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

5   23
Funds, but, as Beaverbrook
is chairman it will probably
go as he desired. The whole
fund amounts to £100,000,
roughly mostly earned by
British film, then by Canadian,
lastly by Australian. We have
as yet no representative
on this committee. All the
cinema operators in France
are the servants of Beaverbrook this
committee.
Beaverbrook now wants
he told us - to establish a
similar committee of control
over the photographs. His
idea is to have one big 
exhibition with an Editor
of pictures covering the whole
front. This is to be taken by
a staff of photographers of
whom the committee is appointing
 

 5  24
6 British ones. The
Canadian, Australian, &
N.Z. photographers are to
go under the control of the

committee & the committee will
send out an Editor to manage
the whole. They will bring the

salaries of all photographers
up to £12 a week. And they
propose to hold their exhibition
in February.
This was the first word
we had heard of any such thing.
Beaverbrook knew tt we Australians
were preparing to hold an
Exhibition & tt Hurley had
gone to Egypt to get photographs
for it. He told us so. But
neither he nor Lytton had said
a word of it. Lytton asked
me if we wd object to Hurley
 

5  25
being asked to do work on
composite pictures outside
the Australian area (we
objected to them" inside") -
that and I wondered at /
time what he meant. Of
course he knew of this place then
-but he sd nothing.
I told Beaverbrook tt
he clearly had us in his
hand as far as / exhibition
went - their exhibition killed
ours. The Canadians had had
theirs - now they wanted to
scoop in ours. We had no
objection provided they gave us
unlimited scope.
But one thing we would
not agree to ws tt they shd

control our photographers - we
have our own policy, records
 

26
Beaverbrook ws determined tt
Canada shd have the right to compare
pictures - "to fake them, Blumenfeld." he
said - "that's what you would call it."
 

Cassells the Canadian photographer

saw WIlkins the other day & told him
that, without knowing what pictures
the Canadians had taken at
Paschendaele, Beaverbrook had
arranged a Canadian exhibition
for December. Cassells ws just
going over then to see him &
tell him tt they had not more
than about 50 photos altogether.
They went to Paschendaele

twice - or tried to - but were bogged
& shelled ; & so they had really
not been able to get their record
of it - not eno' for an exhibition

anyway.
 

5  27
& no "faked" pictures except

such as are clearly stated  ^in their titles to
be faked (^Gen. Charteris objects
to faked pictures. ^X at all,
Beaverbrook says, & B. is
simply going to ignore him.)
I sd all orders to our photographers
must come through our
D.A.G. Beaverbrook We wd help them
in every way we cd - & /
result wd not be different -
but we wd not give them

control.
B. sd he didn't mind
sending orders thro' me,
but he wdn't send them thro
the D.A.G because DAGs
were military & he steered
as wide of military people
as he could. "Anyway in this
 

5  28
matter you are the DAG"
he sd.
He clearly doesnt know

Colonel Dodds.
We left it there, I to see
the DAG & to write to him.

I told him Birdie had agreed
as to the loan of our photographers [*on conditions.*]
to 6 composite pictures
titled to show clearly tt they
were composite. he sd
"Has Gen. Birdwood got a back?
Will he stand up to Charteris."
I sd he would. Apparently

the Beaverbrook's experience
of British Officers in / Canadian
force is tt they are not
sufficiently independent to back
Canadian interests.
Beaverbrook offered Smart

there & then a seat on this Ctee
Photographic Committee.
 

29
^X W. George's speech in the House
in reply to Asquiths question abt

the Inter - Ally Council has so
absorbed people tt I cd not
get a morning paper when
/ train started. All except /

illustrated ones were sold
out.
 

5  30
We I left Wilkins in London

to title the Australian film
up to / present & crossed

over with little Plant. ^X On
reaching Boulogne we found 

old_∧ Col. "Bill " Smith, who had

come down in my car on
his way to London on leave.
He told us tt the British
had attacked with
400 tanks at Havrincourt.
They had broken / German
line - 5 divisions of Cavalry
were down there & it ws
thought / cavalry had
gone in. They were near
Cambrai.
Since then rumours
have enlarged this. It is sd
it ws an attack without
bombt - they simply walked
 

5  31
over, - I suppose at dawn ;
the 3rd & 4^th Corps with
8 Divisions made it, &
the 4^th Corps had got all
its objectives except one
small point wh ws
being reduced, an the
3rd Corps ws thought to 

have got all its objectives
also. Flesquieres had bn
taken. A late rumour

sd they were beyond

Cambrai.
There is not enough
news in yet to judge this

success by. Well followed
up it might mean anything.
M. Painlevė, the other
day, made a speech
abt our taking over part o /

French Line down there, & this
 

5   32
is now put down as
camouflage to cover / movement
the Germans only had 1½
Divns in / line there & no
reserve divns at all.
Tonight it is raining
hard - since about 11. pm.

Nov 21^st. I woke once or twice
during / night - each time /
rain pouring down - One cd
not help fretting as / thought
of our cavalry & infantry out
there near Cambrai pursuing
a great chance; & then this
deluge descending.
I remember sleepily suggesting
to Plant (who left at 6 am. for
4^th Div at Abbeville) that the
it almost looked as if / Germans
had found the key to / making of rain fall
He sd. Well it hardly looked like that
 

33
20 In that Hurley set abt the pavement.
23 british take Bourlon
24. xx xxxx xx Ser. Williams to Messines

^X Our own 69^th Sqn - now w /
Corps - altho' it ws down at Savy
& made a daylight - midday - raid
on Oct 12 Nov 8 (when 15 planes
of ours dropped bombs on Oppy
^X put up a ^new smoke barrage, phosphorous
bursting 100 ft from / ground) did
not know tt anything ws
intended. It ws a complete
surprise to Major Blake, he
tells me.
 

5  34
on Oct 4 at Paschendaele.
And no doubt the contrary
instances prove tt it cannot be
so. [shorthand] On reaching HQrs we I found
Nov. tt / news of the push in / Somme
area had come as a complete 
surprise exc. to Wynter, who had
heard of it in confidence from
someone in the Flying Corps. ^X
Our troops are well thro' /
line; but Bourlon - the hill wh
one remembers down there as
dominating / whole district -
a great woolly headed lump wh
looks right down on / German
rear - is not ours. The
attack seems to have reached
spasmodically as far as Bullecourt
- not continuously; & / 1st Cavalry
Divn is widening the flank
 

5  35
salient by moving N on the
Eastern side o / Canal from
Moeuveres.
Nov 22nd. All day answering
letters - my mothers birthday -
Poor little mater - the last year
her eyes have been failing or rather
have been too weak for reading. She
has had to give it ^up altogether. Her
new house at Sandy Bay & her
grandchild are her compensation,
thank God. Wherever mother goes
she builds up a garden that is
like herself, a very perfect sweet
thing in every corner, with all sorts
of sweet hidden beauties; & she
also builds up around herself,
unconsciously, a little court of
admirers - women & men both - who
attend her almost as a band of devotees