Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/244/1 - 1916 - 1933 - Part 24

[*Second
Edn Vol III*]
Nov 30th 1933
Phone 26.
Mr Bean
War Correspondent
Sydney
A.L. TONGS
Stock, Station, Insurance and General
Commission Agent.
FINLEY. N.S.W.
Dear Sir
Some time ago I picked up
a paper in Melbourne. In it was
written some time previously.
and referred to what was termed
'The Lost Half Company)
My reason in writing to you
is that I may be able to throw
some light on this subject being
an eye witness to the tragedy.
I intended writing you or
looking you up, and was
under the impression you were
a Victorian resident, I rang several
"Bean's but could not get any
information and so it passed
by. Private or rather signaller
B Ling I believe a resident
of Penguin _^Tasmania is probably the
only living witness who can
vouch for the truth of this
story. I cannot give dates as
my diary or what is left of it 

Phone 26.
----------192
M-----------
A.L. TONGS
Stock, Station, Insurance and General
Commission Agent.
FINLEY. N.S.W.
is in Tasmania. It would be
rather late in July or early August
that the first Division made the
attack on Moquet Farm. I was an
acting Seargant 2922 . 12^th Batt. probably
you know the positions taken up by
our Brigade 9^th 10^th 11^th 12^th the
trenches previous to going over the top.
were on a gentle slope almost
flat after comming down a
hill not very steep crossed a
vally may be 100 yds wide and
we were I suppose 100 to 150 yds
from this Vally. We occupied this
position for a day before going
over and capturing Fritz trenches
estimated 800 or 900 yds distant
after taking the position our first
line automatically became or
2 nd line. Two days later the
24 th were to relieve us the 12th
I do not know what Batts
relieved the other,  nor does it xxxx
 

Phone 26.
----------192
M-----------
A.L. TONGS
Stock, Station, Insurance and General
Commission Agent.
FINLEY. N.S.W.
matter to the narrative. The _^lost Half.
to which you refer. came over
the brow of the hill in full
marching order columns of fours
evidently quite unaware of their
proximity to the enemy, when half
way down this slope. Fritz turned
on every available gun & machine
gun. for a space of 20 seconds
I am quite certain not a man
escaped. I led the remainder of
my platoon out over the same ground
at 12 Oclock at night after we were
relieved and it was just a lane of
mangled Corps. Capt Connel ^killed later of the
12^th instructed Ling to signal to
the officer to extend at the double
but the officer either did not see
till too late in a few seconds
all was over. If any use to
you as historian Ling could
verify what I have written
I cannot testify exactly to dates
over 

Phone 26.
----------192
M-----------
A.L. TONGS
Stock, Station, insurance and General
Commission Agent.
FINLEY. N.S.W.
Colonel Elliott was in charge
of our Batt. Late Capt Connell
of our company I was in
charge of 7^th platoon after
Lieut Gould was wounded
and returned to Albert in
charge of three men all that
was left of the 16 plat went into
the line three days previously
Trustng this information
may be of some use to you
in your memoirs.
Yours Sincerely
Ex Sgt. A.L. Tongs.
Lat 2922 12^th Btn 

8446.
6 December 1933.
A.L. Tongs, Esq.,
Finley
N.S.Wales
Dear Sir,
I have to thank you for the light which you
throw upon the fate of part of the 24th Battalion in
the terrible barrage at Mouguet Farm. The information
is valuable and has been duly noted.
Yours faithfully.
C.E.W. Bean
Official Historian. 

