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Extracts from Diary number 4 - page 2

23/2/17

I was well aware of course that this type of woman (enjoleuse) merely want money and nothing else and I was determined to give them neither. I noticed that the wine was indeed strong even possibly drugged. A thimbleful was in fact sufficient to mount quickly into the regions of my brain. It was time to be looking for the place of meeting, so paid my bill at the rate of one franc per thimbleful of Benedictine, and departed much to the disgust of the females. I was lucky in passing three British nurses who by their remarks I gathered that they too were bound for the same place as myself. I heard one say "Thank goodness there is a lecture on tonight", which gave me the impression that the nurse was very fed up like the rest of us. I decided to follow them as otherwise it would have been a difficult matter for me to find my whereabouts owing to the darkened streets. Nearly everyone carries a flashlight, especially the women who wish to sell their favours. They flash their torches continually into ones eyes. I did nearly come to grief against a lamppost in the middle of the road. Entering the cinema I found that only a few had arrived, but later the building became quite full. The audience was composed mostly of French officers some with their wives and families, a number of British officers also attended, but I was the only "Tommy" present. A score or more French nurses came to listen and I thought that on the whole, the gathering was a good sample of French society. Monsieur Germain Bapist wore plain clothes. He is of slight stature, with a comparatively wide but receding forehead. He uttered each word clearly and distinctly and I was able to fol-low a good deal of his speech in spite of an abundance of coughing, which very fre-quently drowned his remarks to my ears. He spoke upon a large number of subjects, most of which are already familiar to Englishmen, a few others I might mention such as that every British regiment has a Drapean, which is the emblem of honour, he enumerated in their order the names of the battles, which one regiment bore upon its banner, and which passed in review before the late field marshal Lord Roberts during his visit to the troops in France. He solemnly declared that it was the duty of the officers of the Republican army to salute the standards of British valour.

Stapleton

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Signals

The Basilica in 1916