Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/263/1 - 1916 - 1934 - Part 1

Conflict:
First World War, 1914–18
Subject:
  • Documents and letters
Status:
Open for review
Accession number:
RCDIG1066699
Difficulty:

Page 1 / 10

AVM138 Offichal History, 1914-18 War: Records of CWBean, Officha! Mistorian. Diares and Notebooks Hem number: 3606/263/1 Tille: Folder, 1916 - 1934 Covers Feurbaix and Armenderes, 1916 and includes notes by Bean, cutings and eters fom JL Treoar toA WBazley AVM38-3DRL606/263/1
No baiz, (lgzasss kzteszM. 2265 JEt DIARIES AND NOTES OF C. E. W. BEAN CONCERNING THE WAR OF 1914-1918 HE ase of these diaries and notes is subject to conditions laid down im the tenms of gift so the Australen War Memorial. But, apart from ihose terms,I wish the folowing dircumstances and consideratons to be brought to the nouce of every reader and whiter who may use them These wriinge represent only what at the moment of making them 1 believed to be tue. The diaries were jotted down almost daly wih the object of recording what was then im the wrilers mund. Often he wrole them when very tred and half asleep; also, not infrequenly, what he beleved to be tue was not so –but i 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 weillen them. These records should, therefore, be used wih great cauton, as relaung only what their author, st the ume of writing, beheved. Further, he cannot of course, vouch (o the accuracy of staiements made to him by others and here recorded. But he did ty to ensure such accuracy by consuling, as (as as possible, those who had seen or otherwise taken part im the events. The constant falsily of second-hand evidence (on which a large propovhon of war stories are founded) was impressed upon him by the second or thied day of the Gallipol campsige, notwihstanding that these who passed on such stories usualy themselves beleved them to be tue. Al second-hand evidence herein should be read with this in mind. 16 Sept. 1946. TMAL C. E. W. BEAN. ermreeterreeeeeee reree e
TELEGRAPHIC ADORESS TELEPHON Noe. COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA. "AUSWARMUSE. 2 F 2398. COMMUNICATIONS TO sE AOOAESEzO vo "TNE OIEcToN" AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL. They gave their Moes. Fov that public gift they veceived a praise chich neuev ages and e . azrav eiass oo oc sox zeo tomb most gloriows -not so much the torb in which shey be, but that in chich their ame EXHIBITION BUILDINGS, MELBOURNE. survives, to be remeerabeved fos evev chen occasion comes jov coovd ov deed. . . . . hth July, 1934. Dear Mr. Bazley, In continuation of my letter of the 8th June I am forwarding herewith a copy of a statement in which I have embodied the result of the enquiries we made with a view to clearing up the query relativeto a statement on page 71 of Vol. III, which you handed to me when I was in Sydney at the beginning of last month. I trust the information supplied will satisfy your requirements. Yours sincerely, ae Mr. A. W. Bazley, C/- Official Historian Victoria Barracks Paddingon, N.S.W.
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL. Research No. 12 ------ (Second Series). For whom made Official Historian. Subject Verification of statement on page 71 of Vol. III of Official History relative tothe first unit of the A.I.F. to reach France. A.WM. Füle No. Date Ith June, 1934. AUTHORTY On the 2nd June Mr. Bazley asked me if I would investigate the query referred to in the attached note by Dr. Bean. It refers to a statement which appears on page 71 of Vol. III of the Official History and reads :- "On the afternoon of March 19th (1916) the first transport, carrying Brig.-General Paton, the Headquarters of the 7th Brigade, and the 25th Battalion, moved in past the Ile d'If to the crowded harbour of Marseilles." From Dr. Bean's notes it would appear that this statement has been challenged and that it has been con¬ tended that advance parties of the 5th Brigade in the 'Ascania" arrived in France before the 25th Battalion. From the I Anzac G. S. War Diary it has been practicable to obtain a list of the transports used for moving the 2nd Division to France and the units allotted to each. The dates of departure from Alexandria and of arrival at Marseilles have been obtained from the unit war diaries except in the case of the "Knight of Garter" carrying the larger part of 4th A.F.A. Brigade) and the "Ingoma" (carrying 2 officers and 200 other ranks of the The mformalin has 19th Battalion/. It has, however, been found possible to obtain the dates for the former from a card index in Alen enformed tiy as the possession of Mr. Withers; while the dates for the otneen uto latter have been obtained from correspondence in the possession of the Base Records Office. From these Krnngat og Tarlår sources it appears that the movement was effected as follows :- Transport Left Alexandria Arrived Marseilles 15/3/16 Minneapolis 19/3/16 14/3/16 20/3/16 Knight of Garter Northland Themistocles Arcadian Crispan Eboe Haverford Minnewaska Ascania Ingoma Llandovery Castle City of Edinburgh 2013126 36. 20/3/46 Lake Michigan 26/3/16 20/3/16 Magdalena No record Not before Oriana 26/ CII. 28/3/16 Caledonian 21/3/46
