Sr Frances Stibi: the Perth priest who saw horrors of Gallipoli

01 Jun 2011

By The Record

Father John Fahey DSO. PHOTO: Courtesy Archdiocesan Roman Catholic Archives of Perth.
Father John Fahey DSO. PHOTO: Courtesy Archdiocesan Roman Catholic Archives of Perth.

John Fahey was born on 3 October, 1883 at Rossmore, Co. Tipperary. He was educated at Mt Melleray and at Genoa.

He was ordained on 25 May 1907 and arrived in Perth on 7 December of that year.

He joined up on 8 September 1914 as a Chaplain and was assigned to the 11th Battalion. He reached Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. He was mentioned in dispatches and was awarded the DSO for “gallantry under fire”. After the war he spent most of his priestly life at Kellerberrin and Cottesloe. He died on 28 April 1959 and an estimated 2000 people attended his funeral.
He wrote this letter to his father in Ireland:

Gallipoli Peninsula
24/5/1915

My Dear Dad,
Though I have been through more than four weeks of war I am still hale and hearty and without a scratch. Having escaped so far I do not think I can get hit now. The Mediterranean army composed of English, French, Australians and New Zealanders was landed in Gallipoli on 25th April. Part of it was landed at the Southern and the Australians about ten miles to the north. As the English advance from the south sweeping the Turks before them we shall unite and form the left wing of the force.
We landed in the face of fierce opposition from the Turks who seemed to be waiting for us. As we were in the boats nearing the shore a terrible hail of fire from rifles, machine guns and artillery greeted us. Many were killed and wounded in the boats and many more on the shore. I saw men fall around everywhere. It was our first experience of fire and it was sudden and terrible. The Turks were in a strong position on a hillside where they commanded the whole beach.
As quickly as our fellows reached the shore they fixed bayonets, gave a wild cheer and rushed the hill. A terrific battle ensued. Our fellows literally dug the enemy out of their trenches and holes and in a short time had them on the run. By seven o’clock in the morning the hills commanding the shore were cleared. The battle began at 4.30 in semi-darkness. All day the battle raged and by night our men had secured a safe footing and began to entrench themselves. I never expected to see anything so exciting as that wonderful charge of the Australians.
They are splendid fellows and dashing, reckless soldiers. It was however, a costly business. Many hundreds of dead and dying men were lying on the shore and on the hillsides before the day was over. The brigade to which I belong was selected for the landing party as it is supposed to be the best brigade in the Division. The task was a difficult one but they did it well. My battalion lost nearly half its strength. The coast being clear the disembarkation of the corps was proceeded with, and in a few days all our infantry and artillery was ashore. The guns have to be hauled by men to the summit of the hills as they were too steep for horses. I have seen as many as 200 men hauling a gun up the hills, while the engineers went ahead improvising a road and throwing up bridges. Once we got our guns into position, we gave the Turks a taste of what they gave us in the landing. We now hold the narrow strip of territory along the shore, but we are so well entrenched that the position is like a fortress. Being such a small area it is swept by the Turkish artillery, but the hills provide good cover.
Nevertheless a person has to be careful in the day time. The Turkish artillery are silent at night. For the past two weeks they raked the place with shrapnel, but lately they are very quiet. Probably they are short of ammunition and are sparing it. They made several counter attacks during the first days, but they were all a failure. If they succeeded in driving us back we would be in a bad plight for we have nowhere to retreat to except into the sea. On the 18th they made a supreme effort. They must have thrown at least 20,000 men against the whole of our line. The result was they had 3000 killed and perhaps 10,000 wounded – sweet revenge for our losses in the landing. It was fearful slaughter; the battle began at 8 in the morning and continued without intermission till the following midday. The Turks are brave men but no good at an attack. They came on to our trenches in massed formation – German style – a dense column only to be mown down by the rapid fire of our rifles and machine guns.
When day broke our artillery joined in the fray and did awful havoc. I was often in the trenches and had a good view of the slaughter. Our men were wild with excitement. Rifles were hot from continuous fire; men were almost fighting for loopholes and would not leave the trenches to have breakfast until the battle was over. When it had finished the sight in front of our trenches was awful. Dead and wounded Turks were lying in heaps and our machine gunner paid off 30,000 rounds in a few hours and he counted in front 500 corpses. I do not think they will attack again. The dead were not buried for a week and the stench of dead Turks was terrible. Needless to say I have had some narrow squeaks especially in the first few days. I shall tell you all about them when I come home. I need not have come ashore the first days. Chaplains were asked to remain on the ships for the first day or two, but I was anxious to be in the fire, so I came away with my battalion, and was in the first boat to touch the Turkish shore. It was fortunate that I did come ashore for many a dying Catholic needed my services; I was the only priest ashore the first day. Now we have five or six.
You have no occasion to worry about me. I am feeling fit and well. The position is fairly safe now, and if a person is careful, he will not be hit, and you can trust me to be careful. Food is good and plentiful but not too varied. It is mostly bully beef, biscuits and black tea. We sleep in holes or dug outs in the ground. They are more or less like a grave, and are shrapnel and bullet proof. When night comes I spread out my waterproof sheet, roll myself in my greatcoat and blanket and sleep like a top. It is a rough life, but it does not affect me and I feel quite well. I have not had my clothes or boots off for five weeks except to have an occasional swim, and I have four weeks beard on me. I wish you saw me. Now for goodness sake do not worry about me. I shall get through this business all right; and shall have a lot of stories to tell when I come home.
With love to yourself and all the family, and hoping that you are all well,
I remain
Yours very sincerely
John