Such a lovely summer day, but another sharp frost, and cold night. We were at tea when H.Q. were shelled. No one was stunned or hurt. Great tribute to the Elephant. Tables upset, which caused loose articles to roll about. Only thing lost was a knife. I even found my collar stud on the floor, but pipes and tobacco were found minus a stem, hurled to the sides and under boards.

I wasn’t hurt in any way. Plum puddings are liked, and I suppose, some money should be sent to ‘D.T.’ [Daily Telegraph] and ‘Daily News’ Fund. I like Curtin’s articles, very interesting, though, of course, rather ‘Daily Mail’! Football match this p.m. against 12^th [Royal Irish Rifles].

Footnotes

T. Daniel Curtin was a United States-born, Harvard-educated, war correspondent who wrote for a number of newspapers, including the Times and the Daily Mail. From October 1916 to early-January 1917 a series of over 30 articles by Curtin was published in the Times. They were written during a visit to Germany and titled ‘Ten Months in Germany’. The popularity of the articles resulted in Curtin giving a series of lectures and talks about his experiences. Here is one of his articles, dealing with British prisoners of war, published on 21 October 1916.