Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/44/1 - May - June 1916 - Part 7

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along / road to Merville.
As we walked the air ws
rumbling with a heavy bombardment.
Far to / south of us on /
horizon flickered constantly the
flash of shells. Far away to
/ right on / low clouds
shone the constant glow o /
furnaces of Lillers.  Around
us the black line of / forest
& beside us always / dark
still waters o / old Canal. 

June 2nd. Ross & I xx

especially xxxxx- were asked
by Although we had
asked tt a photographer
shd be present yesty, &
altho' Lord K. had I
believe promised (or at any
rate Creedy, his secretary had,)
to write to France to G.H.Q.

64
This is written 5 days
after / events - I have
bn too busy to keep /
diary going.
 

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65
requesting tt permission
shd be given to me to
take photos of this visit,
G. H. Q had sent along a
corporal of Engineers with
Lt. Cadge to take these
photos. In / meantime
a hurried message ws
sent to / official photographer,
Ernest Brooks, in England tt he 
& / cinematographer shd
come back at full speed
from the Great Fleet, &
spend 8 or 10 days w /
 Australians - especially 
to get photos of Hughes visit
& o / Australian & N.Z. troops.
Capt. Faunthorpe who brought _^generally travels with Brooks
& Tony (/ biograph expert), here
this morning, asked turned up 
yesty. We took him to tea at
our mess - as he seemed to

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think tt he ws intruding at
/ chateau; & he practically
put over all his job onto
us - Ross & myself, especially
myself. He asked us if we
could help Brooks & to other to
get subjects. I sd we wd
do so all we cd. We knew
Brooks from / peninsula - a
plucky little chap & a good
photographer. He sd "Yes -
but you will have to keep
a tight hand on him & see
to he doesn't fake - he is
a terror for trying to make
up ^pretty pictures behind / lines" -
[he is also undoubtedly very brave
in trying to get / real pictures
whenever he sees them - out
in front o / lines or anywhere.
He is always after a bursting
shell or a mine explosion. But

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ordinary pictures of men
on sentry go in / trenches (wh
is all you see there as a rule)
are too tame. Brooks, whose
one idea is to take pictures
wh / Editors will print , & who
doesn't care twopence whether
they are real or faked; & as
generally be cant get / real
ones he is always out to
fake them.
We from Gallipoli, particu have two 
particular crimes up agst
Brooks. He faked a picture
of a Turkish sniper dressed
up in branches like a tree
- he got a Turkish prisoner
on Imbros with two Australians
from the field bakery standing
on either side of him w bayonets
fixed; the picture has bn
printed everywhere & is taken

×but I recognised the long grass of Imbros ^,that it can't be genuine, 
& eventually the Aust. Bakery there told 
me all about it.

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as a proof of the wild stories
abt "men moving as trees moving"
it half convinced me when
first I saw it×. And he faked
a second picture of a
"Charge o / Royal Naval
Division at / Dardanelles",
wh is / most famous picture
taken there. At the knew tt / first
sight of tt picture (officer leading
men tumbling out of trench following)
I thought "What a magnificent
war photo. . . . but - where can
it be? There are no hills
on the Peninsula like tt.
Ive never charged up into /
bosom of them from across /
flat" and then it flashed
on me.  "Why - of course they're
the hills at Imbros - at /
back o / War Correspondents camp.
And there are / dark trees in wh

×Beaverbrook.
C.E.W.B.
1925

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/ correspondents' camp lies."
Bastlett sd tt Brooks didn't
admit this at first - but
afterwards he did & he
makes no bones abt it
now.
I have applied to /
High Commr. to be alld to
take photos for record
of / actual facts for future
Australians to see; /
Australian govt has asked
tt I shd take photos. The
British govt or War office put
them off w a lie - tt none
except / official photographer
were alld. As a matter of
fact Brooks told me tt /
Canadians pl had a staff capt.  
who at Aitken's× request is.
alld to photograph & Brooks
is teaching him. In spite of tt; /

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war office put us off (or G.H.Q
does) by sending down their
official photographer & asking
me to take him round &
show him what wants
to be photographed.
 

Well, Brooks & Tony turned
up today - & I helped them
to get some photos of Birdwood
& Hughes - but there were
no xxxxx photos of
Hughes amongst / troops to
be got because he left a
little after midda lunch, for
Amiens - in order to visit /
French front tomorrow. I took
them off to the first divisional
bomb school where they got
a picture of Australians digging 
a trench & / firing of rifle
grenades.
I am very tempted to

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71
send in my resignation
after this - help these fellows
round in every way I can,
& then let the govt know tt
I cannot carry out / work
to m in / manner in wh
I believe in xx the Australian
recorder ought to. They
have in me a much more
trustworthy man than Brooks.
But I know there is absolutely
no proper reason for
withholding this permission -
or for turning down our car.
And I cant help thinking
tt / intelligence people think
they have scared off me by 
making myself & Ross
responsible for Brooks
here. I may be wrong - but
I am too proud of my positn
& too senior & trusted a servant

72
                        O     Or
 G Bde H.Q.   3        1
21  Bn             13     500
24                    13     398
2nd Pioneer   6     81
6th F Coy         4     41
Div Train         11     166
5 F Amb            1    415
6  "   "                 2       21
                         -----    -----
                          53       1278
                         -----     -----
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of my government to be
scored off in this way.
I dont think it wd embarrass
White - because there are
plenty of men quite able
to take my place. After
all I am / head of my
own department. And if
it cannot be run as I
think it could & ought
to be, I think it is up
to me to try and establish
it.
I am trying one other means
first - getting I told Hughes
he cd help me in one
way by writing to Gen. Haig
that I was / trusted servant of /
Australian Govt; tt I was charged
by them w writing / history of the
Australian part in this war; & tt
/ govt wd be glad if I were

74
[short hand, see original document]

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permitted to take photos
for / purposes of tt record
under any safeguard thought
proper - in / same way as
- had bn permitted to /
Canadians.
At the same time I asked
him to say tt he did not consider
tt my work needed a big
car o / sort wh G.H.Q. had
sd ws / only one I could be
allowed, but tt a smaller
& cheaper car wd suffice
& he wd be glad if /
rule cd be varied to permit
of my having one.
I had written these out
in / form of a letter. Hughes
who ws walking w Birdwood
showed it to him & asked if
he approved. He sd he did,
thoroughly. So Hughes promised