Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/19/1 - October - November 1915 - Part 6

49
gun emplacements behind Chunuk
Bair, some behind Koja Chemen Tepe,
& some behind Abdel Rahman Bair.
The guns firing on the Apex are prob
just on / reverse spurs of K. Chemen
Tepe.
[Sketch - see original scan] 
The Abdel Rahman
tunnel guns are
usually fired / other
way, on Choc. Hills,
but sometimes on
the Apex. The Gun Ridge
or Scrubby Knoll guns fire
on Knt Rhododendron.
The W hills guns cd
probly still fire on our beach
but they have them turned
round facing the Suvla people.
There is a big 9.2 away NW of
Anafarta.

After / war he will give me
any maps or particulars I want
o / guns on any dates e.g. Apr. 25,
May 1, & 2, May 19, Aug 6-10.

Our old 5 in howitzer sights are
a bit rocky but our 6 in howitzer
(17th) are doing splendid work. The

50
Ts have never yet located / two
howitzers wh have bn firing from /
first or second day - They once put
one shell onto them - it is / only one.

Nov. 3. Wednesday.

Col. A.L. Lynden-Bell C.B, CMG
(w tempy. rank of Maj. Gen) is C.G.S.
C.Bs for Col. Harold Bridgwood Walker DSO
(temp B. Gen),
Col. Honble. James Whiteside Mc'Cay
Col. John Monash.
Lt Col. Harold Pope -
Lt Col. Granville John Burnage -
Lt Col. Arthur Plugge 3^rd (Auck) Regt.
------
(E M Woodward B.G. is has bn D.A.G.)
(W. Campbell Maj. Gen is D.Q.M.G.)

Hear in "War _∧Office News" tt last Sunday wk the
Czar sd goodlye in / "south" of Russia to
"a large force of all arms" - So there
is some mvt once again light on / horizon here.
I suppose they come by Roumania.

The men (some 1000 or so reinforcements)
who came in last night tell of an
incident wh illustrates / strange qualities

51
of Australian discipline. We have just
had our a new Austrln battation on / Southland
showing what Austrln troops are like in /
essentials of discipline – when discipline,
rather, is really essential. Their case
ws exactly / same as tt o / British
regulars on the M_____, I forget /
name (wh ws torpedoed in April off Lemnos)
& they came out o / trial very much
better. Here Now we have a transport,
the Borda, held up in Lemnos _^harbour for
over a week by / awful slowness there;
the troops were not alld to leave / ship
on boats, or row abt - (they ∧almost certainly
would have gone ashore & got some
drink & perhaps disturbed / place).
On the sixth day, or abt then - just 2 days
before they sailed - they got an idea,
right or wrong (but sometimes I
fully believe the thing has occurred on
troopships) tt / canteen ws selling
them gift stuff. Cards "From / people of
Queensland," were sd to have bn found,
wh had bn taken out of chocolate
boxes, & / chocolates sold to / troops
from / ships canteen. There is no doubt
these things are broken into & sold &
I have had more than one story told
me of their being sold in ships canteens.

52
The men cd. have gone to their officers,
& without / slightest doubt, if they had
any real evidence, / officers wd have taken
/ thing up & not let it rest until
/ men guilty got 2 or 3 years to repent it
in gaol. But they chose to take / thing
into their own hands - broke into 80
cases of bottled stout in / hold (wh
ws _^I believe going to canteens for their our own
worn out & tired troops at Lemnos) and
ran amuck generally - were lying
drunk abt / ship, a section of them at
any rate.

Of course there's something wrong here.
I have no sympathy whatever for /
ships authorities; but this sort of indiscipline
breaks down all arrangements. In this
case, for example, refreshments (beer &
other things) had bn arranged to be sent to
our worn out troops in Lemnos after
their 19 wks in / trenches; that arrangement
is upset by 1000 men straight from
the beer & luxuries wh they can get in
Egypt who have not bn doing /
work done by these Gallipoli men but
have bn waiting in Australia until
a good deal o / worst work ws over.
---
Sturdee tells me we have now
exploded 40 mines in Quinns alone
probly 120 in all parts. Ts. have exploded

Details of mine explosion on Oct. 29.
Mine ws to be blown up abt 12. Maj. Newcome
(at Scotts Point, Wire Gully) was lunching w Col. Elliott - 
he sd he ws going up to see it - Elliott sd it wd be
all right - However they started up, but on / way
heard / mine go off (felt it rather) - so came
back. Presently a message came down from
Lt Bowra by a young chap who sd tt / mine
had bn blown & tt he thought Bowra ws thinking
of going down it to see might stay to see after it.
Bowra Newcome told him tell Bowra to
come along to lunch & not think of going down
- put it in friendly terms wh / boy & Bowra
knew meant "Come down & have yr lunch &
dont be a fool." The youngster went back & told
Bowra. Bowra knew there ws a working
pty due in an hours time (Newcome quite
had not forotten this & would have taken
adequate steps - gone down himself, I think.
However Bowra The two went down / mine & / boy after
him - & they did not come back. A
messenger came running to Newcome to say tt
Bowra ws down / mine & had not come up.
He & Thom at once hurried up - & I think Elliott -
& found that Lieut Bazley of the 22nd had gone
down w a man name Currington. There ws
a ladder down / shaft
(wh ws abt 11 ft deep).

