Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/207/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 2

good for him (he had / tabloids

in his pocket or purse) wd nt

let him - & when he asked for

water wd only moisten his

lips for because he ws hit in

the abdomen.

The post in wh Louch

was had another man dug

in about 20 yards up / hill

on / left & they continually

"amused themselves" by

passing or throwing written

messages - That ws probly

what they were there for.

There were men of ours on

/ hill on / right - it ws

a high ridge - & Turks

on it also on / rt front. 

They didn't know on / first
9

night, when these men

were digging in, tt they

were Turks.

On / second day

a young stretcher bearer

came down to them with

a water bottle - a most

brave thing to do. After tt

for 2 days they had no

water at all. The last

day they were pretty well

dazed. On / fourth evening

some men of the 7th Bn

came looking for 4th Bn

& sd they were to relieve

them - & asked if this were

/ place. They relieved

the two there - & Louch & his

mate after sitting low in their
10

hole for so many days

found themselves sitting on /

w their side of it, w their

backs to / Turks, yarning

to the 7 Bn men. Then

they went off up / gully.

They were surprised there

to drop into big excellent

trenches - an eyeopener.

Louch found a tin of water

& then fell to sleep. After

tt he went down to /

beach, got some sticks,

boiled a dixie, for some tea,

&, while it ws boiling,

cleaned his rifle !. Then

he tried to drink / tea &

didnt want it. Then he

started off to Hell Spit along /
11

beach, trailing in one

hand, by the tab, a 3rd

Bn over coat wh he had

brought w him from xxx wire

gully; & w / other trailing

his rifle thro / sand by

/ string. He thought his mate ws

still w him. x 
Eric Goldring is still

When some ^Westralian friend xx asked him

where Clark (who hadnt

bn w him since leaving /

Gully ws) was he sd

"Yes - he's here" - & then

realised tt he was not

& had not been C.C. turned

up later) Louch had bn

scratched by a bullet above /

eye & his face ws all blood

& he had 4 days beard.

12

Goldring had taken a

photo of him on / first morning

in a pothole at / top of

wire gully.

 

April 26. 1915

On / morning of April

26. 19165, Capt? Herring who

had just arrived, was

told by Col. Burnage to take

his Coy of 13th Bn up

onto Walkers Ridge & junction

w / N. Zealanders.

Herring led them up

Monash Gully past Popes,

& then up / steep slope thro

/ scrub. The Turks fired a little
13

at them there but not

much on / way up. On 

top they cd see no one.

They lay out in / scrub

& / Turks from the

Baby 700 direction fired

at them. They were a also

under fire from their

right. There were no

N. Zealanders to be seen.

The man on one side of

Herring ws k; then / man

on / other side of him.

Finally H. told them

to withdraw - & as they

did so they came under

very heavy fire.

In / en. When they

got further back some of
14

them did find / N. Zealanders

there - a good way further

back than where our

trenches afterwards were. The

place where they the Coy

first got to was further

forwd than our original

trenches, towds / Nek. 

15            

49 Bn. On Aug. 10. durg day

49 Bn had outposts along

the Canal. There ws still

fighting in Gressaire wood

tt day.

Got orders abt 6.30 p.m.

for attack at 9.30 p.m. Left

at 7 p.m. to march to /

point of assembly in Gressaire

wood where it covers both

sides of the Bray-Corbie Rd

There ws a slight taste

of gas in / wood. Going

up / bottom o / valley

thro / wood & got onto

/ Bray Rd at 9.25 p.m.

The _^2 tanks were waiting on /

road for them at the bend

in 1 8 C.
16

They got away at 9.30 in sections

in arty formation on the S. side

o / road. There were

Americans rt & left but

49 Bn didnt see them in /

dark. Directly / tanks

started / . Germs heard them

& opened fire w m.g.s &

fired flares. These were

outposts & night posts 200 or

300 yds. They were sweeping

/ country. The m.g. fire ws

much too high & Bn ws able

to advance beneath it without

casualties.

These machine gun posts

withdrew before Bn got there.

Abt 1000 yds out Bn

came under more accurate m.g.
17

Hand Drawn Diagram - see original document.

18