Sullivan letter diary, 27 October 1915-9 October 1917 / Eugene Sullivan - Page 241
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[Page 241]
France
29th.March 1917.
My dear Parents/.
Once more we are back in billets after another week in the trenches. Our Battalion suffered very few casualties this time.
Our present billets are in a deserted Herbalists shop. The front room is replete with shelves all packed with bottles and jars containing herbs and their extracts. The former occupants, judging by their stock, did an extensive business. The waste and destruction which meets one's gaze on all sides is appalling, and brings home to one the dreadful sacrifice made by the french in the present war.
I went to see the pictures and pierrots last night. It quite carries one back to home, packed in a crowded hall watching Charlie Chaplin and other picture celebrities. The pierrots are recruited from the different battalions and there are some really splendid singers and actors amongst them. When we came out we were surprised to see a Boche aeroplane hovering overhead at a great height. Our guns were barking incessantly and soon the shells began bursting all round him and the boche took to flight. It was just getting dusk at the time and I daresay the germans were trusting to find the guns deserted at that late hour - late for aerial work.
I am in the best of health and trust all at home are well. I have cut my finger slightly and am writing with it bound up hence the scrawl.
With best love to all
Your loving son
Eugene.