AU AUTHORTTY Page 2. Research No. 12 (Second Series). There has not been time to make further enquiries regarding the "Oriana", but as it is clear that this will not affect the absence of further information the present enquiry, is unimportant. It will be apparent from the above table that the "Minneapolis" was the first transport to reach Marseilles. This vessel had on board 7th Infantry Brigade Headquarters, 25th Battalion, detachments of 1 officer and 25 other ranks from each of the 26th, 27th, and 28th Battalions, 8 officers and 471 other ranks of the hth A.F.A. Brigade, 6 officers and 225 other ranks of the 7th Field Company, and 9 officers and 202 other ranks of the 7th Field Ambulance. From the 25th Battalion war 'diary it appears that the transport reached Marseilles at 2.30 p.m. on the 19th March, that the troops remained on board overnight, and disembarked at 1.30 p.m. on the 20th, "the first battalion to arrive in France" as the diarist proudly records. Insofar as the troops on the "Ascania" might be regarded as rivals for the honour, it will be noted that this vessel did not reach Marseilles until the 25th March. It had on board 19 officers and 775 other ranks of the 18th Battalion, and 23 officers and 695 other ranks of the 19th Battalion. In the 5th Infantry Brigade diary it was noted, however, that "the advance party which left Egypt on 13/3/16 arrived at Marseilles at 3 p.m. on 19/3/16. Captain (R. E.) Hale (5th Brigade Headquarters) left at once for 5th Brigade area. Captain (H. M.) Beirs and Lieut. (R. V.) Spier (of the 17th Battalion) and Lieut. (J.) Lane (of the 18th Battalion) remained in Marseilles for purposes of disembarking and entraining 2nd Division troops." It would appear that these officers probably travelled in the "Minneapolis", the date 13/3/16 probably being the date on which they left Brigade Headquarters on their way to embark at Alexandria. Apparently they were permitted to disembark immediately the transport arrived, whereas the units were kept on board overnight. It would appear from Dr. Bean's notes on the query, however, that he would not regard the movement of an advance party as being of sufficient importance to amend the statement which is the subject of this enquiry. asrelon
TELEPHONE Nos. TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA. "AUSWARMUSE." F 25 £2s8. CONMUNICOTONS TO SE AOORESE2O TO "THE DIREcToN." AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL. "They gave their Mues. For that public git aa eusass oo they veceiued a praise chich neuer ages and a ost orac sox eo tomb most gloriows -not so much the tomb in shich shey he, but that in chich their fame NO..................................... EXHIBITION BUIIDINGS, MELBOURNE. survives, so be remembered jov ewer when occaston comes jov soovd ov deed. . . . " 8th June, 1934. Dear Mr. Bazley, Since I returned to Melbourne I have been making enquiries with a view to answering the query you left with me relative to the statement on page 71 of Vol. III relative to the first troops to reach France. The indications are that the statement in the Official History will be confirmed. We have been able to ascertain from the Corps G. S. diary the names of the transports used to move the 2nd Australian Division and the allotment of troops thereto. From the war diaries we have been able to ascertain the dates on which the transports left Alexandria and arrived at Marseilles except in the case of one transport which carried personnel of one unit only and this, unfortunately, a unit which failed to keep a war diary. As it is clear that it was one of the first, if not the first, to leave Alexandria I am anxious to obtain some information regarding it before replying to the query. The line of enquiry we are following is to obtain the names of a few officers who sailed in this transport. As the unit was distributed between two vessels, and as the records available do not indicate on what basis the personnel was divided between the two, we cannot immediately pick up officers on the vessel whose dates of departure and arrival we have to ascertain. We should get the information without difficulty but it will take a few days to complete the enquiry. Fortunately the matter is not urgent as the printing of the second edition of Vol. III cannot be commenced for at least two months as we will have to await the arrival of supplies of paper from England. Yours sincerely, Adellon Mr. A. W. Bazley, C/- Official Historian, Victoria Barracks Paddington, N.S.W.
e Goo Vol 1. 6 Zuns Iho bresch Tue Adl sartee 45154 19 Silu Zacana mhr Seple Srarsertte Dsm 2. 5 Tade doetsd a S.So n. Duenbarsttdd on 26 330.19 Lert-dler Ste 25 2. SGur Jtn Gure Her REIN S G Grtasadamt man d r Gr 6ot 1 Frante t a li) Ir Cottat Ve ig
