Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/60/1 - September - October 1916 - Part 11

114

Rest
Deep dugouts being made in part of Ypres

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115
First news of  a move South
Griffiths told me this morning tt the
5th Divn is being hurriedly
brought up to strength - stringent
orders have bn sent to the base
tt the men must be sent up.
Gelly tells me tonight tt
the 1st Divn has to move South
on the 15th to replace the 5th
at Dailly  ) - Heurbaix
Pitellgm)
The 2nd will move in to replace
the 1st at Ypres.
Bennet says the fortnight
his bn has had in the ∧last camp xxxx is 
the quietest it has ever had.
Less fatigue even than in Egypt
 - far less. Indeed Egypt was
 - one of the heaviest shows.
We are making an undergrd
common trench w deep dugouts 
off it here ∧in line at Ypres - the first apparently  as at
Cordonnerie
Such a trench was being made

  116

Anzac - ∧deep line near
Courtneys

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117
from Courtneys to Steeles, 
the inside the hill previous
to the evacuation at Anzac.
They tried to get Newcome
to open up the advanced
secret firing line there also
(Forbes says 20 ft deep - Newcome less.)
He opened up one little
sector - which w an
effective xx preventitive agst
opening up any more
Munro in Gallipoli spanned
over 8ft cover - nothing less
than 14 or 20ft ws any good
he sd - or wd be approved on
the Western Front. We came
here & found Nothing at all. 
Not 20ft nor 14ft nor 8ft
or even 3 feet & a half. Exc.
for some flooded [[?]] dugouts
abt 8ft deep at Armentieris
the on (wretched little passages
 

118
Windmill
taken by Foss
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119
at best) the only deep
dugouts I have seen
are those we have made
at Cordonnerie. Even 
on the Somme the British
had nothing to compare
w them; & the French
dugouts at Tara Hill
were miserably low tho'
abt 17 or 20ft deep.
We are trying also to drain
the trenches here. There is 
some slope at any rate.
Gen Paton tells me tt
Cpt Foss 28 Bn. ws hit by a shell
on their 2nd attempt on O.G. 1 & 2.
He took his party to the Windmill
after the c-attack - it ws he who
helped to beat off the counter
attack. We had not got the
windmill up to them - we didn't
 

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120
get it the first night. But
this time Foss went beyond
it - & it has bn ours since.
There was no line of course.
Foss had his leg shattered
(being hit in the knee -
his Bn (28^th) ws in the tram
way trench & he c. attacked from
there). He lives for some days
& it ws hoped he wd recover.
He died in hospital. His
chief concern when he was
hit was his weight on the
S.bs. who carried him down.
Oct 8. Griffiths showed me
the follg. letter from the
War office asking for
applicants from the A.I.F. for
Commissions in the Royal
Flying Corps. I was rather

121
War Office,
London SW
13 July 1915
I am commanded by the army council to inform you that 
wing to the expansion of the Royal Flying corps a large number of officer pilots will be required during the ensuring year.

In view of the exceptionally good work which is being done in the Royal Flying Corps by Australian born officers, and the affect that the Australian temperament as supplied suited their flying services, it has been decided to offer 200 colours in the special reserve of the Royal Flying Corps to officers N.C.O’s and men of the Australian force.

In the insides of the service it is recommended that the policy regarding the colours in the imperial services being offered to N.C.O.’s and men of the Australia exceptional force should be relaxed in the case of the Royal Flying Corps. As it is considered with a large number of valuable men would this be available as volunteers in the most important branch of the service.

I am to enquire whether there is any objection to this proposal. If need, the advice of selection etc. will be forwarded to you made very common to all concerned.

200 sent

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122
Sorry that some connectn
cd not be kept between
Australia & these men - 
their deeds will be half lost
to us if they simply go into
a British Corps. Brearley
who brought down a
sausage wh had bn withdrawn
to within 300ft ∧of the ground (when all
other means failed, he pretended
to be hit, & side slipped down
quite close to it - & then
brought it down in flames,)
ws an Australian - But
tho' it ws done here - at Ypres -
just before we arrived - our
men dont know of it, or tt he as 
an Australia.
The letter runs:

 123
Spent these days
visiting 25, 21, 14 & 15
Bns & getting story of Pozieres
Had a glorious little dinner
w old Gelly & his staff &
all sorts of friends at the
Estaminet at Oude --- I forget the
name. Bp. Riley is here. If
all padres were as that
great gaunt old man 
- the Australian wd 
come out of this war a
religious man.
124
Oct 9
Aug 9 Treloar handed me
some letters wh he had
bn keeping to give me for 2 
days. In them was one
from Col. H. Wilson telling me tt I
cd come down any time & he
wd send a photographer out
w me. H As I wanted to
have See Mouquet & Pozieres
Ridge photographed before the
grass grew & covered them
went at once. Got to Had lunch in
Almcess Ypres, at 25 Bn Mess; 
got to Amiens at 9. The Col.
sd he we send Brooke with
me in the morning.
Oct 10. A beautiful day 
but Brooke didn't call in.
I asked if I cd go up to the
Canadians & see Claud Hill
my cousin, or go to the 13 & 16

125

Mouquet is so to have bw
(5th
(taken by CMR)
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126
Bus to get the story of Mouquet
Farm - but the Col sd: "Certainly
you cannot - you must have
a press officer w you". Then 
he sd: xxx "If you can get a
press officer to take you, you can 
go". I sd. "Can I get one then, 
sir?" He sd " xxx well - no, 
I don't think so - they are
all busy - I have them all
working." Then he suggested
I might go to another part
of the field w a French party 
- but ∧on second thoughts he decided
that they wd be too crowded.
So the decision ws tt I
must stay this beautiful
day in Amiens - kicking my
heels - like a prisoner.
I wrote two articles - the
 

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127
only thing I cd do.
Oct 
Aug 11 Little Earnest Brooks
is back - so he ws told off
as my photographer. He
ws ill - & has had a very
bad shaking, xx being heavily
shelled in Thiepval. They
took refuge under a "Tank"
A general ws killed quite
close to him. The "tank"
rocked w the shelling & they
cleared to a distance at
last - He has not got over
it yet - But he was a
brick. He came just where
I wanted - to the Windmill
shy, like a child, of a little
shelling tt they were doing

"I'm getting quite like the
rest, "he sd" I dont know 
what's up with me." But

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like the good little beggar
he really is he stuck to
it  & trudged after me to
Mouquet - the first
time I had seen it, I 
think - I doubt if we cd
see it (as we thought) from
O.G.1; poked around the
ruins & picked up souvenirs
 & took all the photos xx I
wanted - Really he did come
out of this a little brick. I am
sorry that I have said some of
the things I have sd abt him.
He has one qualification,
anyway - xxx a very fine
pluck.
Gibbs is ill - w dysentery 
& bronchitis - thro overwork.
Col. H Wilson (always nice to me
tho' most irritating officially)

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asked me if I wd take
on Gibbs' work, if he suggested
my name. I sd I hadn't 
the time - & our people might
be back into it.
Afterwards it struck me tt
this was as well for another
reason. They dont want
Bartlett there. HE, N Euvison,
& Lawrence are all in
Galip France w the French
army now (just as G.H.Q over 
in Gallipoli  xxx is now to be found here).
I daresay I wd be suggested
in order to avoid having Bartlett
& tt wd be a very false postn
to be put in.
We got 14 photos today -
of the guns the 11 Bn took, the
craters, Mouquet F. etc.