Item 01: Frank Hurley war diary, 21 August-28 October 1917 - Page 54
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[Page 54]
to matchwood & the walls deeply pitted by shell splinters. It is just recognizable as a building. Climbing to the topmost story through torn floors & shot away walls, we had a transcending view of the ruined city.
Not a building stands intact; most are just brick heaps & unrecognizable dumps of debris. Behind us, one of our 12 inch Guns fired with such a boom, that it seemed the building must give way under the concussion. Over there, clouds of dust & brick fill the air; the bursting of German shells.
It is a weird, awful & terrible sight; yet somehow wildly beautiful. For my part, Ypres as it now is, has a curious fascination & aesthetically is far more interesting than the Ypres that was.
I took some photographs from the Post Office, which have since developed