Diary transcript of Reginald Harriman Heywood, 1918-1919 - Part 6
quite willing to be assisted, and with cheery optimism asked
for a little stud farm or something like that. Gee! I'm the
man they're looking for according to self.
We have got the Bridge party in good working order
again but am afraid we will lose Geoff as I put in a special
application for him on educational grounds. He had completed
2 years medecine at Melbourne when he came away early in '17.
30.12.18. Resumed the tour of the district in somewhat better
weather to-day and saw the 13th and 16th Bn. and 4th Fld. Coy.
don't know what for, everyone always says "Oh don't worry about
us, we're alright". She's a very different old war now.
Made a rather satisfactory deal over two old screws that
had over-run their period of usefulness - a butcher up at
Charleroi taking them off our hands and supplying necessary
transport to convey them thither. Don't know whether he was
going to use them for meat or trading the with the local
museum. Anyway the little Doc. accompanied them to their
last resting place, saw them satisfactorily despatched, and
gathered in the cheques which is all that concerns us.
31.12.18. New Year's Eve, so I'll wish myself the Best of Luck in
the Happiest of New Years - that's another way of saying may
I be back again under the Southern Cross in time, well say,
for the Nationals. This is one of the times when one makes
good resolutions and all that sort of thing and one is even
pardoned for thinking and wondering - besides there's very
little else to do here and then too I'm in the slough of
despond, the postal authorities are responsible for that.
This is one of the things that worries me. If a man has
walked the straight and narrow path all his life and then he
changes his gait - makes just one bad break - does that red
ink entry in his pay book spread itself all over the clean
sheets or is there some sort of a sliding scale? My money
is on the man, it isn't an easy job walking along the top
of a fence and he's only got to take one step, in fact a half
incline to the right or left, and he finds what a lot of
daylight there is underneath. Has he got to carry a penalty
all his life, or is this one of those handicaps with a scale
of allowances? I dunno!
A 30 kilo ride this morning, a visit from Jimmie and an
afternoon of more or less worry - chiefly less, with a game
of Bridge this evening filled in my New Year's eve.
Will/
Will 1919 be the Year of Peace? Will the Wait and Sees,
the Bolshevist's, the Brotherly lovers, the Methusaliers and
all the rest of them allow us to get that for which we waded
thro' 4½ years of bloodshed tears and misery? Mr Somebody,
its up to you!
1.1.19. Bonne et Heureuse nouvelle Amee.
Went for a joy ride to-day in a big Napier car with Col.
Sandon and Major Robertson of Div. Train. I wonder why it is
we humans crave after speed: after all, its much safer, more
comfortable and pleasanter to go slowly generally, and especially
with the thermometer down about the 0o, but no matter
what sort of a conveyance I'm in, I always find myself with
the whip out and riding for all I'm worth - and give me a
Digger chauffeur every time. We went thro' Hastiere and
along the Meuse that way into Dinant - a lovely drive.
Arrived at Dinant found the Paymaster and Staff missing,
likewise Jimmie, so carried on with the sight seeing which
included a visit to the old citadel. Its a wonderful old place
built about 1040, and has been besieged and changed hands goodness
knows how many times. One drawback is that you've got
to climb up 437 steps and numerous inclined planes to reach
the top.
Put up at the Hotel du Nord for the night.
2.1.19. Caught Jimmie on the hop - before he'd got up at the
Hotel de famille, climbed half way up the citadel steps again
to take some phots and then got a ride out the Corenne with
Major Robertson.
By the way isn't it time they got busy with the Peace
now? but before they commence I hope Pres. Wilson does a tour
round Northern France. I'd like him to detrain some night at
Epelry. Epehy.
3.1.19. Did the usual 20 or 30 kilos - then as Jimmie notes in
his diary "office routine", sold a mass of skin and bone with
an open joint to the local Angliss for 100 francs, and wound
up the day with a game of Bridge. Pretty monotonous too and
for mine. I don't mind much if there is some truth in the
rumour that we are to move on in a week or so.
