Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/49/1 - July 1916 - Part 4

11     35                                                                                                                                      / bombardment & only one man
alive - whom they killed. Possibly

the trenches were crowded bec. of

this chap's warning. If so, it

was ^acted in our favour.  We want

trenches crowded when we go over, 

& when we bombard.

[The details of all these

raids, & notes of the daily 

occurrences are in other

notebooks].

From xxx Ross and I were in

a different mess ^from our old one - B mess, with

Smythe, Kennedy, Seys, Capt. 

young Carruthers, Herbertson,

Smith, and a Baker (the barrister

who acts as expert on courts martial)

& a Belgian captain of the

Belgian Grenadier Guards - a really 

nice chap who was in the siege

11        36                                                                                                                                   

of Antwerp, & retired last out of

it, pretty well; & for 2 days wandered

through woods with 200 picked

men (the rest he had sent, I fancy,

over / Dutch Frontier to be interned),

through woods, scattered at times, 

parallel w / German Cavalry till

they reached Ostend.

It Griffiths sd to me at 

dinner- "Oh, I know you'll go come

along with us" - a propos of 

Ross staying in Bailleul.

It made me think immediately:

: "Hallo - we must have orders

to go South." What I heard 

from N.Z. Div. H.Q. the next

day made me sure. No

Hastings (G.S.O 3 - intelligence) sd:

"We're particularly sorry to be

out of it now - we shd have 

11      37                                                                                                                                     

it is particularly sad to leave 

just when there is something

doing."

So that was what was

in the air.

I went to White at once

& asked about the permission

to take photos. A letter had 

arrived from Sellheim in England

saying th / War Office had sd

tt if I were given a Commission

I cd be allowed to be Official 

Photographer - & it was left to .

Sellheim sent it on to the Corps

to make me a Captain if they 

wished. I thought they wd do it

but was not sure. But Griffiths

who referred it thought so too - but

when he had seen White he 

told me tt White ws against it. 

11        38                                                                                                                            

I had suspected somehow tt White

was agst it. It is a very hard

positn for me in some ways - &

one tt I hate. I did not call

myself Captain Bean - was particly

careful not to altho' honestly

I shd have liked / rank bec. it

recognises (in a sort of way) tt

one is doing ones duty for 

/ country [and 2 make xxxx] &

not making money out of / war;

& it gives one, undoubtedly, many

privileges - it is a passport in / 

British army, nothing less. However

I'm not an officer & ws particly

careful not to call myself anything

exc. Mr Bean until for a 

whole year the Commonwealth Govt

had put it at / head of all my letters

& the War Office had bn written

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to in tt name, & the General had used

it in orders - It was no use my 

standing out agst it. But I don't

want my enemies afterwds to say

"Oh - he called himself 'Captain', much as

a rough rider calls himself "Professor".

I saw White - & he sd "Of course

we can give you a commission, Bean,

if tt will settle it - I think its

impt you shd take these photos."

I sd: "If ^I have an idea you think it will might in

any some way tie my hands if I

have to criticise this force afterwards

or any members of it - "

"Well - that is the point," 

he said, "I've a feeling tt it 

is wrong in principle, & yet

I do think it is important tt 
you shd get tt record."

I sd: "I'm inclined to think with

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you tt it is better not. After all

I have it gives one some satisfaction to think

tt one is making nothing out of

this war - I am working w / 

pay of an officer without its

increasing - as it does with others;

I get no promotion, & no 

honours; I the think ^I can feel tt I have 

been doing as much for my 

country as if quite as public a

service as if I had been in /

army - Of course, all my

inclinatn is in favour o / commission,

undoubtedly it carries privileges

wh are valuable; but if it is going

to tie ones hands in writing this

war it isn't worth it."

White sd: Well I'll tell what

I think we'll do. The 'little man'

(Birdwood) has exceedingly true ideas

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on these subjects. We'll I'll put it to

him & see what he says - & 

we will go by what he says."

So it ws left at tt.

A few days later after we

came South White told me tt Birdie

ws agst giving me / comm if it 

cd be avoided.

I too think it is better. I told

White I ws ready to lump my pride 

- after all it is a personal matter - 

& what does it matter? But at times

I long for the war to be over just to

get me out of this ^half false position wh

I loathe.

On July 6 or 7 White told

me there ws no immediate hurry

about the photos. Our Artillery

were steadily moving into the

line about Ploegsteert - a little N.

42
Our 7^th Bde had our only 

experience w our gas - 

released some for the Divn next

door (41st or 24th - 41st had

relieved the 9th)
11      43                                                                                                             

of it & S. of Kemmel. The 

7^th Bde ws in & the 2nd Bde

ws moving in. Streams of our

arty passed clattered every day down the 

long Rue de Lille.

July 8. I went with Butler

& Casey to see our new line.

We went by motor to Hyde

Park Corner - it was a

wet day - but we also The 

trees let you motor up quite 

close in this part - there 

ws a whole collection of 

motor cars standing under

the dripping forest.

We clambered up in the

rain between the tree trunks

to a green open bit of hill top ^x

where ws one of our the British survey

posts very neatly dug in to the

[* ^x on Mt Kemmel *]

11       44 

hill.
Diagram - see original document
It had a little window w a good

telescope. The Germans possibly

suspected the ^hill as being an O.P. for there were

several recent shell craters in /

grass around it - they may

have bn aimed for a trench

being dug nearby.

We wanted to get from 

there to the front line held by

our men in / valley. No one

knew quite how it cd be done.

The hill was full of our O.Ps & one o /

officers of our arty there told us that 

he thought we cd get down

by going along a trench near

by. It led us by numerous o.ps.

Diagram - see original document

11      45                                                                                                            

(in the making) down awkward

corners - from wh Messines stood 

up in a very naked way across 

/ valley.

Diagram - see original document
to our subsidiary line. There 

ws nobody in this line. Many bays

in it were so thickly overgrown w

nettles ^etc tt you cd see nothing whatsoever

from the fire step. In passing others

your whole head & shoulders 

were exposed to view. We cdnt find

a single commn running down

towards our front line. At last

the trench ran into a battered bldg

farm near Dead Cow Farm. The