Photostat copy of diaries of Benjamin Bennett Leane, 1915-1916 - Part 28

122
hollow, with a ridge of hills
encircling it.  I am still
living at headquarters as I am
acting as second in command,
Major Imlay not having
returned yet.  We are in a
big two-storey house, formerly
the home of Major Durand, of
the French Army.  It is very
comfortably furnished, and,
joy of joys, there is a piano
in the parlor.  At first we
found the parlor and library
locked.  It appears that the
battalion here before us, the

23^rd Bn. (Australians, I am sorry
to confess) created a very bad
impression all through the
village.  They certainly left
the place frightfully dirty.
However, after the maire and
I had expended a few
confabs, each doing our best
to torture the other's language,
we took a mutual shine
to each other, and now
I have the keys of both
parlor and library.  I can
assure you I am in no great
hurry to leave the place,
but I suppose we will be
moving up shortly to have
another flutter with the Hun.
4.30 pm. - Was just coming
back from church parade
when I got your cable to
say that you are coming
by the "Medina" due London
on the 10^th Decr.  I am wild
with joy, darling darling girl.
 

124
Tuesday, Oct 31^st
We move early tomorrow morning
to Bettencourt-St Ouen, a place
about three miles this side of
Berteaucourt-les-Dames.
Yesterday Major Imlay returned,
as I am now with my company.
Kiddie dear, I'm thinking of
you constantly; I suppose
you are now about two days
at sea.  I hope you have a
good trip, dear.  I am
counting the days to December 10^th
Wednesday November 1^st Bettencourt St Ouen
Arrived here about noon today,
having left the other place at
9 a.m.  It was quite a pleasant
day, and although the
men were heavily laden, with
their packs & blankets, they
marched well and were in
excellent spirits.  I have a
fine billet this time, but we
move again tomorrow morning
to Flesselles. It is a very
unsettled existence, a real
gypsy life.  However, we are
seeing a great deal of France.
Just fancy, dear, only a
month and nine days now
and we will be together.
Oh, while I think of it. Major
Imlay received a cable
from his wife also, and she
is coming to England by the
same boat as you.  I wonder
will you get to know each
other; but of course you
will if you are travelling in
the same class.  I hope you
 

126
are not trying to do the
trip too cheaply, Kiddie.
Sunday November 5 ^th Vaux-en-Amienois
I'm a lazy beggar, am I
not.  Here have we been
for four days and I haven't
made an entry.  We did
not go to Flesselles after all;
instead we got orders Thursday
morning to come to this place,
about four miles from
Flesselles and five or six
from Amiens.  We left
at 9 o'clock Thursday
morning, in a steady rain.
The rain cleared off after
awhile, but the roads were
very bad and sloppy,
particularly one portion of
which led through a
wood for about two miles.
But the beauty of the autumn
leaves more than compensated
for the bad condition of the
road.  I am billetted
with headquarters in a beautiful
old French chateau, its walls
covered with choice tapestry,
its rooms filled with wonderfully
carved furniture, each
bedroom with its own separate
lavatory accommodation.  The
grounds, too, have been very
beautiful in their time, although
now they are rather over-run;
there is a grotto, an artificial
lake and waterfall, and
many other evidences of
what it has once been.
We leave it again tomorrow
 

128
for new quarters.  This time
we go per motorbus to
Ribemont, about 20 miles
from here, and about five
miles this side of Albert.
After that, I expect the
next move will be into
a reserve position somewhere
about Fricourt, and then
into the front line.
Today my company
played B Coy. a football
match.  After one of the
hardest fought games I have
ever seen, they beat us
by three points.
I wonder just where you
are now Kiddie?  About
two days out from Fremantle
I should say - that is,
if you are coming via
Suez Canal.  I do hope
I can meet you on your
arrival
Tuesday, November 7^th - Dernancourt
In the zone again.  We've got
a big howitzer living next
door, and last night it
stirred in its sleep or
something.  I thought every
pane of glass in the place
would be shattered.  We
had quite an exciting
evening altogether.  At about
ten o'clock six German
aeroplanes came over on a
moonlight bombing raid.
Although they dropped
about twenty bombs, which
exploded with a great crash,
 

130
I don't think they did much
damage beyond setting a
dump on fire.  The railhead
is within a hundred yards
of my company's billets, and
it comes in for a bit of
shelling, most of which
falls short and lands
in an open field just
at the back of my headquarters
I hope none of them fall
much shorter or it will
be Goodbye Bennie.
We came on to this
place instead of Ribemont
as there was no room there.
For that matter there is not
much here either.  The houses
are all more or less
broken down, and terribly
draughty.  I managed to get
onto this place, an empty house
with about five fairly sound
rooms, so I collared it for my
company headquarters.  After
we had got most of the
debris cleared out it didn't
look too bad, and this
afternoon I put up my
art gallery and now my
room looks quite cheery
and bright.  I haven't a
man on the walls - all
girls.  Just a minute while
I count up - 36 in all,
including yourself!!  Now,
aren't you frightfully
jealous?  And there are
about eighteen more in
my box which I have not
 