The only other noteworthy fact is a statement made by
one/
one Col. Sandow that the heads expect to have us all home bag
and baggage in eight or nine months. When I think that we
might be There when the Wattle, the Boronia and the hundred
and one other good things including the Spring Meeting are
getting busy, my heart feels about as big as all out-doors,
at times I'm afraid I might bubble up and bust. Fancy being
up at Matlock or on some other part of the Great Divide where
God's good air is so clear you can see for hundreds of miles
clear across to Walhalla and old Baw Baw and the Latrobe
Valley. Fancy loafing along the Goulburn or through the Tara
Valley with their big blue gums and their grey green trees
crowned with golden yellow dust - and next Spring, Gee! it
sounds like a fairy tale.
4.1.19. Rode over to Florennes where I was charmed to find an outbreak
of F. & M. disease among the cattle in a stable occupied
also by some animals belonging to the 4th Coy. Austn. Engineers.
From my knowledge of the disease (almost negligible) I believe
the horses are in no danger of becoming diseased, and from my
knowledge of French as it is spoken in this community - also
slender. I understand that the inhabitants wish our animals
to remain in the stable during the quarantine period, so have
informed Jimmie and await his advent with an interpreter.
Since the armistice the paper war has gone on with redoubled
violence and during the afternoon Sgt. Brown and I
made an attack on the question of the Mob: table or as it has
now become the Demob: table. In addition we have a merry
little campaign going with the O.C. of the V.E.S.
He keeps drawing my attention to G.R.O. something-or-other
which states that every animal sent to the V.E.S. must be
accompanied by a rug. I have to refer him to G.R.O. something -
else, which with charming frankness says that no animal should
be clipped nor would rugs be issued.
At present we have a sort of an armistice whereby I send
instead of a rug a covering note - hardly so satisfactory
from the animal's point of view but explaining - with more
admirable candour - that as there are no rugs to send the
same have not been sent.
Then there's the question of canteen accounts - somebody
wrote to Jimmie and asked why my canteen account had not been
submitted. Jimmie - becos' it was Xmas I suppose - replied
that "as these people have no canteen it is reasonable to
surmise that they have no canteen account".
5.1.19. Answered the roll call about 11 a.m. as this is Sunday
and/
and much to Darkey's sneering disgust, tho' I don't see that he
had anything to complain about as there was only burgoo and cold
meat for breakfast. As a matter of fact Sunday is no sleepier
here than any other day and can only be distinguished by the
feverish irritation of the church bells at some unearthly hour,
and by the fact that some of the ladies discard their clogs and
other rural apparel, braving the elements attired like all the
pansies of the convservatory.
Jimmie happened about lunch time - quite himself again
now - and broke the news to me that he and Tas Morgan and I are
to constitute a veterinary board and examine and classify the
some 3500 animals in the Divisions. This looks like demobilization,
doesn't it, and allowing five minutes for each animal is
a big job, but they've given us a car and thank Gawd we'll have
something to do.
6.1.19. Much to my astonishment the car called for me punctually
at 9 a.m. and I proceeded forthwith to the D.A.D.V.S.' office.
The Board I find is to consist of the D.A.D.V.S. the O.C. of the
M.V.S. and the V.O. of the unit concerned. As the last named
member exists largely only in theory and as the Board's decision
is final it looks as tho' Jimmie and I will loom prominently
in the limelight.
An interesting feature of the Board is the car placed
for its duration at its disposal - its a shame to take the
money isn't it? The Board's duties would appear to be to
divide the animals into classes ranging from selling platers
down to sausages -
A. between and including horses from 5 to 8 yrs. and sound,
B. " " " " " 9 to 12 " " "
C. horses unsound but fit for work and sound horses over 12 yrs.
D. horses only fit for sale to butchers or slaughter and conversion
into by-products - and vicious animals.
All animals have to be branded according to their respective
classes, and as they are only to be scissor-branded I take it that
it won't be very long before they are handed over to the Remount
people and we will be out of a job - how cruel!
We made a start this morning on Sid. Carroll's lot the
M.G. Bn. and in moderately decent weather it won't be such a
bad job, and good practice too.
Returned in the Board's car after lunching at B. mess to
this collection of mire, manure and mansions which the optimistic
individual who made the maps has described as a village.
