Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/94/1 - November - December 1917 - Part 1

AWM 38
Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.

Diaries and Notebooks

Item number 3DRL606/94/1

Title: Diary, November - December 1917
Includes references to Pozieres, Broodseinde,
the Young Mens' Christian Association at Flers,
Cambrai, 36th Heavy Artillery Group and No 68 
Squadron, Australian Flying Corps.
 

AWM38-3DRL606/94/1
 

Original
DIARY No. 94.

AWM38 
3DRL 606 ITEM 94 [1]
DIARIES AND NOTES OF C.E.W. BEAN
CONCERNING THE WAR OF 1914 - 1918

THE use of these diaries and notes is subject to conditions laid down in the terms
of gift to the Australian War memorial. But apart from these terms, I wish the
following circumstances and considerations to be brought to the notice of every
reader and writer who may use them.

These writings represent only what at the moment of making them I believed to be
true. The diaries were jotted down almost daily with the object of recording what
was then in the writer's mind. Often he wrote them when very tired and half-asleep;
also, not infrequently what he believed to be true was not so - but it does not
follow that he always discovered this, or remembered to correct the mistakes when
discovered. Indeed, he could not always remember that he had written them.
 

These records should therefore, be used with great caution, as relating only what
their author, at the time of writing believed. Further, he cannot, of course vouch
for the accuracy of statements made to him by others and here recorded. But he
did try to ensure such accuracy by consulting, as far as possible, those who had
seen or otherwise taken part in the events. The constant falsity of second-hand
evidence (on which a large proportion of war stories are founded) was impressed
upon him by the second or third day of the Gallipoli campaign, notwithstanding that
those who passed on such stories usually themselves believed them to be true. All
second-hand evidence herein should be read with this in mind.
16 Sep., 1946. C.E.W. BEAN
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
ACCESS STATUS
OPEN
 

1
{ Pay .Overcoat
{ See Murdoch about medals 
{ for oldest man.
[ & abt their ideas - re referencing
[* 44
85th *]
Evans - re distribution in England
& Pain's Paybook.
————
Where Depot is
Treloar & Gallagher: my photos
1st thing tomorrow: When I return
my trophies
Short time.
[* SPecial
Publications
Canada
N.Z.
Aust *]
Photos: Shall we do Australian
Gallery prints ?
Sectional history photos.
Col. Hurley { Duplicate set of
{ war exhibits
{ Broken up guns
{ Who carries on.
Griffiths: Shall we see Smart?
[* Establishment
of Cameras. etc. *]
Addison.
Dyson.
John: out Nurses scheme.
Smart : Watch, Photos off for AGW
100,000 or 80,000?
Leave papers
Take notebooks to C.Bk.
Kennedy's Photos.
[* Capt W H Anderson
R A G A.
Flying Corps History.
_________________________ *]
Murdoch
Ring up 8860. 
Car }
[[?]] of J.}
 

5
2
DIARY Nov 15/1917
Thursday Nov. 15^th.  On Tuesday I
[*Nov 13^th*] came back from London. In
Boulogne who shd one see coming
up the road but the figure -
clad in slacks, with up turned
pants & muddy old light coloured
boots of Bill Dyson. He had
his cap worn like an English
"nut" - pure carelessness
with him - & one hand in
his tunic -
Hand drawn sketch - see original document. 
& as I reached
him I saw a
bandage round
the wrist -
He had been
wounded. He
had meant to go
up to Paschendaele before we
left the area - & had started 

5
3
by Westhoek - across country.
He was finishing a sketch near
a dugout - just squirting fixative
onto it as he stood up - when
he heard a shell - it didnt
seem extra formidable; but
the next thing he knew was
that his drawing board was
blown away & sea & he was
tumbled over. He got up
with a cut in his left forearm
& a sprained right wrist &
scratches all up the over his left cheekbone
- his sketches were blown to
blazes & only a corner of the
drawing board ws left. A
Canadian officer helped him up
& he came back to Corps & was
in the Canadian's car & was
dressed at Corps - he was
afraid they might send him off
to hospital if he went through
the ordinary way. He was 

