Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/58/1 - September 1916 - Part 4

Conflict:
First World War, 1914–18
Subject:
  • Documents and letters
Status:
Open for review
Accession number:
RCDIG1066822
Difficulty:

Page 1 / 10

a to the H. 5k the passage a kilonich con tthef B Coy ptat tenknown wh it suppose 6 point 42 t right Taj. E out E Out w on from this in Adaxvell saw by youg 5 Sahsin to t 33
S 19 34 back I Dater Stll iat 1t 180C D us ie 5 Aust Bde) 0 6 6. 42 66 is is on Dunea (3t as report) & O pt Steat the net a the 13th Field ambee. 8 ae eaving todla Amib. to kindly letter us use their citation till thi wakked up to Buckfilds to see if Duncan & Arthur Maswell had come out with 52n Br. Only the first want Lad ye to
19 To its cookers. M mnareed I tell you, be's a hero, Sixt they said - edeo Vi. man did! You ever should hear the men speak E4 an when I wh D the I hear hew tt be ws alright asteep; & for him. ght too they aand flewr twoalber er the of the 52 5 Ct commne 4 W.C. Measwell did Then four hors at gem 52 12
Bn ill the ot w att t b f f tng 2 th It Black the 6 rl 5the Malong I road & on one of tem in a widle Husticilian hat he recodnised Irecogntad He almost tumble r He was oide oh it in lost st Spotic v malle & had to puce ilf occase his thoughts together before he ca go on. His cheeks were a little kin & his eyes by Di half tearful. Aw von wn in his boots. i when last I saw Arthur he lright hedd when we through headquarters geeres (they spoke H.0. in ere og ieres as rgh olute haven of rest) they ad he had gone back to cey edget touch with a compa thats lost - Bloy our
38 1 out fot lik thought ofe w into trouble. 19 44 39 4 II bout fr N0 th them w said 56 D told him Id 1on 5 ha pois or hear of Arthe He rode I 0 t the ered to find A im no walk in the boots o the hill past la Borsly ser tall your it it a little on or it ws wother Wyards I cont gau his great that well (than good 6 6fort of 6pot 3
19 40 the tick of a like that one- in Tasmania o te other i was almost ficer was bit for. of walked back w. Arthur light of hear not the least reason bac at I was tur Poyieres for the last time. He told me that Duncan ad a tr ope the kid gets ight. this he sd in 9 f who his brigadier told me, is less wort had been that Dunco He d of 1 to taken pont line above the Les officer there. His a had bee After 24 th
12 Nort t hill 74 1 M1 as t to tfit h Hi still there the 6 in Mincan w trench it the battered to w a the atter that E.D 100yar A 42 2 e Captain Lorat tell you the te done Rot! he wly 36 47 19 l
43 be all to tak fit fit wend I cect that the in d w c the furter ty n He it a tirn hasing I leked the h let ms at he was oi fficers in th the only two th aarything te tfair- little thats
16 44 with him a Duncan whom t m.9 et Col. 13 treed 6 officerB to promote to be. he was diont like him Tho wa the sort rese 1A an fficer thought tthe B it w ably step in & promote ver the Colore to the m. g. co that during the i been his fight ht hand man & left haw tooh man Black. He never did without consulting him Then Kergl Black was very hit. He draged himself to Dune said he wanted to stop with him ot to go back. could be do anythi thenk I. a Lewis un head, but if other chap and tell som cano how to do it. Ho Dun
45 Back pater. He got through all right. lee He us shat thro' th th nt ith 1oth He led another nr.9 ins on one ad two old 7 an 1 along be 4on Fell tod 19 46 When ive. Black wa East see pa ap ton line show the pupp other ma I think o the way. Hedi the sap to be rear if this is wrong-su Br was the yt to Gl Bee no the. So to not fin h 1 up th Ather thinks to rail trench responsible for the tt of hit iture Bey en 1bre ontie HD foth the 9 ith a.C saw t it in the 6 70 Arthur