[Diagram]
Bazley had come back gassed but Currington
tho he started up / ladder seems to have fallen
back - & he too did not return

53
8 at Quinns
[[Shorthand]] Bazley [[Shorthand]] Currington  [[Shorthand]] letter king owing
[[Shorthand]] sous serving
I went up shouted for a fellow to get a rope
Thom & I went down - wont run - tried to get respirators.

Thom went to top tied ropes to steel post. Helped 2 men out

Thom sd he would go down. I let him - he is a strong man
- he wdnt tie the rope around him. I ws disentangling / rope. I asked him 
several times "shall I pull yet"  MacD & I began to pull. He sd "Dont pull 
yet" three times. I never heard him again. I was
getting exhausted.
I knew / stuff ws coming up I cd feel myself getting weak.
Another fellow came up. I got out & sent more
fellows down & gave instrns not to stay too long. Constant
reliefs keeping the pump going. I went back to / shaft I was knocked out altogether
& so ws
& so ws another
fellow whom I was

dragging along. 3 Ropes [[Shorthand]] 
Corpl Park & Shaw [[Shorthand]] 
Parke [[Shorthand]] 
Corpl Miller & Corpl Bowden w J too x.
probly J x.
150lb Ch. of Ammonal.
[[Shorthand]] 
Thing [[Shorthand]] detonated
Col. Elliott went & took [[Shorthand]] &

54
Ell [[Shorthand]] 
Thom [[Shorthand]] 
[[Shorthand]] Bowra [[Shorthand]] 
[[Shorthand]] or 625 ft 
[[Shorthand]] 

The Turks / other day blew a mine only a
few feet over / head of one of our deep tunnels. 2nd Div
The officer had told / man working in our deep
tunnel: You're alright. If they blow you, you
will probly be cut off from us by falling earth;
but you'll have plenty of air & if you take some
water w you you cant come to any harm. Just
stay still & don't get frightened & I'll dig you out
within / hour. The Ts did blow / mine - &
killed a man in a tunnel just above them.
The earth fell in on this old chap & he sat
down to wait & be dug out - when he saw
light coming over / top o / earth. That showed
there ws a hole - He scraped for all he ws worth
& got out by himself at once.
Another man ws working when / Ts blew
a mine. A crack opened, large eno' to let in gas
"I found myself on my knees" he sd "and I
just ran out. Now I think of it you'll find my
[* pick there in / right hand corner lying with / handle towards / face  - no it wasn't it was the iron towards / face" (this ws just after). Newcome found the pick there alright.*]

[Diagram - see original scan]

55

Nov 4. Last night we opened a new trench
on Harris Ridge abt 100 yds S. from
Chathams Post, our previous [[shorthand]].
There existed here some dead ground
betw Chath. & Bird Trenches. This
cd not be seen from Chath. Post. It ws
therefore determined to occupy make some rifle
shelters pits & an old T. trench ws partly
to be used for a commn trench.
A tunnel ws driven abt 70 yds
& then turned a little to left & some the
rifle pits _∧(A-A') were being prepared on
/ outer slope o / crest but were
not ready tho' they shd have bn ready
tonight. Last night however we
opened up / old T. trench (built
to oppose our landing at Kaba Tepe)
& some firepits off it near / crest of
Harris Ridge (B-B') We had bn in /
old Turk trench all / night before,
clearing it & working at a sap
at / S end of it to go forwd to /
crest. There it will meet another
old trench & will (probly older than /
first) and will just tap it & swing
to / left. The Turks this morning
saw tt we were in these trenches.

Tonight at 8.30 a party of

X
It ws abt 11 pm . I had gone up _^earlier to the
H.Q. of 2 LH Bde. on hearing / noise - and I
ws sitting there w / old Bdier & Foster while
messages came in & were sent out. They were
v. insistent at / Bde on / necessity of taking /
place w / bayonet if necy - & had sent out a
final message asking that steps shd being
be taken to send out a patrol to peti make
sure tt this sangar ws not permanent &
if possible bring back / bags. A lot of messages
were coming in wh Foster read out, but
I ws waiting for / answer to this one.

