Cary T. Grayson Diary
Title
Cary T. Grayson Diary
Creator
Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938
Identifier
WWP17200
Date
1919 June 18
Source
Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, Staunton, Virginia
Language
English
Text
We had breakfast on the train and arrived at Adinkerque at nine o’clock, where we found the King and Queen of Belgium and the entire Belgian staff in waiting. The King and Queen had flown over to Adinkerque in an aeroplane, His Majesty being a speed maniac, as was thoroughly demonstrated to the satisfaction of every American in the party before we finally got back home to Paris.
There was the usual guard of honor lined up in front of the station and a long string of automobiles were in waiting. Originally, the Belgians had expected the President to remain with them for three days. This had been found impossible but they were determined that the program arranged for the three days should be carried out.
Entering the motor cars we left Adinkerque and started on a trip which covered by automobile more than 120 miles, and by rail another 100 miles. We started out over the main road towards the town of Lapanne. The King and the President rode in an open motor car, while the Queen and Mrs. Wilson followed in a closed car directly behind. I was in the third car in a good position to collect the dust and to see just what was going on before we came to any particular spot but we went past everything so quickly that there was no chance to look when we were abreast of any matter of real interest.
Minister Brand Whitlock, accompanied by General Joostens of the Belgian staff, also joined the party before we left.
The first stop that the party made was near Furnes, where the party alighted from the motor cars and inspected the locks of the famous Ypres Canal. It was by the use of these locks that the Belgians were able to flood the low territory of Flanders when the Germans made their famous effort to break through to the seas.
Returning to the cars the trip was resumed, passing through Nieuport,Pervyse,Dixmude and Houthulst Forest, where a stop was made for lunch.
The trip was made at a speed that was never less than 35 miles an hours and averaged probably close to 50. The roads were very dusty. Most of the territory through which we passed was a complete waste, the armies having fought over and over it during the war. The towns had been leveled and only shattered semblances of buildings appeared on the horizon.
The luncheon stop had been arranged so that the President would see the wooded ridges where the Belgians finally turned back the German assault. A tent had been erected in the midst of a little clearing, just off the main roadway, and lunch was served in picnic fashion. Just a short distance away in the woods were the half-picked skeletons of a number of dead horses that had fallen victims to the shelling during the war, and the flies were as big as the normal bumble-bee at home. They bit right through heavy clothing and a more uncomfortable luncheon probably has never been enjoyed by a party.
During the luncheon the Queen, who is an expert photographer, insisted on photographing the party from every possible angle. She explained that she had collected several volumes of pictures, numbering many hundreds, which she personally had taken during the progress of the war.
Reentering the cars the trip was continued to Poel Capelle and to Ypres. The run from Poel Capelle to Ypres brought home to the entire party just what had happened during the war. This was the battlefield where the Canadian troops were practically annihilated, and at Ypres the Germans first used gas in shelling the Canadians, practicably wiping out the crack Princess Pat’s Light Infantry - the pride of the Dominion. As far as I could see, on either side of the road, was war wreckage - huge British tanks stood on end or lay shattered masses of steel, where they had been destroyed by German shell fire. Here and there the ground was dotted with the remains of shot-down airplanes; broken motor lorries were scattered in the dry sand. This ground was very dusty now, but during the entire time that it was being fought over it was a morass of mud. In fact, it was explained that when anything - automobile or truck or munition lorry or even ambulances slipped off the road no effort was made to retrieve it; it was simply turned further over and gotten out of the way.
For miles along the road little clusters of graves could be seen - some German, some British, some Australian, some Canadian; in fact, every branch of the armies that had been fighting were represented by the crosses of the men who had left their bodies there.
Arriving at Ypres the former Burgomaster of the Town, and the officials of the district, were waiting. The President alighted from the car and was welcomed by the officials, who walked with him through the ruins, pointing out where the various historical structures had stood. The old Cathedral, which, before the war, was one of the noted landmarks of this section presented a fanatic appearance, one segment of the tower standing out in bold relief, with the rest of it just a crumbling mass of bricks and dust. The noted Cloth Hall, which dated from the fifteenth century, was nothing but a memory - just a mound of broken stone standing where this structure had been. The Germans originally shelled the structure because the Canadians were using it for observation purposes. The Canadians after being driven out of the building completed the work of demolition by simply wiping the tower off the face of the earth. One great hall, to thre right of the road on leaving Ypres, has been taken over by the Canadian government and a big sign upon it proclaimed that it was to be a memorial to those Canadian soldiers who had lost their lives while battling here, and that a suitable monument would later be erected here.
