Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/91/1 - October 1917 - Part 8

Conflict:
First World War, 1914–18
Subject:
  • Documents and letters
Status:
Awaiting approval
Accession number:
RCDIG1066659
Difficulty:

Page 1 / 10

tell in ere apt are to th orp ve a p 34 reppale tea at at te practice Capr atack or it be our roads a4 44 by heavyant t if we to seace Conditi down al tl of ttrate by a Menen affat the on 20od w00
1518 72 The fern ent. there top make impossitle it m us 0 t te Denn fl. 8 26 very bea five &th oflast the mst I was curtain morn serman hat altacen the but apparently he had not on our bac sone
17 6 C he cant. H0 keiling there atlack very well new the moon 8 Senma place has pist ons ti bombs dropped over Abelte You mear Tety plane tell the forman the clearly sound the by err recurrin where orr a tunetess his enpie sound a higher have oeer Engines no recurring ntty musical Swell Austalian tra the Port Pert fou railwa as finished on Anganter v shooting on Cduadians Oct. Feryheavy itt dart possebly B Permans. shoolh
74 whit had not hi to Gullett Murtoch up what the fight r Naw actually Broodscinde Ridge en now will do so Oc 4 memory is stell while the fairt I wrote ap Wesh at the trme & that Cably o I have onl the 5 m di here was Murdoch Gutedwanter tsee one to big fight before s away he had been Exyet. Roven to see the Base Records Branch & find that aracticall did nothing at the
as collection all 50 far Rercords went of Distoncal most of to ep them a te Except the on month to London. shate told fight & on brought forard to it had been fire Octy as brought forwed Oct who ti Butter sudde sen ap the th ap tit know not d 3da rl be 4 lite ree A2 rour It to see pl Wrth further to
76 up see better 24 t t tewa i tad this 15 or war on en Wegthen Sod N had Dout tes but en Si the right to 1 of the tuit sim at through on straight ent ty tar left Polit other side o bacth to sent him Hetag id of other i baked up to on enbe to 3 which ht Weythack Rit Torth the Nea
77 at a drissing ridge right Witson 5n on 56 Chapte + 1a stle N. Ney Bishop £ to the then plain ch winted De Somn the or ot coople burying a was 381 Bn (he is now ofthe 1th Bde) t attictied d while waite them e the arappe i t were 44 the brown two up in a blant rough ito burial of about 4 battation of their own mo them into a shelthole lowent officer present They had and
Faid the Tewere Wilson t00 then I thought a toner one used standing amply a the as they all did tin hat. his beh crods of eark fen threw words came whe the in. adust to dust the Grave 15 quistel by avedius in filted by t hey were left there o road. Of course Side a cross t their mean be put up. They were wit men abmost certainly I stretcin hed died on wh at tai post or bel it reaching
on went on itl We reach a place wanted he where another. called Bremen Just over 1top Padie was. left as a hill on 20 ards nenet selter at 1rd, a a sort away from trench half breastwo of haltf He inquired it lead avothled it there a post Bavaria stalion They House pointed out 134 bottow to is at till bendof fer road m ile fore 5tope you t O open Ad see Co
VI1 of in ha palm Ridgt Broadsemde the hught two the the & teke A.W of 300 Spur &Hitl Hill 40 35 a in was bate lowgridg us of them at pont in House of Bremen Hille0 2 Brin t the + abehe 20 Che o Hill 40 Anyw the hill. ws ho 8 the sls 30

1st Anzac Corps
(see Intell. Summary.)

D41    71
out very heavy
area shoots X on this
corps - from / very rear
to / very front. It
ws especially heavy at
dusk. This may be
practice barrage for an
attack, or it may be
to break up our roads.
Kennedy (heavy arty)
says tt even if we get
down to "peace" conditns
we shall always have keep
a big concentratn of
Guns agst the Menin
Road - Polygon wood

 

 

D41    72
front. The German, if
he got to / top there,
cd make it impossible
for us to move any
Guns back.

