Charles E.W. Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/52/1 July 1916 pt7

69
3.47. am.
66
11^th Bn. 1^st Bde Reports tt 1st 2nd &
3rd objves have bn taken. Sent orders
to 2 coys of 12th Bn to push on to 3rd
Objve as rapidly as possible & make
dispositions to secure N.flank. 
(It seems to me th / fire is very much
heavier in / distance).
Message
from Divn { The 2 coys of 2nd Bde have bn
ordered up.
4.25 - Message to 11- Do you know
anything of your right.
4.28 11^th ∧reports All units have gone too
far to left. Strong reinfs shd be pushed in rt.
Our line 50 yds N of tramline. 
We have captured 2 guns in wood.
m8. X5 A 1 5.  Keep heavy 4^th
barrage going. 
Work continuing satisfactory but front line is short of tools.
In touch on left w 1st Bn:-
Rt is open where 9 Bn shd be. Afraid

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67
something wrong there.
Snipers are pretty bad in old bldgs
of Pozieres.
1st Bde want 11^th to join up - but havent
eno' off men. Only abt 400 as far as know.
4.45. White 9^th Bn reports he is only
officer there at present - holding on but
being enfiladed 
Now plain daylight. 
2nd British Bde reports it "does not think
things have gone too well for us" but
does not know.
M.L. sends thanks to 11^th for his message
wh very valuable.
Capt JAW Kayser
12 Bn*] 
Cayzer ws wd. in his thigh when he
reported th 2 coys of 12 Bn had not arrived. 
5am Messenger from 10 Bn says tt coys are still in their line.
 10^th Bn  Possible th message to
send 3 & 4^th [[wans??]] on has not bn
received.
Bdiers message If not already done they shd send
remaining 2 Coys  to attack 2nd & 3rd objve. 

??
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68

Our line NW of Copse NW 4 D 9.9.? to Southern tramway abt 5a.3.1
Essential to make good both lines of O.G. trenches to
rail tramway at least.
[Smell of this gas like chloroform.

2nd Bde 2 coy arvd at 5.27. (from 7^th Bn).
From 9th.
At. 4.15.  Sector X5d 2.9. to X5d.2.0
to Xd 1.8 held by enemy.
No progress on OG2.  (This trench diff.
to find almost obliterated).  Special
party being sent to drive Enemy out.
This seems to be an 
impossible line - so asked to repeat.
From 10^th.
Troops v. mixed up in 2nd objective.
Pushed back from 2nd objective.
?? Am making str. pt O d 5 3.7.  Posts report
th these trenches are v very strongly held.
1st Divn says 1½ Bns sent up to right. Shd be
advanced as far as possible in cover cover permits.
into village (? am not sure I got this right) Remain under 2nd Bde.
Wh. sends 2 Coys 2 Bde to X11a 8.8. to 5d 4.3
To take up Extra ammn.

69
Contalmaison
Germ. Prisoners
Mortars or Hows.
Hows shell our men out of trench. Positn on rt.
Not thirsty
Cd get intervals in bombt.
Volunteers for duty

69
70
240 am. 2 Coys of men  in Pozieres
2 Lt R.M. White (9 Bn)

Bombt 2.30

71
5th Bns. Tremendous
bombfight.

Skillbeck. Pte. Lewis Gun
shooting from parapet at them
bombing.
Waved out more ammn. I
waved my hand & said "right oh"!
Schrapnel hit me & he ws hit
25^th July 1916
[Account gn. to me by two men of
5^th Bn, Lewis gunners, as they
came out after the fight. I was sleeping
in Albert & they came into the
room. C.E.W.B [[1/7/1^d?]] ]
Another Lewis gunner
W. Pennicuick Pte. standing
near the N. and, on top, throwing bombs
for at least an hour always standing in
drove them down to the cutting
I never saw him since

69
72
m.gs. started out about 80 strong - now about 30. No 7 ws No 1 before the finish.
Capt Leadbeater ws sending them across. Sergt Blair of A coy ws
making men break out & taking no care of himself.
At abt 1.30 am we went over / top. There were flares by / dozen & we soon had a
m.g. over us. Our arty kept up a screen but owing to having a very hazy idea o / direction
we were to attack. & / distance to go I think some of us ran into our own shell fire for a while.
Then someone must have put us right for we all swung round to / right & presently found ourselves
thro / barbed wire & in / trench. I saw no Germs. there. By this time we had lost a fair n^o of men.
Soon / word came to advance again & out we got once more - bullets & shells again - & then
into another trench. It was here th I last saw Lt McMullen LGS Officer -
He ws killed soon after. I heard th there was a Lewis g. on / left & as I had long since lost
the rest of our crew I went to find it.  I found butt stock and body cover and Cameron
& Charlie Raffles were there too, so there were 3 or my crew -
this end o / trench in

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69
search of ammn. & sandbags.  There were only dead & wd there & all
I cd do ws to leave water bottles in their reach.  At the 1st sign of day / order came to retire
to / last trench.  I had to stick w / Germ but left word w / others to try & get /
wounded men away.  When / Germans bombed our men back for the second & last time
& things looked pretty bad a message came from Col. Le Maistre
to conserve ammn & make every shot tell & it was noticeable th they did
Capt Lillie ws prac. in charge
(Cp. Metcalf.)
Lt Fitzgerald. put up a great bombing fight.

