Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/84/1 - August 1917 - Part 6

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the heavy whirr of
propellors, high up & a good
number, I shd say. At /
same moment, Madam C
knocked at my door
& sd something about-
“Monsieur, nous allons a
la cave.” She had made
me promise to go to the cave
with them if the town were
bombed or shelled, as it gave
her more confidence. I
turned out of bed & looked out:
The moon was fairly low
- about half full - shining
in a clear sky growing
deep blue in the first dawn.
There was some talk in
the houses. I put on a
trench coat & went down
& found them sitting there
solemnly, poor things, on
 

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chairs. Madame, Mademoiselle
- both dressed as far as
I could judge- and
the old Monsieur (a
gardener, or railway
man of sorts) & the lodger
M. Legrange. I heard
3 bombs fall & mademoiselle
nearly clutched my shoulder
& began to half-cry.
The 'planes died
away in the distance &
I went to bed - the
people were running out
like little mice from
their front doors & discussing
it in the street - now
a ^blur of white night dress in the
dark doorway - now
a white shirt & dark
trousers- "Near the
 

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Gare" - they said.
I went to sleep
again & was awakened
first by Barker bringing
my boots; & then by the
familiar bang of last
week's big shell.
Mademoiselle
ran into my room at
once to get her hat or parasol
of something from / cupboard
previous to fleeing from
Morbecque.  She ran in
again while I ws half
undressed washing -
When the second bang came
& frightened her out; they
treat you, as my father
once sd in Germany, like
a horse. About 7
shells fell, in pairs,
 

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& Madame & the daughter
decided to go to Morbecque
It was hard on the Mother -
a heavy strain of excitement;
but / girl ought to have
stood it better - she seemed
to me rather a selfish little
brat.
By this time the townspeople
were simple fleeing down
/ road to Morbecque - little
girls half crying, old
couples carrying their
bundles, every member o /
family sometimes, carrying
some article from an
umbrella to in charge o /
smallest girl to a piled
up washing basket
between the Father & Mother
Sometimes the man tooled
 

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along with mattress
blankets sheets piled on
a big wheelbarrow. They
are mostly off to some
relation in / country around
I ws going up to
breakfast when Dyson told
me tt Sammy Butler - our
Sammy - had been hit;
It ws a shock; one wd
have bn dreadfully sorry
if it had bn severe. It
turned out to be no more
than glass scratches & a
bad shock. A big shell
exploded next door - He
ws just on his way into
/ passage to see if he
cd help in anyway, at /
time, when all / glass
in / house blew in &
 

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cut him about & gave
him a bad shaking. He
ws sent to / hospital &
ws here put by / doctor
into a cellar to lie down
for a bit till / shelling
ws over - & then sent to
St Omer; Birdwood has
packed him off to England
for a bit.
Butler is one of those
men who is doing / work
wh one really most
admires England for. He is
in the Soudan Administration
Service. They are all men
most carefully chosen -
public school & University man,
mostly, & about half of
them "Blues" at Oxford or
Cambridge. There is no
 

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competition - but the
most careful selection of
what is really the best
public school product - & to
tt extent it is a better service
than / Indian Civil Service,
though tt may possess
more brains - it is much /
same anyway. They are
men o / sort wh is /
very best tt England turns out -
/ man who puts his work
first all / time, "plays / game"
for / sake of / game & not for
himself. There are scores of
them, for example, who might
 

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have obtained leave after
so may years, but who
have put it off, time after
time, "because old Sheikh
So & So is coming to see me",
or "because there is something
my people want settling &
I can do it now - I'll
go home later ..."
The theory is tt England
never takes over a district
until she can administer it;
& when she can administer
it she expects to see at once
the benefits of administration:
peace; good roads; the increase
 

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of production in / villages; the
doctor introduced w / administration
- something to show
worth att / taxes wh are
imposed.
What next & happens is tt
some district wh has not bn
taken over, next door, raids
the administered district.
The administered people
look at once to their white
administrator & say; what
are you going to do for
us? He feels his bounden
duty to try & get them /
protection - it wd not be
a job he could reconcile himself
to, if they came to him & he
 

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had to turn them away &
refuse help, he wd rather
throw the whole work up.
He writes a strong Appealing
letter or two to / Governor
& finally two companies
are sent up to him.
The offending tribe is then
told: Now look - if you
pay 50 head of cattle &
so much produce to these
people for having raided
them, it will be all well. But
if you do not, the Great Government
will be after you. If they
refuse they are probably
given another chance. If