General, Sir John Monash, Personal Files Book 22, 1 February - 10 April 1919- Part 5

RLC 

Conference

24/2/19

Major Lee

Liaison to Australia

1. 1 Give him letter

2. General :- Shipping - Claims of other Dominions

   Atlantic Ships

   Strike & effects

   30000 to Feby 28; estimate 45000

   In future ask 20000 per month.

   Belgian refugee Traffic. -

3. Methods :- English depots

   Absence of room : Clear wastage. -

   French railways

   Delays in disposing horse

                                        stores

4. Uncertainties as to Army of Occupation

   Peace - No Demob. till peace signal.

5. Basis of Repatriation - later not Units or trades

   Mr Hughes decides & promises

6. Non-mil. Employment - difficulties

   1000 placed

   expect 5000 to 10000

7. Organization of Quotas - discipline
8. Permanent Ship's Staff.
9. Shrinkage, Amalgamation, Extinction, Dissolution of H.Q.
10. Proportion of Officer's sent

11. Break down of Morale - Australian discipline splendid

    Taking men into Confidence

    Our pamphlets

12. Take full copy General Instructs, Pamphlets, Forms.
13. McCay to follow middle April.

 

RLC

Conferences

24/2/19

Whittain	McCay & McGlinn
Attend W. Conference. ✓	A.F.C. space in camps. -
[Moving AAMC. personnel with a Quota or not.	Date for resumption of movements. & Diagram. →
A.F.C. movement. ✓	Family men leave. →
Reply to his, re permt offices.	Has he notified Havn destination A.F.C.
Letters to him & Davis re D.M.S. report.	Portland conditions - his report. -}
What prospects of Speeding up, later. ✓	Nevasa & Euripides labour. -
	Higher pay for A.A.S.C. England.
	Parker
White	Osterley & dates.] 3 weeks Marches Sydney
"Permanent" Officers for home. - ✓	Repair to Nevasa & Euripides.
D.M.S. & personnel from Hospitals. ✓	Missing letters. -
Cable re Officer repatriation. ✓See Bruche.	Shipping for Egypt.
See Bruche.
Finance Questions

[*RD*]

24/8/19

Salaustra

Tidworth

For General McCay aaa Superseding

previous instructions please arrange

personnel for cleaning fitting Euripides

meet her at Portland Friday twenty

eighth forenoon, not London. - aaa

Monash

DCunobaust

send Parker copy of above

 

 

[*RD*]

25/8/19

Australian Corps.

Your AA 826 23rd Statement for

Quota Eleven not rec yet received

post duplicates at earliest. aaa Monash

Demobaust.

 

[*RLC*]

27/2/19

REPATRIATION & DEMOBILISATION DEPARTMENT, A.I.F.

LECTURE BY LIEUT.-GENERAL MONASH. "PRINCIPLES OF DEMOBILISATION"

given at A.I.F. War Chest Club, 27.2.19.

In the course of an hour's address General Monash dealt with

the problem of Demobilisation of the Australian Imperial Forces

on this side of the world. He showed that the Department was

doing with very its very best under many severe obstacles individually

and collectively for the men. There were 200,000 Australians in all

waiting to be sent back, and when they took into consideration

the lack of shipping and the thousand one disabilities for

travel at the present time they would see at a glance the very

big problem which confronted them - a problem that would take

a great deal of preparation and organisation to solve satisfactorily.

One of the chief points was how to maintain the morale

of the 200,000 men and maintain workers etc waiting patiently and wearily for their turn

to go home. Transportation to Australia was an exceedingly

complex and difficult matter on account of the way in which

shipping facilities were so naturally and necessarily disorganised,

and until this ponderous machine got into working order again

the difficulties of sending men from France, Egypt and England

would be very great indeed. The deeds of Australians had been

the subject of eulogy from many of their public men and the

general feeling was that there was nothing too good to help them

in every possible way. Australia was a long way away and, therefore,

it devolved upon the responsible officers at this end of

the world to do everything in their power to send back at the

quickest possible moment to their families those men who still

had their future outlook on life and their future careers to

consider. At the request of the Prime Minister he had undertaken

the responsibility of the Repatriation & Demobilisation

Department. he was fortf fortified in the charge given to him

by the fact that he felt he had the confidence in the A.I.F.

