Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/45/1 - June 1916 - Part 7

2     77
The cook at our mess has
a great contempt for
/ local wood cutters. He
himself spent his time in
Australia between cooking for
shearers & chopping trees.
He has a great disgust at /
way / wood in / yard
has bn cut. "Seems to me as if
it had bn struck by lightning",
he says.
June 9th (Friday)
First day for a week at
my diary - & got it 

finished up to date.
Birdie But I shant
have much time I expect.
Birdie tells me tt in
congratulating the 26^th & 28^th

Bns in an order he told
the Divisions tt what he
hoped to see ws two similar

2      78
raids every week - so tt
we shd never give the
Boches any rest!
Herbertson says tt /
Army will soon put a stop
to this on acct of the expenditure
of ammunition.
The guns are flashing
about Ypres tonight - as they
have been for / last week.
The Canadians were attacked
some days ago - & a couple of
Generals who were in their 
trenches, & also a couple wounded
Colonel, were captured & /
line forced back some distance.
Another attack on / other side
of Hooge also succeeded - &
this left the force line at Hooge
hanging almost in / air
with the Germans on 
Diagram – see original document
either flank. Two 
days ago, I believe, Hooge was

2     79
lost. The salient there costs
us an extremely large number
of men. I have no doubt tt
/ right thing to do, if / war is
going to be a long one, is to
make a perfect line well
behind Ypres - on good
ground if possible, & well
built under fairly peacable
conditions - & then fall back
on it & let / Germans have Ypres.
By hanging on to Ypres we are
losing men daily in much larger
numbers than they.
The French have also lost
the Fort of Vaux, S.E. of Verdun.
Brooks, who is always ready
to blab out all tt he sees, says he
thinks he sees signs of a move
in the constant pushing up of
units nearer to / front. Certainly
you do see troops passing up to
Merville & Estaires - they seem

2      80
to vanish when they get there -
But I take these to be / ordinary
reliefs of divisions. I cannot
say tt  There are nurses in
/ casualty clearing Stations -
as Brooks pointed out. But I
cannot say tt I have noticed
one single thing wh in any way
hinted tt / big offensive is
at hand. Many things are agst it.
For instance our 4^th &
5^th Divns are arriving (the
4^th reaches Marseille today)
& will be arriving for a 
month or more. The 3rd Div.
wh is to form in England will
I suppose be slower still.
Monash has bn recommended
for its command - Jackson
Chief of Staff; Guy Wylie G.S.O.
2. Col. Bridges is to go to the 2nd
Aust. Div. & Col. Blamey
as GSO 1

2     81
to the 1st Aust Div as GSO 1.
Well Monash & Jackson
ought to be a thoroughly good
combination. They will train
in England at Salisbury Plain.
The N.Z. Divn will go with the 4^th
& 5^th to Gen. Godley (in fact they
are in a part o / line wh will
be his even now); & the 3^rd
will come to us.
Then we shall see
whether the War Office will
allow us to become an Army.
If it wastes these
Australian troops on a minor
offensive - it will be . . . . well,
when the time comes one would
try & find the proper term.

June 10^th (Saty) went over to
a crowded concert at Bailleul
given by Tree the singer, Jackson
the comedian, & others, in the 

2      82
big Y.M.C.A. tent. They have
given 4 concerts today. As the
little pianist sd in saying good
bye: "We are too old to serve our
country by fighting for her; but
we are only too glad to feel tt
we are trying to do our bit -
little tho' it is."
Saw on the roads the first
signs of our 4^th Divn - some
of the 13^th near Oudekirke,
& some of the 14^th in Bailleul,

& I hear Gen. Cox has arrived.

June 11^th. Drove to Bailleul
& Le Creche with Padre Dexter.
Roads simply full of the
new Australians - the old 4^th
Bde & its "Pup" (the 12^th).
The same old breezy lot -
not so smart but - possibly - 
even harder. They are all easily
told by the way they played

83
I went with Padre Dexter to
Hesdin (to see the Graves Commissioners)
Etaples, Boulogne & St Omer. At
Etaples are the Australian base camps - abt
4000 reinforcts  o / 1^st Divn & as many o / 2nd
(& men returned from hospital) drilling in all
weathers, sometimes under British n.C.Os.
In hospital there was Maj. Evans,
- poor old Evans of the A.I.F. Base
who created Sellheims system for him in
[*Cairo & worked it with all his might.

He was exceedingly keen on his job - & keeness

naturally involved keeping some the best

men at the base camp to run it instead of

sending them to the Divns. White warned him

about this, I believe - tt it wd not be 

permitted. Anyway, he has bn superseded

by Col. Abbott; & and after a fortnights tremendous

work he has had a real breakdown.

Its all very well - but they sent up

1200 men from Cairo - the sweepings - under

2 Lieutenants w orders for / Lieutenants to go

on to London. Evans kept the Lieuts at the Base

 - he sd it ws not reasonable to throw on him

1200 men without Officers, especially men

of that sort; there's a lot in what he says.

Later, I hear Evans wrote long letters to

Birdwood & Hughes "as a private citizen" & had

generally been doing so for months. So I am

probably quite astray in my judgement of him. Anyway

he did the best going out - told his staff to work loyally with Abbott.*]

2     84
with the children - the kids
made straight for them
even in Bailleul where there
are hundreds of English

soldiers.
They were full of admiration
for the country. "Two hundred

miles of garden" one of
them sd o / first 200 miles
out of Marseilles.
"My word - its a 

country worth fighting for," is
the thing they all of them say
- their first impression of
France.
June 12th I hear from Smart that
Sellheim has dispensed with his
services. It makes one very angry
to think of the lazy ineffective irresolute
man turning out the man of 5 times his
capacity & 20 times his energy.