Ochsob- i9.t THB SOUTHHRN TIMES TUBSDAY OCTOBSR 10 1918 South- West Heroes SERGT. PHIL. PAUL, lith. Batbalon Küed in Acton, - 918. Tlgasste Po...R.. that neter Comes). Then the laint! May 25, 1916. stey Tght begins- to Mtoer uhrougn An Acccunt of Trench Lie. icisthing, a rrew birde begin x (By the late Sergeant Paul). twitter, and the larkis heard winging upward, singng as he goes; The real thing at last!. Am whting this in my dugout in the later stll the Hght siowly streh- Hring Hne, with the enemy tren- gthening, and the sun's rays steal ches about, two hundred yards up through the mist. In the even¬ away.. Now, and again a shell ing ut is the same. Weve had some whizzes awaw overhead or a sniper decent sunsets lately, and mrom aone side or the other, has twilight lasts until about halt a polshot, otherwise it is pretty past nine (there's only about four quiet "We came in last night¬ hours; of real darkness). As it itis at night time that most of the gets slow): darker the sweet work is done; then one has to twittering of the birds going to keep alert. We take( our turns at roost, the cuckoo tunes up.out observing; you are staring away comes the evening star, the lght no the dark, sce the dash ora ades from gold to rose, and then ride and have a potat ut, the onl to nink and purple; then the rides result being a waste of ammmtuni- speak, dash answers hash and the tions Fritz has a bad habit whip-like cracks go rolling away June 2. starting to send over shells into echoes; again a vicious rat Stll in the wenc, dinner, time, its most annoyng te ofmachinegun hre breaks out stilt- eshing ver- At and wearing and „Mgonsiderate,of himr the arochetting bullet goes whining up well. The minor, discomforts make the devils, own noise; of overhend, then it bursts. Allnight steeping in your chothes, unire course cur guns retalate and from through we cheenfully and eagerly quent washes, and broken sleep af what I can see, we have the ad¬ do our bestto put sufichent well- Let me not at all. In Tact, vantage im artillery. You jus aimed lead into Fritz's parapet Tmstül getting fatter. We were ought to sce me, I haven't hada to induce him to stay, well, where observing:weh a periscope yester shave Tor ten days, a dirty he is! They send up Harelights day and, avper hada shot at it unniorm all mud and greasc. between the two Hnes, and then but missed, so I waved himm the dor headgear a steel helmet like the hre bursts out. In, the day miss signal, and he, sent three or an inverted washhow! We do look time we observe through periscopes four more shots at it. Everybody cuts, it isn't that I coukdn't at which is quite a saie game. Lowe takes things very cheerfully. We got (ord the time toshave, but after in the next dugout, he has rather a hot: pasting a fewenights havmg to let, it grow for three been „lucky and received two par- ago from some big guns. Wecame dayw! thought Td sce how cols of cakes; etc, so weve, had a of alright; one of the other com¬ beaid would suit me. Ive come to hit of a: feast. panies sufered. The heads sent He has alriend the concluston thatit doesn't. ( in the f postal, corp, who r¬ along word comnrending the W.A. tin hats are most recherche (is addresses his-parcchs, etc, so-tæy boys dor, their steadiness. Whilst that the correct word ?) and the come through safely. One of them Iwas at the Rest Camp. Gener¬ trimming, apart frony its estive contained a Jews harp, and Tve a! Birdwood came along and spoke aspect, has the merit of being un¬ tried toplay itbut without suc to every, man on the place. He spollable by the weather; did!I cess; in (act, Lowe persuaded me and I disagresd as to France be¬ mention it was a bit of a sand- to desist, fearing an attack Irom ing a hne oountry. Te said it rag? Broken sloep is one of the the enemy tor retaliation. - We had was, and I said it wasn't drawbacks here, but Tm getting an issue pto-day of matches, and winter, weather. He leaves you now that I can sleen anywhere, at tobacco; everyone: was just about with the impression that you afe anv, time, clothes, hoots And out of matches, and after, getting all personal friends of his. Well. equipment a.I on. Talk abou hs issue I heard one wag say: to work again, and should I ae „„Thank God Tor another contrasts. In the earlv, morning under you wilb hav! the satistac¬ match, st hefore dawa, weall stand to anway ton of knowing that I did my asi that were his only riües loaded, bavonets Axed. allltrouhle: duty and was unafraid. ready for- any bloody business
BRAESIDE. ENOCKENKELLV, WHITING EAY. ARRAN. 9 9-0926 Bear Tir Jr ammer 1 grad islngest Last- pegardingg Whe deasti g Guston Drchrbold 9 musta trave deitroged tristetters fut Aeatlung hoom geremoig,. SHtute Ih urll he abont 10 Gears aunced Hand Stopreng ttre viee hom tein arrser gj om purtfeoe Gom parrstsgullg Crchä Mrre