I/
I must admit tho' that in his day he should have been
regarded as somewhat of a prophet. He has indicated this
place with a sort of an X the algebraic sign for the unknown
quantity, and I think he referred to the smells which
though by no means unknown are a matter of much speculation
and grave conjecture both as to quantity and quality.
7.1.19. Made a start in the Sunbeam at 9 a.m. and picked up the
rest of the Board at Dinant, proceeded to t he M.G. Bn. and
spent the morning sorting out the crocks.
Lunched at B. mess and in the afternoon picked up a Belgian
[*preter*] interrupper who accompanied me in the car out thro' Florennes to
where the 4th Engineers are. We had a pow-wow with the bourgomaster
re the F. & M. disease arranging everything apparently
satisfactorily and returned thro' Corenne where I called in at
my orderly room to Dinant.
Went to the "Smart Set" with Carter and Jimmie at 5.30 pm.
dined at B. mess and put up for the night at the Hotel-du-Nord.
8.1.19. Resumed on the M.G. Bn. horses at 10 a.m. in most brilliant
sunlight - the first time we've had a day's sunshine since
early November. There wasn't much ginger in the sun but it
looked nice.
Returned in the afternoon to Corenne and we came along the
River Rd: - 18 inches under water from the flooded Meuse for the
most part. Dinant in bright moonlight is I think one of the
prettiest sights there is.
9.1.19. Carried on with the classification in wet windy cold and
disgusting weather. Poor old Tas, when he's been stooping
over examining their pasterns for an hour or so, sciatica and
minor troubles prevent his unwinding the kink from his back,
the icy rain trickles in round his neck and then it only needs
a horse to kick his thumb out of joint to stir him up properly.
Bishop returned from leave in rather a pessimistic frame
of mind but he'll relieve me of the responsibility of the 10th
Bde. Our old friend Wm. S. Cook is coming to this Division
so we'll be up to strength, tho' approval for Jimmie's 75 days
in England has come thro'. He's got an absurd idea that he
should stay and see the classification thro' - but I tell him
to beat it while the going's good. He'll get no thanks for
staying and they've treated him disgracefully already. Jimmie
earned a decoration before the end of 1916 and still has
nothing.
10.1.19. The little Vauxhall had engine trouble this morn: and
didn't arrive till 10.20, so I didn't reach the 13th Bde.
H.Q. till 11.30. The Board closed its activities at 12.30
for the day which wasn't a strenuous one. A rift in the
lute has occurred in the shape of a query from Q. as to why
the remount classification has not been wired to Corps daily.
The remount question has nothing to do with our examination
(as we have frequently been rudely reminded remounts are no
concern of ours) and is a matter purely for Q. branch to
arrange. In fact the order which evidently was never heard
by Q. provides that the remount board shall consist of the
Divisional Housemaster (a mythical person) and an officer
appointed by the General. I left Jimmie on the point of
going to tell the Col. to go to --- and take the Division
with him.
11.1.19. Received a wire to take one, Lt. C.S.Smith, from the
37th Bty. at Rosee with me back to H.Q. in the car and arrived
at Dinant we found Jimmie had had an easy win over Q. branch
who got the wind well up. Smith is for the time being Divl.
Housemaster, and constitutes with Jimmie and Self the Remount
Board. Thus Jimmie and I form the greater part of two
boards - almost a platform in fact, and Q. are as polite as
wax.
Spent the morning discussing the fine and beautiful
intricacies of the Remount Classification, which is of so
complex a nature that my feeble mind flatly refuses to grasp
it at all, and details therefore cannot be given here.
In the afternoon we made an experimental start on the
49th Bn. and so many difficulties occurred to the minds of
those that did understand the classification that we decided
to go to Charleroi and see the A.D.V.S. and Corps Horsemaster.
12.1.19. Jimmie, Smith and the Paymaster called for me about 10.a.m.
and we motored some 30 miles thro' Florennes and Charleroi to
Corps H.Q. at Ham where we found nobody at home, so returned
to Charleroi for lunch. Lunched - in some style - at the
Grand Hotel, and then had a bit of a promenade round the
town which is a very fine one - Charleroi is a place which
requires looking into. Plenty to eat and drink, plenty of
theatres and other amusements, and apparently plenty of
money.
