Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/59/1 - September 1916 - Part 3

10    22

doing what he is there

for - namely, fighting.

Then he leaves it off, by

order, & dresses ^as like

a private soldier as the

authorities can properly

(& rightly) make him.

Somehow the Sam Brown

belt is to me all that is

worst in the snobbishness of

the British Army.  It is

the Secret of the British Army

System that Officers shd be

as unlike to & different from

their men as possible.

The officer gives great care

to his appearance - &

comes down the street

shining & perfectly groomed

10    23

& creased & pressed -

I saw a fellow coming out

of La Boiselle last week

carrying his gloves!  The

man comes along looing

stocky & tidy, with buttons

studded over him like

brass nails - but on

an utterly different pattern

from his officer.  The

one is an inlaid piece

of inlaid X Louis Quatorze

furniture, the other is

a well varnished kitchen

chair.

"Punch" had a picture of

the perfect British officer,

fine bearing, refined face,

lofty manner, pinning

a medal first prize

on the chest of a Scottish

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private, who stood like a

well polished ninepin,

stiffly at attention besides

a trench "vegetable' Exhibit.

The ninepin automaton

ws bursting with pride &

glowing with delight at the 

honour;  the lofty officer was

absolutely genuine & natural

in his loftiness.  I sd to

an English Officer - Young

Carruthers - "There, thats

your ideal - to breed up

a race of office gentlemen who

can command & a 

race of Tommies who are to

can xxxxx receive commands

& who wouldn't cream 

of disputing that order of

things - "  And he said:

10    25

"Well - dont you agree with

it?"  He didnt even

dream there was anyone

who could quarrel with

this point of view or prefer

another to it.

Our Australian officers

are not distinguished

by a hard & fast difference

in their get up - I mean in

its quality;  of course it is

different in pattern -

from their men.  The Sam

Brown belt which creates

the External distinction

is a thing ^for which the best

Australian officer has rather

a contempt.  he doesn't

want the social kudos distinction which

it brings - he is against it

10    26

rather than for it.  His men

follow him for what he knows

& what he does - & sometimes

for what he is;  not because

he is of a superior Social

Caste.  They know very well

that in wa you cant

conduct a war like you

would a trades union.

the enemy is over there

shooting to kill you &

you cant stand up &

talk your various opinions

& settle your differences

before you decide what to

do.  The only way is to have

a man there who is trained 

to know what to do;  & 

then to follow him instantly,

right or wrong.  An officer

10    27

who will give a lead they

will follow instantly.

I remember seeing

three Victorians without 

an officer the other day

at Pozieres:

Books & I were 

at Gibraltar;  & as shells

were coming over regularly

from a battery of whizz-bangs

we had been called into

shelter by some machine

gunners on the lee side

of the concrete entrance.

the shells whizzed pretty

close, about 4 every

minutes or two;  & just

then three men of the 14^th

Bn came along, going

by the open path which almost

every one used (I used not

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to) down to the rear.

As they passed a

shell whizzed by fearfully

quickly, as they do, &

exploded in the earth

about 15 yards to their

right front.

They looked round

hesitating whether to

take cover in a shell hole.

One began to go one way,

another another way - I

daresay they thought the

Germans cd see them.  then

they hesitated again.  One of

the machine gunners

shouts to them.

"Go on, lads, go on.

Either go on or come in

here - for God's sake

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dont hesitate there - do

one thing or the other;  dont

hesitate in that place."

They looked at him

doubtfully for a moment

& then walked on - (he

was, in reality, their

commander in that case;

he gave them the lead & they

took it).  If they had

hesitated there it is quite

on the cards we should

have seen one of their

heads knocked off the mans

shoulders by the next

series of shells.  They went

on & had passed before

the next shell came. 

Australians know the need of an officer well

eno' when it comes to fighting.  They

I had an interesting

always look to him;  & the relations

10    30

between our officers & men

are just as perfect as they

cd be. 

So, to do them justice,

are those o / British.  the

British Officer very seldom lacks

direction - the better class of

officer - the older - army class -

knows no fear at all. 

I had an interesting bit

of gossip from Maj. Butler

who had it from Lord Kitchener

Executor - Col (?) Arthur.

It w I dont often put down

gossip - & this may not

be true;  but somehow I

think it is.  it shows the

absurd influence that the

likes & dislikes of Kings may

still have on the fortunes of

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nations - mediaeval notions

like the half civilised Eastern

ones, anyway.

I believe that Ferdinand

of Bulgaria had often been

anxious to visit England.

He met King Edward in

Paris or somewhere;  & when

George became King it was

a question whether Ferdinand

ought not to be invited to

England.  In spite of the

ordinary civilities being in

favour of it, King George

wouldn't, if possible, have

Ferdinand over.  If a foreign

monarch comes over you

have to give him a vacant

order^of the garter if there is one the

order of the Garter (when a