Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/61/1 - October 1916 - Part 1

AWM38
Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.

Diaries and Notebooks

Item number 3DRL606/61/1

Title: Diary, October 1916
Covers Bean's return visit to London,
conversation with Lord Birdwood regarding
conscription, inspection of the Grand Fleet and
talk with Sir John Jellicoe; includes notes on the
8th Battalion at Gallipoli and Pozieres.

AWM38-3DRL606/61/1 

Original
DIARY No.61
AWM38
3DRL 606 ITEM 61 [1]

DIARIES AND NOTES OF C.E.W. BEAN
CONCERNING THE WAR OF 1914 - 1918

The use of these diaries and notes is subject to conditions laid down in the terms
of gift to the Australian War memorial. But apart from these terms, I wish the
following circumstances and considerations to be brought to the notice of every
reader and writer who may use them.
These writings represent only what at the moment of making them I believed to be
true. The diaries were jotted down almost daily with the object of recording what
was then in the writer's mind. Often he wrote them when very tired and half-asleep;
also, not infrequently what he believed to be true was not so - but it does not
follow that he always discovered this, or remembered to correct the mistakes when
discovered. Indeed, he could not always remember that he had written them.

These records should therefore, be used with great caution, as relating only what
their author, at the time of writing believed. Further, he cannot, of course vouch
for the accuracy of statements made to him by others and here recorded. But he
did try to ensure such accuracy by consulting, as far as possible, those who had
seen or otherwise taken part in the events. The constant falsity of second-hand
evidence (on which a large proportion of war stories are founded) was impressed
upon him by the second or third day of the Gallipoli campaign, notwithstanding that
those who passed on such stories usually themselves believed them to be true. All
second-hand evidence herein should be read with this in mind.
16 Sep., 1946.                   C.E.W. BEAN
AUSTRALIAN WAR MUSEUM
ACCESS STATUS
OPEN

17*

12
1
Diary(&8 Bn)
1916
61
Thursday Frid Oct 12. Received a wire
from the Admiralty asking
me if I would care to
be a member of a party of
Colonial journalists which
was to visit the Grand Fleet
from Sat. 14 Oct to Sat 21 Oct
inclusive. If not, could I
join them at Euston by 8 AM.
train on Sunday.
I got thought this was
a chance not to be missed.
Found out from White that it
was safe - we were not to
be in action before 25 Oct.
So I wired to Hutton Wilson for
[*D17*] leave till Oct 24 - & White
let me have the car which
was to go down & bring 
Birdwood back from his 

2
Gen Russell, always a generous
New Zealander, tells me that
the N.Zs did not, he thought,
have any such obstacle up
against them as the Pozieres
& Windmill defamers. They
had 3 objectives & got each
one - & took over more
line from the people on either
side of them than they were
meant to hold. Their losses
were between 6000 & 7000 which
is much below our average.
The Canadians lost 14000
men in September - from 3
divisions - also a good deal
less than we did.
 

12
leave. I flew round
delivering bookplates to
the 3rd Bde wh is now well
on its way to Watten (where
they are to entrain.) They
know where they are going.
- to the Somme. The story
put around is tt they are
going to St Omer for further
training - with "contact"
aeroplanes. Saw Ross &
dined with him & Gen. Russell at Merris
Sat. Oct. 14^th
Went early to Ypres
& saw Leane ^Colonel of the 28^th
It surprised me to find 
- I guessed it from his conversation 
- that he did not know
that the 2^nd Divn were leaving
for the Somme. xxxxxxxx I
didnt drop any hint abt
it - but the 2^nd Divn actually
does begin to move out

12    4
two days time - on
Monday. The 5^th Divn has
already gone. We go down
in 4 divns this time -
5^th first; then the other 3
in the exact order in which
they went last time: namely
3^rd Bde, 1^st Bde, 2^nd Bde,
5^th, 6^th, 7^th; lastly, I suppose,
4^th 12^th 13^th. The 3rd
Bde goes first because, I
think, they hold tt it is a
little the best - they are
roughly in that order in 
each division - the order
in which they always have
gone in to the fight.
I went on From Leane's account
of the Pozieres Ridge
battle I judge that the 25^th

12    5
& 27 Bns did not do quite
all that was wanted from
Australian battalions
chiefly because of the weakness
of their commanding officers.
Dollman & Walker are
both bad colonels tho' Walker
may be a plucky one.
The Leanes make excellent
officers. Three of them are
Lt. Colonels, a younger one
a Major; & one, I think,
a private. And the Lieut
Col. who is ordnance
Officer in ^the London H.Qrs
of the A.I.F. has five
sons serving!
I went on to get the
story of the 51^st from Ross
- had to walk miles

12    6
to get to him. On the way
I saw Arthur Maxwell. now
[*52nd*] adjutant of his battalion.
He told me tt they were
shaking the Germans up -
firing The battalions some of
them are letting things go
easy in order to get a rest
- & I dont blame them.
Post This battalion found
here sniping tt the Germans
put up a searchlight
for nearly half an hour
when they came in. They
fired on ^it at^ once & smashed
it & now the German
puts it up for two minutes
at most. The benefit of
the searchlight is tt it
throws a steady beam &
the shadows dont move 

12    7
The 28^th had a raid wh
ws a success; & the 47^th
(I think) a failure. Two
of the 1st Divn bns also
I believe had raids. In 
one case - 2nd Bn - the
Germans saw the party
coming out & bombed
it before the artillery 
started. Some of our men
bombed back; some ran
(one gave the word to retire)

"S Kip" I think it was -
& some bolted back into
the sally port while others
were coming out. The
result ws tt when the
artillery did come down
& the time for the raid
occurred, half the men 

12    8
never started. But Trott,
who commanded / party,
ws determined to get in.
So he with the two other
officers & 3 n.c.os
gathered a few ^o / men &
went on into / Germans
trench, fighting hard.
They took two German
prisoners. (they went at
Lt De Winton was wounded
& ws seen coming back,
when it ws reported tt
he ws not in, Trott &
another, I believe, went
back into / Germans trench
& turned over the dead
men there - but cdnt
find him. Probably he
died in a crater in
Nomansland. 

 9
Leane says that the
performances of Brown ^x
of the 26^th Bn are a
byword & tt his having
got the Military Cross
is a great pity - it 
lowers the value of all
distinctions when such
men get them.


^x I think the Leane's were over-inclined
to criticise. I have heard others stand
up for Bond - he didn't pretend to be
a hero, but at any rate he was there
on the spot in O.G.2.
CEWB 1927.

12  10
I went on & saw Rose
Col of the 51st. That is a
case of an ^English^ Colonel having a 
wonderful hold on Australian men. It is
curious to see him sitting
there yarning to his officers
- all men of xxxxx
a fairly rough type,
who wd have little 
chance of a commission
in any English Regiment
- station agents, I should say, or miners.
And those chaps hang
on his words & he is so
proud of them & of his
unit as a man can
be. It is a fine unit