I have put 5 marks in the note-book which is in my bag, for one or two masses and an indulgence, I have given the rest to the Priest for the same purpose.
November 7, 1915, the last day before my death.
Excuse me, if I do not write very well, I am writing on a garden table.
Courage, dear Mother, courage, brothers and sisters, live in peace, without hatred.
I die a good Christian.
Léon Trulin.
The Explosion of the "Dix-huit Ponts"
On January 11th, 1916, at about 2 o'clock in the morning, a terrific explosion shook the town, hurling huge stones and débris in all directions for a distance of several miles. An ammunition depot situated in the south-east portion of the ramparts, between the Gates of Valenciennes and Douai, about 400 yards distant from the railway station of St. Saviour, had blown up. It was an enormous underground vault, commonly known as the "Dix-huit Ponts," because of the 18 massive stone arches which formed the entrance.