AWM38
Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian,
Diaries and Notebooks
Item number: 3DRL606/263/1
Title: Folder, 1916 - 1934
Covers Fleurbaix and Armentieres, 1916 and
includes notes by Bean, cuttings and letters
from J L Treloar to A W Bazley.
Barcode - see original document

AWM38-3DRL606/263/1
 

 

Fleurbaix, Armentieres, 1916. No. 263.
1st Set AWM [?]3 3DRL [?]

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 those 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 Sept. 1946.
C. E. W. BEAN.
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL

ACCESS STATUS

OPEN
 

 

TELEPHONE Nos.

F 2567.

F 2598.
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA.
TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS

"AUSWARMUSE."
COMMUNICATIONS TO BE ADDRESSED TO
"THE DIRECTOR."
IN REPLY PLEASE QUOTE

No. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"They gave their lives. For that public gift
they received a praise which never ages and a

tomb most glorious—not so much the tomb in
which they lie, but that in which their fame

survives, to be remembered for ever when
occasion comes for word or deed . . . ."

AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL,
POST OFFICE BOX 214 D,

EXHIBITION BUILDINGS, MELBOURNE.
4th July, 1934.
Dear Mr. Bazley,
In continuation of my letter of the 8th
June I am forwarding herewith a copy of a statement in
which I have embodied the result of the enquiries we
made with a view to clearing up the query relative to a
statement on page 71 of Vol. III, which you handed to
me when I was in Sydney at the beginning of last month.
I trust the information supplied will satisfy your
requirements.
Yours sincerely,
J L Treloar

 

Mr. A. W. Bazley,
C/- Official Historian,
Victoria Barracks,
Paddingon, N.S.W.
 

 

AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL.
Research No. 72 (Second Series).
For whom made Official Historian.
Subject Verification of statement on page 71 of Vol. III of Official
History relative to the first unit of the A.I.F. to reach France.
A.W.M. File No.  Date 7th June, 1934.
AUTHORITY—
On the 2nd June Mr. Bazley asked me if I would
investigate the query referred to in the attached note
by Dr. Bean. It refers to a statement which appears on
page 71 of Vol. III of the Official History and reads :-
"On the afternoon of March 19th (1916) the
first transport, carrying Brig.-General Paton, the
Headquarters of the 7th Brigade, and the 25th
Battalion, moved in past the Ile d'If to the
crowded harbour of Marseilles."
From Dr. Bean's notes it would appear that this
statement has been challenged and that it has been contended