32a
I was extraordinarily well
pleased at the way our
men stood the shell fire - & their
demeanour under it.  The way
to the Headquarters in Pozieres
Tramway Trench was absolutely
open as far as K trench.
The Canadians both in the
trenches and out of them
were some of them bending low
& running hurriedly into
or out of the trench.  Our
men were walking as if they
were in Pitt Street - erect!
not hurrying, each man
carrying himself as proudly
& carelessly as a British
officer does.
'Drawing - see original document'
When I was
at X the enemy
was shelling
from two almost opposite directions with whizz bang &
from other directions with 5.9s

19     33
German sd they had
a passage a kilometre
long into the farm.
2 B Coy platoons
unknown whereabouts
were supposed to
be in point 42
& to right.
Maj. McPherson
went out towards
them but ws fired
on from this point.
Arthur Maxwell saw a German
between Monquet & 59.
____________________
Sept 5th

 

19    34
Later still;  on my way back I
called in at 1st Canadian Divn.
1st Canadian Divn
gives me line (from
13 Aust Bde) as
59 to 6.4½ - 66.
(This is founded on Duncan
Maxwells report).
Sept 5th.  Slept the night
at the 13th Field ambce.
They are leaving today -
2nd Canadian F amb.
taking over & kindly letting
us use their kitchen till
this morning.
Walked up to Brickfields
to see if Duncan & Arthur
Maxwell had come out with
52nd Bn.  Only the first
ragged remnant had yet
turned up & ws lighting sitting

 

19     35
round its cookers.  "Mr Maxwell
- I tell you, he's a hero, Sir!"
They said - "he deserves a V.C.
if ever any man did!  You
should hear the men speak
of him."  Every man, when I
inquired where Duncan was, sd
the same.  First I heard he ws
wounded;  then tt he ws alright
& ws at La Boiselle, asleep;  &
a horse ws being sent for him.
Arthur ws alright too, they sd.
I walked down thro' Albert
towa & out on the Bapaume Rd.
Bits of the 52nd were continually
passing - odd men.  I met
an Bn officer whom I knew
Duncan did not like.  "By
Jove, ^that chap cd command a division & if ever a man deserved
the V.C. Maxwell did", he
sd.  Then four horses with
riders coming at a slow pace

 

36
C Coy 52nd Bn is thought by
all the others to have failed
& turned & run in the
original attack.  It was
not well supported - & the
battalion is badly off for
officers.
Littler
Serge Brown ?Black [[ shorthand ]]
[[ shorthand ]]
Arthurs [[ shorthand ]]
The scene outside the [[ shorthand ]]
Col. Ferguson.
V.C.
Holland [[ shorthand ]].
Canadians going for [[ shorthand ]]
The Posts restored to 36.
[[ shorthand ]]

19    37
along / road & on one of them
in a wide Australian hat
I recognised & he recognised
me.  He almost tumbled off
his horse.  He was wide eyed
& his eyes looked straight
at you solemnly as if he
did not understand.  He
spoke very slowly & lost himself
occasionally & had to pull
his thoughts together before he cd
go on.  His cheeks were a little
sunken & his eyes big & round
& half tearful.  His voice was
down in his boots.
"When last I saw Arthur he
was alright", he sd.  "When we
came through headquarters in
Pozieres" (they spoke of H.Q. in
Pozieres as though it were an
absolute haven of rest) "they
said he had gone back to see if
he cd get touch with a company
of ours that's lost - B Coy" -

 

38     19
I am sure Duncan was
worrying about Arthur - I too
thought he wd very likely get
into trouble.

39 
"I dont think he'll find
it", I said.
"No - I could never
get touch with them" said
Duncan slowly.
I told him I'd go on to
La Boiselle & see if I could
find or hear of Arthur.
He rode off & I walked on.
I was going to the regimental
H.Q. at Pozieres to find out
what they knew of him.  It
was pretty tiresome walking
in the mud in my very
heavy boots - and I was
immensely relieved when,
going up the hill past La Boiselle
I saw a very tall gaunt figure
coming down it, covered with
mud, tin hat a little on one
side.  I was sure it ws Arthur
- & at about 30 yards I could
see by his great gaunt smile
that he recognised me.
Well thank God - two
chaps of 6 foot 3 & 6 foot 5 to

 

