Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/276/1 - 1928-1937 - Part 13

Real trouble lay in the fact that like a Soldiers intuition he was
beginning to realize that although his powers of Command were realized
appreciated the higher Commands were slipping from his purview because
wisdom in his decisions were more & more being replaced by impulse. Not
only this tainting was gradually asserting an influence. He was
brave & he knew it & he knew how the knowledge affected those below
him. Although he did not taint his Courage yet like a Certain
dramatic & romantic instinct he could not resist the temptation
of a little gallery play.. He was really an amusing figure when for
a time, (when the Germans retired from the Somme,) he was
able to manouvre his men in the open. I am sure at this moment
he was picturing himself as JEB Stuart & that the whole German army
was [[closing?]] before him.
The anecdotes about Elliott are many & you can pick the most
suitable. You will no doubt discard those that favour of buffoonery
Elliott was no buffoon.
I shd think that at Some middle age of the war. Elliots health
became definitely impaired. Some of his subsequent actions were
influenced by something more than his impulsiveness. His
political career gives one the same impression - it was due
to something more than tete moule?
 

Summing up Elliotts capacity & character - the two
"C"s which count. I shd. say that he had most of
the attributes of a great soldier but just lacked an
appreciation of the knowledge of the defects of his qualities &
the will power to restrict or control them. There is no
doubt however that he did a first class job with the AIF.
In character there was much of him which was
lovable, much of him which was strong but a strong
tinge of vanity blurred his judgement both as
to the discernment of principle & the [[nicest]]
means of its application. His character had this
further defect in that he was often unable to curtail
his strong feelings & these feelings prevented his
very bold  & well trained mind from working when
it was most required
 

R.S.
NSW BRANCH
7 JUL 1937
RECEIVED
NAUROY.
KOOYONG ROAD,
TOORAK.S.E.2. Vic.
July 6^th
JMC
John Black Esq.
Editor "Reveille"
Dear Sir
In reply to yours of the 1^st inst.
re Major General H.E. Elliott. I was closely
associated with Gen. Elliott in two wars. He
served in my squadron in S. Africa, when he
obtained his first commission. I afterwards
recommended him for his first commission
in Victoria. In the Great War I was the senior
Brigade Commander of the 5^th Division, and
with the 8^th Brigade, took part with the 15^th
in the Battle of Fromelles, The Somme & advance
to Bapaume, Langicourt a Bullecourt, & Ypres and
Polygon Wood, Morlancourt, Villers Bretonneaux,
 

Battles of Amiens, Peronne, & Hindenburg line
I am sorry I cannot give you any personal
anecdotes about Gen. Elliott, except during
the Battle of Peronne, when he fell off a log ^into the water
when crossing the Somme (& everyone laughed)
and the time the Chinese labourers tried to
steal his "diggers" hat. Although a great admirer
of Gen. Elliott's gallantry and leadership in action
I think the stories of scenes that took place
during the stress of battle would be better
left untold. At ordinary times he was kind
and gentle in manner but during operations
he was often excited, and sometimes violent.
yours sincerely
Edwin Tivey
 

The Editor
Reveille
[[Jacussom dil Ceo?]]
Market St
Melbourne
14.7.37
Dear Sir
I am writing some
rough notes for a letter which I
intended forwarding to you & must
apologise for enclosing such scribble
but I have not had a moment to
complete them or have them typed
If they are any good to you use them
or just destroy them
Again my apologies
Yours faithfully
RA Salmon
 

I am in receipt of your letter JMC [[EW4?]] of 1^st July suggesting
that I forward you same reminiscences of
dear old Pompey General Elliott .
In the first place I shall state that without a true
knowledge of the General's character & an appreciation
of his ability & many excellent qualities the relation
of some of these incidents may appear to be too flippant.
I had the priviledge of being on very intimate termes
with Pompey & knew him from my childhood & can
recollect the time he was Dean of Ballarat College &
the Head Master, Major John Garbutt, predicted for
him a future full of promise
He as a young man served in the S.A war & there won the D.C.M. This form of warfare was
admirably suitable to his talents
As a soldier he was the most fearless from a moral
& physical aspect that I ever met & I knew quite a
number blessed with these attributes. He was
a student of military history & loved soldiering.
He was a strict disciplinarian- almost a [[?]],
a thoughtful leader & dynamic personality
who had practically no interests during the war
apart from the success of his the brigade & care & the
welfare of this men. His leaves were devoted to
actions for the purpose of asuring & consoling relatives

