Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/17/1 - September - October 1915 - Part 5

37
The little worm of a Press officer
who I think keeps a spy in our
camp in / shape of one of servants
seems to have found but tt Murdoch
ws carrying / letter. A wire ws
sent home & M. ws either searched
or forced to give / letter up. Hamilton
recd. a wire from / war office
telling him tt B. must be recalled.
t is unfortunate to this
Major had in this case at any
rate the format right upon his
side for be is a most objectionable
person. Se San Hamilton has
vevenson (who is a writer of
British reputation & quite as by
a man in his own tine as Ar
Jan H. is in his) about anarticle
written by Nevenson in which the
facts had been queried by
Radcliffe who suggested to some
of them were invented. I think
Col. Tyrell (who is a more or less
able man & cheef of intelligence
 

38
backs this little bounder up,
because he ws angry w some protest
or other of Bartlett & told Brn
agst Radcliffe censoring our letters
(wh he has be told 1s not his
duty) tyrell sd he had to pass
it on to him because he had no
time, & added that he considered
I censorship of war conespondents
reportsI least important
of his duties – wh just typipes
attitude of an obsolite class of
Butie military officer towards I democrac
wh pays for such expensive bexurils
sorta
as Delne Radcliffes & stap officirs
& pours out 13,000,000 dail on A
war supposed to by itself tot be eaged
in its own interest.
I have by as loyal as I ad
possibly be - have brought myself
into constant Crouble in Australic
by being boyal to militer rules
my own Austialion staff knows to it
can trast me to tattermost - but then
 

37
little bounder 1 British war office
has pat over us is tryen to put
every difficulty be can on my way
along a t ofd the others: sends
vorders
as by the private soldies
from whan he gets 2 reports every week
about our camp & who is
almost certainly acting as his spy
suggests there will be difficulties in
getting leave to go to lekens for I purpose
of bugiy winter things s is going to
try & fovce we to send 1 photos wh s
have never taken for pablicite & have
never let out of my own hands) to
was office wh I strongly desire to
avoid; there is no quession to havin
been turned out of our camp owing to
a quarrel w Bartlett making it
too unploasant, & out of his
cencorspip because it ws not
his right to censor - by us, the
is now trying teliberately to make
tdificultinfor as.
I well - it is worthy of a by
part of obsolite brains of British
army this sort of thing. The war
office puto this sort of difficulty in
 

40
way of men who are doing their
work as carefully loyally & serupuloush
as Nevenson & I are (for example)
& get allows any swondler
or at any rate rule- breaker, of an
officer, who gets a film or photo
Smpled home past I censor, to
have it published in 1 London
has perfect impuail
press - whs
in pablictin it, in advertism
requesting officers in flar depaics
orders to send sanclur photos
in, & in booring $1000 prizes
for them. I censors reprously all
names of officers & regients out of
tey
my letters-s by one who actuably
saw them: & allows them to be
picke up & forwarded second hand
in a bundle of exaggerations &
untratts quite uncensored from
Carro
we don't deserve to win wars.
When this happens in my department
What happens in others. Ye sods
don't we know too well
 

41
Ang 30. Went to Helles by Jam. Crawler
with Nevinson. We spent most of
day tryig to find Headguarters of
Aushalian antillery Bde - no one seemed
t have f leadt idea whene it was. The
French were witdrawing some of their infanty
& 30 troopships full of Frunch troops cereat
budros. There as all sorts of runour in
1 an abby French & Stalian landin at
16
Bulair - & a naval push
-but you can believe a word of it. What
is almost certain is to the DP&D

are soing to a
0
C611.9.2De0
5 & 17B
0y c

have just had a letter from
the actin seg of Defence in Melb. a
telling me to 1 Argus &
Age proprietors had decided to discontern
my letters bec thy are of insufficient
interest to them, & asking me for
any remarks to I cared to make on
subject. Its rather a curious request.
If they wanted remarks on 1 subject they
id get them from 1Argus & 1Age; or
they know for themselves whether my
letters are interesting or not. I suppose
Age &Aygus truk them aninteresting
because they have their own corses pt.
in cairo who can send them stuff wh is
 

