Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/172/1 - October 1917 - Part 4

52     38
have not bn seen
by him since. / message
didnt get thro.
Lt. Herrings runner had
got thro to him during
/ day - got lost &
made for this point.
At 5 am. M.
left a Sergt of 40 Bn in
charge, with abt
15 wd, & went towds

Deck Wood to pick
up / rest o / line.
They got thro' a barrage
wh ws on. Not far
from / previous days
advanced consolidatn he

found a wd man of D Coy.
While fixing him up

52     39
Capt Trebilcock
came along. M told him
he ws going along to pick
up the Bn. T. told him
they had retired onto
/ original line. There
ws an offr. near there
wd; while they were 
arranging to carry
him in (Lt Potter w mg Coy)
w broken leg - Germs
came out from the

Bellevue Ridge w
Re white flags & began
to carry in wd.
Within a few minutes
our men & NZs
began to do / same &

52     40
all / day this
continued. There ws
no fire at all on
stretcher parties.
M sent a runner
then to the P/B where
Sergt of 40 Bn was. Whether
all / men there got out
or not is uncertain but
it ws visited later by
Jackson 40 Bn.
Baxter. After leaving the
Farm H. it ws clear
eno to see Paschendaele
church. After / despatch
of Mackenzies pty
they moved higher

52     41
up / ridge towards
Deck Wood to get
away from the Swampy
Ground. Bellevue got
onto them w m.g. fire
& / men were in shellholes.
They were a mixture
of men from all Bde.
Two L. gunners of 40
Bn were in a shellhole
there. B. got into shell
hole w them. They
brought covering fire from

here to bear on a point
on / slope below Bellevue.
from wh the smoke of
m.gs. cd be seen &
gunners moving.

52     42
They seemed to be in
shellholes. There were
2 guns. B. got
the L. guns onto them
shouting out to /
men near by to go
forwd while / guns
were going. The men
went on while the
mgs were going. Then
ammn ran short &
German m.gs started again
but by this time fully
40 men were on the
lee side of the spur.
From there they were
able to get up to where
our men cd be seen

52     43
digging. There ws
German shellfire on
them but in / mud
it ws not effective.
B waited till abt
8 a.m. a fairly heavy
shower came down,
& got forward in this.
Capt Latchford & Capt.
Trebilcock were on
this line ; Maj. Giblin, 40
Lieut Fleiter 39 & 
Lt MacNichol 37 Bn
(no relatn of Bdier).
& Lt Herring 38 Bn aftwds
wd.

52     44
As soon as B arrived
a Germ. plane came 
over & dropped 3
bombs. No L.G. ws
fit to fire at him, owing
to mud - some were
being cleaned, / men
tearing their shirts up
to do it.
During / morning Germs
in pties of 10 or so cd
be seen coming from
Mossel markt, getting
down towds / blockhouses
in 5B. & filtering down
from there towds Graf
Wood. 2 L.Gs were

52     45

got onto them from
rear of Haalen Wood
at 1100 yds. At the
start they were scattered.
Later they came much
lower along / valley in
front towds Graf wood.
Abt 9 a.m. Sergt Bourke
of C Coy 38 Bn who had
bn up near Crest Fm
(& had got two Tommies
who were there unwd.
lying under a W.P. sheet)
came back. He had bn
thro' our barrage -
The oppositn they met
had come from the Windmill

46
In the Red line,
tho Bellevue ws
behind, they got
no fire from it.

52     47
stn _∧ West of Broodseinde
Rd S. of Paschendaele.
They did not know
what ws / positn at
Crest Fm. (These Tommies
will be the same two).
At abt 11 a.m.

Crest Fm seemed
to wake. Haalen
wood obstructed / 
view to it ; but
abt 11 a.m. m.g. fire
opened & ws chipping
/ top o / parapet.
It ws by this fire tt
Lt herring ws caught
- wd in right breast
- a flesh wound.

52     48
The Germs got arty fire
behind the Red Line
- into / valley a few
yards back.
The line probly
ran along / hedge beside
/ dotted road in 11B & D.
The road up / valley
(wh cd _∧ only just be picked
out) wasnt extreme
left ; beyond tt /
valley ws impossible.
The only way of
holding wd have bn to
get supplies up along
/ ridge by night along
/ Broodseinde Rd w