Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/37/1 - January - February 1916 - Part 5

39
themselves up to it. 2 It is 
unfair, or at any rate unwise,
to ask them to go in without
preparing their wills giving them
/ warning wh enables them to
make up their minds to 
face all chances). Th
The result ws tt, when  
they came under / awful
hail of artillery wh pours
down between / trenches in
these engagements on / Western
Front, they simply broke &
came back in pieces.
Gullett & others who saw
them afterwards, who told me 
they never saw anything ^so depressing
- column after column coming
past dejected, hang dog, disgraced
- they knew it - almost ready
to weep on / mention of / disaster
- a beaten ashamed army. And
poor chaps, it wasn't their
 

40
fault. "Nobody blames them
now," I heard a general say
in France. It never got into
/ papers - but there was a 
real row about it. And it
has bn definitely stated by an
officer high on / staff tt this
ws / reason why French was
recalled.
Phillips is an American
or a Canadian of a great 
deal of experience in war.
He is a big, hearty, keen
chap - who can say keen
quick things but without
the finesse of Gibbs; an
awfully kindly frank colleague;
he represents the "Daily Express"
& the "Morning Post" - an
extraordinary assortment
for / war office will only allow
a limited number of men [The
arrangement is tt each paper
can send its man for 2 months
 

"old" again a term of
affection - for he isn't old.
C Ew. B.
14.5.25
 

41
& so they often alternate
with another press man
(eg. Prevost Battersby alternates
I think w Phillips). Gibbs
has bn here all / Time as the
"Telegraph" doesn't want
to send a man in place of
him - But the most 
extraordinary assortment
is the "Daily News" & "The
Times" represented by
Tomlinson.
Tomlinson (Daily News)
is a rather cynical abl
clean shaven quizzical countenanced old
radical who takes the
Trades Union view & writes
admirable war articles -
something o / Nevinson type
except tt his deafness
always puts him a little 
outside every circle though
everyone likes him. The
article in the Times on the Loos
 

42
battle ws I suppose by him; &
to anyone reading between / lines it.
gave some idea o / truth.
Beech Thomas, Daily
Mail, is a tall fellow with a 
long drooping moustache, keen
rather more obviously keen for
news, I think, than any of the
others except Russell, who was
out for a few weeks for Reuters
at the Dardanelles till he was
invalided. He is son of Clark
Russell & has been on the
Daily Express & later on the 
Western Morning News - a
Plymouth paper closely interested
in Naval affairs - and with
(as I think I said when describing
the Dardanelles Correspts) with
a pathetic belief in / Navy.
He & I had quite a wordy
duel the night before I left because
I told Gibbs tt I thought the Navy
were behind / Army in staff
training - because they have no
 

43
staff college.
"I'm sorry to hear you say
so" sd Gibbs feelingly "we
have been comforting ourselves
w / idea tt, they do these
whatever may be / matter
w / Army, they do these
things alright in / Navy - "
[They talk about G.H.Q in
France much as we did about
G.H.Q. in Gallipoli - wh is
not very comforting ; & they tell
me tt / B French have no 
opinion at all of / British
staff -]
Well, I must bring these notes to
an end - but I wanted to get 
them down while they were fresh
in my mind.
I left London on Saturday
Jan 29. Old Jock wanted to
come back w me but there's
great work for him to do in
 

44
doing what he can to
protect Australia & our
future people agst a danger
wh at least may be very 
serious - & / old boy is
just / sort to go & devote his
life to it -  a more unselfish
xxxxxxxxxx devoted
public spirited single minded
gentleman than old John
doesn't walk.
At I went by the P&O
express - a day late (or
two ^for I fancy it starts on 
Thurs. in war time). At
Folkestone we heard the
boat wdn't start tt morning
- probably not tt day. It
didn't - so we had to stay Here
at the Pavilion Hotel & stick
pretty close to it in case /
boat started at short notice.
 

45
My cabin mate ws there
for / last boat & went out
for a two hours walk -
when he came back they told him
/ boat had gone (w some of
his registered luggage - wh he
has not since seen).
Folkestone was simply
crammed w troops - It
had previously bn a big
Canadian camp - abt 50,000
I believe camped near it.
One curious feature of this
war is / way in wh
sections of England or France
suddenly become Scottish or
Canadian for months -
just as Egypt has become
Australian for over a year
now - In France it ws quite
remarkable to run into
 

46
a long wedge shaped district
perh. 20 miles long peopled
with Canadians, patrols
w straight brimmed hats on /
roads - (the Canadians salute
pretty consistently now, one
remarked. They are as keen - eyed
brighter as Australians, not
so tall, brighter coloured,
very quick & independnt.)
In another wedge all is
Scottish caps - sort of
Tam o' Shanter [sketch]
mostly,
I believe some Destroyer
ws sd to have bn mined
in / Channel just before
we started. Every now & 
then a nest of mines appears
there & they know tt a
 

47
Zeppelin or a submarine
has bn there & released
them.
On Sunday Jan 30. when
we started at 11 a.m,
we were escorted by a 
racing destroyer to /
French coast. bout
a mile out we passed
/ neutral & British shipping
traffic being passed
down a narrow cleared
lane like / traffic down
a London street. They
anchor for / night &
I believe lie up for all 
rough days. Here they were,
over 20 of them, ships is mostly
neutrals w flags of all
sorts painted on their sides
 

48
as an advertisement to 
submarines [sketch]
& their names
in huge letters on their sides.
Feb. 2. Wed. Malta - after a 
quick passage at 18 kn - I'm
sure I don't know what the
course was.
The I have just been
listening to some o / passengers
singing - Last night one o /
songs was a song very of a
popular since sort, written since /
war "Knitting". The Lady
who is "I" in it has been
"so very busy knitting -
- knitting socks for soldiers thin &
fat" that she doesn't notice
amongst other things tt she has
run off to a Brighton Hotel w
a man who is not her
husband! Roars of laughter
expected at this, I suppose.