Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/93/1 - November 1917 - Part 3

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like all as in all battalions
their manners are pretty.

They drank t health o t

King w all t old

formality, in a dash

of cognac, no heelers;

& thlanding the President

Caliing "Mr Vice" & the

Vice President - a junior

officer at t far end

of one o t tables in

the village school

room answering

"The King".

___________

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Oct Nov 9. Friday. After breakfast

came t splendid news tt Gaza

had bn taken. Our Light Horse

& other troops worked well

north of Beersheba first

& British infantry tackled

other positions between t two.

The Italians are retiring

onto a further river - the

Levement or some such

name. Livenza.

Was round to the 44th

& 41st Bns. Heron, the

young officer commndg the

41st has made a fine

bn of it. One can see tt by

t smartness of the men. It

 

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is probly as goos as the

9th. As with the 37th yesty,

i notice tt he has a battalion

mess going & tt he insists

on the outward forms. he

wears gloves, for example,

in this French village. The

men are neatly dressed, &

are most smart in saluting 

- I have never seen a battalion

more so. He wdn't let me

go & fetch my overcoat -

told one of his men to get

it; his voice completely

changed when he gave t order 

- there was a cold decision

about it & he spoke it out

like a command on parade.

 

 

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He is an older looking

man than Morshead, spare

clean shaven & more lined;

but their methods are very

similar -

Heron, like Morshead, is

an educated man. His

father has a motor boat

& is therefore probly pretty well

off. It is curious how this

type of man appeals to

Australians more than the type that

the Bulletin wd give you as

t typical Australian - the

rather punctilious type rather far

more than the slack type.

The 10th & 11th Bdes are

remarkably healthy in this

 

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respect - they are

great families. The

battalions in them stick

together, are enthusiastic

abt one another - & dont

crab on another as

some of our battalions

do. The offrs in the 37th

yesty were all speaking

as proudly o t honours

won by the 38th, 39th & 40th

as of their own. "My

word - I'm glad old

Hurry (38th Bn) has got

his D.S.O.", sd some of

them - "There's nothing

cd please one more".

 

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It is not so with the 

9th Bde.

The 11th Bde Bns too

are delighted to be in

1st Anzac. And everyone

is hoping tt no division

will have to be broken up.

I hear tt Reuters says

tt conscriptn is to be tried

agn in Australia.

(as from 7th Nov).

Irvine is working for it &

most people think tt

M'Cay is helping him.

I sent a cable 2 days ago -

not knowing of this -

telling t delight of Australians

at all being together, &

 

 

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saying clearly tt for t first

time t apprehension had

arisen amongst them

that one o these divisions

might have to be broken

up in t Spring. There was

a chance tt this might

help recruiting.

Sat Nov. 10. 3rd Divn

yesty started to move North -

9th Bde yesty, 10th Bde

today - by busses - 11th Bde

on Monday.

I returned with Dyson to

1st Anzac - "The Australian

Corps", I believe it is now

to be. In Cassel we saw

 

 

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Montaque, of the Censors

Branch, who told us tt the

1st Canadian Divn had attacked 

today along t Ridge for abt

1000 yds past Paschendale

& the 1st British Divn on

their left in the mud.

Both had got their objective.

Later we heard tt the

British had bn driven back.

Both they & t Canadians were

subjected to tremendous

shellfire all day. The

attack had bn on a very

narrow front - almost

as bad as Poziers, & the

 

 

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Germs were hardly met

with at all. But they

concentrated an enormous

amt of artillery on to

the area we took - &

the British were driven

in. This leaves t Canadians

holding a line like this 

[* sketch of line*] beyond Paschendale

The right

is simply

vile - & t

day too -

cold & rainy 

- & if t Canadians

can hold on

they are wonderful

troops.

 

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It ws on such a day

tt our 3rd Divn came

back, but under rather

more trying flank fire,

perhaps, from Bellevue.

The 1st Div. is going

to Abbeville. 2nd to close 

support; 3rd 7 5th in

line. 4th to Etaples

or thereabout, under GHQ

but with a right in Gen.

Birdwood to have it up

whenever he likes. All

men who previously

fought in it to go back to

it but no reinfs. The

W,Austtn bns are the