Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/38C/1 - Notebook - Part 5

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One does not realise in peace (1) the time wh it takes to
mobilise & concentrate
(2) the fact that an army
cannot fight just as it is
on the march. It must
deploy. And during deployment
a faster smaller force can
"contain" it.
small force can force deployment, but unless its flanks are
secure it must
then retreat.
J.G.

Capt. J. Gellibrand
JG
Manchester Regt.

When troo.
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Religious captain - used to have service every Sund. aftnoon.
Afternoon service genly something extra - held in casemate
& voluntary. ^But This capt used to play the harmonium himself
& always ended with one hymn - abide with me -
Just the sort of melancholy tune the men loved -
Consequence was you never got rid of that tune. The
man who was cleaning brass would be singing
"A - bide - with me" outside your cabin
door, the sentry wd be humming it; the cooks cooked to it.
The True Story of the Prometheus:
We had it all mapped out.  We were up in Hobart for 3 months
then in Melb for the cup; then we were to go round the [shorthand] (where we can save money
- so that we could spend at the Cup  which amount we did) Then we would get 
back to Syd. NZ. & Hobart Melb for the next dance. We had many of the airmen in Melb
until the Thursday before the Cup and we were ordered off of the [shorthand] in China.
Australian [labour praised?] us what was the matter with us. If the Admiral was there was
that the Prometheus cost twice as much as a Minotaur, to refit they would ask
what was a mariner to do. So the officials [consented?] to hear. To her bulgines
we now knew the condition that they should have been in.
Well we started off and first thing that went wrong was that our bulgines
began to prime.  The engine room was always full of steam and finally we had to
draw fire or clean out most of our bulgines altogether. The
upshot of this was that whilst we were still on our way to Port
Darwin the fresh water gave up. If we had had efficient
distillers save our border we should have been able to supply our
bulgines with water but as it was we couldnt work our bulgines and our distillers

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together. If we  attempted to steam away we couldnt distill, and if we have attempted to
distill we could not steam.  Accordingly we had to stop the engine until we had
distilled enough water to let us go on again . In the meantime we decided to sail.
We racked up the foredeck awning and foremast and the poop awning to the main mast;
We hoisted the sails on all the boats on the crutches but it was not quite enough to
hoist the sails of the boats on the davits - so we [racked?] these [shorthand] through
by the rigging - and began to sail. At least it was a matter of dispute 
whether we sailed or not. People beyond  to come up to the bridge and drop matches over the 
side to see if she moved. She did move - at least the moths moved
away fast enough but they always moved sideways - to windward.
We made about 25 miles a day, sideways, broadside on. The only
trouble was that it was not in the direction in which we  wanted to go. (Before this - before we could 
begin to sail we had to get the ship round. You see, she was heading the wrong way. 
We found she was only in about 70 fathoms of water , so we dropped a Kellick
and after 3 abortive attempts we rather cleverly heaved her round.
It really was rather a [shorthand ]piece of [[luck?]] that) We got into Port Darwin
and the relieved people said that would fix up our distiller for us and [somehow?] they did it
very well. We ought really to have given back their [shorthand] . But the old
man was warned of this ^tremendously keen with a conscience too big for him.
The Artificer engineer and  the gunners (?) had put their heads together
and attempted to get up an agitation in the newspapers to have us was kept in
Australia. Of course when the old man heard of this it made him all the keener
to start, so we started. But we had only one engine that could be
relied on the other gave out half way across and so the old
[[* One morning the skipper decided to chase these tropical rainstorms. We did, for two days, & at last I caught one Everyone came up to take xxxxxxx [[?]]
every batton, jib, bucket in the ship. The doctor was the only man who work bathing drawers, The sentry one day noticed that the marines had all shaved. "What does his mean, sergt Major?" he asked. "Dunno, Sir,
did see one man, Sir, shaving in his tea!"*]] 
83
man decided to make for Amboyna. We had just got through
into the Arafura Sea, 2 miles past the most
tricky passage when the other engine gave out. They sent down  to the engineer
and he said he could take us into Amboyna so long as we didnt ask him to stop.
If we stopped the engine, he said, he didnt know what might happen. While we were going there already and were right in the middle of the passage that there came out a 
a blessed black pilot. He asked if we wanted a pilot and we 
told him to go away to the devil.  xThen, he did what they often did in those 
places -  its a trick they have - he put his blasted boat
right across our bows to make us take him and as we could not very well
sink the fellow before going into the place to ask for help -
even though he was a black watch - we had to stop. We stopped
and told him to go to hell - but when the bridge rang
to the engine room to go ahead - again nothing happened. They
put through a telegraph again and again but no answer

