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Ploegsteert (Plug St)

JULY, 1915.

Church Parade - compulsory - get called down by Capt for asking permission to go to church at Steenwerck

Leave billets for Ploegsteert 430 - Close the frontier into Belgium near Nieppe and are billeted in the "Piggeries" in the Bois de Ploegsteert ("Plug Street" of the Tommies) - a model farm - supposed to belong to King Albert - cement floor pens, & feeding troughs. Four Canadian Privates allotted the space of one Flemish pig. Got bedded down at midnight but floor unconscionably hard & of course no blankets. Beautiful wooded country around here - everywhere cut by Reserve trenches, barricades, redoubts and barb-wire.

Our machine gun officer struck by a stray bullet end of the Piggeries Road -- dies at dawn - All in the Estaminet nearby put under arrest on account of blaze being seen arising from chimney - Explained later as caused by fat overturned in the stove. Chateau de la Hutte, back of Hyde Park Cor. shelled to pieces - observation post of our artillery. 8 pm sent on working party digging & sandbagging commun. trench - Jack Ensch & I have one traverse - dig 3' and sandbag 4 bags high - Night absolutely black and I am so sick I can hardly stand - Jack won't let me do anything but fill sandbags - blowing hard with rain squalls - Feeling out of sorts - So dark can't see what we are doing - Germans throwing up flares & stray bullets whining past, but nobody hit. Cannot see one's hand move before one's face. Again tonight on working party covering dugout roofs along front firing line - Continuous sniping here and several men hit. Sgt. Maj. wounded by shrapnel near Hyde Park Corner

BC Archives, MS-0392 Box 1 Volume 4 / FRANK SWANNELL PAPERS, Diary and enclosures, 1915.