Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/94/1 - November - December 1917 - Part 2

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at 11 p.m. we cd hear a 

heavy [[boubt?]] there in / North abt an

hour ago (11 pm our time - it wd be

12 by theirs).

White came back from leave I ws

asking him as x how he regarded

the new General Allied Staff wh

Lloyd George has set up to advise

/ Allied Council of [[?]] -

To me it seems as obviously

sensible measure - so right tt it

is a condemnation of our staff

not to have suggested it before;

instead of wh they fought it now.

White says it is a good thing

done in / wrong way. It is a

good move, but he thinks it ws

[[?]] Henry Wilson. White knows

him - a very capable but

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[[Mrs?]] [[?]] Irishman; who

has captured Lloyd Georg, White

Thinks. Haig & Robertson were

strongly against it' & tt is why

the army as a whole is.

I must say tt to me it is

a admiration of Haig & Robertson

tt they did not themselves support

it' before. White agreed to this

It will probably breed trouble

 - Haig & Roberson will not fail

Wilson the information support be needs - &

they will probably have to go.

White is afraid tt this upsetting

may bring a lot of altercation;

& he doesn't thinks / war

will end by revolution in

Germany come first.

It want someone

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really more fitted to step into 

Haig's shoes' & Robertson. There

did because they are not there wdnt

be much of an upsetting if some

man were in sight existed who really was more

capable. The trouble is tt there

is none in sight. How That this

army has fought for 3 years without

discovering such a man is only

to be explained by / extraordinary

British method of choosing men

not by their capacity but by their

"breeding" or tact or birth merely

in some cases. White agrees tt this

system is / blight of the English

xxxx institutions' though he has

some belief in [[title?]]. His only

family must have held a

title once, & , when his father came

on evil days, the knowledge of this

& / family tradition kept his head

high after blow upon blow.

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Nov.17 Sat. A [[?]] in [[?]] but

at last; so I wrote an article

for the evening papers - it

is wonderful what a difference

a [[?]] makes to ones

inclination to work.

The firing of yesty [[?]] to have

ceased.

Nov 18. Sunday. I am 38 today.

Came to boutogue with Coleman

ward & Wilkins. Williams &

I were turned back from the

11.15 boat as it takes only

leave officers & men, - They

sent of those on leave before

those on duty; probably rightly.

[[?]] & I went in to

White yesterday to submit

the scheme for sectional [[?]]

(histories of the problem of

the various arms) which

are to be written by members

of the force. Gullett is really

the author of the suggestions.

 

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The scheme was that certain

officers names shd be chosen

to collect the material - & tt they

shd consult w [[Treloar?]] to [[?]] draw

up each one scheme of his history.

White read the minute we had

drawn up; & then pointed out

like a flash that it did not

provide for the two or three definite

things to be done wh wd set the

scheme going. He sketch a short

order (in A.I.F. orders) giving

everyone knowled & of what ws

being done; & then the writing

to the suggested "Collection of

national" a definite order to

consult [[Treloar?]] & draw up

the scheme.

[[?]] as he came

out sd; "thats just like

White. You draw up c

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thing wh you think is perfect

until he has a look at it;

then in two or three strokes he

shows you that something told you exactly what is lacking

& puts it right in one act"

Birdwood ; by the retirement

of Nixon & Duff, & the

resignation of two or three

older generals has become

a full General in / Indian

army. White has put up

his major General decoration

for the first time.

Birdwood as soon as

another Conscription Referral [[?]] [[?]]

desided on, wrote a

letter to all officers pointing

out / xxx xx necessity for

reinforcements not xxxx if the

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break up of a division

were to be averted.

The old liberals and the

Asquith are at . Lloyd

george both & [[nail?]]

because of his speech in

Paris promising joint

control by / allies. They

want to get him out of

power, & they mistrust

the making of our generals

responsible to anyone [[exc?]].

the British people. But

all / army tt I have heard,

except on a xx some o / old army

think tt his speech ws entering

[[?]], & so does / country

as far as I can see.

Came over to London by

3.30 boat with Williams to consult

with [[Treoar?]] abt a photographic and 

London.

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Col. Hunting (of ordnance) is our member of the British

war museums Committee - wh is collecting trophies

Hurling told me tt our Light Horse

captured [[?]] early ( I think 6th [[?]])

pavement in / desert there (I fancy

it is one wh mother tells me of from a

letter of Jack Bisdee - a pavement wh

ws uncovered by / Turks in trench

digging). Our people brought it to

Cairo & intended to send it to / Sydney

Museum. The British members of the [[Ctee?]]

objected, or some of them - British [[arch?]]

its sd this thing ws most valuable -

it cd not be taken to Sydney. It wd be

a disaster to let it go there. Hurly

had a real now w / committee over

this - He told them / pavement ws [[already?]]

ours - they cd go and inspect it & take

photos of they liked - but it wd be sent to 

Australia.

Lord Beaverbrook told me tt the Governor

Genral of Australia & Canada had written in to /

saying tt all / most unique or irreplaceable [[?]]

be kept by / British War Museum in London

Beaverbrook is going to fight this tooth and nail.

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Nov 19. Monday. Spent the day

in conferences with

Col Hurley, & Treloar & Wilkins as to

establishing a dark room &

photographic branch of the

A.W.R.S. - there is abundant 

work accumulating for it. Col

Griffiths has decided to ship the

section into larger quarters near

Horseferry  Rd. It will occupy

at least 10 rooms

Nov. 20. In order to get the one

original xxxx negative & one

positive of our cinema film

for record purposes we

visited Lord Beaverbrook 

this morning - [[?]] Treloar

& I. He was in his dressing

gown - rather haggard looking

I thought, but I dare say that

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was the effect of the undress.

At the end of it be broached

the question of the control of

the photographers, which he had

induced Gen Charteris to place

under Maj . Hope, a Canadian 

officer. [We had protested at the time,

immediately, against this being

informed or consulted. Lyttons the new

censor replied tt he understood from

General Charteris that

we had bn consulted, & tt any

way the tram control only

applied to certain matters of

sale. But Faunthorpe , had hinted

who Beaverbrook had

seen Hurleys work & wanted

to rake him in under his own

control - I did not believe

this. Hurle Something Hurley

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afterwds sd made are wonder

if it were not time - it looked

as if Hurley had had an [[offer?]]

made to him by / Canadians -

of all of this we knew nothing

whatever].

Beaverbrook has been

running the Canadian records

himself & has spent money

lavishly on pictures, photos,

& cinema. and These

have returned about £15000,

£4000 being the result of his

book on "Canada in Flanders"

He now wants to recoup

as much as he can of this -

& is going to ask the was Cinema

committee for a quarter of

their fund - £25,0000 this will.

amount to the original idea

ws to give this to charitable