Item 01: Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett diary, 1915-1917 - Page 200

[Page 200]

Dardanelles for the great debate which is to take place on Monday next. He had alarge party and the old man was extremely amusing on the subject of the Government and on Sir Ian Hamilton, whom he cordially detests. He said "I've known that rotter for years. How the devil can you expect a man to be a leader of men, when he spent half his life sitting in ahot bath writing odes to elderly females." In fact there is no limit to which Beresford wont go in denouncing Hamilton. The latter returned last week with Braithewait his Chief ofStaff, and met with a very cold reception from the public. In fact nobody takes any notice of him, and he is being given the cold shoulder all around. Nevertheless he goes about in public and in private maintaining that he could have got through to Constantinople had they sent him a few more troops, but of course this is all damn nonsense. On the morning of his arrival, he had a long interview at the War office with Kitchener.

On leaving he said "Am I to consider myself a disgraced man" and Kitchener replied "No, we recognise the difficulty you were under and you can hold your head as high as you ever held it". No one knows whether this was meant for irony or not, but of course Kitchener was responsible for Hamilton's appointment, and for keeping him in command so long, and that therefore he must bare a large burden of the responsibility for the failure of the Expedition. General Joffre has been over this week and also met Hamilton at luncheon at theFrench Embassy. Hamilton had previously announced that it would be impossible to remove a single man from the Peninsular without incurring terrible disasters. This had beencommunicated to Joffre. On meeting Joffre Hamilton at once broke into the most fulsome compliments on theFrench General, who suddenly cut him short by saying "How many men could you spare from