Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/168/1 - 1915 - 1917 - Part 9

88
More done than any
bn in the A.I.F.
Bde was formed into 
one Bn ( at 12.40 pm 10 Oct)
under Maj. Crowther.

posts put up flares
to lengthen ra show
where they were.

The German planes started 
shortly after sunrise until
& flew low till midday.
You cd see / observer
looking over. Whenever a
plane came over / ^Germ posts sent
up flares (rt ; 2 yellow; left 2 red)
Our contact patrols came

89
48
ws a telephone set there
too.
The Red Line ws abt
150 yds short of this –
Lt AE [[ ?Tayhs]] & 30 men from Knoll.
24 Bn have no cases
of desertn tt they know of for
the 9/10^th Oct.
24 Bn had offrs with every
20 or 30 men wh made
a great difference.
Note the proportion of
K. to wd 39 – 84.

[*The German arty seemed
to take it for granted tt he had
lost / ground attacked, &
shelled / whole of Daisy &
the area W of it & the Germ.
posts right & left. These*]

90
withdraw their post &
were in original front
line.
Oct 10. 7.20 p.m.  49 Bn
had completely relieved
laterally (24 Bn moving
out to make room for
them).
Col. Denton knew
24 Bn were knocked
out & as soon as
Advd pties of 49 Bn.
were up he told C O 24
Bn tt they cd go.
Scales carried out
the m.g. with 12 lbs of water
in it most o / way —
till he ws told tt G. LGs
had water in them.
The 22 Bn ws probly

48
91
24 Bn.
Really took part
in 20 Sept:
In reserve on Bellevarde.
They were ^to be at China Wall
at Zero; Bellevarde Zero & x
Westhoek Zero + 4.
Laying cable during fight
from Rt Bde HQrs at
Westhoek (Gen. Wisdom)
to J 9 a 5.9.  This
ws done by B & C Coys.
German shelling ws
heavy at times —  the worst
casualties were from
prematures in rear of
Bellevarde —  abt 30.
The Bn ws filling
dumps in front line
(A & D Coys) – & struck

92
Maj Munhead
wd abt 2.30 am while
dressing Lt Bacon in a
shellhole by a shell wh
came into / same
shellhole.
Bacon came out
on relief & while standing
on / Knoll, supervising
/ men getting into positn,
ws hit by shell in thigh.
(There were 5 wd men in
the R.A.P. when Germ
he had to go outside &
dress Bacon)
24 Bn took up its
original positn in Red Line.
At 2.30 a.m. 22 Bn advised
tt they had bn forced to

48
93
several barrages, working
esp. for 7th Bde.
Abt 11 pm on 20 there
ws a collectn of 29 wd
outside Wisdoms HQrs.
After carrying all day
84 men volunteered to
clear these (on message
from Wisdom).  They
carried them from Westhoek
to Menin Rd, & some were
so done tt they had to
help each other back in some
cases.
Casualties in this fight
were abt

94
At tt time Capt Taylor
of 19 Bn had a post in Corner
or Dairy Wood at a
Pillbox.
19 Bn formed  [*Sept 23rd*]
a line from there Sergt OHara left:
thro NE corner of Daisy
to Taylor.
That night 24 Bn
ws reld in this positn by
49 Bn.
Abt 6 p.m. the SOS
went up on rt & left
but Smyth from tramline
w glasses looking at Keiberg
cd see no Germs at all.
At 10.30 relief began.
It ws not finished till
3 am. during wh 2 offrs

48
95
2 offrs wd.
Lt Seabrook:} as moved forwd
Lt May:          } on Sept 20 to
begin work they
were both wd
by shellfire in barrage – they
were sitting in part o /
old trench system on Westhoek
during barrage, before beginning
to lay cable, when a dud came
in, broke Seabrooks hand &
broke May's leg.

Went back to Devonshire.
Camp – relief finished by 7pm.
Oct 1 into Cavalry barracks.
Came up agn on Oct. 3rd –
from Gordon area by Ypres
moat – ^starting at 11 p.m.

96
With Sergt OHara
the line ws now swung
round to face SE agst /
Germans on the opposite
Spur.  The 19 Bn were
on the left.
2 men were hit
in this (Pte Bolton K getting
into one o / shellholes &
anor.) by rifle fire from rt.
S went back & sent
rest of men from wood onto
rt of Gow.  OHara ws
placed on left.  He
sent runners back to Coy [[cont]].
S went back thro wood &
met Lt Blake, 19 Bn.

48
97
Moved via to Assembly
positn near Albania —
as marked on map &
on reverse slope of hill.
Enemy ws shelling
Albania.  No barrage
on this positn.
At 4 a.m. moved up
onto J.O. Tapes, in
front of the Zonnebeke Rd
right up on 22 Bn.
4.45 Touch with 7 Bn on
rt & 21 Bn on left.  21 Bn
in touch at 5.30.
7 Bn had lost (k)
Lieut Pollock who ws to
have laid tape & had no
tape but they got off all right.

