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

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had been exceedingly kind in
telephoning all over London
for me to find time if he
had returned.
Birdie pointed out
at once tt what Hughes
wanted ws, for clearly, for
him to give a lead to the
soldiers. He never
hesitated a moment. After
I too cd see at once a
reason for this. If the
soldiers voted No - that
wd kill the question;
the people at home wd
never vote Yes if their
army here voted No.
So it ws no The Australian
vote ws to be later -
after the result o / Sept
 

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22
Always A.I.F.'s vote ws known.
I fancy Hughes had
arranged this thinking tt
the A.I.F. wd be certain
to vote Yes. Anyway -
it ws no use Birdie
sending a message to
Australia if the A.I.F.
votes No. The thing to do
was to get the Army to
vote Yes.
Birdie told me tt he
had seen Lloyd George.
While he ws there Murdoch
asked if he might come
in. Murdoch wanted
Birdwood to send a
message to Australia. 

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23
LLoyd George agreed, too,
tt B. shd do this - until
Birdwood pointed out
tt if he did, it might be
said by opponents x ^that he was
seen too much like was.
advising tho’ he had ordering
the soldiers how to vote
Ll. George agreed - & it
ws decided not to do
this; but Murdoch
got letters of introductn
to Hay & Joffre &
started for France to get
messages from Each of
them if possible.
This shows how Ll.
George hangs on the
Australian attitude -
how important he thinks it. 

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24
Birdwood didnt hesitate.
He got me to sit down &
write, to his dictation,
a message to the men
saying tt he wanted them
to vote by their consciences
& not to influence them in
any way. But he added tt
he might tell them tt he
probably knew, better than
they did, the xx need for
reinforcements. He was
sure they wd not like to
see any o / units - w all
their traditions & history
- broken up. There was
a need for men. If
the effort of Australia were
relaxed now, all / good brave
lives thrown away sacrificed before

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25
wd have bn sacrificed
in vain. The Govt had told
them what exemptions there
were to be - they neednt
fear tt / brother left at
home to mind / business
wd be called to Enlist;
the men whom it wd especially
get were / shirkers
who were at present
filling all / nice fat billets
wh he wanted to see our
men in on their return
- or their relations at home.
I wanted The poll
ws to be tomorrow - &
urged tt if possible this
ought to & cd be wired
tonight.  But the A.I.F.

 

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26
Headqrs sd it couldnt.
I think still it could.
However - Col. Wright sd
not. So B. asked if the
electn ^poll cd be put off a
day of two - Wright, who
ws under Anderson (who is
managing the poll business
of getting the vote taken)
sd it could. So B.
asked them to wire
postponing it.
I don't know one
bit the effect of these
steps. They are very
risky I am sure.
I should have tried every
way I could to have got
 

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the wire across without
postponing / poll - but
I didnt put my reasons
strongly tho' B. cd see
tt I wanted it.
There it is. I hope it
does the business. For I
am sure conscription is
right.
OCT 16.
Mond. Came to Inverness
by night train - thro'
snow hills. Past great
ships in Cromarty Firth
- a sort of rest cure for
tired ships, they say.
Then to Thurso.
Bitterly cold. But there
was a hearty naval captain
to receive us; & he had 

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28
asked the landlady to put a
hot water bottle in every bed.
Tues. Oct. 17^th .  They took us on
a destroyer to the grand
fleet. a drive past the
through the grim demure
scottish country to a grim
repressed little Scottish port.
There the C. in C’s own destroyer
- The Oak - was waiting for
us. It was the first decent
day in a week of awful
weather, they said. The hearty
Captain Meredith - shouted us 
good humour and instructions.
from the wharf.  We quickly
picked up speed & with a
white w hillock of wake piled
up behind us & trailed out
like the track of a rocket we

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swept through out from the low
dour green & brown shores
- the northernmost end of
"this island 800 miles in length
off the coast of Europe" as
Froissant (I think it is).
describes it.
Ahead was a low dour
brown & green island. Very
like Lemnos - Ross & I
thought (and the hills
around the railway yesterday
were very like Sari Bair)
The cheery Lieut. Commander
- they are all such cheery
hearty chaps - told us
dozens of yarns of the fleet.
In the early days of / war
there were some German
submarines about - he

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said - & a lot of mistakes
used to be made. Destroyers
were always fighting
their own wake. You know,
a destroyers wake where
it meets a current or a
rip will throw up a little
feather of foam just like
that one (we had been
watching a thing like a
cockatoos crest racing
along the crest o / wake
of some destroyers ahead
of us in Scapa Flow, wh
were practising at torpedoing
the Iron Duke & her battle
Squadron.) It looks very
much like a destroyer submarine
indeed - like the foam
tt her periscope makes