came
from below.  All this time she was drifting. Then we died like 
St Paul - we cast 17 anchors there out of the stern and then
managed to [sling?] on for abt 20 yds from the rocks. There
were about 1000 natives [[?]] The object watching us come in - we were
the first fresh men of country to have been in the place. There the bridge
rang [shorthand] and nothing happened.. We stayed there for 5 weeks
until the engineer said that we must go along to the [shorthand]
and take in some coal. We [shorthand] was about 2  mile away.
and we started  - but about halfway we [dragnetted?]
again. Then the sentry borrowed a Date
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semaphore and sent across to a [shorthand] station and sent a messenger to the Admiral
that we should have to be towed away. They sent us up a
Cambrian 
to tow us to Hong Kong. (She had just gone to Hobart
too - [[?]] some of her people had taken [shorthand] there). she
towed us to Hong Kong, when we got there our old man went into
the Admiral (Winsloe) and told him that that he had at last arrived -
here on the [shorthand], after all these difficulties I have got here at last!
Now we only need the steam repairs! The Adml told him that the could not 
have the repairs of the China fleet under fire by this dammed little
hooker & wanted to know why the devil he had brought 
her up there in such a condition - or words to that effect -
and he kept us for 3 months and then sent us to spend 2 months
in dry dock in the middle of the summer - an unheard
of thing! We spent 2 months on the Yangtse
Kiang and on the way to [shorthand] we were caught in the first Balkan 
war (Oct 1912)and we kept up the admiralty patrolling the coast of 
Syria! The Cambrian - had bn sent up the Yangtse instead
of us.
Rain - 1 pint a day.
10^th in bathing drawers,
Chasing the rain clouds.
In the Arafura Sea the skipper decided to sail some of those tropical rainstorms you wish for and
we sidled about for a day after them but we could not get them. The next day though we
struck one. Every man in the ship was up on deck (see two pages before - side note)
85
The Raid on Rabaul: Austr. Syd. 3 destroyers went to raid Rabaul. The schemhorst
Gneisman & Naraberg? [shorthand] be there. The Australia had the whole place booked
out. We were to rendezvous 50 miles down the coast, go along quietly.
Narnb. would be destroyed. We were to sink her by gun fire, under shipping torpedos. Then we
were to escort a destroyer up to the entrance and speed up to support them. They were to go in. If they 
found any craft in the water they were to sink them using gunfire -
then we were to torpedo the Schart. & Gn and then go out to sink by gunfire
any smaller craft they found there.
We started off at nightfall; every light out. The Australians ships convoy turned 
out time and time again and we passed out.  One man said: yes I could cheer if we were 50 bloody miles down the coast. We moved into the dark. Every boat was on the look out. Every 
shadow was a Nuraberg [shorthand] station . All the guns across were immediate alive.
about [shorthand] we thought we sighted a volcano. At least that is what they said afterwards - Probably it was 
a bushfire) but at that time we were hardly then certain it was a [shorthand]. We
reached it and found it was a volcano. A little later on we saw it again and that time we were absolutely certain about it. It was a [shorthand] of warships in the harbour.
When we arrived outside that [shorthand] the Nurnb. and so our part of the business was over.
The destroyers now came to their job. They doused all lights and escaping by full speed they
continued into the harbour. They found it quite empty. We waited outside expecting to hear an explosion
but none happened. Presently they came out again and reported that they had drawn a blank. 
On all the [shorthand] they were rarely there just before. [shorthand] we had heard their wireless
that [shorthand] next day and could not find the wireless station.

The Kanowna.
All that they sent was down to Townsville and to pack up the  Berrima.
The Berrima was already but the  Kanowna, manned by
Queensland trainees, which we met at Thursday Island was simply
in a stinking condition. She was [shorthand] in filth - Nonetheless seemed to travel without fatigue or anything less. When she came alongside us she was so 
noisome that we could scarcely stand it. She had no water and we had to go
alongside and condense water for her. Finally it was reported to us that some
of her firemen had refused to act - mutinied  company. They might have
been [shorthand] by a [shorthand], but it was decided to send her back and she was sent back to
Townsville in more or less disgrace. The Berrima was quite different
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There was a long delay whilst at Rab a N.Z ship we being sent to Samoa - we went at
Palm Island and then we were sent up to Rabaul. The Townsville boys would have been in [shorthand] for that [shorthand] fighting so it was just as well we relieved  [shorthand], because the fighting was pretty severe.
Afterwards the Australia took up station to watch the North, Encounter came by and watch the south and we were near xxx Rabaul with the submarines etc. We  [shorthand] 
knew nothing about this. The Encounter had xxx just come into it and she sure
kept her beautiful gratings and  [shorthand]  and nearly ready to throw over in case 
of need. This bright morning the Enc. startled everybody by [[scuttling?]]: 3 funnel German warship in sight!
The [shorthand] came hurrying down for[shorthand] all out. The Sydney carried [shorthand] by the
steaming for all saw [shorthand]  & The Enc. chucked to her before grating [shorthand at last and ready to meet the foe.  20 Minutes later another [shorthand] was 
repeated the trouble is a fresh [[martian?!]] man! but before that [shorthand] easy.
Months [shorthand] when a destroyer was seen along the coast she was I think [shorthand]
[shorthand]. She went in to examine and found the Enc's gratings stacked
neatly on the beach. The Germans had found them. They thought the Enc had foundered.
Australia's wireless Syd aftwds went to blow up a wireless station at Agona (?) and
Twice started off to [shorthand]. - Once she got a few miles before being called back.
The other time she went to Suva and found a few jobs there. From there she was sent back to Sydney.
Once before, she had got off [shorthand] of Sydney with the [shorthand] up. She arrived here to take Sydney battalion 
here and send wireless messages from her. Monday  The Australia's wireless
was [shorthand] to the [shorthand]. it was about 3 times as strong as anyone else's and it was going
all day long . This had a bearing to run hot or something.
Anyway, the whole [[shorthand] was full of German [shorthand]; where is L.S?
Where is L.S?