to help him and that that would not be misplaced. For the

patient help that they had given him so far he tendered his most

grateful acknowledgement. Still, until there was a complete

solution of the shipping difficulties - because after all their

return to Australia depended exclusively on that - they were

powerless to achieve the object which everyone of them had at

heart. General Monash pointed to the disasters which had befallen

shipping, not only of the British Empire and Allied countries but

also that of Neutral nations, and showed what a fearful gap was

left in the number of vessels available for traffic such as

existed in the pre-war days. Whilst the Shipping Controller,

appointed by the British Cabinet, was in full sympathy with

them and whilst he was eager to what he could to help them he

had to temper the wind to the shorn lamb, and could only give

them those ships which were actually available. It was impossible

under present circumstances for the Controller to say "I can

let you have so many ships pro rata, or on basis of population

and so on". Such was the vast complexity of the merchant

tonnage of the world that that point of view was quite out of

thought. Even with certain ships available that did not say

that they were suitable for the carrying of troops. Xx Transport

ships required an immense amount of fitting up in order to make

them comfortable and above all sanitary for men going such a

long distance to Australia. To come down to bedrock there were

scores of ships which were built for a certain class of trade,

such as, for instance the North Atlantic which would be totally

inadequate for such a route as the Suez Canal. Ships constructed

for service in waters where very cold weather, fogs, &c. prevailed

would not answer the requirements at all in tropical waters. Among

the many classes of troops in France where hundreds of thousands

of colored men, and all would admit that it was advisable to get

them out of there as quickly as possible, that, too, constituted

a block and was one of the many hindrances to the Australians

going home as quickly as they would like. General Monash

dealt briefly with the commercial aspect of the position and

 

2.

showed how impossible it was for even the commerce of the country,

in the absence of raw material for the carriage of which they

had to depend upon ships, could to be carried on. They had

made a calculation that they could get out of England within

nine months, at the rate of 20,000 a month from the time they

started the Repatriation, but he discovered that was too sanguinanye

an expectation. In December they had sent away 13,000

and January 13,000 whilst in February he was very sorry to tell

them they could only despatch 5,000; so that they were 17,000

behind their estimate of the nine basis months basis. Hex He

was very much afraid unless conditions improved they would take

longer than nine months. Anyhow, he was doing his best to remove

the difficulties which had beset them in the last three months.

The Prime Minister had worked zealously for them to that object,

and he with others had endeavoured to prove to the authorities

that the long distance which Australian troops had to travel in

order to reach their homes ought to have due weight in entitling

them to a greater proportion per head of freight than countries

nearer home. He was hopeful that those arguments would prevail

and that in the near future they would have a bigger allocation

of ships.  He could promise them that it would not be for the

want of agitation that ships would be lacking. General Monash

alluded to the industrial unrest, and pointed out that certain

strikes which were xxxx admittedly unauthorised, amde it

difficult to negotiate with the responsible leaders more especially

the one in which they were vitally concerned - the Ship Repairing

Industry. Ships could not be put to sea unless they were properly

equipped. That was a self evident proposition. He was glad to

tell them that the Shipping Controller has promised them space

for 25,000 for March, but of course that was subject to the state

of the industrial market. He felt it was no use humbugging them

by not revealing the facts of the situation, and if they could

not get home within nine months it would be through the unforeseen

circumstances to which he had referred. Another important question

was the port of embarkation for the troops. All the circumstances

considered England was found to be the most suitable. Where

men were quartered they required good camps where they could be

housed and fed well, and have ample opportunity for recreation

and amusement. France had been so devastated that there was not

material xxx available for those purposes and taking everything

into consideration he thought the best policy had been adopted

in choosing England as the camping grounds for Australians awaiting

repatriation. England also offered the opportunity of giving

the troops pre-embarkation leave. In conclusion he thanked them

for the generous way in which they had met himself and his

responsible officers, and for the patience with which they had

borne their enforced stay in England.

 

[*RD 

(4 copies) ↓*]

/3/19

Dear Captain Parker

I regret that I must ask you urgently to convey to the responsible Authorities, as an

urgent matter, an expression of any very serious dissatisfaction, expressed on

behalf of the Commonwealth Government, with the whole situation as regards

the Shipping facilities which are being provided for the repatriation of the 

Australian Imperial Force. -

I am While prepared to make the fullest allowances for the recent industrial

troubles, which have operated so seriously to dislocate the February programme.

But, apart from these difficulties _x I am not satisfied that the best possible has been

done to keep us supplied with ships.

