Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/8/1 - May - June 1915 - Part 8

60.
an integral part of it was a rifle & a perisoope. They were
posing it over the parapet – Barney sd: “What on earth have
you got there ?” “Oh a bit of an arrangement”, sd
the man - a really hard mostly little fellow looking a mixteire
between a green small suburban grocer & a tramp - as a
matter of fact I believe he was a man from out back -
What 's it for ? Asket Blainey Trought we might
loa bit of shoolin without been bit.? It was a perssips
rifle. They put a treaugh onte to butt, & a periscope
serrifle on the parapet;
opposite thesht You ooked nto thepat the pts triangle
-the foot of it - into your shoulder, & took into the
periscope - & thro you have the sights, beautifully
aligned. then you pall a wire attached to the tryper.
Col. While was in the trenches a day or two Calin
& they tested it for him. I know I was most seepting
of its value when first I saw it – it seemed to be gont
of clansy maching which would weate
a lot of time for I sake of avoiday a little exposure.
Col. White thought it aod give a trimendous kick up,
like a revolves. Tee ty tested it for him.
The chap working it fired two shots & brought down
mays
A tork each time. (Sines then they have set up a factory
of thei things on the beach. Every day one sees a
dozen or (50 brought up to be taken to the truches. The
old up country man - Bill to Fte. Beach of the
Bno Bn. They lead true down here making the things
What they want to do now is to keep the trict from the
Enemy. I expect it will p to austratia in a letter
tbe rabliched in the newspapers. I see old Timy
Green o lots of others are writing to the press there
absolutely subject to no supervision; & the censor
doent object.
some of the hospital ships or rather transports
used as hospital ships - in spite of the shortage of equigins
 

61
have pretty (so records; for example the Claupr Gilliwrey
80 wounded were pat on board - for 2 doctors only 15
died on board, only 10 ceptic. The landed 200 ar
Alex & tt the remaining 650 to malta where this
ladies were preparing to give them as comfortable a line
as possible. They arenow Seulay oar would
to England. Alex-can't how them.
The wrote in war is astounding? For examply
the ammanction boxcs in which shells are carried, which
are use citter for firwood or instead of sandbags
or as shelses + cupboards, are beautifull made - dove taikd
with brass screws, & partitions lined with copper-
beautifully finished. Each box holds 4-18por shills.
fitted on little stading crables in pooves. The four
shells are fired off in
suyte salvo - Brng - Bang Bang
attent we
Bang - + the is tossed off down the hilide. "From a
Scotchman's point of view, (says Rausay, its horrible!
10 p.m. sudden outhurst of fire - after a bomb our
men in the Bth & Other bowo. ap. Quinns Post way) used to
thow a bomb just before thy all rushd out together
Wa whenever a bomb goes there is five minutes
rapet fire from the tuiks.
rifle
10.18 & 10 20 suden burst offire & m.g
11 pm paiso fery
12ym 10 a very sudden.
to clowes of the 1st Artillery Bele (a Duntroon boy I
believe) has been s to observe from the balloon
ship for the Navy. He was before on the Queet with
Gen. Cusliffe Owen.
aiteatine
The beach has become very quiet since that attack.
they give us very few shells a day
even te
 

4
 

52
Ein. shells have ceased. They dropped 3 of them
into one of their own trenches to t delight of our men.
"Peas along & tell them theyre firing unto their own
trenches, sdone of our men. These tus had
been falling pretty fact for a day or two. One fell opposit
Monastes 4, on the other stope. I bunsto
woundst a man. Anothwr naw - a by
chap-cumediately Colubup & inspected the
place. "Come out of that you 6. foob shouted.
beff a dozenmen, what thoh - are you doing there
you'l get tho next as sure as eggo are egps.
He tarned sound stowly. Who ire to I telld me to
come down out of tis? he sd. I I want to
stand here at of you's join to ostorg men
has long come

Angai cove
The bills behiev the beach
madei
to look just like Manly - with little, pams
at winding all over the hillside. The vallene
r In the gutters at the back
you find clustered up under the crests
+ on the hollows behind them, hundredg of
little books - day outs with water proof speets
over them) - where the sypports + reserves & the
cooks o signatlers & H.C. tive Really
walker valley (or whatever it is called, opp walker
Bay, where the N.Z. position is) looks like a
by countr fair. I wonder what the old
Tark who oward this bil of scrub tasmonths ago
ad think of it now. There is a cotton field up
behind our right, with wheat growing on it also.
There is one green field just in port of the 2nd Bn
There is a carious layor of pottery abt 18wishes
below the surface just there, in one of our
 

