Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

The following is a very interesting account of a visit to Imbros Island, written by Private Wm. Marshall (familiarly known among his mates as "Ranji") :-

Looking westward from Gallipoli  Heights, one can see plainly Imbros  Island, being like a huge rock cut out of the blue waters of the Aegean Sea. It is 14 miles distant, although it does not seem so far away. The island itself is exceedingly hilly; some of the hills appear to be formed of gigantic rocks, rugged and lichen covered. Some of the gullies furnish beautiful scenery; they are full of bracken ferns. Through one, not far from where we are camped, runs a stream of clear crystal water, which is splendid for drinking purposes. Numerous tall trees grow alongside the stream, and undergrowth thrives luxuriantly there.   Among the shrubbery may be noticed innumerable gaily coloured wild flowers. Wild thyme grows in abundance. The sweet purple blossoms throw off a fragrance most pleasant to the nostrils. Some of the sunny slopes are under cultivation; the harvest is past, 'tis midsummer in this part of the world,   and all of the inhabitants are busily engaged in threshing operations. The method is of the most primitive. The same may have been used in the time of Christ, the scene of whose ministry is not so many miles from Imbros. The hay is placed on a circular thresh ing floor, constructed of stone, with a diameter of perhaps seven or eight yards. Around this, animals (usually three ponies or a couple of oxen) are driven in order that they may tread out the golden grain. Girls - some of them very pretty featured girls-are employed in threshing work. When they are not doing this they knit and crochet continuously; most industrious are these poor Greek peasants. Their habitations are built of stone, low or squat, with red tiled roofs, and they cling, or seem to cling to the hillsides. They have a peculiarly ancient appearance, the exterior being moss-covered. The interior is kept scrupulously clean. The people are simple and ill-dressed. They rarely wear boots, and it is very difficult to make oneself understood among them.

They live the very same life as their very ancient ancestors lived. Modernity has never appeared  in the island. The simple pastoral life  pleases them, and they are happy with their little farms, their sheep and their goats. Fences are not necessary here.  No one encroaches on his neighbour's possessions. The wind propels an old wheel at the top of a headland. We wanted to know why? We went up to the trembling stone tower and found that their flour was produced there. The wheel works some rude wooden machinery; the wheat or oats falls under a heavy revolving round stone, and the corn is crushed into flour. Below the mill is a wide saltwater lake; the Aegean Sea is only about a mile away.   Pretty scenery lies before the eyes of a visitor to the old mill. The miller  is also old, and his wife, his only assistant is in the sere and yellow leaf period of age. They are happy at their work. The Greeks sell many things, but their prices are exorbitant, and the presence of troops on the island disturbs their quiet life, but thereby many of them will accumulate a fortune which will tide them over many lean years when this great war is over. The trip to Imbros was educative and interesting. I am very glad I was permitted to see the place and study the  inhabitants. 

OUR SOLDIERS. (1915, September 9). The Essendon Gazette and Keilor, Bulla and Broadmeadows Reporter (Moonee Ponds, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 5 Edition: Morning.. Retrieved January 14, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74590016
 

We regret to announce that news has come through of the death in action of Private William (Ranji) Marshall, which occurred on 21st August last, at Hill 60. Private Marshall, who was 22 years of age, was well known in the district, and was the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall, of "Brooklyn," Taylor street, Moonee Ponds.