Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/193/1 - August - November 1918 - Part 5

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every man to fill in with
his occupation, and all / details
concerning himself, so that the
authies may know in what
category to send him home.
The A.I.F. military authies here
have now leave to issue these.
Dodds had them printed in
accordance with instrns from
Defence.  Hughes sd: "Have you
asked them if they are members
of a Trades Union?"  They said
Dodds sd: "No - the minister for
Defence had instructed him us not
to ask tt question."  Hughes sd
that Dodds must insert it.  Dodds
sd he ws quite ready to do so but
he must have instr do what Defence
told him.  Hughes sd he wd
wire to the cabinet - & the cards
are held up accordingly. 

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Then Hughes came down on the
Education scheme, which the
the men are so ^pathetically keen about, with
all the xxxx contempt in his man
little nature: "Your Education
scheme is worthless," he sd.  "What
can you ^can do in six or seven months
is rubbish - you are like a
camel trying to break through the
Pyramids by piddling against
them!"
xxxx Murdoch got me to
add to my telegram from Paris
that strong political support ws needed
to the military scheme for demobilisatn,
& of course this pointed straight to
Hughes.  But if Hughes is going to
act like this he is justifying the
idea one used to have of him as
a xxxx completely selfish politician.
And that ^it cannot be tolerated that
he shd wreck our demobilisatn at
this stage.  It is still entirely
undecided whether Birdwood or 

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Monash shall carry it out.
Hughes wants Birdie to go over
& see him. Birdie thinks Hughes
wants to give him  his conge'
verbally bec. he wit fears to put it
in writing, & he will not go.
Possibly this is true.
In the meantime the interests
of the A.I.F. go completely xxxx
xxx uncared for.  White got
Birdwood, agst Birdwoods will at /
time, to approach Defence on this
subject in 1916 (Birdie is rather
proud of it now).  And practically
nothing is done yet.  White tells
me tt if he had / way, when
/ war ended he wd abolish
/ Corps Staff & bring / whole
of / divisions under G.O.C. A.I.F.
Then use / Corps Staff largely
as / demobilisatn staff.  Men
are to be sent back by their
trades - not by units.  White
wd have them organised at 

54
once into x proper companies
w / right number of officers
& N.C.Os, according to their
trades.  But White doesnt
know if Birdwood will be
asked by Hughes to do / job
& I dont think he will.  I told
White tt Hughes didn't think
Birdwoods capable of this wa
organisatn.  "Well, then, / thing
is for him to say so, straight,
- choose Monash to do this
& invite Birdie to visit
Australia"- sd White.
Wynter says tt he is convinced
tt White is / most capable organiser
we have - a better administrator
than Monash. 

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Nov 8^th Friday.  Cutlack &
I and old Boddy slept last
night in this house wh ws I
had swept last xxx evg.
This mg. we found some old
military packing cases & a
chopper.  (I found / pump
last night & good water as far
as its looks go).  We chopped /
packing cases, made a fire,
boiled some tea & broiled
some bacon.
In / morning Cutlack
went round to 4th Army in
their train near here & learnt
that / German fleet had
mutinied.  We have caught
a wireless message from
Engineer's mate Behrer, at 

56
Berlin to the "3rd Battle
Squadron", telling them that
a party had gone to Paris to
arrange / terms o / armistice,
& urging them to remain
loyal on this account - It
seems that / crews of all /
submarines in / nearer seas
(wh had come into harbour
together) had mutinied; & / others
were determined not to
go out to sea for / fight wh
they thought their officers were
planning for.
This is better than anything
we cd have hoped for - a
gleam of independence in /
German people.  Phillip
Gibbs told me at Lille tt he
met at Bruges some o / girls 

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who kept a restaurant there.
Bruges was a regular
headquarters o / German
Submarine warfare, & /
crews & officers used to come in
there for a few days & go
off again.  The officers were
the most terrible "thugs" -
a rough crowd engaged on
an absolutely desperate business
- it ws regarded as / deadliest
service in / war, more dangerous
than air work.  The girls
kept a tally of each of these officers
who used regularly to visit their
tea room.  When they went out they
put a mark against their names;
& if they did not come back
within a certain time they knew 

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tt they were dead.  The list
of submarines lost
was a tremendously long
one, they said.  (This is very
unreliable, but it does show
what sort of man / submarine
officer was & what / work ws
like - & it explains something
o / reason for / mutiny).
It ws sd tt
Glasgow arrived
Our lorry arrived during
/ morning with Crawford in
charge, & Scott & Bennett, &
Dorrington (Wilkins' half-Irish,
half-american, half-mutinous
cook), & plenty of
rations.  Glasgow arrived this
afternoon ahead of his Hqrs;
& so we had him, and Ross his
Chief of Staff and Arthur
Maxwell his A.D.C. in to dinner;
and what with Yanks cooking 

59
and a first rate supply of
crockery found in this little

house, and a box of cigars
sent me by W.S. Robinson
after his visit, and a
cake (a beautiful Australian
cake) ^made & packed & sent me for xmas
by the little Mother, we had
a first rate dinner.
Glasgow is a splendid
straight chap.  He wants /
newspapers to give us a
clean lead after / war, &
/ youth o / country to be
moulded by schoolmasters
of character (rather than of
learning) - because (as I too
am firmly convinced) you can
do anything xx with / young Australian
if you give him / right lead - he is
capable of / utmost brilliance & devotion. 

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The need is to get their devotion
turned from their selfish ends to
the good of their nation, &
it is / easiest thing in / world,
given decent leaders.
They say tt / German
party arrived at Fochs xx
meeting place today.  The
party immediately put down
a list of terms wh it sd
it ws prepared to accept.
Foch shook his head xxxx
xxxx and told them tt it ws
his terms tt they had to
receive; that they could
accept them or refuse them but
tt only his terms wd be
considered.  The German party
sd tt it could not possibly
conclude such an armistice