Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/223/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 6

G. as shown.  Throssell ws
there & took commd being
senior offr.  (He ws a reinft offr -
it ws his 2nd stunt).  A second
block ws then built at Z, &
The bombers ^were betw / two bombing
/ Ts. back bombs were continuosly
thrown into this to keep it
clean - result ws Ts had
a very long throw indeed to do
any good.  The Ts were in N also.
18 ws suppd to get S & P.
Lt Leake ws standing
beside S & ws shot ^dead thro the
back o / head.  Several men
had dropped.  It ws then
realised tt Ts were in N
also - & as / bags had bn
pulled down from there rear of trench there
ws no protection.  S then
49

put a row of sand bags ^(each man carried 3 & carriers had more) on tt
side also -  Throssell still bombing
keeping Ts back - while this
ws being done (This ws after
/ first C/attack).
This was all in bright
moonlight.
Then abt ¼ hr after 1st
C/attack there came on a v.
heavy bombing attack.  The
Ts came across from G (to H also
this time) & some got right
up to / trench but they were
beaten back w bombs &
rifle fire.  The bombs were
passed up to / right bec.
the left had no need for
them - / fact tt everyone
had 2 bombs there saved things
50

until a C.T. ws got thro
on / left.
Just as / second C. Attack
developed Capt Fry came up
/ trench & ws k by a bomb.
(  There were heavy casualties
amongst our bombers from
/ T. Bombs -  The Ts from /
corner heaved their bombs in
while / others charged under
cover of it.
After tt attack ws beaten
there ws a lull.  The trench ws
v shallow & it ws then found
tt / Ts had buried men under
/ floor of it.  S. detailed three men
in every 4 to dig like hell - while
/ other man watch (as they wd be
enfiladed from / rt).  They all wanted
w / Arty from 971.
51

to fight & S had to dig himself
in order to get them to dig.  They
had to dig round / dead Turks, pull
them out bit by bit - / stench ws
horrible & / men didnt like it.  S had to
do / job.  They xx  A Turks leg wd
come away in your hand.  They
got / trench traversed ; (they had
previously built overhead
bomb shelters - a few - w
Turk rifles & bayonets to reach
across / trench & sand bags on top
They had got down pretty
well.  A man had come up from
/ lef Cenre & told S. tt McBean
had got into / trench well ahead of
his troop, shot a T, chased another
round / corner - & had met / Turks
waiting for him round / corner &
52

bn shot full in / face - ^[[?]] Hunter
following bayoneted / T - &
told S. almost weeping.
At breaking dawn the
Ts came over w fixed bayonets
(almost / first time they ever did
it) from / trench down below -
from / directn of J. you
cd see / Ts. very easily in /
low scrub.  The N.Zs gave a
hand then.  A pty of Ts
crawled out from N towds Z.
The NZs saw these from their
positn at K - & opened fire
w m.g. & yelled.  This prevented
Ts from taking us in rear.
Throssell ws bombing like mad -
& shouting.  As / Ts started to
53

come from / front / boys
jumped up on / parapet &
fired for all they were
worth at good targets.  The
Turk threw his rifle away - he
had got close - & threw his
hands up & ran into / trench &
ws bayoneted (The men were
rankling over / Nek fight).
S went along to see abt this T.
Sergt Hampshire ws on / left
there (he ws now a sergt).  S. had
just passed H. & seen / T. lying
dead when a bullet passed thro
his shoulder.  He got up & asked
H. what hit him - he went
back towds / right & fainted.
They pulled him out & evacuated
him.  At / C.C.S. ws a T. offr w his
54

arm blown off by a bomb.
The Ts. were firing a few
shrapnel from 971 at this
time.  S. ws 8 stone from 11 stone
at this time - most o / men
were / same.
3rd Tunnellers.
Neil Campbell who ws k w /
3rd Aust Tunnellers at Nieppe
ws in the 10 A.L H. at Niep Quinns
& ws tunnelling there shot in /
10 ALH there in / lungs.  He came
back to Egypt & transferred to /
tunnellers.  He had his eye
shot off smashed / first time he went in w
3rd Tun. Coy ; when Germs came
thro N.C. ws in/c of the detached
section of Nieppe.  Some o / men
55

 saw him badly wd working a
m.g.  The Tommies had blown
up / bridge before the Tunnellers
got back - & they had to
swim / Lys.
(See 3rd Tunnellers abt
this).

May 28? 29  Quinns.
10 ALH were in w 13 Bn. in
Quinns.  S. & MacBean (Sergts) were
there w Moseley & Vine Hall.
xx  S & part o / troop (D troop)
were in w Moseley were in
reserve imd. behind / trench in /
kitchen when / Japanese
Mortars fired their first bomb.
56

There had bn an idea  While
they had bn in / front line
on duty. they had heard
tapping & where convinced Ts
were mining ^as they had done mining.; but a Tommy
Offr Engr sd tt it ws our
men.  When the 1st Jap
Mortar went off it had
such a crash tt it sounded
like a mine.  It ws just
before stand to.  S. jumped up
& stood / men to in / "Kitchen"
He then ran into / trench & found
Moseley & found all ws quiet.
He went back to / men to
give them stand down when up
went / big mine & big clods
of each came down from a
gt column above.  S made /
57

men stand in under / bank
out of it.  A heavy
rifle fire broke out at once.
S. took 6 men & went up
(all 10 A.L.H.) up into / trench
to Moseley.  The Ts were
attacking very thick from opp.
Quinns.  This troop ws in 6 post.
A troop ws in No 5 w
Vine Hall - & they were /
ones who were blown up -
/ mine blew just in front
o / parapet & knocked it
in on some of them.  The
Ts never reached No 6,
but abt 17 or 18 got in
where / mine had gone
up, further rt.
A m.g. was firing from Popes
58