Arthur Douglas Crease Letters, Diaries and Scrapbooks
Letters from Arthur Douglas Crease of Victoria to his brother Lindley Crease and his mother Sarah Crease; instructions for the offensive of July 26, 1917; a regimental notebook, diaries and scrapbook. Learn more.
*All transcriptions are provided by volunteers, and the accuracy of the transcriptions is not guaranteed. Please be sure to verify the information by viewing the image record, or visiting the BC Archives in person.
BC Archives MS-0055; BC Archives MS-2879
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95
Mons
17.11.18
My dear brother
Today's experiences have made up for the discomforts of the journey back from leave to an unknown destination.
After reaching Valenciennes the interest increased culminating when the Belgian border was passed. From there on the roads were plentifully supplied with flags & every person was decked with some bit of bright colour. The roads were filled with a steady stream of civilians lugging along their stuff in every kind of vehicle, mostly home made and drawn by every kind of animal, dog, horses of every size, cows, men, women and children. Sick, babies in arms and the absolutely infirm seated in the conveyance.
It is clear that the Boche has treated Belgium as if he intended to keep it & did not wish to antagonize the inhabitants. There is not anything to the same destruction or evidence of looting. Mons astonished me. Thinking of its part in the war I expected to find a wrecked village but instead it proves to be a thriving town of considerable size with much
BC Archives, MS-0055 Box 15 File 4 / CREASE FAMILY / Letters from Arthur Douglas Crease to his brother, Lindley Crease, 1918.