1917 original pen and ink drawing of a sentry in the dunes of the Belgian coast viewing a ship on the horizon. Possibly by W Wenber, Leading Seaman.
Gescreiben den . . . 1917 (Written the . . . 1917; printed text, the '7' handwritten)Küstenwacht an der belgischen Küste Gaz. A. Wenber ObermatroseCoastguard on the Belgian Coast, by? W Wenber, Leading Seaman
"August 9th.—The camp, flooded by thunder plumps, has been a comical sight. Everything that could float floated. The men turned out barelegged, or more, swearing and mirthful. One party worked for two hours on a drainage scheme for their tent-floor before realizing that water won't flow to a higher level. One of the Drums, in his shirt only, squatted on an island hummock playing, 'The end of a perfect day.'—This evening, with good visibility at last, the Mont des Cats and other heights and the tower of St. Omer Cathedral could be seen from a dune."
Entry for August 9, 1917 from the writings — diaries, letters, and memoirs — of Captain J.C. Dunn, Medical Officer of the Second Battalion His Majesty's Twenty-Third Foot, the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and fellow soldiers who served with him. Dunn was in Bray-Dunes, France, on the English Channel coast and the Belgian border, roughly 40 km. from Ypres where the Third Battle of Ypres had started on July 31. 'Thunder plump' is a Scottish and northern Irish expression for a violent rain storm accompanied by lightning and thunder. St. Omer is nearly 50 km. from Bray-Dunes.
The War the Infantry Knew 1914-1919 by Captain J.C. Dunn, page 373, copyright © The Royal Welch Fusiliers 1987, publisher: Abacus (Little, Brown and Company, UK), publication date: 1994
1917-08-09, 1917, August, dune, dune watch, Belgian dune watch
