10 September 1914

Le Petit Maulan:
Noel Kay writes: "No flying today. Pouring rain."

Paris:
Corrie Aujla wirtes: "Woke up this morning to pouring rain. We spent the morning sitting and chatting with M and Mme Jumonde. Their daughter-in-law came for lunch, with two small boys, aged 6 and 4. in tow. Her husband, the elder couple's son, is a clerk in the French HQ in Paris. We were enjoying the rainy afternoon talking to them and playing with the boys when a car pulled up and a fellow British sergeant knocked on the door. He enquired as to our identities and told us that the Germans were on the run. General Joffe had accomplished this feat by sneaking a third army through the city by recruiting all the local taxicabs! This new group was joined by the rear-guard pieces of pieces of the two armies facing the two German armies, then drove this new force up the middle between the two German forces. Taken totally by surprise, the the Germans had pulled back across the Marne River and today, in the rain and the mud, have stopped ant the Aisne. Paris was safe, and Sergeant Bellerman was here to take us to British HQ. We said our goodbyes to the Jumondes, of whom we had grown quite fond, and climbed in the car, Capt Carlson beside the driver and me having the back seat all to myself. The drive from Beauvais to Paris took almost 5 hours, and as Mme Jumonde had made us a nice basket of sandwiches and a bottle of wine we had no need to add a dinner stop to the time or to go hungry. I wound up in a small barracks with eight other enlisted men and three empty beds. Capt Carlson of course got his own room."

Coulemmiers:
Ries Meismer writes: "Heavy rains. Everyone is grounded."

Sainte Menehould:
Odis Först writes: "Nothing is flying today. Heavy rains. Last night, following a late flight. Hptmn Streccius and Ltn Wilhelm Boelke (the observer) were driven off to dinner with General von Pritzelwitz. Today at lunch there was some kind of to-do at the officers' mess. Later the officers came to visit us, and called us to attention. Ltn Oswald Boelke (the pilot) very seriously announced that the Captain and the senior Boelke brother had both been awarded the Iron Cross! With the younger brother leading we gave them both three resounding cheers."

Saint-Soupplets:
Filimor Hance writes: "0418: After being awakened at 0300 we checked everything out and were ready to transfer from Vincennes to Saint-Soupplets. As it grew light the sky was heavily overcast. The flight took 29 minutes through intermittent rian squalls. Later in the day we were glad we started so early, and it turned to contiuous pouring rain for the resr of the day.


Some people are born stupid. I've had to work hard my whole life to get this way. I'm proud of the job I've done