We passed through villages and towns lying in absolute ruins. Some of the most beautiful buildings in Europe, going back for many hundreds of years, and which were regarded as models of architecture, we riddled or completely demolished. In these towns the churches in every case suffered most. In many towns we passed through there was not a living human being, except a few Belgian guards who were living in cellars.

November 1915. Account of a visit to the Front by J.E. Redmond, M.P, Chairman, Irish Parliamentary Party, in November 1915. [Special Collections SPEC S/D525(P.C.19)]