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| Original diary entry |
The source of the material from which this journal has been compiled is a small pocket diary in which brief entries were made daily throughout the writer’s short spell on active service in the British Army in 1917. The events and incidents, both trivial and tragic, and the names of those who shared in the writer's experiences are authentic.
13th February 1917
Our first effort at squad drill in the local park was good cheap amusement for the old ladies peering through the iron railings until the sergeant, sensing our embarrassment, interspersed his commands with certain army expressions which, one might have expected, were unintelligible to elderly spinsters. Nonetheless the old dears departed abruptly and the awkward squad was left in peace.
Note that all entries in the diary regarding letters sent and received were censored at the time.