Telepton
 

63
truces I think 2nd Bn. The pottery layer stretiles
for perhaps (50 feet/- perhaps some avelent peet
dwelling, because the (and cant make very quickly
on these redge tops- it woutd rather weaker down
I shid say. They say there is the renans of a house
near our trenches & there is a large square stal of
policter stone somewhere on the billseds up here.
other
ma
But all trais of occupate is so dead & fone
youwese
xprovin the plains of Troy, or the touls
Rhat t
tedg in Efyst when you come on any remains
at all here. Thsprd titts me that when first be
oragial
landed - tat jist moring the were goat tracks
all over the hillface. So it must have been jucture
foulle
someones pasters. Far up on the of 971
facting the sea you atice from the ships quilic
large pateh of green field & popsy field on the lap
of some ridge wp, abt a mile nort of our tines.
Otherwise the country is green arbutig + holly scrub
caie
with sone forse & beautiful flowers ao sand patches
amoyst ken
As you tranp this His heath both, here
at the Point you sometimes feel a thrd, as
of the teadril of some creeper, catching your
instep. You stop now instinctivel & lift
your foot carefully out of it. Ih is someones
telephone were. In the cater areas of the
lines & daring the Earlier days every where
the inculate wires, wh our synallers use for
the commanicates, were Eveny where, & we
had to ware of them so often that case come to
do it without thinking.
There is little uee for money in this collectin
of mountain villages - not even in the sea port.
 

64
N00. enterprising Gt. has come along as one did at Hellas
& set up a miniature market on the end of a pontoon peer
with agaretted, chocolity, breed 63to0f - I believe he
brought a shipload But there 15 a warket on the beach.
you will see fellows on the hitts rusp for every shell
case that falls. The take them when any buainess send
them to the beach & the sailors there are ay
t always ready to swap them for cyarettes
or loaves of bread or tobaceo. Te sailors take them on
board & sometimes sell tem at good profit to
officers who want a vase or a curis!
These shill cases and to be (tock up the
Fully; aon some of the patts I have seen stretiting
where you conot see a siigle squarefort o sart
without some spoapnel ballet lying on it.
But this Exchange on the beach & the collection of
shells for curios wtis men themselves.
has cleared the fullers of shall cases.
At Cape Hellas you contoad woth 10yand
without walking over some pagment of shall
I saw out which I think wers havd been from the
O. Elizabett but most were smaller. We
have a spimplin of pottales tro an
lives now. The poor old Leagl maj. of the 512
Bno. was blown to paces by one which landed
fair in his dug out – An I1 erich shell I believe
I threw half his body right across from one
side of the gully to the others & I am tole that
tman who was there, when thes part of the
body fell there, & was almost bit by it,
went g out of his mand for the time being. I
was talking to Old Wielsen only a day or two before
 

wd

 

65
& somens sd that old soldiers always got the
comfortable billets in he ws an old soldies
Quartimagter Sery of the S.KBM.
Sunday May 2300
They were jong to have church parade in the
5th Bn. His morning - I thought of going up to it-
all the men to be in their dug outs & te cervice
simply read in the mdt of them. But at 701c.
His morning 0 forman Vetermar officer
of the Bt Art. Bryade who has now on attached to
D.H.Q. told me there wa a collecte of
shys of K. Tepe & that two varships here were
shelling it t heavily. I went down to
the corner of the pak - you co see our ven
pom the beach & hill above it (the men of he work
the stores, AMC, &soon) - trang the shoulders of
the hill watching as they wd from a gallery all there
side show. When one got to the point there, close in, was
a betleship with another close outeits of her, sevral distayers,
a small boat or two, L.S.2. (Hleetsweeper Hyto)
a little farther out, & one or two merahunt steamers
not for away on the seaward side. I took it at once that
tay were makin another landi (on Kaba Tepe.
thought I co see someone sign alling from a point below the
Turkist trunches.
But as I was walking back someone said
Whals tis about an Albwn bein ashore. Mains
a this was to explanation. The Abion
(one of theold Vengrance, Glory, occan class to wh
most of our squadron here now belongs) had come
in close to Kaba Tipe - probally 5 avoid
the submarines which are said to be about
D albough many people are very sceptical.
& had gone aground there. It takes a little
time to grasp a situation, bnd at first onc
 

