Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/45/1 - June 1916 - Part 8

91
 [[shorthand]]

[[shorthand]][[salient?]]
No one near gun.
illustration - see original document

X Built up dugout

near hear

2nd bomb \ /light
Lit

3rd bomb thrown. or more - 4 or 5
Y coming [[shorthand]] - covered

w iron plate wh cd slide up

& down. Tt ws in one & not other
Old man out w beard. No
more in
Messenger sent along
Floors of dugouts level w floor -
one w 4 men ws lower abt 4 
w water in bottom & tim 8
sitting (wooden standards
w sandbag). Abt 2ft from ground
Dugout next it wt same style -
These 2 were battln dugouts.
No [[shorthand]] etc

French behind had been knocked abt
by shells - some

 

2

92 
D at D bomb struck iron - something
4 men on mis were getting
peppered from angle & had to be
dropped 5 or 6 yds this side of
their wire. There ws a belt in.
Bullets    [[shorthand]] 4 were
carrying it
Parados u I/ foot lower
than    x
T.M. we fixed   illustration - see original document on corner
Batmen had fixed
word "Bunk" from parapet-
  [[shorthand]] "Hooray"
from 1/2 way [[shorthand]]

& no more sniping.
Signaller went to (Barker)
Signaller 1/2 hit on.
sniping ceased before got back
No mps. cd see sniping bullets
flicking dust spray.
 

93
 

 

taken off one place & put in another
[[???]] [[shorthand]]

 

June 13t.  2        94
The Germans were mining 
under our trenches in the 

 

ones. He asked him also to 

tell white the whole o / facts
abt his letter, as he gathered
 

93
 

 

taken off one place & put in another
[[???]] [[shorthand]]

 

June 13t.  2        94
The Germans were mining 
under our trenches in the 
 

2/84

93a
The United Cable Service (Australasia)
SYDNEY
MELBOURNE
BRISBANE
ADELAIDE
NEW ZEALAND

CABLE ADDRESS
"JAGANATHA." LONDON
TELEPHONE, 6600 HOLBORN

 

LONDON OFFICE.

162 QUEEN VICTORIA STREET.
June 9th, 1916
My dear Bean,
Today I typed out the letter to Haig and Hughes has
Signed it and sent it off . I wish Whyte would come
across. We are all wondering what is best to be done about
the London representation. What we are convinced of is
that Sellheim is not the man to battle for us here. Tell
Whyte - but don't tell others - that Hughes has cabled to
Pearce urging that Moore should get the English command,
and Sellheim be returned to Australia for a badly needed
spell, for the purpose of advising the Government, and
later on returning to France to act in the same capacity as
he acted in Egypt. Tell Ross his boy is earning golden
opinions here. A fine lad. His immediate superiors are
very pleased. Kindest regards from
Keith A Murdoch
 

It rather  hurt in France to find that W. _ and I presume
Birdwood - had an idea that I had done the wrong thing in
connection with my letter to the British Cabinet on the
Dardanelles. At any rate it is fair to me that they should
know the story aright. I wish you would tell W.. Lloyd-George
and Bonar Law have both told Hughes that Hamilton's recall &
the evacuation resulted from my letter.
 

93
 

taken off one place & put in another
[[???]] [[shorthand]]
 

June 13th. 2
94
The Germans were mining
under our trenches in the 
line held by the 6th Bn. They
were right under one Company
H. Qrs. Our miners cd hear
them
Abt this time, however, our
miners were taken off tt point
to do move important work
Elsewhere. They were ordered
Flood their galleries & leave them
which they did.
N ice for the 6th Bn living
over a known mine.
Heard from Murdoch that
Hughes has asked Pearce to
give Sellheim  a holiday as
he doesn't think him capable
of "battling" w /war office
Moore wd take his place.
M. asked me to tell white
this. He asked me also to
tell white the whole o / facts
abt his letter, as he gathered
 

2

95
that white & B disapproved
of it. I told them in Ismalia
Murdoch sd tt Bonar Law
& Lloyd Georp each told Hughes
tt it ws Murdoch's letter
wh resulted in /  Evacuation
& / supersession of Hamilton
This all cuts me off
from trying to do what I
could to help Smart. There
has be a good deal of
political wire pulling abt
this force of late. For example,
some chap ^in the corps wrote to Hughes
to say to he was a loyal xxxxxx constituent 
of Hughes in Sydney, & he wa
unfit & wanted to go to
Australia. Could he have  be
him medically examined - he
had bn unable to get medical
permission before. Hughes
wrote to Birdwood - wh he ought
scarcely to have done; & B.
 