Returned to Ham about 4 p.m. and found our birds who
between/
between them considerably cleared up the obscurities in the
Veterinary and Remount Classifications. Now we'll be able
to go ahead with much gusto which is fortunate as its the
biggest job we've tacked yet, and we seem to be about a week
behindhand.
13.1.91. A perfect little fiend drove me into Dinant this morn: -
he brought the General up from Boulogne on Sat: over 400 kilos
in 7½ hours which is pretty good going in these days of
slippery roads.
After the clearance effected in the atmosphere yesterday
we were able to proceed with the classification a bit more
rapidly to-day and hope to work ourselves out of a job in
about a month but its a long tiring job. A Digger at the
50th Bn. made a rather pertinent remark. He led up a mule and
I asked had he always gone sound - to which the digger replied
"Yes sir, except that he must have swallowed a gas shell at
some time or another".
Examination of the donk's teeth lent force to the
gentleman's remark too, but at the same time I think it was a
very rude thing to say.
Personally I shall never forget the army mule; in
spite of his muley feet, his cow hocks, and his goose rump,
his swivel eyes, bas relief ears and self raising heels, in
spite of his vocal efforts and the looks of gentle sadness
in those ambiguous brown eyes - yes in spite of or perhaps
because of these things, I'll always have a warm spot in my
heart for the donk.
If I had to write an essay on him, I'd say something
like this - The mule is the most adjacent approach in animal
form to an exclamation mark; one never knows just where to
place him, and he has a way of popping up unexpectedly which
reduces him to a regular sign of surprise. He is outwardly
decent but inside full of impromptu and unexpectedness.
His origin is somewhat clouded in the veil of antiquity but
it is thought that he is descended from Rameses and Centipedes
though some maintain that he came to us from Centaur and others
will have that he first appeared in the team driven by Phaeton
when he was carting round the sun on contract. Any of
these theories may account for the sad and soulful look of
genteel riotousness in his eye. the knowledge of men and
motives/
motives which seems to come by instinct, and his out of the
elbows code of honour. Take a mule that has been badly
wounded - he stands under shell fire dreamily gazing into
the far unknown and gathering a miscellaneous collection of
hardware in his legs - one at a time. A horse would just
turn over and die, but leave the mule one leg and he'll
struggle over the odd miles to the Mobile. He's just about
done when he arrives, but he gets there. Then someone
approaches with some water and a bandage, and that mule utterly
regardless of any means of restraint yet devised by man will
execute certain manoeuvres with his ears, switch his tail and
gallop off at a pace positively immoral in one of his years.
This unexpectedness is his charm. The mule is not incapable
of alarm, and in fact may be just as much startled by the
rattling of his feed tin as by the bursting of a shell, but
in the main he is the most phlegmatic, don't care, easy going,
care free big hearted animal that every looked thro' a bridle.
In the words made famous by that extraordinary little band of
crusaders who came to do battle from an unknown land to
Europe early in the 20th century "He'll do me".
14.1.19. Have just returned in the "Sunbeam", and feel quite
strung out - we kept jogging along pretty solidly all day
to-day. One excellent reason for keeping on the move is that
it appears that the sooner we get the classification completed
the sooner we'll be out of a job.
Carter said to-day, evidently on something he'd heard, that
he reckoned we'd be without our horses and in England in two
months - which wouldn't be hard to take.
It will be a bit of a wrench parting with little Brownie,
but its the way of the army. Old Biddy is a different
proposition, she's a mulish old thing - inherited no doubt
from her previous tommy owner - but Brownie is a digger, an
old 5th A.L.H. horse.
15.1.19. The Boreds carried on under most distressing climatic
conditions which included samples of almost every kind of
weather experienced between the North Pole and about 1o South
of that, but we managed to divide up over 200 animals into
has beens and never was'ers. Some slight delay was
caused at the Pioneers at Willaen by a donk having a brain
wave at a critical moment and rushing madly off, half an hour
elapsing before his return.
