Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/109/1 - May 1918 - Part 10

 103   
Lymne (?) to Arques, they were to entrain at
1 am. ; & so on arriving at Arques at 12 midnight
they were sat down on / side o /_^cobbled road ; on / cobbles
No train at 1 - nor at 2, nor 3, nor 4 ,5 ,6. When
They lay in / bitter cold- on / road (I think he sd it
ws raining. At 7 they had reveille blown to
wake the men up - & finally got into / train
about 10 am. Then - / night before arriving on  /
Somme there ws / bitterly cold bus-drive.
Before they got to Heilly they passed through British
scouts - cyclists looking out from / hilltops
for / germans. At Heilly ws a Bde Hqrs & the
Bdier, Bde major & Staff Captain sd tt they wd relieve
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104

 X Here by / _∧ wood & / cemetery where
Howell Prices grave is they were
fired on by one of our planes, to
start with.          
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105
their tired troops, but had no real notion where /
tired troops were, & cdnt tell them. They were supposed
to be 3000 yds from Heilly. They were told tt they wd
find a division of infantry, the arty of a division,
& a division of cavalry ahead of them. It ws abt
7 am. when they got into Heilly. The guides had bn
Howeve told they were to take up / " New Zealanders" & did
not at first think tt they were right in showing
Australians / way -
The Cannan, for caution, deployed his
Bde & advanced in arty formation after
crossing the rly at Heilly. X They made half
left from there. over up / hill - when they
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106
reached the Bray Corbie Rd the rt Bn
moved across it & then straightened on / S. side
of it & / whole line marched E.
In the old French trenches they came
upon the English. The first party ws a
platoon composed chiefly of Scots. These refused
to be relieved but sd they wd come on w /
Australians. Presently, N. of them ws found
a body of abt 100 British - mostly without rifles; w
no machine guns, & no food. They accepted
relief at once, poor beggars ; & no wonder
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107

They had  _^The line ws under two officers - willing men who had
fought through from the very first morning -
one belonged to / Leicesters & had lost his bn
/ first mg but had fought on ever since. He
ws a good man & (a major) & so ws his captain
but they were utterly done. They had a
windy headquarters scooped out just in a
bank under a X ing on / Bray Corbie
Rd (wh we did not  take over - it ws
highly dangerous).
The Scots were finally persuaded to hand over  go back -
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108

Cannan made them dig a picket
line - a complete support line - (then came
/ old French line) - & then ever so many
Switch lines - at least 4, ending w /
G.S. line of posts (diagram: see original) on / N. side o / hill
near the chimney, & the posts just S o /
Ancre. There were so many posts tt /
German did not know which to shell & they
had practically no casualties. Dugouts are going in 
now for m.gs etc  
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109 

The 43rd Bn (?) on / N o / Rd took over 16 Lewis
guns from / cxxxx elements_^ whom they relieved. The
41^st took over 4 from / Cavalry. The cavalry
were scrapping just this side of Morlancourt,
& if only the 11th Bde had known this they could when they
went in, or had bn told tt / cavalry were
coming out tt afternoon, they cd have got
the ridge where they now are without fighting for
it. (every night o / first 4 nights / Germs walked
into their patrols. The first lot of six walked into
a patrol & sd hands oop! Our men sd retorted "Hands oop
be buggered!" & shot 5; the 6th ws wd & brought in prisoner
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110
The British cavalry were fighting in Sailly
Laurette, tt day - they told our people tt they
were going to have a bit of a scrap & our
offrs told the "diggers" to look out for it. And
presently they saw / cavalry on / flats - cavalry
patrols riding down scattered Germans, & a formed
party of cavalry going into / village on horseback
& bringing out 18 prisoners.
At 3 the cavalry suddenly informed them
tt they were withdrawing as they had to
go further South - / troops S of the Somme were
apparently withdrawing. The Australians found
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 111 
themselves from then onwds / front line.
They cd not imagine how it ws tt / Tommies
had nothing to eat. Sailly le Sec ws full of food.
There were only 18 people in / place, all between 50 &
80 - they were old folk who sd they had their homes &
belongings there - they did not mind dying but they
wd not face / prospect of leaving their homes & going
out to / world as paupers. Poor old creatures -
all were sent out a few days later except one
bedridden old lady of 80. A nephew obtained leave
to stay w her; & there they were when / 41^st Bn ws
in its first time – & still there when it left - living not in
cellars like our men but in / house . Actually out
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112
in Nomansland - 200 yds towds Sailly Laurette
on / riverside - ws a cottage  w a  girl of about 35 in it.
Neither / Germs nor we visited it - it ws a difficult
place to get at. Possibly there ws an old woman in
tt also.
There were magnificent feeds to be had in
Sailly le Sec. The line ran thro' the E edge of it; and
3 Coys had bits of it - each Coy owned its bit & all
tt it contained. They gathered sheep & cows into /
cellars. They had 3 meals a day cooked by cooks fished
out of / platoons - one at 8.30, one at 12, one abt 6 - besides
the 82 authorised meals sentup from the Cookers. One old
Cook - a sanitary man, with abt 14 children in Q - got the M.
Medal for taking up meals on / day of March 30(?) during / fight
("These are / people it will please", he sd pulling out a photo of about a dozen
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87                 1                                                  113
On April 4^thwhen / Germ attacked
V/Bretonneux, the Rifle abt 8 Tommies
of the Rifle Brigade retired across /
Bridge at Sailly Sec into our bridgehead
Post & were well fed by Capt Finlay (formerly Wodonga)

