Probably no person saw more of the Anzacs in battle on Gallipoli than
C.E.W. Bean. After sailing with the first convoy, he landed with them on that
fateful first morning of 25 April, and remained on Gallipoli until the
evacuation despite being wounded.
He was unique among the war correspondents of his day: no place in the line was
too dangerous for him. No other pressman dared to go ashore at the first
landings. Throughout the fiercest battles, he would sit in the dust or mud of
the frontline trench taking notes or making sketches.
Night after night he sat in his tiny dugout and wrote in his diary all that he
had seen and done. Its pages flow with powerful descriptions of battle, touching
eulogies to the common soldier, and scathing criticisms of senior officers whose
mistakes cost men their lives. He took over 1100 remarkable photographs with the
diary they constitute the most graphic personal account we have of the events of
Gallipoli.
'Bean's Gallipoli' reveals the innermost thoughts, hopes and criticisms of the
man who, more than any other, shaped the Anzac legend.
This publication was originally published in 1983 under the title of 'Frontline
Gallipoli', and then revised in 1990. This new 3rd edition contains new extracts from
Bean's diaries, new commentary by Kevin Fewster, and over 80 photographs, most
of which were taken by Bean at Gallipoli.
Contents:
Foreword
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
1. 'Good luck to you boys' 21 October - 3 December 1914
2. A hot time in Cairo 1 January - 11 April 1915
3. This night is took good to miss, 12 - 25 April 1915
4. On Turkish soil, 25 April - 5 May 1915
5. As brave as most of them, 6 - 16 May 1915
6. The dead were very thick indeed, 17 - 24 May 1915
7. These little half-hearted shows, 26 May - 23 June 1915
8. Like lemonade without the tingle, 24 June - 31 July 1915
9. 'I've been hit, Baz', 6 August - 10 September 1915
10. Sticking to the truth, 11 September - 2 November 1915
11. The silent battle, 7 November - 11 December 1915
12. No one can foretell the ending, 14 - 31 December 1915
Epilogue
Biographical notes
Notes
Bibliography and further reading
Index
Review:
'The insights are truthful, harrowing and shocking, for this Gallipoli is
not the drama seen through the military censorship of journalistic despatches,
but the views of a thoughtful man communicating with himself.' - The Bulletin
