Mercer papers, 9 December 1917-19 June 1919 / Harold Mercer - Page 107
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[Page 107]
As a consequence we are living like fighting cocks. There was any amount of poultry, sucking pigs etc. left by the inhabitants, but they are rapidly disappearing; & there is plenty of sugar, and tinned goods in the houses; while wine is a frequent discovery.
In Strazeele I saw a sight that made me boil. The place is burning, & the fires give light; and in a doorway of one house, I saw a tiny child lying as if it had grown tired of looking for its friends & gone to sleep. I thought that might be so, but when I stooped over it I found a big hole at the back of its head, & all its curls matted with blood. I felt as if I could go back straight to the line, & pitch into a stunt.
I have visited Caestre again, which is quite close to where we are, which is near a village called as near as I can get it "Thistwarli". That was, I think, two nights ago; we were doing picketing work. The estaminets were doing a good business, & the inhabitants carrying on as usual; and one girl, when I asked her if she wasn't going to get away, said laughingly: "Allemand not come here!". But our picquet had hardly been withdrawn before the Germans started a bombardment, & ever since the place had been bombed and shelled. Today, I thought I would go in