5
4
not badly cut ^(half a dozen stitches fixed that), but very badly
shaken - He is going to London -
(as he intended before this
happened) for 2 or 3 months. He
has his living to work up - his
work here is done for nothing.
I struck Gen Glasgow &
Col Bruche crossing over on
return from leave & had a
pleasant trip in their deck cabin.
Started home as soon as I possibly
could - with cargo of 70;000 bookplates
for ^A.I.F Xmas Book, for which I went
over - as we know Boddy & I
feared there might be fog on the
high lands wh makes motoring
very difficult. As a matter of
fact the last two days have
been beautiful. But Dyson
tells me that the sound of
bombt has been hellish. Though
its only 15 or 20 miles away the 

 5

orders - where corps
[shorthand] is
see Salvage at  [shorthand] 
see Wilcocks
see churchill re
Leist & Power.
see L. & P.
 

5
6
majority at Corps Headquarters
did not know if it were German
or Canadian. It is quite true -
when we got there, all night & morning, it was hellish.
On Wed. Nov. 14th I meant to go & see some
of the units, but the day was
spent in answering writing letters,
packing up AIF Xmas Bookplates,
& then packing for the move of Corps
HQrs.
Cpl. Bailey arrived back after
delivering one lorry load of Museum
Exhibits at Boulogne. There is
still a lorry load to be sent away. The
42nd Bn made a regimental
collection for us & is see asked
every man to give up xx something for
the Museum. The collection is 
getting most interesting. Lt Gallagher
who is head of the section is an
officer who lost his arm at Pozieres - 

5
7
very capable, a great worker;
&, like so many of our very best
clerks, a strict Roman Catholic.
[*Methodist*] Treloar, Col. Griffiths, Gallagher,
Coleman - they are all R.Cs & 
a wonderful set of workers; quite
contrary to ones preconceived notion
of the R.C. in Australia. There one
had an idea of them as tending
to laziness; but these are the
best & straightest workers we have.
L/Cpl Bailey is responsible
for getting most of our exhibits
- he has taken the work up tremendously
keenly & doesnt mind how
hard he works. He bicycles
from one salvage dump to
another & around the Ordnance
depots of the divisions & comes in
beaming: "We've got a wonderful
good find today," he says in with an 

8

3rd Div came under us.
 

5
9
appreciative nod - "2 old
machine guns with 34 holes
in them - & the remains of a
German flammenwerfer." He
generally manages to get a
waggon or a lorry to fetch them
in, too. Maj. Maxted of the salvage,
which picks up everything of use
(& nearly everything is useful)
on / battlefield, is supporting us
more keenly than anyone.
On Nov 15 (Today) the Corps moved
in the morning to its new HQrs
at Fletre. It is wonderful how easy these
moves now are. ^X
I met two old 5 Bn boys in
the club at Bailleul at lunch.
They told me the fighting had been
hot up here. I sd; "Was it as
stiff as Pozieres?" They shook
their heads at once & sd decisively
"No - not by a long chalk. Oh that 

5
10
was a bloody muddle. This
time the staff work was good -"
x
Nov 16^th Friday. Drove to Bailleul
to get a site for the Museums
collecting station at the Corps
Salvage; thence to Hoograf to ^Dranoutre to get Leist to
come to tea with the General - but he is away on the Somme.
thence to Hoograf to see about moving the cases of
relics; ^found the 8^th Corps there with
our Corporal amid his cases
carrying out his lonely job in
the middle of them. They 8^th Corps are
moving in a few days to
Nine Elms. To Abeele, then Hoograf
again, Bailleul & so home.
There has been heavy shelling
all day - it is the Germans
shelling Paschendaele & Poelcapelle.
They have a tremendous concentration
of guns up there now; I believe
more than we have, on that sector.
They attacked Polderhoek yesterday 

5
11
or the day before & did no
good - our barrage only let through
a few who were beaten by / infantry.
It is almost certain tt they
are going to attack again. It is
curious how unanimous / opinion
is on their chances. The question
asked on this Corps Hqrs. at once
is - Are the Canadians in? Their
Corps is still in charge, but are
the Canadian Divisions. If they
are, everyone is confident tt
they will hold; if not, there
is no confidence. The 8th Corps
under Hunter Weston is not
looked on by ^some of the British officers
on this HQrs as very
trustworthy.
We have intercepted a
wireless message tt / Germans
are going to shell the front between behind
the Ypres Comines canal with gas