Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/47/1 - June 1916 - Part 5

5     53
mile upon mile of them clattering
on the cobblestones near /
bridge, thumping over / bridge
& then onto / stones again.
I can hear the men ^ occasionally whistling.
For / first time today has been
warm - even sultry. My
foot had to be dressed.
I believe our show is put off for 4 days
[[shorthand]] were to have bn busy with 
[[shorthand]] but they also have put them off fer 4 days.
No more news from Russia. I am getting
just a bit anxious.
12.30 am. Still more cavalry -
with guns I think this time.
An hour ago I heard them
also - & now again. The
distant rattle of limbers is
fading away down the road
as I write - all on their

5    54
way to some destination I
dont know of - troops troops
troops - ^all going in / same direction, night after night.
What are they going to? I have
seen nothing like it before.
A dog is barking outside in
/ dark. My shutter has to be
closed in order tt no light shall
set out to guide enemy aeroplanes
I can still hear that distant faint
rattle - ten or fifteen minutes
after it has passed - along /
distant cobbled road thro'
/ forest - just as you cd have
heard it in Napoleon's time or
Caesars for tt matter - the
rattle o / heavy old tyres &
clatter of hoofs on / stones.
June 23rd. Friday. I kept my
leg up today in order to
make quite sure. Heard

5      55
from Hatton Wilson that he
will let us know if there is
anything to see outside our
own sphere. He also wrote to
Ross tt Gen. Charteris wd like to
see us about the photographs.
Hughes wrote to say tt he wd
do something abt / car & photos at
home as well - & as to Gen. White,
that he was inquiring as to whether
White cdn't come across & see him
before he (Hughes) left on Saturday.
So my letter had something to do
with it - per  I hope White isnt
cursing me. ^He'd like to be here now - but I am sure it is
a good thing for Billy to see him.
This afternoon a sound of
heavy gun firing at about 3.45.
As I lay in my room the window
was pushed open by a cheery big
chap in the English Cavalry who
used to be an Aide de Camp in

5       56
N. Zealand to the Governor. He took
Ross out to dinner . They are camped
at Le Sec Bois - the woods are
simply full of cavalry.
The guns went on at intervals
during the Evening. I asked Herbertson
what they were but he didnt
know. He thought they were at
Ypres. But I cd tell they were
down South.
After dinner Ross came in.
"What's all that bombardment
- have you heard?" I asked.
"Yes in "Its the beginning of the
real thing!" he said - taking
out his pipe & leaning agst the
door. I cd see he ws excited.
"These fellows I was at
dinner with know all about
it," he sd. "They (16th Lancers
Bazley says) sd it began in
the morning really - though

5     57
I didn't hear it . . . . I sd there
didn't seem to be so many big
guns about. & they just looked
at me-" Ross sd. "They sd the
place was simply stiff w them.
even up N of us (I don't believe
this) their were any amt & the
ammunition was piled in
the fields (thats probly true)
stacks & stacks of it. They
sd there were rows of
naval 6in guns all along behind
/ lines down there, wh cd
follow / advance without ever
having to be moved, up to
15 miles (That also is an
exaggeratn). They didn't
know what part they
themselves were to take
but they weren't particularly
bright about it - they didnt
seem to entertain much

5     58
hope of their being able to do
anything very much. They
wd have to move in a few days but they didnt
know where. They thought the battle - - - somewhere abt the
(here he mentioned a [[shorthand]] date . . . . )
2 a.m.
I thought the bombardment
had died away some hours ago.
But then I went to the door
just now I could hear the guns
going, quite distinctly, but
very far away - a low
bumping - as a potato might
bump the bottom of a saucepan
in which it is dancing with
the boiling water.
When I turn out the light
& open the window I expect I
shall hear it again.
The mosquitos are humming
very annoyingly tonight.

5      59
Sat. June 24^th. I wonder if Ross
is right. I shd heard nothing o /
guns after tt firing last night.
They may be drowned by /
constant noise of lorries
thundering along / roads or
cavalry exercising - but I
think one cd have heard
something. Perhaps / heavy
thunderstorms & rain wh we
have had ^at intervals since yesty may
have interfered. I did just
now hear the distant shake
of a gun. , , , , , , , , - like
that it sounded rrrrrrrr
or perhaps it is better described
as a "roll". - lasting about tha a
second only. They may be
too far away for us to hear
Butler has received a memo
from G.H.Q. tt correspts are to

5       60
be allowed to see bombardments -
(& informed of them) and allowed to
interview men after a fight -
in fact it looks as if the War
Office had decided that publicity
cd do no harm after the
event.
11.10 p.m. There are the flashes of
guns all along / horizon to the
east of us - from Ypres to Neuve
Chapelle - Our guns were busy
wire-cutting today; but what is
this?
If aeroplane photos mean
anything they mean tt / Germans
are going to attack our Epinette
salient. They have bn building
new assembly trenches, connecting
them up w / front line by a new commn trench,
& building a second long trench up
to the assembly trenches.
It may be our own new
assembly trenches have deceived ^them

5      61
June 24 (Sunday) To Montreuil to see
Hutton Wilson - a beautiful motor
drive thro the summer fields.
The driver didn't go too fast- he
was on the staff of "The Car" before
/ war & seems to know how to
drive.
The British papers - & some o /
French, I notice, have been hinting
at a big British offensive. I
wonder whether the Censor has
allowed this or whether it is
published without him.
We saw Gen. Charteris, an
engineer officer at / head o all /
Intelligence, at G.H.Q. with
Hutton Wilson. Charteris
has (as Gibbs says) not a very
subtle type of mind - but a
forcible one, & reasonable enough.
He sd G.H.Q (no - he put it onto
/ War Office) had decided tt no

5     62
one connected w Press Work
here shd carry a camera. We
were connected w Press work
& so we came under / Genl.
rule. But there ws no reason
why an official photographer
(apart from us). shd not be
appointed.
I sd I supposed as /
principle ws established they
had to enforce it in our case,
but I didnt agree with the
principle. Charteris sd he
wsn't sure he did either -
but there It was.
He also admitted tt
war correspts in future wd
probably have staff jobs like
ours -  xxx I suggested tt this
wd enable one man to be
with each Army. He agreed
- & admitted (wh he had not.