It/
It must be added that the use on the whole is quite
incapable of gratitude - I can't see myself clearing out when
a bunch of experts were endeavouring to discharge me from
the army.
Put up for the night with Tas Morgan and Co. at the
Hotel de la Gare.
16.1.19. Made an early start and Cook's toured in the limousine
out to the 46th Bn. to a place with an unpronounceable name
sounding something like a new sort of mayonnaise. The day
was gloriously fine and we went along a road on the far side
of the river on the high ground commanding a beautiful view.
Ran thro' the Bn. transport and then polished off the 45th
Bn. at Hastiere where we lunched. Visited the 12th Fld. Coy.
called in for a spot at the 12th Fld. Amb., and then as the
limousine had become "au fait" or "de trop" or "napoo" or
whatever our gallant allies would call it, we walked back to
B. Mess where I procured another car which eventually delivered
me at my own particular manure heap.
17.1.19. Started on the artillery to-day in distressing weather -
doesn't keep fine long does it. An ingenious little valve
contrivance in one of the my boots provides a ready entrance for
the water and slush but fails to arrange for its exit. This
causes much delay. We did the 37th Battery at Rosee, raced
home for some lunch at the Mobile (Darkey was on the spot with
one of his little luncheons de luxe) and then tore off to
Flavion where we did 10th B.H.Q and the 39th Bty. - 301
animals for the day and a record for the Corps. Jimmie had
a brain wave about dusk and accordingly I had to rush back to
the Mobile, sieze a bag with pyjamas and a tooth brush and
make off to Dinant so as to be able to get an early start
tomorrow.
The Boys all think I'm quite made - as a matter of fact I
am but I hoped I'd disguised it till now.
18.1.19. Had a little excitement last night. Having secured a
room at the Hotel du Nord I went round to H.Q. for a game of
Bridge, but on my return found the pub bolted and barred and
all efforts to rouse the inhabitants unavailing. Held a
meeting in close caucus with myself out in the street and
rain and decided to see what was doing in the Hotel de la
Gare next door where the Div. Train put up. Forcing an
entrance/
entrance, I found the members of the train in the latter
stages of a drunken orgy. The Doc. (Friend) was indifferently
sober and insisted on finding a room for me. The Doc.
reckoned room quatorze was a likely one so we ascended several
flights of stairs and blundered into 14 where an excitable
and somewhat affrighted damsel set up a system of war
whoops. The Doc: and I made an orderly retreat and held a
conference in the corridor which we decided to evacuate in
favour of one lower down.
We visited the lower corridor and a stealthy visit
to each room produced nothing better than a series of ear
splitting yelps and as there were signs of the manager's
appearance on the scene I got out while my luck was in. I
resumed my operations "frappant" on the portal next door and
these ultimately bore fruit.
Got the early start as advertised this morning and
did 11th B.H.Q. the 41st and 42nd batteries beating yesterday's
record by 16. Returned to the Mobile wet thro' and very
tired.
19.1.19. To-day I was granted leave from the Board as as Geo.
Leonard had gone over to Thinn Thuin with a team of horses early
in the week we proceeded in force to the prettily situated
course of the Dinky Die Racing Club. George Leonard was very
sweet on a thing of the French Missions "Bob" running under
Carter's name. Carter is the most amateurish punter I ever
saw, with the result that we had to take even money and lay
odds on. The race was run in a fog and the course was under
water and it is hardly necessary to add the good thing was
beaten.
However I met numerous old pals and I was the only
one to return home showing a profit or sober, didn't have a
bad day. Amongst others I saw Chum and Billie Thomson and
Basil Hall, who at school (Mac's) used to rejoice in the
name of Monkey.
20.1.19. The Board made a start on the D.A.C. donks this
morning but I had to stay home and give old Bishop a hand
to mallein all the Z. class in the 37th and 39th Btys.
150 Z class animals are to be sent for sale at Namur within
the next few days. Also had to get the 14th Coy. to make
us a firebrand D. and mallein and brand a bunch of D. class
animals which includes the blind and outlaws.
The sun made a bit of a mistake and came out to-day
so/
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