66
cdns make out whiten they had secieed to Ceane
her were trying to move the men. I watched
through my tellscope fom near the end of our beach
It we abt 8.20. The Turks were putting shoopned
over the albion & the IVenglance wh was standary in to
help her. I think it came from the olive gove. Toe
16
shote were falling all sound the
albion but you don't see the shots wh
bet unless something falls or burns, &
I cou'l tell of she ws berng hit aball
until from just afte of her forward bridge
on the Port siole there came two or three huge flares
of red flame
They looked re like the flars from
the transport wh ws hit here two weeks ago, so
the effat
they may have been shells which exploded in a
bunker & exploded the ps there or barned all
the coal dust - but I thought at the time they
were fire. Tust against the sbelered side of
the albeon underneak this was a ships bet
lying & bnto it sonsons on board was the owne
for dear life some sort of article - I don't know
what - things not beer than a mans hear I shd
CCoN
say- one after anoket
possibly timber wh
2
they thought wd caleh
fire. And jast about then the Albion & the
WVengeance - which was astern of her with a rope
fixed towing for all she ws work began to
spat fire as I have neae seen any ship here fire
yet. The fashes came at the rate of one or
two per second, continuously, from the Cin better
The whole vally behind K. Tepe was plastered
 

ty must have been
with bursting shell
MST
E2E
Searching for the jans in the olie srove I thaink.
There was not a movd in the Albion – & having
seen the Hymettes tugged at for 2 whole days
at Lemnos witeut a move, I didn't wait
to see the end of it but went up towards the
God Brigade H0. As I went up some fellows
who I suppose dion't know me a artillery or A.S.C.
camped in t mont of a getly picked ae up: That
ean tpassedWhom Bean.
was conespondent. The next them was the ott
shoos Hon about the Bally Australiens? I don't
take any notice - its the first time for a month thy
have gone back to be matter. The men oincr
they have seen me in the trunches & son, & especialy
the Inr Bde who know me down at the point have
quite changed th their manner - they generally make
ne very welcome now - goodchaps.
I went up the hill to Col. Maclagans I found
him just come out - as had everyone ele who ed
do so, to see the Sight. Davig this time the
destroyers had all come up, & the Lord Walson
(or Aganenaon) pere Cape Hellas; & the
point of land to our norter - NibreinEsq Bint
was lest quite unwatched, Mrclagan
ws dearly anxious abt their felting genes onts that
paint at the nork (which looks right into our
backs). "Took at the beyfars, "he sd, left i
point absolutely bare. I hope to goodness
 

L0
 

keis
 

68
they don't get a gan up out there – if they got a baltery
there only for half an haw bey co make wangs ol -d
awkward for us.
In spite of the Aloeons & Vengrance
fire there sceme not the least difference in the
enemys fire - salvves of & juns were all over the
Albion. I saw no more fires on her. Then there
was a boom + te slow rustle we know very will
& over went a shell from the Goeben! It was far to
The right of the Ships. Prevently another, ten another
in the same Spot. Ihe two togeter very
right cut to about t a with away from
the Shep. Every te or focy menates anoter
pair, wd doop into the sea in the save place
making grat thek seysers of fou
Thay jiet at 9.20 we noticed to
Tho
had starte to move -th Aibion
The certainly was moving. Perh. I tought
it is the other that is stuck But she was
also. one co pardly believe the had got her off
but they had. She was towes slowly backwards
away (from the land. Our men cheered. The hond
had
Welson, which had comeup, vegan to fore with her
by yun - mormous clauds of yellow swoke I begter
almost than those of the qaeen this abete (what a
bit of past history the G.E.is seems a century
since we saw hep here). The 200d Nelson & the other
two ship steamed away of towards pbros
the destroyers seemed all t To of too. We
got a warship back late in the day off K. Fepe
& one of the beach - they are still moving as a
precautn aget submarines. But none off Aer. northen
Hank. A destroyer or toopedo boat, however,
 

56
36
 

69
moved in by night as anual
to patch
the N. flank,
searchlight on by ligns.
(Slamey showed me a curious thing today.
a cartridg wik a purple-red wooden fullety we
have often thought these are dummied when found in
clips, but the are not. There is a yellowest sulphury
ballets
powder behind them. They are round pointed like ours.
they are very light + hollow, & wd alout
fray in your hand if you sqpeaged tham.
We heard yesterday, what we knew must come
within a day or two the news of Gen. Bridges death. I
Seat a cable about te manner u thech he was woarded
-as White had told me the story. Tonight when I was passing
White callerme in Beau hedd, I want you if you
will to make an exception to the vale about not mentionig
names. I hatged sisterper witly It is in the case of t
General a General Bridges. I think his work deserves to
be understood in Anstiale & I don't think many people
will understand it, you know many of his prends,
even Moss who kand him best, ad not have expected him to
take his mark as a commender in the field eany
Ien of us realised that he had be recessary qualities
We knew he was a skilled admisistrator & a man of
prear exeence in organising. Ris force, the First
Austiation Deva, was futh him
kig of course
his making; & he made the Collrge at Dantroon. But
he was absolutely centract as a commanies in the field.
This was his first trial; & of course you know the
coay he came ont of it - be turned out to be a man
cease
extraorduary coursye. I don't mean that in a trite soot
- the magnity of as here be are not uncouragion
but he fand danger in a way that almost
te aben under fire his
amounte to a fante