& friends of men his brigade the men of his brigade,
visiting the wounded & promoting any matter which
would benefit those under him. He was uninterested
in the fleshpots, was practically a teetotaller &
very rarely swore. & then only used the mildest expletives His chief recreation was chess

His very enthusiasm led, in many instances, to some
amusing incidents & I shall only relate some of those which
occurred in my presence & which I can remember with

clarity & vouch for.
It was the practice of the General to view the line each morning
about dawn & I, as intelligence officer, used to go with hm.
On the Somme one morning, after the arrival of some reinforcements
the night before, we were moving down the communication
trench when I saw one of the men in the line apparently
taking deliberate aim at us I asked Pompey to wait a
moment & tore down the trench & from a safe position asked
the enthusiast what the - he was doing. He was confused
& said he thought we were Huns. I told him who we were
& asked him to make up some other excuse. When I
had collected Pompey & we reached the line in safety some
Germans were standing up behind their own lines- no one
was firing at them. Pompey grabbed a rifle fired a few 

shots, told those in the vicinity that he would have then

all shot next day, sent for the officer in charge & put him
under arrest & then played havoc along the line. The 
reinforcements had not been told the night before which was
front & rear. They had heard of Pompey but not seen him before

They were almost in a panic until I assured them
quietly that the extreme penalty would not be exacted.
On occasion At a time later in the Somme winter campaign Pompey
had been pestered by Div & Corps to establish dumps of
materials in inaccessable & exposed positions. He was so
insenced with these requests that he swore that if an
officer ever came to see him from Corps HQ XXx he would
take him up to the line & chain him there for 24 hours
A day or so later I had to go to Div HQ. Pompey was
suffering from a bad cold & was in bed in his miserable
surface dug out doing his best to keep warm & dry.

When I was at DHQ a Staff Major from Corps asked me
could I take him along & introduce him to General Elliott
& the Div Inter∧rogator asked if he might accompany us.
Sensing some fireworks I was naturally pleased at the
opportunity. On reaching the dugout I pulled the water
proof sheet aside & said "Major - from Corps HQ to see you
Sir" Pompey nearly leaped from his sleeping bag & before
any courtesies could be exchanged roared "Do you
know what I am going to do with you" "No! was
the answer "I am going to take you to the line & keep

you there for 24 hours". The major protested but
Pompey insisted all the time as he was trying to climb into
his issue pants. In the end the Major convinced
Pompey that it was a matter of extreme urgency that
he be back at Corps HQ as soon as possible. On being
then asked the purpose of his visit the Major replied
that he had brought some cake from the Chief of
staff. - The only remark I could catch as they
passed along the duckboards was "Extraordinary!"
On the soldier period he had a habit of testing the
ice on the shell holes with a large staff he carried
& when he thought it was strong enough he would
he would stand on it. I was invited to share the
adventure until one day I jumped on & the ice collapsed
Pompey could not make the coast in time & went
through. Fortunately it was only knee deep underneath.
He used to say "Here we are full of life & we might be
blown to bits at any moment & we dont' care a damn"
He would only laugh when I suggested that he
should not speak like that in the plural. 

When we marched down to Bournay from Doullens
to arrest the German advance in March 1918 orders
were issued to place posts along the Somme which
was our flank. In the afternoon I accompanied the
General on a visit to these posts. The first one we
met caused a surprise. They sprung up from behind
the bank & presented arms. Pompey said "what in
the devil are you doing" "Outposts" was the reply
"what are your instructions" answer "To look out for
you, sir" Pompey was furious, inquired who was
the Company commmander - sailed off for his billet.
On arrival at the Coy HQ we first met the cook & his
offsider. The cook was dressed in a long frock coat,
lavender trousers, a high color flowing tie, fancy
waistcoat & bell toppers & his offsider was dressed
as a female in the brightest garb & really more
feminine looking in parts than the most buxom
wench. Both were inebriated & when they recognised
Pompey they sprung to attention in a sort of way
& saluted. It was a most ludicrous sight but
Pompey almost bellowed with anger I can't