Item 07: John D. Wilson diary, 19 September-28 December 1917 - Page 19
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[Page 19]
"Pill box" as a descriptive name in the jargon of the fighting soldier seems to have come to stay, but it is not a good one for its purpose. It is unsatisfactory because it conveys the impression of fraility, whereas the pill-box of Flanders is solidity itself, a thing of weight, more resistant than steel, which stands up to the buffets of the biggest shells the British guns send over. It is more like a safe than a pill box. It is a concrete cell more like a dog kennel or a fowl house than a box. It has a little entrance at the back, closed by a massive steel door as a protection against prowling British forces. The pill-box may be square or oblong, & of different sizes. It may hold a section or a platoon or more, and be armed with a number of machine guns or only one. From floor to roof is about 8 feet, the depth from front to rear about 6 feet. The length of a single compartment varies, but seldom exceeds 12 feet. If the Pill-box is a big one it has more than one compartment. The roof & walls at the front and sides are immensely strong, often 5 ft thick, with the concrete well reinforced with steel rods. The floor and back walls are less massive,