[Hand drawn sketch, see original.]

Oct 20. Very heavy firing
most of last night & this
morning. I was certain
the German had attacked,
but apparently he had not.
Having gone back on our
 

 

D41  73
front (Keiborg) he cant
very well attack there.
The moon is new & a
German plane has just gone
over & dropped his bombs
near Abeele. You can
tell the German plane quite
clearly by the sound - the
recurring whirr-irr-irr of
his Engine - a tuneless sound;
our engines have a higher
musical note & no recurring
swell.
The Trans-Australian
railway from Perth to Port
Augusta ws finished on
Oct. 17. Heavy shooting On Canadians
14 DW during day
Tonight after dark very heavy
shooting by us, & possibly by Germans.

 

 

D41  74
I had not time to write
up what Murdoch, Gullett, & I
actually saw of the fight for
Broodseinde Ridge on
Oct 4. I will do so now
while the memory is still
fairly fresh: I wrote up
my cable at the time & that
is the only diary note I have
made.
Murdoch was here.
Gullett wanted to see one
big fight before going to
Egypt - he had been away
at Rouen to see the Base
Records Branch & find that
they practically did nothing at
 

 

D41  75
all, so far as / collection
of Historical Records went,
except to keep ^most of them a
month & pass them on
to London.
White told me tt /
fight had bn brought forward to
Oct 4 - it had been fixed
for Oct 6 & was brought forward
so suddenly tt Butler (who
had to ^get made & sent out the maps)
did not know until
3 days before.
A go I went up 
on Oct 2 to reconnoitre
a good place to see from It
seemed tt further North
 

 

D41  76
we shd see better - up to
this we had always used the
Menin or Warrington Rds &
had never gone N of Westhoek.
I got Boddy to drive me out
thro' / Menin Gate; but
instead of turning to / right
at / Menin Rd Junction
went straight on through
Politjze. I left the car
betw on / other side o /
village - sent him back to
/ other side of Ypres - &
walked up to near
Frezenberg, which is on /
Westhoek Ridge but further
North. See Nearing the
 

 

D41  77
ridge I saw, at a dressing
station on / right, Wilson
formerly a chaplain to /
Bishop of Newcastle N.S.W, &
then chaplain to the 3rd Bn.
in the Somme Winter. He
was burying a couple of men
of the 36th Bn (he is now
attached to the 9th Bde) &
I waited by while he sd
the service over them.
They were simply wrapped
up in two dark brown
rough blankets - & a
burial party of abut 4
men of their own battalion
lowered them into a shellhole.
They had an officer present
 

 

D41  78
too. Wilson said the service
- a longer one than I thought
they used - standing simply in
his tin hat, as they all did
-threw a few ^little clods of earth
in, when the words came
"dust to dust" - The they
were grave ws quickly
filled in by / grave diggers -
& they were left there by /
side o / road. Of course
a cross w their names
will be put up. They were
almost certainly men
who had died on / stretchers
at / aid post or before
reaching it -

 

 

D41  79
We went on over / hill -
he wanted to reach a place
called "Bremen" where another
Padre was. Just over / top
o / hill on / left ws a
concrete shelter a little 20 yards
away from / rd, w a sort
of half trench half breastwork
leading to it. He inquired
there - it ws another dressing
station aid post, Bavaria
House. They pointed out
Bremen to us at / bottom
o / hill in / bend o /
road, ½ mile on.
On tt fore slope you
could see, as open as /

 

D 41  80
palm of your hand,
the Broodseinde Ridge,
& the two heights of the
Spur, N.W. of Zonnebeke
-Hill 40 & Hill 35. A
lower ridge was between
us & them, just in front
of Bremen House.

[Hand drawn sketch, see original]
I think one cd see the
Zonnebeke church over
the hill. Anyway, Hill 40
ws in the hands o / Germans
 


 

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