Pocket Diary 1917

This pocket diary belonging to Edmund Blunden relates the experiences of the northern section of the battle of Passchendaele, near the Yser Canal. The attack began on 31 July 1917, and this diary, while incomplete, has sections describing the period between 8 July and 5 August 1917. The experience was later made into a narrative by Blunden and recast as 'The Crash of the Pillars' section of 'Undertones of War' (1928). These pages contain entries for Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 July when Blunden was in camp near Elverdinghe, and describe shelling, and 'Apache dance' and the heat.