Near the firing line at Gallipoli

It is a week later and nursing sister Ruby Peterkin is finally “there”, which is Malta. But it hasn’t been all quiet and uneventful on the SS “Kildonan Castle”. At Gallipoli they sail right up to the firing line, with shells bursting nearby. Then orders are received to carry on to Salonika and almost immediately to return to Malta. No one knows what happens next …

Ruby is still on her way to her final destination in Greece

Union-Castle Line
R.M.S. “Kildonan Castle”
Nov. 5 – 1915

Dear Rene –
We are still on board and are now in the harbour at Malta. We have just been taking a little Mediterranean cruise and taking in the places we did not visit when you and I were over here last. The patients are to be unloaded this a.m. for of course, you understand, we have been working our passage. When I wrote you last we thought our destination was to be Lemnos but not so. We went right from London to Lemnos. There the boat was ordered to the Gulf of Suvla Galipoli, to take on a load of wounded and so no one knew what to do with us and had heard nothing of NO. 4. We went with the ship, the nursing staff for this boat having failed to make connections. We were right up at the firing line at Galipoli all right, anchored ½ mile from shore and saw the shells bursting on land and in the water. We got out board – about seven hundred and went back to Lemnos, got orders to go to Salonika and proceeded thither. They knew nothing more about us there, but they said twelve of us were to stay on the ship to take the patients to Malta and the others of us were transported to another hospital ship the Karapara in the harbor. The whole sixty-three of us slept in a big ward and in the a.m. we got orders to go back to our own ship. So we all were conveyed back in the lighter and very glad were the twelve, who had been left on board, to see us.

Then we set out for Malta and arrived here yesterday. They are going to begin to unload now and no one knows what is going to become of us. They cabled London last night and are waiting a reply. We have not heard of our officers and men who are supposed to have come out in a troop ship. No doubt they are as much in the dark as to our whereabouts.
Don’t be surprised if you don’t hear very often. I’ll write when I can. Let Minnie and Ern know the news as I have not time to write them just now.

Ruby