Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/15/1 - August 1915 - Part 4

32
approached / trench w

their hands up. Our men

pulled them in, signed to them to

take their rifles off & come in. Then

they sent them back to explain to /

others. All this time / Sikhs, /

Gurkhas, / Australians were

trying for all they were worth

to make / Ts understand they

wanted them to come in. They

But others out of view who didnt

understand (esp. The Tommies)

wd fire & each time a few Ts

dropped & / rest ran back.

Then a chap in white pants

came into / trench & sd "Doctor!"

Next a T. came along towards

the m.g. wh had bn captured by

N.Z. & turned by / Maoris agst /

33

Turks. When he saw it he lowered 

his bayonet suddenly & signed to

our men to lay down their arms.

Of course they didnt. Maj. Grigor

then went along to / left o / trench

where he ws alone & spoke to

some Ts there. They had bn shaking 

our mens' hands & he shook

the hand of one big T. too. He is a

small man & the T ws a big one

& the big Ts grip suddenly

tightened on his & he felt himself

being dragged out o I trench.

He pulled back & managed to

tear himself free. T. didnt

fire but G. walked back &

told our men to open fire at

once when of course Ts got

back into scrub. Some were k.

34

Later. Our interpreter, Nicholas, passed

my dugout & I told him this story.

He sd :Thats's funny! That agrees w

what an Armenian officer told me

-& I thought he ws mad. He sd

th they had got 3 New Zealand prisoners

tt day, & the colonel of /

bn. thought they might get more if 

they gave them / chance. So they he

sent this Armenian officer to / trench

to try & get our men to give up

their arms. The Armenian came 

forward & signed to our men tt
he wanted them to kay down their

arms, & our men signed to him

to lay down his. Het got right into

/ trench and tried to peren our

officer sent him back to explain

to / Ts. tt if they put down their

35

arms we wd like take them prisoner

& treat them well.

He went back - but a it ws

no good explaining this he told his

men tt our men wanted some of 

them to come into our trench &

put down their arms before we

wd surrender. They did so & we

kept them there & took them 

prisoners.

Nicholas thought / man ws

romancing (he ws very highly

strung & when an Indian passed

he shrank back shivering &

asking "Who's tt? they say they 

murder us!" N. told him

to go & have a sleep - x a rest

-& he did so & had made 

up a different tale by next

morning. But it ws his wild

36

tale tt ws true.

The men they got prisoners

were I daresay those I saw

cut off in I trench.

 

(See also other end) 

of book for Aug 6 follg.

37

 

58