Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/199/1 - August - November 1918 - Part 3

Conflict:
First World War, 1914–18
Subject:
  • Documents and letters
Status:
Open to contributions
Accession number:
RCDIG1066572
Difficulty:

Page 1 / 10

2 down into 1 cellars & of course are pssed badly-& some will die Gasn wilson tol me this. Is it is true Nov1T9.8. I was billetted with an old French lady who had lost her house - a beautiful house - at La Bassee & another bouse at Jnshy, 5 miles out of La Bassie. German artillery had used the Inchy the ladyr her hustand house as a headquarters, + the were living there with them. Two begguns were put in behind the house & these drew the shells. Firot one end of the house wenti then the oteer. A number of1 ferman simnallers were killed; & some boises. The old people (checken tearers) livid in the cellar on and of; and there they decided to Go. They hid their jewels & plate by burying them, & left the place.
They went to a place called by some name like Marquilly -5 Kilonetre away or more. From there the otd man wanted to return & get some more valuables; but they wd not let him. They heard that their ha Brasee house & the Quchy house were cps ruined. And presently they heard to 1 germans in 1Inchy house had dug up their jewels. The knew tt I Termans, had probes a Which they sounded Every wuch you dus 1 I ground however deep had Termans found their cache. They laid a complaint before Commandant; and I commandant efer had ap 1 cooks of 248th Regt & examined them; & a spoon & a fook or two were returned. But no jewels - no valuable papers. only - six or nine monts afterwos there turned up from Termany &
reached these old people, in due course, a packet of jewels wh had be amongst those taken from their cache. The process had fouc on along, the cumbous distant channelsof stae in jermany & had resulted in these things being found & returned to tren. The old man & his wife decided to come from Marquilly to hille, to some relatives. To he made a second cache of his precious things. This time he had them in an outhouse; over them he put tarre fett or some sort of now-conductor; over t he put a pile of wood - very deep. Ts He hid there, amongst other things a creccifixs & a deary now run into 4 volumes - wh he had kept every day of the war. a very fank one. He hid this in a ferman keltle & buried it a (bottom of this cache.
24 Nive months tates they heard t th cache, too, had b day up. The stoman wdnt believe it. Pas Possible +, he sd. Presently they heard definitely that one of the women in I place had the little bronge crucifix in her possession. This made it certain tI cache had age been discovered. The old man ws very nervous abt his diary &what had be written in it. It wd certainly havegot him into trouble. However be made up his wind to p to the commandant at Marquill He did so. He coul be paink but he made some sort of case. The Commandeust sent for his men; & they sd: Your treasure -Ges. it was a peg which dugup your treasure. We ping the books away because ty swelt so bad. and ws what had hem
Te ferman cooks had used 25 wood; then they put a pig into 1 outhorise. The pip, nosing abt, had rooted up 1 cache. Probably 1 books too had be rooted up; & being in pigstye, they smell so strongly to men had thown him away. The oldman had died just 3 months ago. The old lady, a few says since, hearing to district weeks was free, had walked there. The cd not get a permit to go, but she went - on foot. She knew 1 house had by smashed. But she found it awere heap of bricks; the trees bare shredded stumps; hu craters in 1garden fet She spokeof i quite cheerfully. Wonderful, wonderful people, these French. Fancy here walking to that place from Lille - it must have taken day Thes morning she insisted on geving me cofle in Iketchen. When
26 I went upsteers to dress, Iheard a few hoarse cheers in 1 street. It ws a company of a labour baltelion marching tho the Place Cormontaigue on its way to work, hold fellows di given a gruff cheer sparmodically & waving att apper windows as ty went. A few of the hille people streing out on Eikn side of the oad thr' Square. There was an occasional bleating of some child's ti trumpet. I guessed what it meant. have Te armistice must veey signed. The mess had I runour; & when I went round to See Jen. Birdwood afternos, be & white had pone suddeng to Jt.Q; but Macgigor & Churchit to to me to 1 armistice had be signed. The war ended at 11 scke this morning. one co not realise it. No
more punflaches; no move flares. To night I streets ad be bright – the towns wod be lit; the cars ad take the black painted eyclids of their headlights. The munition factories wd have to beay their work gradually to an end; the business of work for 1 last four years was finished. We had won beyond all hope, everything exacty as I most optinistic democrat wd have plouned it. The kari & his son had gone to time in Hotland... I cdn't realieed & I am sure people of hille cdut. We saw no demonstiation whatever there. I wat to Preas HO Hhe forrespts may stay on to follow up the occupation of germai by an attied army. Today they have all gone of early to see mons, wh
ws holding out stubbornly eno yeste but wh must be ours today. They do not know (hytton did not when I saw him) to War is over. It is strangs to I last scene for British army shd be whene first was, at mous. I sent a short wire; wten left w Casserly & Boddy for Fomelles to get some photos before (plaa changes. Soing thio Hanbourdin I again noticed to many of houses along one street were burnt not continuously, but here & there, showing to this ws artaint ork offermans in terrifyuy inhabitants in 1914. We turned left at Vert Ballot - & fust at 11 ocbek I noticed on my map to 1 corner we were
29 approaching ws marked Fin de 1a guerre - from 1 name o1 estaminet there, I suppose. I got casserly to photogph the figw post - it ws just D am. as he suapped it. The road past Radinghem Le Maisail, & Fowelles runs behind 1818 ferman tee third or reserve line. You can see I line abt 200 to rooyds away on Iet all I way; & by I roadside then are any number of cottages Streeytined if not actuall timed) ao remprced concrete. There as a rifor concrete fow thouse abached to one, a I grain still in it. The road ruis up Frowelles-Ceubers ridge; & the night hand side of it is suply seppered io Arty observate Posts. In many cases German has
used the shelld an oto ruin as camonflage by building a concrete O.P. as a sort of care to it so to his observers at there in real comfort. very different from our precirious seats in a ladder in a barn w hal or tiles of. Fomeles Church a pysamed of tumbled brick - has a strong O.P. on 1 top of it just like a bit of 10 church to bok at fom Idistance. It has (whole countiry spread out before it just libe a man a posite an artillery ofr wd pray for. We id see (roads almost to 1 pont line right beacate as Delangrs inabt pere We- 4222 G we went on to lold battlefield. The road wh ws boundary of the 15th Bde is now a main

Start transcribing

Log in Sign up

Last edited by:
Transcriber 28006Transcriber 28006
Last edited on:

Last updated: