“For days after the breaking of the news there were never absent from the cemeteries men by themselves, or in twos and threes, erecting new crosses or tenderly tidying-up the grave of a friend. This was by far the deepest regret of the troops”
Feature Quote
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- Charles Bean, in the Story of Anzac, Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918, Vol. 2, p. 882, Story of Anzac, in chapter XXXI – the Evacuation.
Charles Bean (1879 –1968) was an Australian journalist, historian and official war correspondent with the AIF troops during the Gallipoli campaign. Despite receiving an injury, Bean remained in the area, prolifically detailing events as they continued to unfold during the campaign. Bean is celebrated as the author of the first six volumes of the Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918, detailing the AIF perspective in Belgium, France and Gallipoli. Moreover, upon his return to Australia, Bean was influential in the founding of the Australian War Memorial and in propagating the ANZAC narrative.
Portrait of Charles E.W. Bean, painted by George Lambert in 1924 (ART07545). Image courtesy of AWM.