Item 03: Walter Bruce Rainsford diary, 1 January 1916-31 December 1916 - Page 119
Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 119]
before they had done some damage, killing & wounding over 100 people.
The activity in the air is very marked at present. On Saturday the French brought down no less than 24 German machines, One of the French aviators has now the honour of holding the record for bringing down enemy aircraft – 18 to date.
The town of Reims, so well known in history has suffered much. The enemy commenced to bombard it early in the war and even now they are still at it. Yesterday morning they dropped 31 shells into the town in an hour, the damage done being a man killed & a woman wounded as well as bringing down some buildings. The population of this city was over 100,000 when the war started – now it is 15,000. The town is dead – even grass is growing in the streets.