Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/100/1 - February 1918 - Part 1

AWM38
Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.
 

Diaries and Notebooks
 

Item number: 3DRL 606/100/1

Title: Diary, February 1918
Includes notes on the 9th and 41st Battalions,
Gallipoli, Mouquet Farm and Bean's visit to Paris.

AWM38-3DRL606/100/1
 

Original      DIARY No.100
AWM 38     3DRL 606   ITEM 100 [1]

DIARIES AND NOTES OF C.E.W. BEAN
CONCERNING THE WAR OF 1914 - 1918

The use of these diaries and notes is subject to conditions laid down in the terms
of gift to the Australian War memorial. But apart from these terms, I wish the
following circumstances and considerations to be brought to the notice of every
reader and writer who may use them.
These writings represent only what at the moment of making them I believed to be
true. The diaries were jotted down almost daily with the object of recording what
was then in the writer's mind. Often he wrote them when very tired and half-asleep;
also, not infrequently what he believed to be true was not so - but it does not
follow that he always discovered this, or remembered to correct the mistakes when
discovered. Indeed, he could not always remember that he had written them.

These records should therefore, be used with great caution, as relating only what
their author, at the time of writing believed. Further, he cannot, of course vouch
for the accuracy of statements made to him by others and here recorded. But he
did try to ensure such accuracy by consulting, as far as possible, those who had
seen or otherwise taken part in the events. The constant falsity of second-hand
evidence (on which a large proportion of war stories are founded) was impressed
upon him by the second or third day of the Gallipoli campaign, notwithstanding that
those who passed on such stories usually themselves believed them to be true. All
second-hand evidence herein should be read with this in mind.
16 Sep., 1946.                   C.E.W. BEAN

AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
ACCESS STATUS
OPEN

 

Write to Wagstaff
abt. the collectn
of [[?]]. American
_____________
2. Let him know
the address of AWRS.
______________________
Write to [[?]] to know what it
[[?????????]]
________________
[[?]] Book for Magruder
was [[?]]
White abt Aust [[Badge?]]
Exp. a/cc for Cutlack.

101
100
Diary Feb 15 - 17
1918
AIF Xmas Book Fund.
Anzac Book Fund
Photo Fund
Dysons   _"
A.G.W.     _"
Exhibn    _"
Offrs Club.  Letter to L. Beaverbrook.
The Liar & the D A & QMG.
[[?]] Graves

Frid . Feb 15th . Had to leave
for the staff train for Folkestone
& France to meet Cutlack
at Boulogne & go tomorrow
to the American front via
Paris. Cadge says tt we
cannot get to leave the front
before the 8 a.m. train from
Paris on Monday - but
 

101
2
9 Bn Landing.
Knightly, 9 Bn, ws a sergt
at / landing, in Salisburys Coy. He
landed on a broad bit of beach - the bullets
were whizzing so fast tt he flopped down
half way as if he were dead & scrabbled
up some sand. Another man behind
hin did / same. Then he sd to / other "Im
going to make a rush for it" & got
up to under / cliff. The fire where
they landed (he thinks it was Anzac Cove)
ws coming from all along / top o / 
hill to their right.
They did not see a
Turk in / advance. They rushed up
thro / scrub, & down & up xxx over 3 valleys hills , he
thinks. At last they started to digin in x
scrub. Ryder ws there; also Dougall -
also Kerr who ws aftwds k. & Chapman. Someone
?Ryder? or Salisbury? there gave / order to charge further. They had just taken their packs off. It ws an open
patch where they were. Some one sd: you mustnt
stop here - you've got to go further! So they put on their
kit & rushed on into / scrub. Dougall w his rifle &

101
3
that seems absurd.
We will try & get away
on Sunday morning at
the latest.
They have just put 
up a most excellent
officers club at Boulogne
with 200 beds - It is
an asbestos building 
of two stories temporarily
put up on a piece of 
waste land near the
station. There is a
comfortable lounge with
about 60 big armchairs,
writing tables, copies of
the English papers &
"La Vie Parisienne" T
 

101
bayonet in one hand shouting "Charge!" so tt Knightly had to
laugh. They pushed mostly thro scrub & lost all / rest & finally Knightly [[?]]
[[stacked?]] his 18 or 20 men. They were
getting heavily sniped
but they cdn't see a thing.
K. decided to take his men
back 300 yds to / top o / hill behind
As they were going an officer (he doesn't know who) jumped up in /
scrub & sd: What are you doing - you mustnt retire. Knightly sd "We're
not retiring - we're only going to dig on xxx higher up where we can see.
But / officer wdnt hear of it - he
told them to go on. So they
went on & on thro / scrub
until they came out xx on a rather stoney part where there ws a
row of trees; & under / trees was a cliff 40 or 50 ft high acc. to K's memory.

