Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/60/1 - September - October 1916 - Part 7

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the head. He was carried
afterwards to the back of th
lines for burial. And while 
he lay there a shell fell on
him & seems to have shattered
him to pieces.
Butler heard the last of
the boy - a very very gallant
boy, they all said. We left,
& had dinner at the 3rd
Corps H. Qrs. at Hennen Court

Xxx. We asked them about the

“Tanks”. They sd they thought

they had bn used too soon, like

a new toy, used because 

they were there. Lots broke down.

“Were they a failure then?”

we asked.

“Oh no! I wouldn’t

say that” they said.

Apparently for about

2 tanks to get there, 10 had to

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start out. But in one or

two places they solved a 

difficulty by smashing taking a

Stn. routing the enemy out

of a strong point such as 

those wh so often held us

up on a flank - ; point 81,

point 54 - point 21 &

half a dozen others tt I 

can remember might

have bn settled by a 

“Tank”. (They were labeled

tanks in the books of the

Department wh manufactured

them - for the purpose of

secrecy).

There are now to 

Be Tanks with each army,

& a Brig. Gen. commanding

those tanks (xxxx one to each army);
I hear talk of 6 being up here,

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& of 6 being turned out

every day - probably untrue

this;  better & more perfect

tanks they promise us. Apparently

they have come to stay.

The system by whom

our xxxxxxxxxxx.

That we cannot get reinfts

altho’ they are in England & at

Etaples seems at first, rather

inexplicable. But the reason is 

tt the War Council will not

allow anyone to come over to

France until he has reached / standard

of 14 weeks training. The reinfts 

wh come from Australia are 

inspected when they arrive & are

genly put into the 3 weeks class, 

I believe. They go thro various 

stages & at / end of 14 weeks

(11 weeks in their case} are examined

to see if they are fit up to standard.

If not they are put back for training.

If [[that?]] they come across to the

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Base camp at Etaples. There

they have to be passed again -

xx a sort of “topping off “ place, as

Col. Griffiths put it to me - before

they can be sent to the units

wh want them. But we never 

have more than 10 percent 

reinfts. for any unit in 

France - those reinfts above that

ratio wd be kept in England.

The reinfts actually

immediately ready are sent on

to a reinforcement camp (at 

present under Bob Ramsay)

up near the Corps H.Q. Ours 

was at Val de Maison ^when we were down

South on the Somme. Here it is

near Abeele. They can be

marched straight in to their
units from there. The so called

“entrenching battalions” are

really reinforcement camps

except tt they decide to make

use o / men during this

time for fatigues & digging. We

70

Our siege Bde is the

36^th (Aust) Siege Bde.

 

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are getting to establish an

entrenching battalion shortly

instead of the reinforcement

camp.

The way in which units

can actually be mislaid & 

forgotten is shown by what 

happened in the last few days

With a detachment of men

connected with the Reinforcement 

Camp. They were detached

on some business connected

w / camp to form a small

camp of their own

Val de Maison - away ^20 miles behind

the lines of the Somme. After

days ago an inquiry arrives

from them asking what they

were to do. They had

actually been left there & forgotten.

I dare say there are forgotten

units in other places too -

one hears exaggerations abt

whole battalions being forgotten
 

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In some out o / way corner

In an English county - &

if they had come out of a

battle like the Somme I daresay

some of them wd not object

to being lost sight of for a little

while.

The Army & G.H.Q.

are much exercised at the

number of our men absent

without leave. A camp of

5 of them ws found in the

wood at Warley Vadencourt.

They sd they walked in to

Amiens & bought their food

but I expect they were given

it. They would be out all day

& back to camp again at night; &

I suppose everyone who

saw them thought they were on 

duty.

English soldiers wd be

shot for this, but I think they 

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will only imprison our men.
There have been nearly 300
cases of absent without leave
in the Army Corps this last
fortnight. The truth is tt
the men are tired after
the Pozieres fighting. But it
is not the best men who
overstay their leave like
this; it is the shifty men
as a rule -
However when the British
Officer talks, as he is apt to
talk, in a critical way about
these figures, one is inclined
to ask him whether it is
better to stay away without
leave during a battle or
during a rest period. The
English stragglers during the
time we were at the Somme
battle became (so we were
told) a very big problem.
You don't hear them discussing
that.
 

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I have written scarcely
anything about Ypres altho
the Corps has been holding the
salient for a month. But
really the Ypres salient is
not what it was. We
have never had such a
quiet time. Ypres itself
is like the ruins of Pompeii
the Forum on a Summers day - clear
sky, no disturbance of
any sort, sightseers
rambling about quietly
where they will without
interference. The Somme is
our interest at present.
Alas - it is held up at
the moment (Oct 4) by heavy
rain. It is simply pouring
outside my window as I
write. The chance of breaking
thro' or forcing / Germans back
 

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this year, wh seemed
really possible - & of
bringing a quick end to /
war, is all impeded
by this rain. Guns can't
register new targets. Tanks
can't move, Men cant
attack.
Oct 5.
Birdwood was talking
to me last night of Brulard
& Lord Kitcheners visit to
the French position at Helles.
Brulard kissed Birdwood
in front of the whole of Birdie's
staff.
Birdie ws telling me th
he got on well w Brulard
he thought, because he went
over to see him himself.
Hamilton generally didnt get
 

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on very well w / French
charming man tho he was.
So he generally sent of over
Braithwaite or Aspinall or
Dawnay, who got on even worse
& always managed to rub the
French up the wrong way.
"There was practically
nothing to do," sd. Birdie, [*le 8*]
so I used to go over there
constantly myself - every
few days. I could speak
hardly any French, but I
used always to look in on the
old man, & he ws always
delighted to see you & gave
you a jolly good lunch, & we
got on splendidly. Then I
wd have him over to dine
with me in return. I couldnt
speak any French; but perhaps