Item 03: Walter Bruce Rainsford diary, 1 January 1916-31 December 1916 - Page 106

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[Page 106]

exempt & discharged from the Army to a new examination to see how many are fit for further military service.
Do you know what a "marraine" is?. "Marraine" is the French word for "Godmother" and throughout France there are many marraines (for the war only). Lonely poilus in the trenches who have no friends write to women & girls who then become their godmother or marraine & send letters, cigarettes, packets of eatables etc to their "filleul" (godson) as he is called..I know of one girl who has about 40 "filleuls" & this young Marraine keeps up a regular correspondence with them all & sends them packets of smokes & things as well. (I suppose you know that "poilu" is the nickname for a French soldier, like "tommy" for an English soldier & "Anzac" for an Australian.
What fine people the French are & what a fine country they have. The

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