Item 04: Walter Bruce Rainsford diary, 3 January 1917-31 December 1917 - Page 86

[Page 86]

The inhabitants of the island who of course are French subjects, are of Italian descent and speak among themselves a dialect much resembling Italian. The French language is only spoken in the schools, in society and in business circles. The island is rocky & mountainous and dotted with small towns & villages. The country has a savage but picturesque aspect abounding with precipices, torrents & cascades. Olive & walnut trees grow in abundance.

Monday 26th Nov 1917:-

Our Divisional Headquarters are at Dranoutre, [Dranouter] a village two kilometres from Locre. The cobbled road running from one place to the other is lined on both sides with billets & horse lines of various Australian Units.

The weather has been cold & windy the last couple of days but we can't growl – it is much milder now than it was this time last year.

The following is an interesting extract from an article (les propos de Fantasio) in the weekly paper Fantasio of 1.7.17. "On distinguee les soldats australiens et neo-zelandais à