AustLit

This poem was widely published in the Australian popular and regional press in April 1915. It was written in response to a dispatch from war correspondent Charles Bean, which drew attention to indiscipline among elements of the Australian forces then stationed in Egypt. The dispatch had been written under instruction from Major General Sir William Bridges, the commander of the 1st Australian Division. Bean's dispatch (which was written in late December 1914, some three months before the first 'Wazzir riot' of 2 April, 1915) attracted a good deal of attention in the popular press, with Bean often being condemned for having insulted the reputation of the Australian troops. Bean subsequently wrote a clarification, stating that he had in effect been misrepresented. However the controversy appears to have lingered, with Westbrook penning a second satirical poem, 'On Our Critic's Apologies' in reply.