Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/59/1 - September 1916 - Part 11

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110

I left my window wide
open, after ase turning out /
light, in case there were
anything to see - but nothing
happened - so I supposed it
ws a false alarm & tt they were
taking precautions against
a thing wh never came.
In / morning when Bazley
came in at about 6 o'clock
(we had to catch the 7.50 train so
I got him a room in / Hotel)
he told me that the Porter told
him there had bn a raid.
Two Zepps had bn brought
down, one near the _∧East Coast,
one near London; & Brixton
they Zepps had made a
mash of Brixton.
So it was true a raid! What
a miserable style of warfare
it is, after all, tt sends tired
little servant girls from / top of /
 

111
[Shorthand]
20.250 [shorthand]
16.000 [Shorthand]
 

10
112
house to shelter in the 
basements - It is just the
German all over, pull down
the cities & / monuments &
the clouds & the heavens themselves
in ruin all to obtain one
molehill of military
advantage- catch all the
little fishes in your net
& fling them out gasping &
dying if there is any
chance tt amongst them
you may catch one
single sprat in khaki. It
goes to / root of the difference
really, tt German tenet,
that a military reason justifes
anything.
On Sept. 15, while we
were in England, the British
made another big advance &
first used the "Tanks," or heavy
armoured cars. The press made
 

114
10
a great point of the use of these
cars - especially in the capture
of the Sugar Factory of Courcelette.
113
They were described as
monsters crawling over any
sort of shell hole, lurching into
the fight, leaning up agst a
house, pushing it down & climbing
over the ruins - fairly eating trees,
& finally perching fair across the
enemys trench & hosing his strong
points from xxxx on top of / very
trench itself w their machine
guns. They first message made the men, laugh,
so says even when they men were
wounded, so tt they cheered
them & followed them waving
their hats. Phillip Gibbs wrote
a wonderful despatch about them
- his best so far, I think -
He sd tt an aeroplane wh
went over Flers _∧ to see / situation reported. "There
is a' Tank 'crawling up the main
street & the British Army cheering
behind it."
 

10 

114
a great point of the use of these
cars - especially in the capture
of the Sugar Factory of Courcelette.
As the fight has gone far
beyond our old lines The
Pozieres summit is no longer
a pivot & centre of the front
line - The Canadians have
captured Mouquet & Zollern
& are behind Thiepval & Thiepval 
has fallen to / British - Mouquet
Farm held them for sometime.
but on night of 16/17 September
exactly a fortnight after our last
attack on it - they took it. An
officer of the 13th Canadian Bn
who ws staying in the Windsor
Hotel in London told me tt his
Bn (wh came out very soon after
we did) had lost 460 men from
shelling alone without being in
any attack at all (exc. the
aftermath of our 13^th Bde's attack).
The actual dates of the British
& Canadian advance I have put
down on the first page of this diary
(this volume of it).
 

115

Hughes; & Hughes wired Murdoch tt he knows
it will help him - that is
to say, the friendship of Cook
would be dangerous to conscription Hughes
but the opposition of Cook
will bring Hughes many votes;
as I know the Australian, nothing
is surer than that.

B  I shd have sd tt
/ vote on conscription here wd
be 95 per cent in favour of it.
It means some relief to the men
here - & others doing their bit.
I told Murdoch so. He ws rather
doubtful. He had heard in England
from soldiers - Australian soldiers - of a
certain undercurrent of feeling agst
it. The argument used ws: "We have

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116
Bazley & I crossed over to
Boulogne - a glorious sunny
silky day - & found Murdoch
on the boil, going over to stay
a few days with Birdie;
Fisher & Anderson, with Box &
Bailleau, had gone over the day
before to arrange about taking the
referendum on the Commonwealth
conscription issue. All the
troops are to vote who are
over 21 & are eligible to be
electors in Australia.
Hughes (so Murdoch
tells me) is very anxious to
know how the vole will go
here. The Labour Party in
Australia is hopelessly split
on it though how a Socialist &
a man who believes in
preference to trades unionists
can put it to his soul to oppose
conscription I cannot see.
Joseph Cook is urging Hughes to
go further than he does & so making
trouble for him - which will help
 

Diary No. 59: This letter (herein) was loose in
the diary. Placed in envelope for
safe keeping and attached to
diary
[[?]] 2.3.78

IF NOT DELIVERED WITHIN 7 DAYS RETURN TO
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
P.O. BOX 345
CANBERRA CITY. A.C.T., 2601

117
Capt. H Booth

PICTORIAL WAR
REPRESENTATIONS.
_________
ADMIRALTY AND WAR OFFICE
RESTRICTIONS.
________________
The following announcement has been issued
by the Press Bureau:
The Admiralty and the War office have decided that
on and after 15th September all new pictorial representations
(other than official photographs), including
picture postcards and cigarette stiffeners which
illustrate subjects of a naval and military nature connected

with the present war, as also illustrations of
aircraft and aeronautical subjects, should be submitted
in duplicate to the Press Bureau before publication.
Publishers should print on each picture postcard
cigarette stiffener, or other pictorial reproduction
a naval or military nature connected with the [[presen?]]
war which has been passed for publication by the [[Pres?]]
Bureau the words "Passed for publication by the
Press Bureau on ------- (date)."
Unless the above procedure is strictly observed pictorial
representations which illustrate a naval and military
subjects, if exposed for sale, are liable to seizure
if considered by the competent naval or military
authorities to be susceptible of conveying information
of value to the enemy or to be in any way prejudicial
to the public safety or the defence of the realm, and
the persons concerned are [[ble?]] to prosecution.
Pictorial material that has already been passed and
stamped by the Admiralty need not be submitted
again to the Press Bureau.
This announcement does not affect the despatch of
illustrations and photographs to neutral and enemy
countries, which remains subject to the notice issued
[[o?]] the Press on the 7th August, 1916 (C. 2,338).
As regards matters already published, representations
[[o?]] his Majesty's ships and transports will continue to
be prohibited.
[[Th?]] notice amends all [[for?]] notices on the subject
of pictorial matter as issued  the War [[Offic?]].
 

117a
_____
Brentwood Bank
Katies card & Souvenirs
My Souvenirs
Mr Fisher. Dr Norris' post.
My Photographs for [[?]]
Paymaster - abt Col. Farr..
War Office: abt films
abt Passports
Bazley - Classify my photos.
Pick out ones for Gen Hobbs
[[Monks?]]. O"Gorman, Ramsay,
Peter Schuler
[[Smart?]] ask abt Gullett L.H.
Croziers [[?]]
Photos & film
War Office. Passports. J Buchan
Janet Burne Cocky. Lawrence
See Mrs Ross.. Girls theatre Aitken.
Aunt Katie Herbertsons Mac

Cooks
________
Cassells. {x alex. ✓ New Books  List.
{Lists of books from G.
Duckworth 3 Henrietta St.
Curtis B. (abt Cassells)
(Salisby S. [[?]] Wilson.
[[?]])

Col. Anderson.
- Car
Bazley
1/11
Anzac Book  4.
4 for O'G. ✓
20th Bn. see B plate Nos
See if these have [[?]] ?
1/11 ^how Regt.
Lt P. Anderson ✓
1/11 Lond Regt. E.E.F.
Hutchen have Otago Rifles ever
returned their copies
See Evans abt 53rd Div. & London Divn
Pay dept. leo's P-book.
Anzac Book
 

117
Brentwood
Bank.

Souvenirs
Katie's Souvenir.
Classify photos

Mac"
36 Lupus St.