1)They gathered sheep into / cellars, & cows (a herd of
xxxxxxxx to / Germs one day, & a calf put his foot thro a
xxxxxx  sheet covering a sleeping Austln in / front trench) - and
xxxxxx ws relieved it left stores of mangleworzels, & fooder down
xxxxxx these, & carefully closed & camouflaged the cellars w fallen
xxxx found /  sheep there when it went back for its next tour,
xxxxxered. Indeed, _^ its men working w / relieving bn milked /
xxxxx of them) nightly.
 Ap. 30  / Germs after attacking at Hamel tried to
xxxxxx Sailly Laurette NW⇡. He sent skirmishers first
xxxxx then his m.g. sections, all together ⇠(....... The m.gunners
xxxxx their guns & fire & then / infantry behind wd try to
xxxx  them. They came under fire at 1000 yds, & got

xxx00  yds.  men betting on their hits - betting who wd oust the mg crews etc 
There they managed to lie wonderfully low
xxx at 6 their m.gs. opened & they retired to the top

xxx they dug in & where their line stayed.

112 

in Nomansland. 200 yds towds Sailly
on / riverside - ws a cottage w a girl of about xxx
Neither / Germs nor we visited it - it wsxx
place to get at. Possibly there ws an old xxx
tt also.    
There were magnificent feeds to bxxx
Sailly le Sec. The line ran thro' the E edge
3 Coys had bits of it - each Coy owned its
tt it contained. They gathered sheep & cows
cellars. They had 3 meals a day cooked by
out o / platoons - one at 8.30, one at 12, one abt
the 3 2 authorised meals sent up from the cook
Cook - a sanitary man, with abt 14 children in Q
Medal for taking up meals on / day of March 30 (?) xxx
("These are  people it will please," he sd pulling out a photo xxx
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children!) They gathered sheep into / cellars, & cows (a herd of
cows deserted to / Germs one day, & a calf put his foot thro a
waterproof sheet covering a sleeping Austln in / front trench) - and
when / bn ws relieved it left stores of mangleworzels, & fooderdown
there w these, & carefully closed & comouflaged the cellars w fallen
bricks, & found / sheep there when it went back for its next tour,
undiscovered. Indeed, _^ its men working w / relieving bn milked /
cows (some of them) nightly.
?Mar 30      On Ap. 30 / Germs after attacking at Hamel tried to
come out of of Sailly Laurette NW  ⇡. He sent skirmishers first
or scouts & then his m.g. sections, all together ⇠ ........ The m. gunners
wd get down their guns & fire & then / infantry behind wd try to
advance thro them. They came under fire at 1000 yds, & got
up to abt 400 yds. _^our men betting on their hits -betting who wd oust tt m.g. crews etc. There they managed to be wonderfully low
all day. But at 6 their m.gs. opened & they retired to  the top
o / hill where they dug in & where their line stayed.
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1.  Whiskey Chits                                                          115
2.  map w points
3.  soap

4.  Potatoes, Tinned Fruit,  xxxxx  marmalade
   Sardines & Fish
   Rollencourt
   Boots & Cable

    

    Butter

     Jam

     T. milk

     Marmalade.

    

   White re Murdoch & G.      Ring up

    

   Vignacourt: abt is orderly
                        ? Longstaff

   Anderson & new address.
   Leave German – '9 20
    

    Eggs               8. 40                   81.40
   Salmon 3       2lbs figs                    3
                            3 milk                        6
                            1 bag new potatoes  1.50
                           4  "          old       "         2.00
                                                                     —   
                                                            12.50 fr

                                                              —
   Canteen                       43.20 
   Eggs                                8.40
   Shopping                      12.50

                                                      — 
                                                  64.10

                                                 —