frequently seen in the water with the men or wandering among them near the frontline trenches. Charles Bean, the Australian journalist who reported events at Gallipoli, wrote of Birdwood, “His delight was to be out in the field among his men, cheering them by his talk, feeling the pulse of them.”(1)

It was also reported that General Birdwood always refused to have a drink of water when he was up visiting the front line, because he knew how much effort went into dragging water all the way up the steep hills from the beach to the men in the trenches.

The speaker in this recording, Bertie Cooksley, went on to serve in France, where he was awarded the Military Medal. After the war he was elected Member of Parliament for the rural North Island seat of Wairarapa from 1949-1963. His recollections of Gallipoli were recorded by the local radio station for a broadcast on Anzac Day, 1955.

1. Charles Bean, The Story of Anzac, Vol 1, Sydney, 1941, p.121