[At this time I was so busy that it was
impossible - or difficult - to keep a conservative
diary.  The notes on the opposite page were
put down about July 28 to enable me
to get my keep the dates clear in my head.
On the previous days, as far as I remember,
the xxxxx diary my movements were.
July 20 Vignacourt Contay To Sailly to obtain news of the battle
of Fromelles.
Returned that night to Contay as White assured me it
was not necessary for me to go forward that night.
July 21  Visited 1st Div HQ & thence up to head of
Sausage Gully (with Casey & M. Maas).  Visited
3^rd Bde HQ. in Sausage Gully & watched from
the ridge above it a bombt of Contalmaison.
July 22 Went up to see the bombardment of Poziēres.
Went from head of Sausage Gully up a trench
to lines of 3rd Bn (near some abandoned Germ.
guns.  Thence up further earthier red-brown trench
(narrow) across the sunken road S.W of Poziēres
to trenches of 2 Bn, & up to an outpost of 2
Bn from which I made sketch on p.46. (I forget if
Maes ws there
that day - dont
think so).
 ^X Genly known as "The Copse" on
S. side of Poz Rd.
Maclagan
at 3 Bde HQ
asked me if I'd care to come back tt night
& follow the battle from his Hqrs in Contalmaison.
[Most of My rough notes for that night are
in this book - I had to try to tried to put them down
in long hand exactly what passed in MacLagan's
dugout, but any long-hand was not fast enough to
get it all, & there are many uncompletedfinished sentences
It was, however, no use trying taking it down
in shorthand, as one never had time to transcribe
shorthand in those days.  For the days after this are July 23 the notes are mainly
in the white notebook.]
C.E.W.B 16/7/26
[*23 Jy. After being
up all night
I went back to 1^st
Div HQ & slept.
24 Jy. Went up
into Poziēres &
saw Medcalf
& others (with
Maes).
25 Jy. Wrote up
notes & message
at 1 Div. HQ.
(see book 53).

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74
Night of July 22/23 (i.e. Sund. morning)
Attack by 1^st & 3^rd Bdes.
(Meet Jess as I go back)
Reach 370 objective exc. in N.E.
for posts Bombardment stopped (I
believe) in order to allow troops to
reconnoitre N side of road.
Night of July 23/24.  (Monday morning) (I ws in Amiens & later to III Bde again)  Saw Jess there by Rd.)
Ist Bde pushes across road to Bapaume.
3rd Bde also across, digging in
on N side [Hand drawn sketch - see original text]
Pozieres being heavily shelled - work
going on steadily (I was up to orchard ^X
& returned via Gen Smythes H.Q.)
& Gen MacLagans. ?8 Bn in Pozieres 
under 1st Bde
Night of July 24/25 - the 6^th & 7^th Bns
put in this night - faile 10^th & 9^th
Bns also cooperate in taking strong point.
Tremendous bombfight.  5th driven
back, drives back enemy, driven back
again.  2^nd or 4^th Bn. either this
morning (?) bombs Germans back up
second line trench W of Pozieres (also
tremendous fight).  8 Bn N of 1^st Bde.
Germans twice c-attack.  Heavy bombt
[*[I spent all this
day writing
up notes - I
From Bde
reports to 1 Aust Div]*]

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75
Night of
July 25/26. The 5^th Bde relieves 3^rd Bde,
& 2nd Bde 1st (Exc. 4 Bn ? or 3)
20^th Bn at 12.30? goes over agst
trench between tramway & windmill - 
gets both but bombed out w casualties
In relief much of our trench on NE
of Pozieres given up; but Bennett w
6 Bn. (H.Q. xx) digging in.
1 Bde ordered to estab forward
posts 300 yds from Enemys line
(& 5 Bde on their rt). at R 34 c.6.6.
R34 d 2.3.
5 Bde {up trench to R 34 d central
& at R. 34 d.q.o.
Commn w left Div along R 34 c. 21
to X 36 8.9.
Night of July 26/27
But very heavy shelling since 5 pm.
Short ½ hr interval at 8 but became
intense again. Our arty asked for counter
battery (25 Divn arty on our right?
                 23  "        "       "     "    left)

(?? Our left rt in Pozieres is 5 6 3.1 to
5 a. O. 4)

? 17 Bn helped British to bomb up Munster alley
[*Saw Claude & Carle
& men coming out*] 

76
Day: July 27/ Heavy shelling all day.
Let up towards midday.
Came down agn in ½ hr
C. attack abt 4 o'c. beaten
off. Lots of 6 Bde wounded
(on left)
2nd Divn took over.
I saw Haig.
Night July 27/28. Slept at Contay.
July 28/. Went in to Amiens
[As I had no car I stayed first at 1st Div HQ,
Albert; (& for one night at Artillery H.Q.); then
went up to Padre Dexter's Qter camp in Becourt
wood, & stayed with him (one or two other
Padres sometimes called in, & the burial
party was in the same trench, on the other
side of our Canvas partition) until the end
of the Mouquet Farm fighting.] I kept my room
at Contay also during this time.
C.EW.B. 12/7/26

