Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/86/1 - August 1917 - Part 2

8           9
L. de J. Grut. M.C.

Capt. Dr Grut, who was in / same
billet as myself showed me
some photos of the Bluff & Spoil
Bank, where they were tunnelling
at Ypres - They put in 1800 feet of
tunnelled dugout under the Ramparts
- It was in the Bluff, I think -
anyway, near the White Chateau
that the  Germans most intensity
occurrence of all took place. He
Capt Smith & Capt Dr Grut were
in charge; & Smith was away;
Dr Grut ws seedy & was
lying up, when one of his men
came to him & told him there
was wind in the workings
- which meant tt they had
broken through or / Germans
had broken thro to them.
Dr G. _∧of course had to go at once & see
(I suppose it ws a matter of 

8                    10
honour for a mining officer
to go straight to / spot when
any such crisis occurs.
The tunnel in wh wind
was reported was one wh ws
tamped up all ready for
firing. They went at once
to / spot & attempted to
fire it - & found tt nothing
happened. This might mean
nothing, because the leads go
through such damp ground
up there tt it is no uncommon
thing for them to go wrong. The
only thing ws to look & see.

Dr G. got two sturdy men,
& began  went to / spot & began to
pull down / bags o / tamping.
He went crawled first, passed / bags
down between his legs - they
passed them back between
theirs - It is a very narrow
passage, just room to crawl. 

Govts decision pull all (shorthand) together
GH Q agst it.
Article to Aust (shorthand)
Other  Aust. (shorthand)
 

8                  11
After abt ½ hour he reached
a row & ws just abt to
pull down / top bag when
- had actually hold of the
mouth of the bag - when
someone the other side gave
it a heavy shake - lifted
the far end o / bag up &
let it down again. There
ws no question tt it ws
a German / other side & tt
he wants to frighten them.
He ws probly scared too.
De Grut instantly put out
his light & signed to / two
men behind him to put out
theirs. What had happened
was tt / Germans had
cut into our tunnel &
stolen our charge ; &
were now trying to work
forward unknown into our 

8             12
galleries (as we once
did into theirs  at Cordonnerie)
De Grut reported
back - and then / only thing
was for someone to listen in
this gallery while we imd.
put in anor. gallery to
go at / Germans from /
side - a bore - there ws
not time for / gallery.
De Grut & a British RE
officer went into / gallery
& sat there _∧De Grut with the geophone
at  De G _∧his ears & his elbows
on his knees, listening
listening, listening for the
Germans coming to put in a
mobile charge - as we knew
they would;  the RE Offr sitting
back to back w him on /
same seat. All tt De G cd
hear ws the grind grind 

8                                                       13
grind of the bore churning
through towards them, hour
after hour.
Then there was a tremendous
shock. The tunnel gave way
in front of them & behind
them - the RE Offr. had his
leg pinned between the
timbers & was unconscious.
De G.  tried to get him out;
then he got out & brought back
a couple of  men to try &
extricate him; they cdnt
do it - so finally he sent down
a special gang - who got the
RE man out. He had had a
crash on / head - & his memory
is gone - but he is alive
today.
Aug. 13^th We went up
with Maj. Mulligan to 

14
Old Ramsays dream - tt ws those (shorthand)

(shorthand)
Heavy Rain      54 Bty.  8am.

 One gun (shorthand)                                     
Aug 12. fighting in Glenwise wd

Heavy rain Aug 13. Bombt near 
la Bassee & E.
more heavy (shorthand)

(shorthand)

Lash (shorthand)

& Holmes
Aug 15 Gullett arrives
Aug 16. 2nd big attack (shorthand)
Aug 17. Visit & Div Arty
Aug 18  Gullett to 1st Bde.
 

2 Div Arty
Verbranden molen (shorthand)

Harbottle 11-4

(shorthand) Larch wood
HQ near the dump

  Col. Shellshear.

Other 4 (shorthand) near Knoll (shorthand)
Fosse wood

2 Div Arty.  Lieut . Capt R.M. Thompson
- Duntroon - took round the
roving gun on July 23rd &
registered all the  objs targets -
& got a M.C. for it.

