All this morning prepared for our all night trip. We were awakened about 4:30 by the rain which came through the roof like a sieve. The chief got us up at 6:00 and after breakfast and peeling spuds we went up to the farm and got our cars ready for the afternoon. We left at 1:30 being lead by Bug. who soon lost his way in about three places. Finally we got started and went over to Pierrefonds Castle which was the 1st real beautiful building I have seen in the country out here. We were given 1/2 hours leave of absence, and we immediately beat it for the castle. I took some pictures which I hope will come out good. A bunch of us got a guard to take us through and he showed us all around. We saw secret staircases, places Napolean had sat, and some of the most wonderful brick-a-brack made of stone I have ever seen. It soon began to get dark and we blew into a town which the Germans had practically destroyed with incenduary bombs and shot the mayor burying him head downwards. Soon it grew pitch dark, and we all had our thrills keeping on the road, but finally arrived home at Dommiers at 3 o'clock after going 125 miles. We were all wet, cross, and tired to death, but satisfied that we had done a good job and satisfied our chief. It impressed me more of what all the destruction meant was when I saw an old man driving by what was evidently his home with the tears streaming down his cheeks.
Thomas Shirley's son, Robert Shirley found his father's diary which he had written in 1917 when a number of Dartmouth undergraduates were forced to join the French Ambulance Corps. They gave medical aid to the soldiers that were fighting in the war. After they reached their designated spot, they were split into groups to complete different assignments. Robert Shirley tells us that his father was not allowed to write diaries or maybe he just did not know about it. As I researched the information given about the diary, Thomas Shirley continuously wrote in his diary every day of the week until February 12, 1918 which was the day he received his acceptance to a commission. As a cut out some important sections of the diary entries, the tone of Thomas Shirley's writing is quite quick and understandable. He seemed to talk very straight-forward. You can tell after reading it, that he gives many examples of the situations their, which gives us a clear picture of what his lifestyle was like in France.
In Thomas's first few days in the new lifestyle, he says, "Finally we got started and went over to Pierrefonds Castle which was the 1st real beautiful building I have seen in the country out here. We were given 1/2 hours leave of absence, and we immediately beat it for the castle. I took some pictures which I hope will come out good." This quote shows how Thomas Shirley was living quite a boring life in France. Even looking at some random castle was a little bit excitement and he was able to take pictures for fun. Even though the diary seems to be very direct, you can observe that Thomas missed the homely moments he had. Here, he could not do anything freely or even a little entertaining.
Citations:
http://www.dartmouth.org/classes/57/tes00.htm
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