97-051_LTRS 275

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Karen Dykes
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  • £?1 About this time rumors were flying around that we Were going out around Bruay for a rest, and I had visions of a nice Billet for the winter. Our nopes were shattered next morning "by 20 squads Being picked out to go up the line. The Canadians were going to take CamBrai or Bust. They did it too, though at a very heavy cost. It is said-that this is the worst fighting the corns has ever Been up against. Certainly Pritz had his crack troops defending the city, the loss of vhich. is a deadly Blow to him. Stayed in Bourlon overnight ©gain. At 2 A.M. four squads of us who were sleeping at the M.D. S. were roused and told to report to the O.C. of the 10th farther up in the town. Arrived there to find the rest of the Bunch had gone on up, and that we wouldn’t Be going up till after Breakfast. Same old story* Was glad I did get up though, for I was aBle to witness a scene that will live in my memory forever- the Burning of CamBrai. To stand on the crest of Bourlon Wood at 3 A.M, and gaze across the valley to where CamBrai lay Burning five kilos away was a sight worth going miles to see. Even at that distaee one could detect five distinct fires, the main one around the cathedral, the huge Bulk of which was silhouetted against the fiery Background in a fashion wonderful to Behold. Great columns of smoke rose into the sky the picture Being completed By the flashes of hundreds of guns giving Pritz hell. Up the line again in the morning to find that the Canucks were well through CamBrai without a casuaL ty, Pritz having evacuated the town. My squad waslucky enough to Be one of the -three sent up to the R.A.P. in the city. Jim Park and Capt, Marshall had Been up earlier in the morning, returning with six spiked helmets, so I was very, Beau-doucher know- to get into the place. Made a precarious cross­ing over the lock gates of the Scheldt Canal, the Bridges having Been Blown up By Pritz some days previous. Ten minutes walk through the town Brought us to the B.A.P. established in a hotel. I ascertained in a few minutes that no wounded men were in, then proceeded on a still hunt for souvenirs. - The spiked helmet which I mailed today, and vhich I sincere­ly trust reaches you safely, I found By searching one of Pritz* s Bar­racks from top to Bottom. I found another minus the eagle, and give it to Skinny? The helmet you'll find is somewhat out of shape,But if you'll take it to a hatter, he'll clean and reBlock it, making it as good as new. I turned down an offer of 100 francs for it, so you can see it is a high class souvenir, I I can't Begin to describe the havoc wrought By Pritz in the civilian houses Before he left. Sheer wanton destruction ©Bout ex­presses it. Beautiful houses ransacked from top to Bottom.. Huge mirrors deliberately smashed, Bureau drawers pulled out and their con­tents scattered all over the floor, upholstered chairs slashed, el­ectric fixtures pulled from the ceilings, mattresses ripped and the feathers scattered. Broadcast, in one house a magnificent grant piano smashed Beyond all hopes of repair, in another a Beautifully Bound library strewn on the floor and trodden underfoot, Bath tubs filled with water to overflowing, smashed orockery and glassware everywhere,
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