87
The taking of the Comet. The Comet had a wireless which was one of the strongest in the [shorthand] We could hear. the wireless but we could not find the Comet. Some of the smaller
boats were continuing searching for here.  The Seraing put her head into bay after bay 
without success. One day we entered a bay which had the usual [[shorthand]]. the usual
little [[shorthand]], the usual [shorthand]on the shore. They could find nothing there
and put into [shorthand] another bay and sent for some of her men on some errand. Whilst they were
in the [shorthand] they saw 2 German officers. They were not seen, so took everything [shorthand] in the valley and 
waited until they saw officers go down to the ship and get a [shorthand] and put off to a smaller [shorthand].
Then they went up and reported to the Seraing and she came in and investigated.
[shorthand] was the Comet. The Germans had covered her in palms.
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The Emden: Men in the after fire control posts rolled to side, valley was 6  feet, rolled to side
of gangway and we came to valley there when a [shorthand] officer [shorthand]
managed to carry them all down.
Germans was therefore torpedoed flat down injured side
They saw them fire 10 salvoes per minute, They fired salvoes all the time.
We fired salvoes and then got into independent: It ws difficult
to get our men back into salvoes again when we lost the range.
Their captain is a pretty good officer and she was a a very efficient ship [shorthand]
Our boys were smaller than Tingira boys - The German idea
of our fleet
is that it is a drowning fleet. The got a little excited but for once rose to the occasion splendidly,
The parson escaped like a man in the sick bay.  Attendants [shorthand]
We had heard another [shorthand] note nearby.,
but he kept his head.

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Some yrs ago in [[Mauritius?]] a regiment of cavalry ws protecting a hill. The
colonel just raised his hand 
Diagram  - see original document
Three files went
out up the hill ^automatically to see what ws there. Those on right
signalled nothing. Those ahead signalled nothing. Those
on left didnt reappear -
Diagram  - see original document
Col. ws prob. thinking of other things & didnt notice
that 3rd lot hadn't come back. Regiment continued trotting
up hill when suddenly a line of heads appeared all
at once on other side of hill.
Colonel's attention was immediately directed to it
He swung his regiment round on the instant, & gave the
word to charge. The other regt. was the Horse Guards - &
they did the same & came thundering over the hill on their big
black horses.
One officer ^Capt CBB White was riding in front on a little light
polo pony. He looked hard to see if there were any place
where he cd squeeze through. The line seemed absolutely
solid. But at last he found one gap, squeezed his
knees into his pony & ws thro' it like a flash.
Two men were killed & there were man lying abt
everywhere & horses all over the place - They shd have
stopped abt 100 yds apart. Genl French was very angry.
The Cavalry spirit - you go at anything when you see it.
e.g. They made it at ^one end of a village street & enemys corporal
at the other you go at him straight away. No need
for order(?) cavalryman says infantry cant
understand it.
Brit. Cavalry have had 7 horses drowning.  Germans
only 2. Therefore Brit, better
craftsman w lance etc in melee.
Germans splendidly led.
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10

Convoy Naval Orders Nos. 40 and 41.]
C.N.O. 40.
NEW ZEALAND TRANSPORTS.
The Transports of the New Zealand Imperial Force, ten ships in all, are
organized as follows:—

C.N.O. 41.
MASTHEAD TO STERN LIGHT.—NEW ZEALAND THANSPORTS.
The following table shows actual vertical height between after-masthead and
position of stern light in the Transports of the New Zealand Force:—

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4

Convoy Naval Orders No. 9.]
C.N.O. 9.
ORGANIZATION OF CONVOY.
The Convoy will be organised as follows :—

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Convoy Naval Order No. 3.
C.N.O. 3.

LIST OF TRANSPORTS
The following is a list of the Transports forming the convoy:—

Convoy Naval Order No. 39.
C.N.O. 39.
TABLE OF MASTHEAD HEIGHTS OF TRANSPORTS