Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/45/1 - June 1916 - Part 10

2 105
the Anzac doings - as if
I ever did - but I know
what they mean:
I have just been up to the
Chateau. Birdwood was having
Godley (just arrived) to dinner
there. When he came into the
ante-room after dinner Birdwood
said: "Have you seen the papers.
abt the Anzacs, Bean?" I sd "yes - Sir - I see
their making a great deal of fuss
over that little raid (the first). They
have printed a message from men
mixed up with a lot of other
stuff . . . "
"Very annoying, isn't it?" he
sd. I agreed.
"There's that photo, too, of the
men who engaged in the raid.
most annoying. It says at / bottom
tt / men have all bn given special
leave - They'll be writing down
here & wanting to know if it's
 

2 106
a fact tt I gave them leave".
There ws / photo o / Anzac
party at Horseferry Rd cheering
/ camera — in Brooks best
style tho' I dont suppose he
took it. The Commonwealth Office
must have arranged for this.
Birdie turned over / page
& there ws my short little ¼ column
telegram. He read it thro
"Did all this go thro' the
censor, Bean? he asked.
I didn't know what he meant.
l shewed him / part I had
written & told him tt all went
thro / censor.
"Do you mean to say
all this . . ." he asked & read it
again.
"Well, if he passed it I
suppose it's all right," he sd . .
in a tone of voice wh showed
tt he meant it ws all
wrong.
 

107
I ws a bit hurt because tt
telegram was a modest strictly
accurate account of our first raid.
I had cut every possible danger out of it.
I had not mentioned / size of /
party. I had not sd to they waited
in Nomansland. I had not
sd tt they stayed there before
coming back. I had rather
implied / opposite.
"I see they think we were
at Ypres", I sd.
"Yes, I dont mind tt," he
sd in fact I'm rather glad
of it . . . . ."
Which ws absurd - because
if our own official communique
says' we are at Bois Grenier
And / Germans know we are here
the only people who are misled
by saying we are at Ypres are the
Australian people. Mine ws a modest
straight acct. with not a word of
brag in it.
What was dangerous ws tt
 

2 108

/ men in London let blabbed out to some
^newspaper / fact tt they waited in Nomansland;
tt they had coins from / prisoners
(wh, even if they bought them, ws
an unwise thing to say); the
London photo gave ^away thet numbers
of the party; & someone in
London sd tt they had been
given special leave. As the
British Govt have not / strength
to put a censor on / press
there, all these things, wh
I refrained from mentioning
were given away by / min
themselves in London. If
the enemy shells Nomansland
next time we have a raid -
he will have had the tip from
the raiding London press
As Ross said – some of little
Birdwoods own letters, which we cd
show him in the N.Z. Press, contained
far more dangerous matter (abt the
 

5/66
 

[printed image of a medal]
 

Vol. 1 pages 27 to 63
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Vol 2. pages 69 - 78 - 79 - 80
and 82. missing
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Vol. 4. page 55
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Vol. 5.
pages 1 -13 - 14 - 15 and 17
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Vol 6
pages 33 to 77
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Vol 7. pages 5 and 9 to 13
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 Vol 8 - pages 20 to 61
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Vol 9 pages 1 - 2 - 85 - 86 - 99 -100
101 - 103 - 119 172 to 212 missing
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Vol 10 pages 5 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 19 missing ✓

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Vol - 11 pages 7 - 14 - 17 to 62 missing ✓

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2 109
reorganisation of our force
in Egypt etc.) than anything
in my very harmless little
telegram. Butler & Herbertson
who read the telegram sd they cd
see nothing whatever that
could be harmful in it. Hasrtie
read my notes on the last
raid yesty - my private notes
wh. of course are quite different
from anything I shd think
of publishing - and I think
he ws rather afraid tt I
might publish them.