that advance parties of the 5th Brigade in the
'Ascania" arrived in France before the 25th Battalion.
From the I Anzac G. S. War Diary it has been
practicable to obtain a list of the transports used for
moving the 2nd Division to France and the units allotted
to each. The dates of departure from Alexandria and of
arrival at Marseilles have been obtained from the unit
war diaries except in the case of the "Knight of Garter"
carrying the larger part of 4th A.F.A. Brigade) and the
"Ingoma" (carrying 2 officers and 200 other ranks of the
19th Battalion). It has, however, been found possible

to obtain the dates for the former from a card index in

the possession of Mr. Withers,x while the dates for the

latter have been obtained from correspondence in the
possession of the Base Records Office. From these

sources it appears that the movement was effected as
follows :-

[* xThe information has

been confirmed by an

 officer who was in the

"Knight of Garter" *]
Transport                    Left Alexandria    Arrived Marseilles
Minneapolis                  15/3/16                            19/3/16    

Knight of Garter           14/3/16                           20/3/16
Northland                      15/3/16                            21/3/16
Themistocles                 16/3/16                           21/3/16
Arcadian                         17/3/16                            23/3/16
Crispan                           17/3/16                             23/3/16
Eboe                                17/3/16                            23/3/16
Haverford                       17/3/16                            23/3/16
Minnewaska                  20/3/16                           24/3/16
Ascania                           19/3/16                             25/3/16
Ingoma                           18/3/16                             25/3/16
Llandovery Castle         20/3/16                            25/3/16
City of Edinburgh         20/3/16                            25/3/16

Lake Michigan              20/3/16                             26/3/16

Magdalena                     20/3/16                            26/3/16

Oriana                             No Record                       Not before

                                                                                         26/3/16

Caledonian                    21/3/16                              28/3/16
[* C.11. *]

 

Page 2.
Research No. 72 (Second Series).
AUTHORITY—

There has not been time to make further enquiries regarding
the "Oriana", but as it is clear that this will not affect
the present enquiry, the absence of further information
is unimportant.
It will be apparent from the above table that the
"Minneapolis" was the first transport to reach Marseilles.
This vessel had on board 7th Infantry Brigade Headquarters,
25th Battalion, detachments of 1 officer and 25 other
ranks from each of the 26th, 27th, and 28th Battalions,
8 officers and 471 other ranks of the 4th A.F.A. Brigade,
6 officers and 225 other ranks of the 7th Field Company,
and 9 officers and 202 other ranks of the 7th Field
Ambulance. From the 25th Battalion war diary it appears
that the transport reached Marseilles at 2.30 p.m. on the
19th March, that the troops remained on board overnight,
and disembarked at 1.30 p.m. on the 20th, "the first
battalion to arrive in France" as the diarist proudly
records.
Insofar as the troops on the "Ascania" might be
regarded as rivals for the honour, it will be noted that
this vessel did not reach Marseilles until the 25th
March. It had on board 19 officers and 775 other ranks
of the 18th Battalion, and 23 officers and 695 other ranks
of the 19th Battalion.
In the 5th Infantry Brigade diary it was noted,
however, that "the advance party which left Egypt on
13/3/16 arrived at Marseilles at 3 p.m. on 19/3/16.
Captain (R. E.) Hale (5th Brigade Headquarters) left
at once for 5th Brigade area. Captain (H. M.) Beirs
and Lieut. (R. V.) Spier (of the 17th Battalion) and
Lieut. (J.) Lane (of the 18th Battalion) remained in
Marseilles for purposes of disembarking and entraining
2nd Division troops." It would appear that these
officers probably travelled in the "Minneapolis", the
date 13/3/16 probably being the date on which they left
Brigade Headquarters on their way to embark at Alexandria.
Apparently they were permitted to disembark immediately
the transport arrived, whereas the units were kept on
board overnight. It would appear from Dr. Bean's notes
on the query, however, that he would not regard the
movement of an advance party as being of sufficient
importance to amend the statement which is the subject of
this enquiry.
J L Treloar
 

 

TELEPHONE Nos.

F 2597.

