Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/42/1 - April 1916 - Part 5

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sd an officer.
Strathconas Horse & / Royal
Canadian Dragoons  passed -
looking rather British in their
uniforms. They have swords. The 
Officers were big chaps, xxx
riding well, looking like Englishmen
"You would have thought
something of our first cavalry"
sd and officer we spoke to, "but
they were mostly killed - they 
dismounted them. They were
the best in / country, mostly
gentlemen - they didn't wait
for commissions "held w

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some pride - "they just

enlisted - there ws no influence

them. If a man came in right

up to / last moment & he 

cd ride better than / next

man, they chose him, & put 

a man out instead - 

our first division was

the best - but they're putting

men over their heads in / later 
divns tt ought to be their

juniors - There are lieutenants

in the first Division who ought to

be generals in the 3rd - 

They have a fourth Dvn

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now in England"

He thought /British were

fine troops & they got on

w them well - especially with /

Ind British Indian officers.

The Indians were being sent 

from France - all exc. the

crack cavalry had bn - one

trouble was / way they mixed

w / white the women who simply

threw themselves at their heads.

The British Tommy ws

fine at fighting. But when it

came to a job of work you

couldn't trust him / 

way you cd British  Australians & NZ

 

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Canadians - to carry out what

you told him to do. He was

a bit inclined to shirk.

Ap 11 Waiting for Col. Hutton Wilson

the Press officer who is going to

arrive here from Montreuil and

will take us to St Omer (Gibbs

& Prevost Battersby are at

Amiens, Tomlinson and Russell

wth Captain Reynolds at St Omer.)

I believe that Ross & I will

be allowed to stay with Anzac

HQ's which is what we want.

If we were at St Omer or here

at Hesdin we shd have to

run up to Hazebrouck every other

day - & the Press officer realises

this (as far as I cd understand

over / telephone yesty) At / same

time I don't suppose we can

ever again get so close to

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a battle as we used to be in Gallipoli.

The firing line trenches are so

drenched with artillery fire after

a fight that I suppose the losses

there wd be 30 per cent - which

means tt in 3 fights your

being hit is practically certain;

& ^as we have to watch every fight,

& not one out of 3 or 4 (like a brigade

staff) this would be xxxxx risking

ones life to an extent I don't

care to do.
 

Ap. 11 Col. Hutton Wilson came to

this wretched old French Inn -

dirty, expensive,- and uncomfortable -

at 4.30 today. He took us to

Montreuil and sent us on to St Omer

by 6 o'c! (It took us a day by train).

Found Reynolds in the Press

Chateau at Tilques, with

Tomlinson and Russell. Tomlinson is

a Socialist, wholehearted in this

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war. "The Germans - well, when

a man hasn't got a common

basis of humanity on wh you

can argue, what can you

do except fight?" Russell is

very friendly, but talks on a very

shallow knowledge even of the Navy

& makes wild mistakes abt /

Army in a very downright way as

if they were platitudes. He has a

son in the 9Bn of which the son & he

are rightly proud  -

Reynolds is an I.C.S. man

w a great story of ribbons to

wh he has added two in this

war - Military Cross and DSO. He

has a very quiet humour. He happened

to mention tonight something about the

Chinese, when it led to an argument

it xxx incidentally  mentioned came up 

tt he had walked across China

entering it from Burma. Russell,

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who has lived in /same mess w

him for 3 months or more

did not  xxx know that he had

ever done this - he had never

spoken of it before. That's / right sort of

British Officer - like little Davies

Their job is largely to show

visiting foreign journalists round.

They now have a special chateau

for them & take them on one

tour per week. This ought to have

been done before. The Germans had got

lots of Dutch Swedes and Swiss

especially. Since Verdun (now 

lasted 5 weeks) the Swedes have

cooled appreciably. Before it

they looked like joining in on

Germany's side - this was quite

expected here. The ^Swedes  were afraid

of Russia in Finland.
 

Ap 12.  At 11 this morning we

left St Omer (with leave to go to

England) & went by motor to

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Army Corps H.Q at La Motte.  I

there saw White and Butler - The

British control in France seems to

be blocking  Birdwood from visiting

England. Russell went on to see

his son at 3rd Bde  H.Q.

at Shazeele. About 1.30 we left

La Motte - had sort of late lunch

at St Omer - embarked at

Boulogne at 6.15 - out into

wild weather, w / other steamer

ahead practically lost in / mist

and our little destroyer abeam

throwing wreath after wreath of 

spray, as round as a life buoy,

over the bridge & jumping

through it. The forepart of

our ship was simply one

whirling white wrack of churning

spray. Outside / harbour we

passed / two masts of a big

sunken steamer. By / quay itself

was 2/3 of the Sussex - w her

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bows blown clean off up to

/ foremast (it killed 50 people)

She managed to get in somehow.

The Germans had control o / 

Channel for a week by a

device on / bows of their

submarines for cutting our wires.

Tomlinson thinks we hang

chains from them now.

And here by 11.30 at night

we are in London - & I am

writing this in bed at about 1 am

after a hot bath & glass of

hot milk. As Ross says  “There

won’t be any Zepps tonight -

we know it's too rough for tt".

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To April 18 (Tuesday).

In London arranging

date of issue to public of

Anzac Book. Very difficult to

arrange for delivery to troops

first without upsetting Cassells

business methods with 

their retailers - Arranged a

compromise; left my photos.

Saw Steele-Maitland about our

army scheme - but not

Billy Hughes who was ill

at Larry Northcotes. However, as

White wanted me to do what

I could I wrote to Billy as

well, this morning & Fisher went

to Kitchener and got him to consent

to Birdwoods coming across.

But I see Buckley is going.