 

 

 

8              15
Nieuport les Bains.
The Germans were shelling
the road so we had to
leave the cars not from
from Oost Dunkirk & walk
over the sand dunes between
/ road  & / sea, just
skirting / - shelling – the xxx
fragments whirring every
now & then overhead. We
struck a recent crater fair
in our path also - the sand
dried to a _^white grey ash at the
bottom of it; so evidently the
German sometimes made
tt route also unhealthy.
After a mile we came to
a curious grey wooden
construction running low
thro' the sand. It is a French
communication (shorhand/trench) 2miles long
-first cut & then timbered &
covered.  We got into this
      (over 3 pages) 

16          1st Div Arty  (across both pages)
(Also Maj. Kirkland M.C. 
& Capt. W.R. Aspinall. (k.  first, 20/7/17
Kirkland
next 22/7/17)

both A.A.M.C.
Lieut. Walker (Sigs.) 31/7/17. 

1st Btn.
3rd Bty lost 21 offrs  & men on
21^st July - day they were registering.
1^st Div Arty lost all 78 on 24hrs
Ending  21^st July.
 ( 6^th Bty.) X

X King got his M.C day they
went in. Kingsmill & East
went up registering; Parker
& King remained w bty firing.
Parker ws k.;  Kingsmill
remained on at duty dressing
wd - battery getting heavily
strafed - until he ws sent away
Olding is better.

 

 

8     17

k.

Capt. J S R Macdonald (Bty after Dodd) 31/1

Lt J Simson 31/7

Lt A.W. Parkes 21/7

Lt L.R. Bumpus 22/7

Lt A Parker 22/7

Lt J.P. Ford 2/8

Capt A.J. Glendenning 2/8 (Bty after MacDonald)

Lt D. Dowsett 8/8

Maj. H.F. Kingsmill (Bty)

____

X

W. Maj. AW Dodd (Bty) MC. 22/7

X Lt D.B.A. King ^∨(3rd Bty)22/7 (M.C. for this)

Lt AO. McMullens 21/7

Lt F.E.C. Bugby 21/7

Lt L.T. Gwyther MC. ^∨Bar to M.C. 31/7

lt. S.G. Friend 11/8 S.

Capt J. Doherty 31/7 S.

Lt A.T. Dingwall 31/7 S

Lt N. Hollis 31/7 S

Maj. E.A. Oldrey 31/7 (Bty)

Lt C.M. Stodart 31/7

[*Lt R H Thompson 1/8 S. Capt E.A.H. Randall 12/8 (Bty)

Lt. A.M. Lilburne 2/8 S  Lieut C. Graves 12/8. *]

18

Canterbury Aug 6.

M. Rifles:

12 Bn Pozieres.

 

8    19

Ramsay tells me of fight of

Canterbury M.R. on Aug 6.

:  Greenwood, Pte in Cant.

M.R. sd to never believed tt

he wd be hit.  On Aug 6 he

was with Lieut ............?Brick & another

went straight for a _^Turkish m.g.

they jumped straight upon

/ parapet - a Turk fired at

one, _^missed him, shot Greenwood thro /

the forehead, & killed him.  The

other man jumped down into

/ emplacement - the T.

bayoneted him thro / leg,

but he turned on / Turk &

cut his throat with a knife.

Lt. Donaldson. 12 Bn, says

there ws an officer of the

12 Bn walking along a

trench at Pozieres.  He

8    20

(saw a German - put

up his revolver &

the German cried Kamerad.

The offr took him prisoner

& had just passed &

turned ws going along /

(shorthand/trench) when the German

picked up a rifle & shot

him.  A Sergt of the 12 Bn

ws behind & saw it all;

he ws mad w rage.  He

took / German by the scru

scalp, bent his neck

back, sawed his head

off with a German saw

bayonet - & threw / 

head out o / trench.

(Donaldson, then a

Sergt, saw this, Ramsay says )

8    21

and walked a mile or so.

to The passage has ^is closed except for a couple

of boards _^at the top missing all the way,

of the side next the sea;  so

that you have a sort of

window opening all the

way, looking over the sea and

the abandoned piers at the

Yser mouth - they say that

the Germans get out along their

pier & snipe in at this opening.

It ws officially stated _^in the official (local) summary a few

days ago tt / Germans our artillery

had fired at the pier & a

man was seen to fall off

into / sea.

At / beginning of the

town underground passages

began to lead off to / right,

(below the Esplanade, I suppose)

into the cellars of Nieuport

Bains.  these cellars have