General Maud's lighter

Between 2 and 3 a.m. in the morning of 9th January 1916, the evacuation of the Helles sector was nearly complete.

At Gully Beach, in bad windy weather, the last 200 men came out of Gully Ravine to be embarked on a lighter. With them was General Maude, the commander of the 13th Division, who had insisted to leave the Peninsula with the very last members of the rearguard.

When they reached the beach however, they discovered to their horror that their transport, as a result of the bad weather, had run aground. They were faced with a serious problem there, as all the other ships had already left, not to forget the fact that their march from the frontline through the ravine had taken them nearly two hours : all that time the trenches had been completely deserted, and the Turks might any moment discover what was happening.

As a last resort, they decided to march along the coastal road under the cliffs to W-Beach, 2 miles further south,  in the hope they would be able to board one of the last boats there. After something like a quarter of an hour's marching however, Maud suddenly discovered to his despair that he had forgotten his valise on the stranded lighter and declared he had no intention whatsoever to leave Gallipoli without it. Ignoring all pleading of the others, he thereupon returned, together with a friend, to retrieve it, while the rest of the group marched on.

When Maud had recuperated his valise from the lighter, he discovered a stretcher on wheels, put his precious property on that and started for a second time in the direction of W-Beach.

Meanwhile, the others had arrived there already, just in time to stop the last barge that was about to leave the peninsula. They explained the whole affair  to the officer who was in command of the boat and informed him they could impossibly leave without the general. Their situation was far from simple however : not only was the strong wind now rising to half a gale, which would make embarkation a risky business, but apart from that the fuses leading to the main ammunition dump on the beach had already been lit and the explosion would take place in less than 30 minutes.

Twenty minutes later, while the captain of the boat was just announcing that any further delay was out of the question, Maud suddenly appeared on the dark beach with his companion, his wheeled stretcher and his valise.

At 3.45 a.m. the men of this group were the last ones to say goodbye to Gallipoli, without leaving anyone behind. 10 minutes later, the ammunition dumps blew up.

In his Gallipoli history, Allan Moorehead adds a short note on what followed :

This incident inspired the exasperated embarcation officer to compose the following lines :

'Come into the lighter, Maude,

For the fuse has long been lit.

Hop into the lighter, Maude

And never mind your kit.'

An alternative version runs :

Come into the lighter, Maude,

For the night is nearly flown.

Come into the lighter, Maude,

And leave your bag alone.