Essendon Gazette 13 May 1915 

LOCAL CASUALTY LIST.

Private J. F. Butler (wounded) is a son of Mr. John Butler, Morton st, Essendon, who has also two other sons at the front. At a meeting of the Essendon Coursing Club on Tuesday, it was decided to forward a sympathetic letter to the parents of the wounded lad. 

Essendon Gazette 10 June 1915

Private J. F. Butler writes to his mother from Mena Hospital, under date Sunday, May 2nd, 19l5;—

"Things here have been moving since I wrote last from Lemnos Island. We left here  on Easter Sunday, marched ton Cairo at night, left there in a train at 2 in the morning, arrived at Alexandria at 8, went on board a troopship at 10 o'clock, and lay alongside the wharf till Thursday evening On Saturday, April 24th, we went around the coast, waited for darkness and dropped down to the Gallipoli Pensinsula. At daylight we left the ship and went ashore. A couple of battalions landed before us, and the were giving the Turks a hot time. As we got near the shore the rifles and machine guns opened fire, but only hit one chap. I was with  the No. 1 Section machine guns; my old company, the 7th Battalion, landed some distance away. I had the spare parts of the gun to look after in a box.  I jumped into five feet of water, went under, but came up with my box in one hand and rifle in the other. I went about three paces and down I went into a big hole. I lost my luggage, but as spare parts of the gun are most important I was determined to get them. l got them, but lost my rifle. The next thing was wire entanglements under the water. We got over them and got on the beach and under cover. Bullets and shells were buzzing past us all the time. Out of 24 in the section, four were hit. Three hours afterwards I was taken off, put on a hospital ship, went to bed and had my wound dressed. We arrived  at Alexandria on Thursday morning, and were taken to Heliopolis Hospital, and transferred here next day. They are talking of leaving the piece of metal in my knee, but I want it taken out, and get back to my revenge on those devils. They are worse than the Germans.

"Wednesday, May 5th.—I am better now. I managed to get out of bed this morning, but my knee is still swollen and sore. The bullet, or whatever it is, in still in. Now that I am up I suppose I will be shifted to the convalescent camp of Abbassia. I have been under Australian doctors and nurses since I was wounded, and have been treated well and made very comfortable, thanks to their kind treatment. Fighting is not a bad kind of sport; there is plenty of excitement. It was wonderful to watch our chaps charge up a steep hill and dig the Turks out of their trenches with the  cold steel.  My watch on my wrist was smashed with a piece of shell, and my forehead grazed, so I have got off very luckily so far."

Essendon Gazette 22 July 1915

UNFOUNDED RUMOURS.
(To the Editor.)
Sir, Allow me space in your valuable column to correct rumours that have been going round lately re my son J. F. Butler, who had the misfortune to have been wounded at the Dardanelles. My son had received a bullet in the knee, and had been operated on and the bullet removed, and in a letter received on the 14th inst., dated June 7th, he said that he was getting all right, and would be back in the trenches in a short time from the date of writing, so I suppose he is there at the present time, with his two brothers, who had been with the transport waggons, but volunteered to go into the fighting line with him. It is enough worry to know they are in it without some person spreading false reports such us he was coming back with his eyes out, and another report that he had his leg and arm off.  Such person or persons ought to send some of their own there, and they would not spread false reports about anyone else.
Yours, etc.,
J. BUTLER.
Morton street, Essendon.