Item 04: Walter Bruce Rainsford diary, 3 January 1917-31 December 1917 - Page 104

[Page 104]

are covered with a thick mantle of snow. Quite a pretty scene. We are only 254 kiloms from Boulogne and 10 from Etaples.

To-day I went into Boulogne. We dropped some patients at 13th Gen. Hospital taken over some little time ago by the American Medical Service, and then went out to Wimereux. Returning to Boulogne we made numerous purchases and got back to Cormont with a good supply of edibles to grace the festive board on Christmas Day. The town was crowded with troops & civilians; everyone seemed to be buying stuff for the Noël.

Thur. 27th Dec. 1917:-

Christmas passed off fairly quietly. We did no work on 24th, 25th & 26th. On the morning of Christmas Day the Sergeants played the men football and were beaten 4 goals to nil. The ground was terribly slippery and covered with ice. We were continually falling. In the