98
round & engaged them.
S. crawled round to
see if he had eno' men.
He decided he had not
eno.  He crawled to
hedge on edge of wood
& by using his rifle sniped
4 Germans.  The m.g.
contd to play.  He crawled
closer & sniped the m gunner
who fell back.
S. sniped the remaining
man, rushed the post,
took the m.g.
Pte Herman followed
him up, & states tt
6 germans were dead
there, 4 in / shellhole
& 2 close to it.
When Smyth got
back he found / diffy solved.

48
99
They lay in shellholes &
unconnected scraps of
trench (dug by x 4 Divn).
At 5.25 some shelling round
Tokio; by 5.30 it had
become exceedingly heavy.
The carrying plns, & carriers
for S.Ms & Vickers Guns
wh were in rear, were
almost wiped out, literally.
In this barrage Lieut Murphy
& 2/Lt ^Jack Worrall (son of the "Fighting
Parson" of Bendigo & Windsor)
– a splendid boy who had
joined in 3rd Reinfts as Pte
on Peninsula — wd in
Raid at Armentieres so not at
Poz  – at O.T.C during Bullecourt.
This ws really his 1st action.
Lt Murphy ws at Pozieres as

 100
front of a hedge but
had dragged it back thro'
the hedge. when xx  It ws
not manned at tt time
first – Gows pty fired
at them as they did
this & they did it.
Abt 1.45 Cpl reported
Mitchell sig.
reported to S. tt / telephone
(coming back from Gow)
was thro to relay post.
S. went back & sent
tel. mess age. (2 pm)
While he ws away
2/Lt Scales saw a patrol
coming from Dairy towds
Daisy. (Sergt OHara 19Bn & 10 men)
The post w / m.g. [[?turawds]]

48
101
Sergt & Liaison NCO Offr w 22nd. -

           ——

On right towds Romulus
Wood there ws some
resistance from the Pillboxes
in the wood & 24 Bn helped
to squash this.
HQrs at Tokio wondered at
/ first batch of prisoners
passing as soon as 6.10.
On Red Line Lloyd MC.
& Capt Ellwood M.C.
sorted their men out & got
them onto / sector they
were supposed to be on.
Many of our men went
on thro' the barrage.  The
men cd see the Germs
getting out of their pillboxes

102
telephone & a message

from xxx Lt Gow (by runner)
[ at 12.5 " In 2 partially entrenched
shellholes connecting w 

A Coy; Enemy fairly
strong on rt of road.
[There is a row of pollarded willows
on N & S of wood & they were
not 100 yds apart. Daisy
Wood is too wide on / map]
but S. Ms wd drive

them back onto the ridge.

A m.g. & a light field gun
were hidden, he sd, in
/ bushes quite close to 
where he ws.

He told S. tt / Germs
had had this gun out in

[*48 *]
103
on / crest o / ridge
& running back, & they
followed them. At 7.10
Lieut Marchant "C" went
through / barrage himself
& brought these men back.
They were up abt 6.k.

Fm.
Lieut Willcocks "C" ws k.
going up to the red Line
wh ws abt 50 yds in
front of De Knoet Fm.
from abt Romulus Wd
on rt to below the Knoll
on left.
        ——
As the barrage crept over
/ crest a Pillbox on the
rt became active below

104
 & got back to S.  )
message in by 9.5
A line ws run out
to the old front line by Cpl.
Mitchell. At. 12.45 pm 27 Bn
ws in old trench.
Next round S. got
across tramline.  There
were no Germs in wood
itself but if anyone
moved they got it from
right at long range from
Germs on Spur to rt.
Abt 2.30 p.m. the L TMs
under L^t Painter ( who had
bn firing on Daisy Wood
at Zero) were turned on

this ridge on / right

after Smyth had spoken on

48
105

/ crest o / hill. Some
of our men, 7 Bn, made
for it w bombs but the

m. g. there got them
down. They Some officer
got  L. Gun on to it &
they out flanked it.

24 Bn found tt
our barrage  were had
not put out the m.gs.
& snipers in China Wood.
Capt. Godfrey ^ (M.C.Bullecourt) in/c of C Coy
& Capt. Harriott of D Coy,
were both sniped – Godfrey
instantly k.  Harriott thro
lungs & then second thro
back, was carried
back to de Knoet Fm
& died there –  they were
 

106

hand drawn sketch - see original
S. tried to get across from
Gow to N. Post but
this ws too open — had to 
go W. &get in from there.
(W Edge of wood ws far
more cut up w shell holes)
This was abt 8 a.m.
At 9.25 S. sent of pigeon
message – runner abt
8.35 (S's batman to relay post

48
107

both sniped on the Blue
Line just as Consolidn
began.
2/L^t Baxter A Coy ws wd
just as they got over the Ridge,
by a shell - piece in chin
&piece in arm.
There were light field
guns around China
Wood. Just before Crossing 
the Crest the 24 Bn had
captured two 77 m. guns.
2/ Lt Pocknell  B Coy
ws wd just as they crossed
/ ridge by a sniper–  thro'
the arm.
[The whole Bn thinks tt
if the barrage cd have gone