An intended early counter battery patrol was cancelled in view of the weather. So Greg had the day off and went to St Omer. A “good time”; but a close encounter with some bombs at night.
Diary
August 1st 1918. Thursday. CBP at 5.30am. Too dud to take off, heavy fog and ground mist. Went to St Omer at 11.am & came back at 7. Good time, quite a change from camp. Bomb raid at night. 10 bombs dropped near us.
St Omer
St Omer was something of an aviation hub during the First World War. It was the largest British airfield on the Western Front, and the centre of operations for the RFC and then the RAF. There was also an associated hinterland of supply facilities. Socially, it was quite a buzz too. Nonetheless, as Cross & Cockade International reports, there was a variety of views on the merits of the place:
The town itself seems to have brought out mixed reactions. Major Edward (Mick) Mannock, described St Omer as a ‘nasty town, mainly composed of estaminets, old women, and dirty – very dirty children’, while Lieutenant Harry van Goethem, who arrived with 10 Squadron at St Omer in July 1915, appears to have relished his brief time billeted there describing his visit as ‘historic’. He particularly enjoyed the Café Vincent and ‘the wonderful waitress (Jeanne) whose fair coiffe was the admiration of countless thousands of British officers. “Given the number of squadrons for whom a night out in St Omer was a regular social event – being recognised as a meeting place for members of any squadron within a reasonable distance – it may be concluded that for the majority of RFC personnel it was an agreeable destination. (https://www.crossandcockade.com/StOmer/)
From Greg’s brief report, he evidently shared the majority view.