yr
bound to arrive weeks before mine I is
not subject to censorshy. A doen't wake
They are Victoriam & therefore
what tege & argus want & it docsnt
make them any less interesting to about
B of what they say is not true- Iits not
the fault o1 correspts. either; they are
doing very well. The age & argus as
goot knows well did not like goot
service from I first & I believe to
Argus people in London expressed a
preference for having their news from
Kenter's ageney on Cairo & notfot
tsd they did not desire to have a man
t IAustralian forces at all. They
Empere Press Union wh represents them
I sd to have put to view, any way?
it ws I main reason why there us a
delay in authorising me to write
letters or cables at all & why I Australis
people went without any letter or cable
from me aft time when we tanded.
The Argas is getting his special steuff
from Henters agency or Cairo &
beautiful stuef it is. Not one event
in every five of those wh he relates are
true & most are wild sensational
inventions like 1 famous one abt Germans
enlisted in Austialia shooling officers here
from behind. This stuff has penty of
interest for 1 Argus. Mine spakthey
has merely I interest to I risk my life
 

43
on 15pot itself
hundreds of times over in ovder, th they
may know to every word is as true
as it can be!
Harnanwaler
Oct 1sth Doeat over DG.H.S Woday
& saw Tyrrell, chief of Intelligence.
He asked me if I wished to see the
Cin.C. I knew quite well why be
asked. Head heard what I
said about the absence of cencorohig
es
in tairo. He told me noI thought I
might want to see the Cin. C about
this. I said that II had thought it
over & it was no afair of mine.
the men there were my rival &
doing their work well & I was not
going to try & prevent them doing
it. If there we any objection it
ad be a military one & that had
nothing to do a me. He sd they
had tind to get some censorship
established in Egyst & had
failed to get anything sufficient done
He then gave are hes point of
veew about war corsespts. Yours
a dyiing profession, herd.
on 1 contrary, I rather think I am 1
I
beginning of a new propssion,
answered. I can see thIold
bart of correspt is dying - but you
have got to give I people news of
 

44
their troops. They can't send away
an expedity overseas & then put up
with absolute silence abt it. Even
Napaleon had to tell I nation
something - well, if youve got to
keep people informed is it not better to
have somebody to do it who can tell
them sort of Kings they want to know
(as faras censaship permits - it is
as far as military secrety properly
allows -) than to blave it to some
officer who anly sees the military
importance of events & not 1 public
interest in them. It does no harm
to any conceivable mellar interest
to tell people how their sonso
brother's live, how they fight, wht
a battle looks like - & to can be done
a tousand times better by a journatis
than a staf officer. The little importand
news - the outhre wh is permissable
the Tournalst can make intercity
The saff officer makes it stodgy.
where is benefit in I stap officer
In Inext war every important
staff will have one trusted journalist
attached- as a staffofficer, of you like
Tyrrell could not understand
this inI least - at Ony rate be
 

45
didn't seem to. His point of view
was: i1 people is properly organised
1 authorities need not tell them
anything at all - wh I dont believe
possible in any conceivable conditio
of a nation; secondy he had a
different pound. In a properly
organised nation 1 goot does not
need was correspts - it sumply
tells I people what it think will
conduce towards winning I was
Af truth is good for I war it tells
them truth; if a lie is likely to
wen I was it tells them lies. At
I present moment. I believe that
truth nd do good - I myself
wd like to send the ough every
word to men like Nevens on +
yourself write. But I regulations
tie my hands - you see I cant
help myself. In any case lone
ann I goot & people possesses
in was time as to een I was &
if telling lies tot people will
wen I was then tll lais to tim
(authorities shd tell lies to them
 

plenty
 

46
I sust say I shapl my ground
also on heaving to argument. If
Wenniny of a war were 1end of
all things (as no doubt it is end
of all a soldiers duties) it wd be
sound. But it ient 1 end of a
nations existence. There are ways in
in ah a war may be won wh
conceivable do far move haven
to a nation than defeat. Shink
for example, of enormous damap
to you do to a nations powers in
peace if you destroy all 1 confidence
1 public has in 1 governments
official statements
i that damage has
on done in this war to Icreditof
British goot). You may destroy
belief of all 1 small nations on
your nations honesty,
& do more
or humanity
successful
damage than 20 wars ad repair.
Therefore I think I nation must
have as true an account of war
as military necessity can possibly
permit. I quite agee you cant
hovef war correspt running a