Item 06: John D. Wilson diary, 17 May-19 September 1917 - Page 173
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[Page 173]
Sunday Sept. 2. 1917. (1126.)
Cloudy and showery. There was the usual half holiday yesterday & again this evening but the weather was too changeable to go out.
A lot of reinforcements came in early this morning and today amongst them being Driver McDonald one of the original Transports who took sick at Lark Hill last year & has been there ever since. Lieut. Hunter sent a message wishing to be remembered to the Transports.
(1 line of shorthand)
Monday Sept. 3 1917. (1127)
A fine day and clear bright sky. I saw a French funeral procession this morning. The priest led it, chanting all the time, & it was followed by the pall bearers & then the hearse, & then the mourners. The mourners were all dressed in black. The hearse was a covered in farm two wheeled conveyance improvised for the occasion and draped in white with a black cross on the sides. The priest was dressed in white and the pall bearers were ladies. The coffin was carried into the church where a service was held. The coffin was a small one evidently that of a child, & perhaps a girl.
I was shoeing all day. This is the first whole days shoeing that I have done since I have been in France. I had a new Farrier Campbell who came to the Transports last night helping me but he had not much experience & could only nail on, & was very slow. We done 8 horses and 1 mule, one horse a draught had a full set put on. I done all the fitting & most of the