F 2598.
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA.
TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS

"AUSWARMUSE."
COMMUNICATIONS TO BE ADDRESSED TO
"THE DIRECTOR."
IN REPLY PLEASE QUOTE

No. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"They gave their lives. For that public gift
they received a praise which never ages and a

tomb most glorious—not so much the tomb in
which they lie, but that in which their fame

survives, to be remembered for ever when
occasion comes for word or deed . . . ."

AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL.
POST OFFICE BOX 214 D,

EXHIBITION BUILDINGS, MELBOURNE.
8th June, 1934.
Dear Mr. Bazley,
Since I returned to Melbourne I have been making
enquiries with a view to answering the query you left with me
relative to the statement on page 71 of Vol. III relative to the
first troops to reach France.
The indications are that the statement in the
Official History will be confirmed. We have been able to ascertain
from the Corps G. S. diary the names of the transports used to
move the 2nd Australian Division and the allotment of troops
thereto. From the war diaries we have been able to ascertain
the dates on which the transports left Alexandria and arrived at
Marseilles except in the case of one transport which carried
personnel of one unit only and this, unfortunately, a unit which
failed to keep a war diary. As it is clear that it was one of
the first, if not the first, to leave Alexandria I am anxious
to obtain some information regarding it before replying to the
query.
The line of enquiry we are following is to obtain
the names of a few officers who sailed in this transport. As the
unit was distributed between two vessels, and as the records
available do not indicate on what basis the personnel was divided
between the two, we cannot immediately pick up officers on the
vessel whose dates of departure and arrival we have to ascertain.
We should get the information without difficulty but it will take
a few days to complete the enquiry.
Fortunately the matter is not urgent as the
printing of the second edition of Vol. III cannot be commenced
for at least two months as we will have to await the arrival
of supplies of paper from England.
Yours sincerely,
J L Treloar


Mr. A. W. Bazley,
C/- Official Historian,
Victoria Barracks,
Paddington, N.S.W.
 

 

Vol III Corrections

P.71.

First tps reach France.

?Adv parties & 5-Bde

19 Bn in Ascania

Sighted Marseilles on 25 Mar,

& docked at 5.30pm.

Disembarked on 26th.

Left Alex 4.30 . 19th

The 25 Bn was in

They were in as soon as the 

the same tpt I think.

If so, NO need to correct this.

 

 

THE SOUTHERN TIMES TUESDAY OCTOBER 10 1918
South- West Heroes
Picture - see original document

[* Oct 10th

1916 *]

SERGT. PHIL. PAUL, 11th. Battalion
Killed in Action, August 1st 1916. JULY 23rd. 1916
POZIERES.
[* X *]

May 25, 1916.

An Account of Trench Life.
(By the late Sergeant Paul).
 

Newspaper Article - see original document

 

1317.

13 August 1926.

A. Urie, Esq.,

"Braeside:,

Knockenkeley,

Whiting Bay,

Arran. Scotland.

Dear Mr Urie,

Your son, Archibald, who was with the 4th Australian

Division near Fleurbaix in July 1916, is mentioned in the

chapter of the Australia Official History which deals with a

raid by the Germans on the Australian trenches on July 3. He

appears to have been caught in the debris of the defences, and 

the Germans who raided the trench found him helpless, but were

unable to detach him. According to one account, they then

threw bombs at him or placed them beside him with the intention

of killing him, but the bombs did not explode. On the other

hand, these bombs may have been dropped by the enemy in their

haste, without the firing string having been pulled.

As the incident is mentioned, I am writing to discover

whether you had any letter from your son about that time throwing

light upon the incident, or whether, if he afterwards

saw you on leave, he mentioned the matter?

The matter is not of great importance, but it is

desirable to know the exact truth and we do not wish to blame

the Germans unless they were actually guilty of this barabrity.

Yours faithfully.

C. E. W. BEAN

Official Historian.

 

 

BRAESIDE.
KNOCKENKELLY,
WHITING BAY.
ARRAN. 22-9-26
Dear Sir
In answer to yours of 13t August

last regarding the death of my son Archibald, 
I must have destroyed his letters, but

speaking from memory, I think it

will be about 10 years since I heard

from him. Hoping this will

answer your purpose

Yours faithfully

Archd Urie.
 

 
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