11th-12th Sept,1914] CAPTURE OF THE GERMAN COLONIES 7I
hostile action had actually begun; the whole body then
surrendered, and was marched off by the three Australians
to the wireless station about half-a-mile away. The station
being found deserted, the prisoners were at 7 p.m. confined
in two room —ten Germans in one room, twenty natives in
another—and kept under guard by the Australians until
reinforcements came up under Buller half-an-hour later. On
their arrival Bond and Travers were able to hand over their
prisoners and to make an inspection of the station. It was
found that the masts had been wrecked, but the machinery was
still in good order
Meanwhile Beresford at the cross-roads began to wonder
what had happened. Bond's party had left at 3 p.m., and
no news of any kind came from them for ten hours. When
about 5 o'clock the firing at the second trench was heard, Buller
was sent off with thirty men; later in the evening Midshipman
Stirling²⁴ with another half-company was despatched to direct
Bond, if he found the opposition too strong, to withdraw for
the night, as the station could be shelled by the Australia next
morning. Arriving at the second trench, Stirling found it in
charge of the machine-gun section only, the rest of the force
having gone on at 9 p.m. to join Bond; he therefore put the
three wounded men on improvised stretchers, and returned to
Beresford with the news that the station was occupied., But
opposition of a sort was not quite over; early on the 12th
Bond rounded up several more natives armed with rifles, and
a party sent up from the base under Midshipman Veale,²⁵
which reached the station at 10 a.m., encountered a good deal
of harmless sniping on the way.
After consultation with Colonel Holmes, Admiral Patey
soon decided that the wireless station was too isolated and
useless to be permanently occupied. Bond was therefore
ordered to put it completely out of action, and to bring back
the instruments with him. This was effected by the afternoon
of the 12th, and all the landing-parties, returning at intervals
to Kabakaul, were re-embarked on the destroyers and landed
at Herbertshöhe that evening.
[*P√*]
²⁴ Lieut J. B. Stirling. R.A.N.R. Marine engineer; of Carrington. N.S.W.:
b. Carrington, 1 July, 1804.
²⁵ Lieut. R. S. Veale. R.A.N.R. Student; of Daylesford and Albert Park, Vic.;

b. Lefroy, Tas., 5 Sert., 1803. 

[*AN*]
Corrections Vol III
Pozieres 
Add the Note on 1Divs
march out
Dr. R. Coupland Winn.
Telephone. B 2156.
Harley,
143 Macquarie Street
Sydney
13.5.31
The Historian A.I.F
Dear Sir,
With reference to your letter
which I enclose, I have written
thereon the information for which
you ask.
There is a point I should like
to mention which was ommitted from
the History of the Fourteenth Battalion.
I was mentioned in despatches
while with that unit, a fact that
Mr Wanliss did not notice
though he mentioned gave a
list of such "mentions" at the
end of his history.
I recently wrote to Col. Butler about
a fact concerning which I am
rather proud. I suppose I should
not take the credit because it may
have been Sam Fitzpatrick then
R M O of one of the Battalions of the
First Brigade who suggested it.
Whoever was responsible the facts
were as follows:- When the First Brigade
came out of the line after their participation
in the first Battle of Pozieres I

Dr. R. Coupland Winn.
Telephone. B 2156.
Harley,
143 Macquarie Street
2
saw them march of the tiny remnant
through Warloy to their billets in
that town I shall never forget the
look on their faces - they appeared
to be walking in a trance and looking
on horrors still: I suppose
you saw many such sights
but this was the first and I
think the only time I saw that
look. I fancy I and the
members of my battalion
had that look when we came out
later after our eight days of hell.
At any rate, Fitzpatrick was sufficiently
awake to tell me how serious the
losses were among his stretcher-
bearers and the upshot was that
I got Colonel Dare to allow me to
train extra men. I believe that
Fitzpatrick advised me to have plenty
of bearers. Dare said I could
have sixteen more stretcher bearers
and that sixteen more could be
trained but would carry their
rifles. The 14th Battalion already
had 24 stretcher hearers who formed the
Battalion Band under that wonderful
leader Sergeant "Gus" Harris (= A J Harris)
who later became a second-lieutenant & died
of wounds. Thus there were with the five
medical orderlies forty five men set
aside for attention to wounded and with

Dr. R. Coupland Winn.
Telephone. B 2156.
Harley,
143 Macquarie Street
3
the second sixteen no less than
sixty one men trained to some
extent in first aid. These
facts are mentioned in the
History of the 14^th Battalion.
but the reason for the great
increase in the numbers
is not given there
Yours sincerely
R. C. Winn
 

6703.
25 May 1931.
Major R.C. Winn, M.C.,
"Harley"
143, Macquarie Street,
Sydney.
Dear Major Winn,
Many thanks for your note concerning the 14th Battalion,
and for the particulars which you have given us. What you
mention about Pozieres has been noted for reference when any
corrections or additions are being made to Volume III, which
has already been published.
Yours faithfully,
C.E.W. Bean.