69.
77
We seem to be at present bombing
down Munster alley - hard fighting
(either we or the t Br British -
possibly both).
Bomb attack on strong pt by
9-10 Bns. on night of 5 Bn attack. (24/25^th) Youngster running after
Hun who bolted & blowing him up.
Shooting standing up - then picking
up bombs - call for more bombers
20 wd go up - 3 come back.
Russian who 4when men buried
dug them out w Lt Cheshire (9 Bn)
crying - when dug out he ran
away - (3 alive - 1 dead).
It was Bombs at / double -  Inf.
at the double - carriers at / double.
More bombs - at / double - string
of men going up & carrying

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78
Germans in c-attack cd be seen
hopping from crater to crater - probly
it ws one long effort to bomb.
On final night when 9 Bn got out
of trench & crept forwd German in good
Eng cried Halt. Everyone still as
death. Prob he thought it ws a patrol.
Then m.g. started in. Probly hit some.
Got up on word (after 2 mins v. heavy
bombt) & raced into 1st trench - struck it
almost imd. Swerved too much to
left for 2nd trench - & probably got
into our own fire.
Posts in village across rd (mgs
of 1st Bde) were shelled by own guns.

78a

78b
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End of book

78b
Dear General Walker,
you asked me to mention to you the names of
any men that I might hear spoken of as having been prominent in
this fighting.  I am afraid my notes are very casual but the following
are some of them.
Medcalf  xxxxx Capt. Metcalfe 11th Bn was responsible for the supervision
of the digging of the 11th Bn trenches beyond the Bapaume
Rd during the heavy shelling.  He was hit several times but I was
told that he carried on excellently.
Capt. Lillie 5th Bn after xxxxtxx  most of the other
officers of his battalion in the firing line were knocked out was
practically in charge of the 5th Bn in the firing line(or at any
rate/ a good part of it ) during the fight of the morning of July 25 xxx
which by all accounts was one of the hardest yet fought.
Pte.Angel of 5th Bn , a signaller attached to 2nd Bde HQ
was sent with a massage to the Battalion from Bde H.Q.  It was an
urgent message.  On the way he ran into the enemys barrage and
going through it was hit.  As he lay with his legs paralysed he
saw an officer standing I am told 200 yards away from him.  He 
dragged himself by his hands until he was near enough to get the
officers attention and delivered his message to him.  Two hours
later he was found lying there with a piece of shell in his back-bone.  The first question he asked was:  Xxxxx Did that message get
through".  I am told it is doubtful whether he will recover the
use of his legs.
During the fighting of the same morning Pte Skillbeck of
the Lewis gun detachment of the 5th Bn was in the Northern portion
of trench O.G.1 when our men were being gradually bombed back for
the second time.  Xxxxxxx More than one man tells me that Skillbeck
was noticeable to everyone by standing out head and shoulders over
the parapet beside our bombers , using his Lewis gun like a rifle.
He ran through all his ammunition and waved for more.  As he was

shouldering his gun to fetch it, he was hit by shrapnel and the xx
gun pitched away.  He was wounded.
Another Lewis gunner , Pennicuick , of the same battalion,
was always standing up by Skillbeck; for an hour at least, I am
told, he threw bombs, when the arms of the others were worn out.
The bombers of the battalion were practically all killed or woundd.
Sergt.Blair, A Coy 5th Bn , when the battalion was deploying in
the night, was making sure that the men spread out.  I am told he
was quite careless of his own safety, going up and down and forcig
forcing them to deploy and seeing that they did it.
I heard that Sergt.Heaton of the 9th Bn, who did
great work, was killed.  He was famous in Gallipoli, and they all
say he did well this night.  There is another old n.c.o. of the 9th
whose name I have forgotten who did great work and was killed.  I
will try and get his name again.
S/Lieut R.M.White of the 9th Bn on the first night was
apparently the only officer amongst groups of men from every
battalion who lost themselves towards in the N.E of the objective.  He
took charge and organised them and xxxx the digging of a line in
that part of the village on the first night seems to have been
largely due to him.He was just XxXxX E.N.E. of the hedge with the guns x
in it, about the right of our first nights line - an area in
which events were very uncertain.
I have not seen Angel himself, or anyone who xxxx
actually saw him.  But xxxxxx the signal officer of the 2nd Bde
knows of the facts.
Yours sincerely,

79

Baili wd.
Contalmn.

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Becourt Wood - tramline ouf of NW corner of
wood up Sausage Valley.
X15-C.45  X 14 d 67.
To left by route up hill & into new trench
at 15 a 33.
By route B to N of Contalmn. & into
Blackwatch Alley.  If shelling rd before
Bailiff wood go by route C. E
from. 15 C.00. & into Contalm.
Alternatives
routes to
Pozieres