Cocks letter diary, 1916-1919 / Verner Cocks - Page 474
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[Page 474]
Opening Remarks
By General Sir W. R. BIRDWOOD, K.C.B., K.C.S.I., K.C.M.G., C.I.E., D.S.O., A.D.C., G.O.C., A.I.F.,
AT A MEETING OF SENIOR OFFICERS OF THE AUSTRALIAN IMPERIAL FORCE ASSEMBLED ON JUNE 10TH, 1918, TO DISCUSS AN EDUCATIONAL SCHEME.
I have asked you to meet me here this morning in order that I may explain to you and secure your co-operation on the organization of an Educational Scheme for the Australian Imperial Force.
Bishop Long will give you the detailed plans of the scheme and its aims. I will not keep you by going into them. Before, however, we touch upon the actual educational proposals there is a point on which I hope you all here will consider very deliberately and impress on all your officers to do likewise, viz [indecipherable] urgent necessity in any case of doing all we can to look after our men in every possible way once a period of demobilisation begins. I regard it as one of the most difficult periods we shall have to go through: constant drills or anything approaching them will, of course, be quite out of the question, but if we are going to maintain our high reputation to the end, as I know all are determined we shall do, we must keep our men occupied, contented, and cheerful and it will be up to everyone of us to exert his utmost to this end. We have to remember that it must take many months before our large force can be got back to Australia - long, weary months, with, at best, probably not too much to be done during them, except, perhaps, in the case of men for whom we are able to provide regular congenial occupation, such as farming, building, engineering, clerical, etc.