Chapter 29 – Charles

Charles Bean records: “Birdwood’s headquarters in Cairo were in the southern corridor of Shepheard’s Hotel” in Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18 , vol I, p. 124. Bean also records here how the clerks of Birdwood’s General Staff office for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps proposed the codename of “ANZAC” as the full name for the corps was too cumbersome for constant use, and that General Birdwood approved of it.

Charles Bean records in Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18 , vol I, p. 117: “Major-General W. R. Birdwood, under whom the Australian and New Zealand forces were to form an army corps, was an officer singled out by Lord Kitchener. Kitchener had attached him to his staff in the South African war and in India, and he was in India when Kitchener appointed him to command the Australiasian Army Corps.”

Charles Bean wrote of the Australians who arrived in Egypt: “The Australian then, and to the end of the war, was never at heart a regular soldier.” in Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18 , vol I, p. 127.

Charles Bean refers to Charles Villiers-Stuart as “VILLIERS-STUART, Maj. C. H. (of Castlane, Carrick-on-Suir, Ireland; b. Edinburgh, Scotland)” in the index of Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18 , vol I, p. 660. Carrick-on-Suir is located in County Tipperary.

“That’s the wrong way to tickle Mary” – alternative lyrics to the popular song “It’s a long way to Tipperary” are quoted in Trench Talk , by Peter Doyle and Julian Walker, p. 209. A full alternative verse is provided, quoted as being often sung by the Allied soldiers later in the war in France.

Hugh Dolan records that around this time in late March 1915, “General Bridges was briefed daily on enemy numbers by his intelligence staff.” in 36 Days , p. 92. It is not clear as to whether this involved a direct meeting with Charles Villiers-Stuart at Corps HQ in Cairo, as General Bridges was camped at Mena.

“…estimated total troop numbers of 43,000 men from Bulair to Kum Kale…” Major Charles Villiers-Stuart recorded intelligence reports in the ANZAC Headquarter Intelligence war diary. Each daily entry is initialled “CHVS”. His hand written notes in the war diary entry for 23 March 1915 recording estimated Turkish troop numbers can be viewed in the Australian War Memorial record AWM4 1/27/1 (accessible via www.awm.gov.au , at the time of writing the direct link for this document is http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/AWM4/1/27/1/ ) .

The following estimated distribution of Turkish Forces as at 23rd March 1915 are included in Appendix V of the ANZAC Intelligence War Diary for March 1915:

Gallipoli and Dardanelles:         43,000

Keshan:                                    17,000

Constantinople and Bosphorus: 101,000

Smyrna:                                   10,000

Caucasus:                                 230,000

Mesopotamia:                           40,000

Syria:                                       40,000

Yemen:                                    35,000

Hugh Dolan records in 36 Days , that these enemy troop numbers were obtained from an informant who was a Turkish Staff Officer, probably having access to dispatches from Djevad Bey at Channakale Area Fortress Command. (p. 110)

Les Carlyon states in Gallipoli that “Hamilton arrived in Alexandria on March 24” p. 85.

Hugh Dolan records in 36 Days , that the first record of a plan for an ANZAC night landing is the diary entry for 8 April by Staff Sergeant John McLennan who worked closely with Major Charles Villiers-Stuart, pp 203-4.

Hugh Dolan states in 36 Days , “Major Villiers-Stuart knew from experience the destructive effect of machine guns across a defile and the devastation wreaked by shrapnel on exposed troops.”  And also that he had “…learned the value of concealment and terrain.” p. 83.