Sullivan letter diary, 27 October 1915-9 October 1917 / Eugene Sullivan - Page 260
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[Page 260]
is now a city of the dead.
Quiet does not always reign supreme in this neighbourhood. Yesterday at dusk I was standing at the door gazing idly forth along over the battered scene of desolation when suddenly there was a deafening roar followed by the sound of falling tiles and bricks and I saw the house adjoining our cookhouse tumble into a mass of ruins. Luckily none of the cooks were hit but the water cart was perforated with Shrapnel. This was not the only shell, several more burst in the neighbourhood but luckily no one was hurt. Evidently Fritz had seen the smoke and he is never slow to act on such occasions.
I left off here for dinner and have been kept very busy in the meantime. A few presents came over from Fritz and two struck the boy's billets wounding fifteen men. We have just finished patching them up. Only four were anyway seriously wounded. Now peace reigns supreme once more.
I noticed in one of the papers you sent me, an account of Don Graham's death. It is a wonder I did not meet him as he was killed in the same place as we have been quartered, on and off, ever since our arrival in France.
I must desist for the present as we have just received word to pack up as the battalion moves into the trenches to-night. I am not sorry to hear it as these billets were becoming quite a warm corner.
Fritz started to strafe to-night so our orders to take over were countermanded in order to avoid changing the battalions at a critical moment and indeed we were withdrawn out of the danger zone. On arriving back I was delighted to find two letters from home dated the 6th. and 13th. March and the "Sun Herald" and two local papers. The one of which