[*Wilson of 
the 5^th had sd
 tt they
had / 
place 
under 
control 
by bombs.*]
Presently a rcd message came in wh
F. began to read out loud - & then handed to /
Bdier. The old chap took it in his right left hand
& read it. Then he read it again. He took his
pipe out of his month for a minute, still
looking hard at / message, & rested his hand
put the laid / pipe down. Then he shaded his
eyes w his right elbow on / table &
read it over & over - looking v. serious. I
knew as well as if he had told me what
ws in tt message. They sd tt they had / place
absolutely under control by bombs; tt they cd
turn / enemy out w bombs whenever they liked;
but that it wd mean loss of life to send out a
patrol - and Ryrie ws wondering within himself
whether he ought to send these few men, whose
death or wounding ws almost certain, out to
their death. Two or 3 wd be killed at least. Was
it essential? For 5 minutes he thought. Then he
sd something tt made me guess he had decided agst it.
He spoke to Col Wilson on / teleplone, & told him it ws not necy to go.

56
Turks came up within 15 yds o / trench
end on S & E, built a little sangar & bombed. The
C.O. 5 L.H. reported this & at once got message from bde.
"Please state steps you mean to take to
drive enemy out o barricade and
time you intend doing so."
In 5 LH. 1 man had bn k. & 12 w. Our bombs
(esp the Shanghai Batty - six in action
this night, but one lost a rubber & had to
be withdrawn) drove / Turks out
o / sangar. (Shanghais will work safely
to abt 150 but break strings over tt.
but you can work 150 till Doomsday.
16 in rubber has to be stretched to 5 ft for
220 yds.) Pits are still being worked
- for quick work they work double shifts & 
short shifts & no contract miner ever
worked harder.
From / dead ground behind this knoll Z
the Ts enfilade Ryries Post &
the reason for our tunnelling ws
tt they had bn doing some work
at / back & in / dead ground. They
had not sniped from there yet but
they would were apparently racing
us for / knoll.

X 
White it ws who originally wanted us to get
(1) to Chathams (2) to this knoll (3), but not necessarily, B P.
[Diagram]  
Maclagan opposed & when it ws decided
on he fought for keeping back his left. Turks got in &
established Leanes trench L-L.  Then when Chathams ws
finished the L.H, were so pleased w it they scarcely wanted to go further.

[Nov. 5^th]

57 
Sergt Corpl Rickard's Patrol work
[Diagram - see original scan]

This Birdcage is

possibly a screen

or an observation 
front of it.
5 or 6 Gurkhas at A.
Wilts rifle at B. (old T. trench there)
C. Dead Wilts shot thro heart.
D. Natural dug out. One bed at each end - leaves
underneath on wh they had bn sleeping -
Empty sandbags under 1 bed.
Outside 2 men lying - in bed of Ck, one
without boots & putties, bare feet; other
alongside him. Someone put a white
shirt over one man's head. Only one
had a disc. Inside, on little ledge
ws prayer book w Sergeants name
(from Glasgow), razor, shaving brush,
1 pr boots in bottom of gully, another
in dug out, kit there & 700 rounds,
rifles, 10 mess tins, I water bottle w
big stone in it (wh rattled), Gurkhas
water bottle, one mess tin full of fresh
water. Abt a dozen empty emergency
ration bags, but nothing in any of these

58
old tea tins from Emerg. rations.
E. in bed of Ck. one Gurkha without rifle.
F. in bottom of Ck. two Wilts without rifles, w
one entrenching shovel & bullet hole thro' the
centre of it.
[Lot down near Snipers Nest].
Near Sugarloaf where 3rd L.H. are we got 2 more
discs - 1 Wilts, one L.N.Lancs. These two must
have be chums. One ws shot thro' / head - 
wandered thro bush - we found rifle in
on place (tracking him thro' scrub) equipment
in another. The L.N.L is lying face down
w his waterbottle in his hand - you
cant get it out. His rifle had no bolt.
Their pay books have bn taken out of all
their pockets.
Also signaller of Wilts w one 2 flags further down.

----
Rickards put letters on a tree - all
were taken next day - we stuck these letters
all over / tree.
Every night up these gullies you
can hear / shouting thro megaphone on
beach. One wag of a T. / other night in
I trench started to cooee when _^he heard it.
Our Patrols used to whistle but / Turks got onto it
& copied it.
Two our men were stationed 20 yds

outside trench. Relieved at midnight. Shortly
[*after one 
called out
tt / other 
ws shot; 
he ws*]
pulled in. In morning he ws found
hit on head w rifle & knife put thro'
his heart. He ws a good bushman - 
probly sitting a little outside trench.
T. patrols can get out much sooner