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On Our Critic's Apologies single work   poetry   "So you crayfished Mr Critic,"
Issue Details: First known date: 1915... 1915 On Our Critic's Apologies
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

A response to war correspondent Charles Bean, who had published a clarification of earlier comments he made regarding indiscipline among Australian troops stationed in Egypt. This work was a sequel to Westbrook's previous poem 'To Our Critic'.

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To Our Critic To Our Critics i "Ain't yer got no blanky savvy?", F. E. Westbrook , 1915 single work poetry satire
— Appears in: The Sunday Times [Perth] , 18 April 1915; (p. 3) Northern Territory Times and Gazette , 27 May 1915; (p. 10)

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.
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Last amended 22 Apr 2014 18:15:42
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