Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/239/1 - 1917 - 1918 - Part 3

19

They passed some very fertile
plains - Harunabad -
hardly any cultivation owing
to / Kurds -
(A few shots had bn fired
at / rearguard one day by
some Persian robbers - they
heard / rifles but no one ws
hit).
Before Harunabad ws
Karind - they found here
an Anzac Wireless station (N.Zealanders
^- & how glad they were to see them! both sides!) away up in / mountains from
Bagdad. Some of these wireless
had bn attached to / Russians
who had retreated. The wireless
men had come down S. & then
gone back again to Karind.
Kermanshah also ws
reached before Bisitun - a

20

a beautifully situated town amidst
snow capped mountains & well
cultivated valley. An American
lady missionary, Mrs Stead, ws
there & / wounded sick were put
by here invitation in her house.
She ws particularly kind to /
Australians.
The part ws making for
Hamadan - some Hooper had dysentery
slightly. They pushed (after a
few days at Kermanshah)
over the Asadabad Pass
wh is v. high & impassable
in Winter (? 8000 ft high).
A splendid road wound
up there, built lately by /
Russians - Skeletons of mules
& camels were every few yards.

21

They marched on a beautifully
clear spring morning into
Hamadan - (probly May)
6000 ft above sea level.
This is a v. big place where
a lot of tanning is done -
^40,000 people - a good bazar abt / size of
Kermanshah. (60,000 people).
That aftn after dinner
- they were paraded & Gen.
Dunsterville (Kipling's Stalky)
paraded them. He told them
to sit under a tree - get in
/ shade & he wd tell them
all he knew. He ws a fine
tall military figure, just going
grey (It ws abt as hot as Australia)
He told them tt / Kurds Bolesheviks wd
not let them reach their
destinatn, Tiflis. He

22 

※
Dunsterville ws told by / Bolsheviks
tt they wanted to see him. They sd
They arranged a time when they wd
call. He waited for them. Their
Envoys were 2 hrs late & he
ws at dinner when they arrd.
They sd they xxxx wished to see him. He
sd tt they wd have to wait till he
finished his dinner - & he kept
them there till he had finished - when
they came in & saw him. He
got wind later, tt they were going
to arrest him. He had a few
cars as escort. In / night they
got away & were gone by / morning.
 

himself had bn to ? Resht
& ws stopped there by /
Bolsheviks.^X They told him they
were agst fighting & tt they
were not going to allow him
to go on. He ws going to be
arrested / next day, he
heard - & he sneaked away
during / night with his cars.^※
He sd: now the offrs have
got to become sergeants & /
sergeants have to become privates
- & do what they cd. feed /
famine stricken & do lots of
uncongenial work. He sd
if lance corporals work ws
pushing a car thro / mud he
had bn doing / work of
a l/cpl himself. The thing
ws to do what they cd &

23

& get into / favour o /
people.
Immediately famine
relief ws started in
Hamadan. A branch
o / Imperial Persian Bank
there & you cd get all /
money you wanted there.
It ws a big bldg w iron
bars over / windows &
the bank employed guards
(Armenians) w a guard house.
Mr MacMurray manager
Mr Nicholls Scotsman - chief clerk.
Two fine men who spoke /
language perfectly & gave us
much help. There ws a
telephone in Hamadan & it
ws connected with Kazvin by

24

2 lines (1 Russian 1 Persian)
we now heard of a larger
party wh had just left
Ruz & ws coming on.
Secretly & very hurriedly
two parties were pushed off
before the Ruz pty arrd.
The first pty thought they
were off on a very dangerous
mission - destination
(Zinjan) unknown - the
offrs took rifles - they were
offrs who were there before
Hoopers pty got there.
The next week (May?) a
pty ws sent off to Kazvin
& Hooper ws in it. It ws
known as Starnes pty -
Maj. Starnes DSO a N. Zealander
led it - Almost all / N.Zs

25

(all exc. 3 or 4) were in this
& all 4 Australians, some
Canadians & some British
- 20 offrs & 30 or 40 men.
The remaining NZs were
v. sad when it moved off.
Hooper (who went over as
Intelligence offr) ws made
Supply offr & Williams
ws Transport offr (a fine
worker w a fiery temper -
An Australian, Savage, ws
2 in/c).
In 9 days they marched
a 10 days programme (left
out / halt - 160 miles,
16 miles a day walking.) They
didnt go right to Kazvin.
Abt 5 miles away - they cd
see it - when Dunsterville,

26 

who had passed / previous
day in cars - held them
up. (They had Camel transport
on this trip). They had gone thro
Persia on foot almost to /
Caspian, 50 miles from it -
feeling magnificently fit -
Hooper got into Kazvin with
Russian Cossacks in it rolling
abt on horseback rushing up &
down drunk - shooting.
Hooper ws told by Col. Duncan I. Army
D.A.Q.M.G. tt they had to push
on to Zinjan at once to
join / other pty who were
endangered by / Turks, ^massing at
Tabriz. Hooper ws told tt he must
buy any thing wanted for / march
We had a spy (an Engl. Offr in Tiflis
at this time & came & told them

27

what it ws like w his
beer gardens.) Hooper bought
any amt of dried fruit & food
for 10 days - (it took a man to carry /
Silver Crowns Krans (abt 6d) - / money
ws carried normally on animals
on / march - they carrd
100,000 crowns kran at least).
Meat they cd get on /
road.
They started again for
Zinjan - over 100 miles - Hooper
had to go on ahead w an
interpreter to buy firewood &
bread. One day going into
a fine village w a fine river
& nice valley – they came
upon 14 soldiers in / street
w a smart looking offr with

28

them. Hooper thought he
ws a Turk & told Sergt
Ramaloff to come on. (a Russian
Jew) He shouted "Sir, Sir!" Then
H. looked round & saw tt /
offr had worked his horse
round in front of Ramiloff
& all / other men had ^now unslung
their rifles & had them across
their horses necks. Hooper
had intended to get round
a corner & then dash for it
as the two British horses were
much / best. However
Ramiloff ws now talking to /
offr. And he sd "We must come
along w him sir." Hooper sd
"Tell him I am a British Offr
& there's a big British force