2 

96
let it go through - wh ws
distinctly weak.
Again Reynolds of the
 A.S.C. ^an old press colleague of mine
and not a good man - 
after having, so I hear, been
warned by Col White, by
Marsh his C.O. & others as
worthless & lazy, ws
turned down  ^out the other day
He went to Fisher in
London, & Fisher asked tt
some job might be found in the
force for him  - & this went thro, altho
when he lift here his appeal
was deliberately turned
down. This is a case in
wh I know  ^am quite sure that the previous
decision ws right. Reynolds
ws never any good on / press
I am not going to be
involved in these [[/]] pullings
at any cost -& so I shall
 

2

97
not say any, move abt
Smart but will leave it
to my history to correct  ^say what
xxx I think ought to be said
in that case. Smart wd be
with Moore; he wd be Moore's
brains, as a matter of fact.
Smart xx got himself disliked by
our staff from Egypt by
proposing tt / filing & registering
work of / London office
cd be done by girls as
well or better than by men,
& tt some of / hulking big
fellows or the indoor staff
there might be released for
service at / the front - a
change from a comfortable
billet to an uncomfortable
one. They stick very close
together - not unnaturally -
& so when Collins wrote to ask
if Smarts Services were needed
 

97a

leave cut down to 30  from the force per day
[[shorthand]] 30 [[shorthand]]         8
Each division & what does this mean
[[shorthand]]
 

2
 

98
Sellheim replied politely
that they werent.
I can see that Hughes, &
especially Murdoch, dont
think that Sellheim is capable
of holding Australia's end
up agst / war office - too
complaisant. So he is-&
irresolute. But Moore also
has his failings - / worst 
being probably tt he is a politician,

 wh is of course damnable.
White & Birdwood wd
rather have Sellheim than
Moore because the
dont want absolute separation
from the War office. Murdoch
& Hughes - Murdock at
any rate - do.
Butler & Herbertson
both tell me that they see signs of a jamboree
but I fear we shant be in it, Herbertson said "I dont think they want
to put the Australians up again like they did in Gallipoli

 

2 They dont want to give the Germans the chance of saying that  99
get the Australians to fight their battles for them
 

June 14th 
Hughes (Murdock says)
has written to Haig about
my photography etc. I
wonder if I can be sd to
be pulling political strings
like all the rest. I don't
think so - if Australia
wants the photos she
has to ask for them;
G.H.Q. in replying abt
the motor car supplied
tt / only way if we wanted
a light car ws to apply
to the Australian Govt.
I'm no bally good for war.
When I read a xxxxx ^ captured letter
- from ^ (a Germans) his wife - telling him how
she has bn sending him butter.
& cakes & not to worry about her -&
 

 

2/92       Appendix to diary         100a
 

NOTES ON RAID MADE BY 6TH BN.A.I.F. ON NIGHT OF MONDAY
JUNE 12TH 1916.
[Prisoners say that a dugout ws smashed & 5 men
killed by one of our trench mortar bombs during the
afternoon. A working party fro the next company was
sent to repair the trench & it was these who were some
of the unarmed prisoners-]
The raid had been practised for some time on trenches
xxxxxxx  built near one of the bombing schools. These were
planned from aeroplane photos. The practice trenches were xxx
about 8 ft.deep. (The men/^afterwards found that every turn in the real
German trench was familiar to them. This was not the case in
the raid made by the 26th and 28th Bns- which found the trench
which they raided to be barely recognisable, chiefly owing to
absence of parados).
xxxxxxxxx The raiding part had gone into training as if for sports. It consisted of two trench parties xxx 
(right and left - each 3 bayonet men, 2 bombers, 2 carriers, one
sergeant) under Lieut. Hyde (right) and Lieut, Louglin (left).
In case uncut wire was met with 4 mats (^ two layers of canvas 14ft x 4ft, with
battens) were carried. of the supporting parties (Capt.Moncur
and Lt.Rodgers) one was to remain about halfway across Nomans
land with one telephone; another was to ^go to xxxx the enemys
parapet with a second telephone, Major Daly (temporarily commanding
6th Bn.) had his battle headquarters at the parapet by
the sally port, and was on the telephone all the time.
six parapet bombers were to go along the parapet as
the raiders went along the trench and to cover them with bombs
thrown towards the enemy support trenches ^as they advanced, and thrown behind
them as they retired.
It was a very wet night - with halfmoon. The raid was timed
for moon set, when it was very dark.
The point between the Lozenge and the Angle where xx
the raid was to be made was about 220 yards from our trenches.
The ground rose slightly to the centre, so that the party was
partly covered to about half way. It started at 12.30 and had
just reached xx its waiting position half way across when our
guns opened, one gun on the right was throwing short - its
shells exploded about 10 yds to the right of the party and xx
threw earth over them. Diversions had been carried out by artil-
lery; and xx wire had been out in front of German trench by xx
our mortars xx at 5 that afternoon. A German working party
could be heard hammering in the dark hear the Angle, but tt  X
*on all neighbouring

strong points

in  enemys

frontline *

sound ceased when our bombardment began. This began at 10 to 1
At 1 the bombardment was lifted onto enemys support.
trenches and party went forward in double file.