Experience of three months has shown that only a proportion of the ships promised for any

given period an actually made become available to us within such period. - Yet, in spite of this, and of the

fact that my demobilization plans are now so organized have reached such a stage that I can now take a

Subxxxx & have asked for ships at a rate much greater than heretofore, I see no evidence of

any increased allotment for the next coming weeks of shipping, likely to prove

even approximately equal to our needs. The irregular distribution of the available ships, in point of time, is also a serious evil. - In sho

In short, the whole of the elaborate plans for the movements of our troops from the field to the

ports of embarkation are likely to be rendered negatory unless my shipping

demands are in future fully met & regularly, in actual fact & not merely on paper, and

unless the arrears of shipping, which have occurred to date, are also fully made up.

I have also, regretfully, to take very great exception to the manner in

which the sailing dates of ships are notified to me. It is the rare exception for

a ship to sail on the notified date, even approximately. The consequent

dxxx continual disorganization of all plans and staff work for the movement, and assembly

& preparation of troops for embarkation has become so exasperating as to be no longer bearable.

I need dinstance only the recent cases of the "Orca", notified quite definitely

for the 15th inst., which is not likely to sail until the 19th, and of the

"Kashmir' for which I was reported pressed to have troops ready by the 19th, but which

I am now told cannot sail before the 28th. - And I could cite many other instances.

Not only is it proving quite impossible, for them above reasons, to carry out

the Australian demobilization with regularity, a minimum of friction, and avoidance of delay,

but also very serious discontent is being engendered among the large number of waiting soldiers troops

who, through these continual postponements and disappointments are reaching the limits of their

patience, and may easily become unmanageable, with possibly very

serious results. - 

p.t.o

 

 

I do not think that the consequences inconveniences, such as have been suffered in the past,

xxy have been sufficiently fully realized by those Authorities responsible either for allocating

to me shipping in effective quantities, or for accurately notifying sailing dates upon

which the necessarily elaborate & complex procedure of xxx preparations

for embarkation depend. -

I shall be glad to learn through you, as early as possible, what steps

are being can be are proposed to be taken to meet these complaints. -

La General 

&c  &c

 

[*3 copies*]

Dear Mr Hughes

I have instructed Captain Parker, my shipping representative

at Australia House, in terms of which a copy is enclosed for your

information, to take immediate steps to deal with the present shipping

difficulties. - I shall, of course, follow this up with further action.

If you should find it possible to add your weight & authority to

these representations by writing very emphatically to the Ministry of 

Shipping I shall be very glad.

Yours ffly.

Le Gen.

 

1/3/19

AT THE MINISTRY OF SHIPPING.

A Senior Clerk Solioquises.

I loiter down to work in Town,

I scan the ocean's borders

To see what ships horizons crown

To take my royal orders.

At staving off decisive acts

I'm clever, doosid clever,

And lists may come, and lists may go

But I go on for ever.

 

Australia snaps, Australia snarls,

Calls all my doings blunders;

Those poor Antipodean carles

Don't known I'm working wonders;

I give them ships that make no trips

(Will this our friendship sever?)

--Well, Diggers come (but do not go)

I'll still go on for ever.

 

By London's 'fleuve' I sit, nor move;

(That touch of French is artful);

I measure out red tape about

Propellers by the cartful.

When owners cry 'Demurrage high'

To do them I endeavour.

For Demobs come and Demobs go

But I go on for ever.

 

So tho' their trust in me go bust,

I'll go my way unheeding,

And scornful sniff at off'cers if

They try to set me speeding.

While I.O.U's will suit their views,

I'll promise them for ever;

But ships, real ships, to run real trips!

They'll get them, never, NEVER!!!

 

OUR "MOVIES"
Nunquam idom.

THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN CINEMA.

THE FLYING DUTCHMAN DONE.

LIGHTNING CHANGES.

COMPLETE CHANGE OF PROGRAMME DAILY.

THE ELUSIVE PIMPERNEL.

Australia tries to catch an Admiralty ship!

AN OLD FRIEND AGAIN.

"Is it the DELTA?"

MONEY TALKS.

Lloyd's ask 90 Guineas per cent for insurance that

ship will sail on advertised date.

COURT-MARTIAL ON NAVAL OFFICER.

Captain Parker tried for giving false

information to Demobaust.

GENERAL DESPAIR.

General Monash.

THE DISTANT VISION.

The fleet you cannot see, because

It is not yet in sight.

A CENTENARIAN'S MEMOIRS.

"From Boatroll to ship: or, Fifty years of Europe".