Billets Fme Vve Touquet; La Blance Maison, La Maison Blance

Spent afternoon at the YMCA at Steenwerck writing letters. Rum ration tonight & much consequent exhilaration. Concert. Duet by Robert Decherf & little sister. "Le Regiment du Sambre et du Meuse, "Alouette" by us. Made out will for Jack Enoch (killed October). Sleep in "Patiere" by preference tonight but pretty cold in morning as have nothing but great coat & very thin blanket.

Omelette at Mme Chieux Steenwerck. Great grandfather at Trafalgar. L'Intrepide. 8 years prisoner of war on Trully "Buckingham" Chatham. Grandfather formally presented to me. Mme. Chieux keep. "Dc'bit des Boissons". We bought our eggs across the street & had quite a talk about the Lille war notes.

Tremendous cannonading near Lille. Rumoured 30000 Germans fallen & La Bassee taken.

Given short route march to Steenwerck (Stavert). Down chez les Oliviers. Left package of shrapnel etc. To be sent, after the war. To church at Steenwerck, in the evening, congregation small, many widows.

Germans 8 days at the Oliviers, took whatever they wanted. "Unteroffizier Bauch" left paper for 8 marks payable at the end of the war.

Steenwerck full of Canadian transport corps.

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