132
yet put up.  Jove, I'll
bet you are snorting by now!
Now, don't worry; bar
photos of yourself and the
Kiddies, Gulie Farley and Bae
Perkins, they are all
Raphael Kirchner pictures.
I'll show them to you some
day.  They accompany
me everywhere, and you
would not credit what
a difference they make to the
appearance of a room or a
hut or dugout.  They
brighten it up wonderfully.
We came here yesterday
in French motor lorries; a
run of about twenty to
thirty miles.  We passed
through Amiens on the way.
All we brass hats (that
sounds nobby, doesn't it -
you see your hubby is a 
Field Ossifer nowadays) had
motor cars to travel in, so
we had quite a pleasant
ride.  It was frightfully
cold though.  Since we got
here it has drizzled nearly
all the time, and the
ground is very boggy.
Oh those trenches!!
Dearest, the mail has
just arrived, and there
are two from you, one
from Mother, and one
from Miss Barton.  Wait
until I have read them.
Later -There was only one
letter from you (18^th Septr)
 

134
the other was that photo of
you in your kimono and
Mrs Frost in tennis togs.  That
makes two more girls for my
art gallery!  Dear old girl,
in this letter you are undecided
whether to come to England
at once or wait until
March.  I'm so glad you
decided to come at once.
Just a few days over
the month, Kiddie, and
you will be in my arms
I hope.  I am longing
for your coming sweetheart.
Wednesday, 8^th.
My majority is confirmed, Kiddie
to date November 6^th, so now
I'll be able to increase your
allotment by about 5/- or 6/- per
day.  Young Allan's promotion
to captain is through also, so
I'll have him in my company
shortly.  There's nothing
else of interest, except that
it continues to rain steadily
- and it is one day nearer
December 10^th!!
Friday 10^th. Fritz planes came
over in the moonlight last
night and bombed Albert.
They are much more active
now than they used to be.
Today young Allan came
over to my company as
2^nd in command.  I guess he
will be happier in that job
than he was as S.M.
Who do you think blew
in this afternoon to see me?
 

136
Mrs Frost's brother, Hepworth.
He is a company sergeant

major in the 27^th.  You would
hardly recognise him.  He
has filled out wonderfully
and, except for that
drain look about the eyes
which seems characteristic
of the family, he looks
quite strong and stalwart.
He brought rather bad news
though.  Young Tom (Ern's
eldest boy) is posted
wounded and missing.

That usually means the
end, but there is just
a chance that he is a
prisoner in the hands of
the Germans.  I hope it is so.
He is the first of us to go.
Saturday 11^th
Oh dear, I'm so tired.  We
left Dernancourt this morning
at 9 o;clock in motorbuses.
That is to say all the
"sods" left; C.O. company
commanders, and specialist
officers, to have a look
at the front line prior to
taking over.  We  had a
cold and jolly journey
through Fricourt, Mametz etc
to a place called Cosy
Corner (which wasn't too
cosy):  There we de-bussed
into the mud and did
the balance of the journey
per foot.  And such a journey;
mile after mile along a
road strewn with holes,
 

138
deep with mud and congested
with traffic of all kinds
- motor lorries, mule trains
transport limbers, G.S. wagons,
ammunition limbers, men
on foot and on horseback,
A.M.C. motors looking for
first place with their wounded.
At last we left the main
road and headed for
Delville Wood  There we
rested awhile.  Doesn't
that sound delightful?
We rested and ate our
scanty lunch in Delville Wood.
At once, you picture a
beautiful scene - a grassy
slope with perhaps a trickling
stream running by; tall
trees thick with foliage
now beautiful with their
autumn tints.  The birds
singing; a timid deer
peering out from behind
some nearby thicket; a
rabbit scuttling across the
open.  Yes, I don't
think.  Twelve months
ago Delville Wood was
possibly like that.  Today
it bears no more likeness to
its original self than does
a hideous, grinning skeleton
to the beautiful face and
form that once covered it.
Today it looks like all the
other woods, all the
other villages through which
this terrible offensive has
been pushed.  The trees are
 

140
mere stumps, torn asunder
by ours and the enemy
shell fire; stripped
absolutely bare of every
leaf and twig and branch.
The ground is bare of
anything in the nature of grass,
and is lined with broken
trenches and seamed with
shellholes like the face
of a pock marked man.
And everywhere is strewn
the disorder and wreckage
that follow in the train
of war - broken wagons,
overturned guns, abandoned
rifles and equipment, bodies
lying half-buried in the mud
a rifle stuck bayonet-end
in the ground and a steel
AUST. WAR MEMORIAL LIBRARY
hat on top to mark the
spot where some British
soldier has been hastily
buried; unexploded shells,
bombs, anything and
everything.  And all
the shellholes half filled
with water curiously tinted
red.  You wonder for
just a fraction of a second
why - and then you
remember.  For here the
fight raged intensely.
After resting we pushed
on along the winding line
of duckboards to Brigade
Headqrs. where we got
guides to take us to our
positions in the line: Our
battalion is going into support