A Place Called Vimy
Letter home to Norfolk from Pte. George Wallace Cook of Vittoria.
February 10th, 1917 from No. 4 Stationary Hospital, France
You probably heard that I was slightly wounded, (while in trenches belowVIMY Ridge) but I am now well, except for my eye, and it will be all right soon. While up the lines, Fritz sent over some iron rations, and one burst on the sergeant major’s dugout, hitting three of us out of five who were inside. My injuries appeared slight and I did not expect to leave the battalion, but in an hour I was several miles away and marked for base. There was a small cut on the top of my head, and my nose and right cheek were fairly well plastered and something in the eye. In a few hours I was driven to a Casualty Clearing Station, where I remained a week. At the end of four days I was able to see out of the eye, and by the time the hospital train arrived I had improved so much that they decided to send me to this hospital and I have now been here for over a week.
Wallace returned to the trenches for the attack on April 9th.. He will be one of the 24 Norfolk men killed in the Battle of Ridge.