101
5

a bar where you can 
get drinks up to
9 (I think). There is
a big cloak room
full of valises, sleeping
bags & all sorts of kit
downstairs, & a
bathroom (all xx shower
baths); & upstairs
several dormitories
with clean beds, separated
by curtains.
The lounge was
crowded with young
officers when we went
went into it before dinner.
Every regiment and arm
- & the navy - & the
 

6

In front of them / country opened out wide & green, w. a gentle
slope abt 2 miles away (behind which he took to be / narrows for /
T. troops later came over it). There ws a brown horse on / plain & as there
were no T.s in sight they sniped at the horse & made him up w his tail
& clear. After a while K. crawling round, saw figures of men on
the next ridge Behind them - 4 or 5 men in / scrub, near an open
patch. They wd jump up from / scrub & fire at somebody further back still
& then down again. K sd to his men - We're cut off - we'll have to get
out of this! The Ts. abt / same time had appeared coming in great 
numbers over the green slope opposite - in extended order, making
rather scrambled rushes. The Ts. in rear were a bit S. - Gaba Tepe
way (tho K. cdnt see the sea). He took his men southwards & there, a
little way down, met another party of men under an officer - (or rather
two offrs - but one of them ws badly hit in the stomach, & a Sergt. Major - probly
all 2nd Bde). He told / offr. tt he ws cut off. The offr (who ws a little chap w
glasses) sd:" Nonsense dont fire whatever you do - their our own men" K.
sd he wsnt going to fire but he'd never seen our men in baggy
black trousers! The pty of the 9^th coming in seems to have attacked
the Ts. bec. they began to turn around & snipe. Our men at last. Some
of them started to run back. K. sd to the Segt Maj. (or vice versa):
{See 7 pages ahead
after 51 Bn]
 

101
7

United State (here &
there) - lounged upon
the chairs & smoked
( chatted& read. Around
the doors into / dining
room ws a crowd of 30
or 40 waiting their
turn for a seat.
We got in after 10
minutes. There we 3 or 4
officers at each small
table. The club is run by
the Expeditionary Force
Canteen (called E.F.C. -
Everything is known by its
 

101
8
51 Bn Mouquet.
Sergt Ramshaw: 51 Bn. Mouquet
Farm. The going over ws easy
eno! They ^went uo to / left o / farm. They had no touch with
anyone on their right. They
saw ^our men in / Farm whom
they took to be / bombers.
They crossed the 1st [[trench?]]
- they had bn told not to dig in
there but to go on further &
dig a line of their own. They
went on over it (it ws a
commn [[trench?]] just about
onto / crest of / rise.
To / right of them they saw
the two big mounds o / 
Fm. They didnt notice
any further mounds at /
back o / yard. They

101
9

initials in the army.
There were seated at our
table two other officers -
most curious company
as it turned out.
Opposite me was a
rather wizened office
of 35 or 40 - a lieutenant
he showed, almost as
soon as he first joined in
the conversation, that
he was fairly "half a
sheet to the wind" as
they say. On my left
was a clean shaven
boy, who saw my ^overseas service
stripes & asked me if
I was out with the first
Expeditionary Force. I
 

101
10
were led by Lieut Bailey
thro' their own barrage xx &
xxx started to dig in but
found that it ws their own
shells wh were falling on them.
L^t Dawkins ordered them to
come back (abt 20 yards?)
& gave them a line to dig in
on.
At this time you cd
walk abt freely behind our
barrage - there were never

any m.gs from / farm
& they took it tt / Farm
ws solidly held. Indeed,
wd men xxxxxx were directed 
back there. Lieut MacCallum
who ws hit fairly early in
head by shrapnel ws fired

101

11
told him I was not - 
that I was in Gallipoli.
he said he had been w
/ Naval brigade at 
Antwerp & then went
on to vouchsafe tt
he had been, earlier, in
Liège, & tt he ws one
o / few people who
knew tt there were
English soldiers there on
August 1st, 1914
That mad Cutlack
& myself prick our ears
up - I did not believe
him from / moment when
he said it - because england
did not declare war
until Aug. 4th & it ws
 

12
101
up & sent back there -
Ramshaw saw him go.
Abt 1½ or 2 hrs after
/ advance our barrage
began to die down & /
m.g. fire to grow. it
became very hot indeed.
L^t Bailey sent Ramshaw
over to / rt to get see
where the 52 Bn were - but
he cdn found Germans
in / trench ahead of him.
He reported back. Shortly
after, Bailey was walking
back from / front line as is to
give an order to some of
those just in rear when he was
sniped through the head & killed.
Abt ½ hour later - as
 

101
13
uncertain whether
England wd join in
until August 3rd.
but Cutlack, who is
a remarkably coolhanded
chap, half believed him.
The ch fellow said he
was an Englishman,
but born in Belgium,
& that he had at that
time been an interpreter
for the Belgians attached
to the British. He said
that General Leman had
set him to show the points
of the country to two
British officers. Then
Cutlack began to cross-
examine him. Cutlack
 

14
101
 

Sergt Ramshaw with another
man (R. had been wd) were
lying in the shellhole they
cd see Lieut. Clifford sitting
up in/ trench about 10 yds
away - his whole chest &
shoulders showing - looking
round & urging / men on
to dig. [They had to dig a
lot of trench to / left to 
connect up w a post "of 
the Tommies" ^X ? Pt 77.] R.
^X we only had to mark this [[trench?]]. The Canadians were to relieve us & dig it.
called to Clifford to keep dpwn
or he'd be hit for a certainty.
Presently he dropped ^or bent forwd
hit thro the head & slipped
down. It ws shortly after
this tt / Germans suddenly _↓

101
15
has the hide of the devil.
He tackled this chap
exactly as if he had been
a barrister. The boy
first said he was in
Liege on Aug 1; then
he said he was not
there till Aug. 3rd; then
tt he was only there for
a few hours on Aug 3rd
& xx left as there ws
nothing for him to do;
then he sd tt he ws
sure he had seen
4 corps of Gordons; then
when he ws told tt /
Gordons cd not have
bn there he sd tt they