85

On getting back from Etaples found that 
[*6^th Bn was making a raid. It was*]
too late to go down. Following particulars 

[*obtained next day - I have written them up in*]
type written    

form as
Butler wanted
a copy - to

which refer.

Capt. Moncur.  )  Supports
Lt  Rodgers       )                  

L^t Loughlin trench [[shorthand]]  3 bayonet men

2  bombers

2 carriers
Sergt

Lt Hyde trench  [[shorthand]] 

5 x men

4 matmen   14ft x 4ft strong [[shorthand]]

[[?carboard]]

Each 1 mat 
Diagram – see original document

2  [[shorthand]] 1 to [[shorthand]] 
4th  [[shorthand]]  supports w Telephone men.
Being 18 trench 46 Maj. Daley
w  [[shorthand]] 
2 Telephones [[shorthand]] 2 stopped ½ [[shorthand]]
2 went across.
[[shorthand]] 220 yds. Tape.
Supporting [[shorthand]], 6 [[shorthand]] bombers.
[*Bennett commanding Bde
temporarily during absence of Forsyth.*]
No organised [[shorthand]] 6 scouts after trench [[shorthand]]
Scoured for trophies. Others [[shorthand]]
The replica [[shorthand]]
correct. Went into hard training.
[[shorthand]]
2       86
Trench [[shorthand]] 12.30.
Crawled out into open.
Arty [[shorthand]] at 10 to 1. Diversion
in 2nd Divn & 1st Bde.Fire on
Brideaux Fort, ^5th Point, Lozenge, Angle
Corner Fort.
[*(see page
100
Typewritten
a.c interleaved)*]
1^st Bn on right opened
w m.g. & when enemy put
up flares they heaved over
bags.
1 ^German Heavy & 2 batteries of
77 in reply - very poor.
1 o'c. betw Angle & Lozenge
Fire raised abt 100 yds.
Then party dashed [[shorthand]]
Entered trench. They told [[shorthand]]
[[shorthand]]. In trench 5 or 6
minutes. First thing back
prisoner, 1 behind each
along tape, thro opening,
wd come up out of dark.
[[shorthand]]

87
[[shorthand]] coming [[shorthand]]
[[shorthand]] Hurrah - whole
[[shorthand]] at 1.13 [[shorthand]]
Little retaliation. Little
from support trenches. They had
[[shorthand]] of flares - ½ [[shorthand]]
[[shorthand]]
Arty ws not quick; 7 or 8
[[shorthand]].
[[shorthand]] m.g. [[shorthand]]

Got is [[shorthand]] Saw w
[[shorthand]]

1st man, [[shorthand]] sentry
fired at Loughlin. L [[shorthand]]
& hit him in leg.
L's [[shorthand]] 5 [[shorthand]] 6
[[shorthand]] m.g. & saw 2 trench [[shorthand]].
L'x ws left trench [[shorthand]]

Trench Hows had knocked
trench [[shorthand]] & Hydes party found
trench [[shorthand]]. No bombs nor
[[shorthand]].
2    88
Diagram – see original document
9 ft. [[shorthand]]
No loopholes. 6 - 10 feet on top
Rt [[shorthand]]. Empty [[shorthand]] in
xx Traverse. [[shorthand]] bottom trench,
4 men. No bunks wood [[shorthand]]. No door
Bigger inside [[shorthand]] 2 [[?s/r]]
Blankets, Helmet. Respirator.
They had [[shorthand]] Torches on rifles.
2nd Bay - saw feet [[shorthand]].
Opening [[shorthand]] door
w letter H. Iron door [[shorthand]] 3ft
up. Cdnt open. (In next [[shorthand]])
wooden door w stick grenades
ranged [[shorthand]].
Dugout in 2nd [[shorthand]].
Boarded floor [[shorthand]]. Bags like
new bags w wire netting. Parapet
[[shorthand]]. 1st Bayonet [[shorthand]]

89
[[shorthand]]
[[shorthand]]
only Dugout same size.
[[shorthand]]
Wire in borrow pit.
Wire [[shorthand]] pinned [[shorthand]]
40 yds on either side. Red flares
from.
Wet [[shorthand]]. Big moon [[shorthand]]
Bombed 3rd dugout. Dead man
by crater
Working [[shorthand]] the angle
went in [[shorthand]]. Horn
went [[shorthand]].
One of our guns ws
bursting in ground to right of [[shorthand]]
10 yds away. Flayed onto
Commn Trenches.
Loughlin's [[shorthand]]
2 parties in file.
Bayonet men stuck in wire
so Loughlin, Flash [[shorthand]]

2
90
& he [[shorthand]]
Diagram – see original document
No parados
[[shorthand]]
Seemed [[shorthand]]. Then [[shorthand]]
Stuck there.
Face in I. Sergt M. fired [[shorthand]]
Dragged him out. He [[shorthand]]
[[shorthand]]. Shot him & [[shorthand]] a knobkerry.
3 [[shorthand]] (is) scouts
& [[shorthand]] thro breach [[shorthand]].
4^th man [[shorthand]] cape w 2 tucks
Mackenzie s.b. ws shot just
as prisoners were being removed.
3 pr. 1 k in I.
Flat long mounting & gun
bolted on to it. Something [[shorthand]]
Gun clamped w 

Diagram – see original document
4 bolts & no traversing [[shorthand]].
Set into parapet. No [[shorthand]].
Abt 5 feet up & 3ft or 4 ft deep
room for 2 men [[shorthand]].
Hessian over string. This had bn seen