19     40
get out of the thick of a
scrap like that one - two
of the best men in Tasmania
- when almost every other
officer was hit - it was almost
past hoping for.
I walked back with
Arthur, light of heart;  &
not the least reason was
that I was turning my back
on Pozieres for the last time.
He told me that Duncan
had had a tremendous
fight.  "I hope the kid gets
something out of this," he sd
- not a thought of himself,
who, his brigadier told me,
had been doing priceless work.
He said that Duncan had
had to taken command of the
front line above the head of
a senior officer there.  His
messages had been superb.
After 24 hours heavy fighting
holding the exposed open flank

 

41
German
Communicatns
fighting
Australian Commns.
Monquet
'Drawing - see original document'
The Germans were using their
Trench mortars very intelligently
- we were too mixed up for
effective artillery fire but Trench
Mortars can ^be fired where the two
sides are right up agst one
another.
The Germans were able to get
their T.M. ammunition up
because their commns. were
more or less hidden from us.  Our
commns on the other hand were
open to them down the face of the
hill opposite Monquet.

19    42
on which the Germans were
hammering, he wrote:
"Canadian reinforcements
have arrived.  Captain Lovat
will probably tell you the
Australians are done.  Rot!"
Thex ^next afternoon he was
still there being slowly driven
in by the Germans.  The
Germans had trench mortars.
When Duncan put a barricade
in the trench the Germans
brought up their mortars &
battered it down & the
trench behind it;  he Duncan wd
build a barricade further
back;  & the Germans would
batter that down immediately
after.  Duncan had to withdraw
100 yards.  He wrote:
"Being hard pressed;
reinforcements urgently
needed.  Have only 50 men
left;  but we will hold on."
A British artillery officer
when he saw tt message asked

 

19    43
to be allowed to take a
copy of it.
Duncan managed to get
hold of a map & went
round very carefully checking
his line.  He found that the
position they had sent in
was wrong - they had claimed
claimed to be in ^a trench
further ahead than the one
they were in.  He reported
it at once.  "You know,"
his General sd to me, "no
hesitation & humming &
ha-ing;  I liked the manly
way he let me know immediately
where he was.  These boys are
the only two officers in their
battalion worth anything"
(this wasn't quite fair - Littler
was in some ways a grand
officer - but MacPherson &
some of the others were not good
enough ) and the Colonel was
wretched) "xxx ^the boy is fit to command
a division" - that's what

 

19    44
Glasgow said.
Duncan had with him a
Lewis m.g. sergeant whom they
had all tried to get Col. Beevor
to promote to be officer.  Beevor
didn't like him & said "he was
not the sort of man who wd
ever make an officer."  However,
it ws thought tt the Brigade
wd probably step in & promote
him to the m.g. coy, over the Colonels
head.
Duncan said that during the
fight one man had been his
right hand man "& left hand
man too" - he added - Sergt.
Black.  He never did anything
without consulting him.
Then sergt Black was very badly
hit.  He dragged himself to Duncan
& said he wanted to stop with him,
not to go back.  Could he do anything?
"I think I can manage a Lewis
gun," he sd, "but if I can't I
can sit by and tell some other chap
how to do it."  However Duncan

 

45
?Black →
.X. Later.  He got through all right.
He ws "shot clean thro' the
neck - ^in underneath one jaw
& out beneath / other - x
He led another m. gunner
(going on one hand & two knees
& holding / man by / hand)
along / sap - & I believe
he is out & ^doing well today.

19    46
wouldnt have him.  When
last seen alive, Black was
crawling up a sap towards
the support line showing some
other man - a wounded man,
I think - the way.  He died
in the sap on his way to
the rear.  (.X.) This is wrong & see opp.)
→ Brown was the Sergt to
whom Col. Beevor wd not
give a commission because
he was "not the sort of man
to make an officer."
Beevor would not fix his
own H.Q. further up than
rail trench.  Arthur thinks tt
ws partly responsible for the
failure.  Beevor ws hit by
shrapnel in / trench outside
his H.Q.
Arthur, who knew our
front, was moving round
one of the trenches near Monquet
Farm with a Canadian soldier
when they saw a German with
a fixed bayonet in the trench.
Arthur never carries a revolver

 

 

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