Leaving Ypres we motored at top speed through Menin, Roulers, Thourout, to the noted watering-place of Ostend. All along the road we passed hundreds of German prisoners, who were engaged in cleaning up the debris from the battlefields. They gazed curiously at the President’s car but had no opportunity to see him because the King kept the machine moving at break-neck speed.
Instead of wearing the conventional garb, which ordinarily would have been expected in these circumstances, the President was forced to wear a long linen duster to cover his clothes and protect them as much as possible from the dust. A golf cap had replaced the usual brightly polished silk hat. The King was in the uniform of a Field Marshal of the Belgian Army.
En route to Ostend the car carrying the Queen and Mrs. Wilson, and the car in which I was riding, took the wrong road and we were lost for some little time. The reason for this was that we were delayed from starting from the village of Thouront because a delegation of children were presenting the Queen and Mrs. Wilson with some bouquets of flowers, and the car with the King and the President had started not knowing that this was taking place. However, we managed to pick up the main party before Ostend was reached. We were given a warm reception at Ostend, where the people had gathered in large numbers in front of the Hotel de Ville. The party passed down through the main thoroughfare in front of the famous Casino, around by way of the wharves, and thence to the Hotel de Ville, where the King and the President and most of the members of the party alighted from the autos and went inside. The Burgomaster made a short address of welcome, after which the President briefly told how glad he was to be able to make the trip.
Resuming the motor cars the trip was continued to Zeebrugge, which was the end of the motor journey. Zeebrugge naturally was a point of deep interest inasmuch as during the war it was utiilized by the Germans as their submarine base, from which all of the undersea boats were sent out to prey upon shipping in the Atlantic lanes. It was at Zeebrugge that the British carried through what has been characterized as the best naval operation of the war. They sent a submarine into the mole loaded with dynamite and equipped as a depth bomb, timed to such an exactness that it exploded exactly as it was underneath the main bridge leading towards the Zeebrugge Canal; the bridge was blown up killing more than 300 Germans. It was also at Zeebrugge that the Cruiser Vindictive and a squadron of destroyers were run in and sunk so that they blocked the channel and made it impossible for the Germans to continue sending out their submarines through the canal. It was also at Zeebrugge that Captain Evans, now the Port Commander of Zeebrugge, ran the converted merchantman Brussels up against the concrete breakwater, demolished a section of the wall, and landed 400 men, who raided the German fortifications and caused great loss to the enemy. Captain Evans himself took charge of the party and escorted the President all over the frotifications. The President walked the entire length of the seawall, which was an enormous mass of concrete, having been constructed by the Germans at very great cost. It bore all of the evidences of the various battles that had taken place in and about it. The President was very much interested in the recital of just what had taken place during the war.
Reentering the motors, the party was driven to the railroad station, where a special train was in waiting to bring us to Brussels. We arrived at Brussels at 9:30 in the evening to find the usual guard of honor lined up at the station and a good crowd along the streets between there and the Palace. The automobiles were quickly boarded, and we were escorted to the Palace, where the President and his immediate party were to be housed during their stay. The Palace in Brussels is one of the most magnificent structures in Europe. It was constructed by the late King Leopold, whose taste were extremely luxurious, and who by reason of his Congo monopoly was the richest reigning monarch. he had spent money with a lavish hand and the structure not only is a delight to the eye but is one of the few modern buildings of its character in the world.
Gathered in the Palace to welcome the President were the chief officials, Cardinal Mercier, and members of the Belgian Cabinet. They were presented to the President, one by one, the King doing the introducing. While this was going on the crowd outside was cheering loudly demanding an opportunity to see the President. However, the King apparently had no intention of presenting the President to any one outside of the Palace walls and good-nights were speedily said, the King casually saying “good night”, and leaving - all of the other guest departing forthwith. My attention, however, had been attracted to the size of the crowd and to its very evident desire to get at least a glimpse of the President before it dispersed. So I went to the President’s bed-room and found him partially undressed. I told him of the circumstances, and he put on his coat, and the lights were turned on. As he moved over to the window the people recognized him and cheered, so he opened the window and stepped out upon a balcony and made a brief but touching address to the people below. In part the President said: “In coming personally I had merely followed my own heart and the heart of the people of America to Belgium.” The crowd then dispersed and the President went to bed very tired as the result of the tremendous tax upon his resources by the day’s strenuous program.
There was the usual guard of honor lined up in front of the station and a long string of automobiles were in waiting. Originally, the Belgians had expected the President to remain with them for three days. This had been found impossible but they were determined that the program arranged for the three days should be carried out.
Entering the motor cars we left Adinkerque and started on a trip which covered by automobile more than 120 miles, and by rail another 100 miles. We started out over the main road towards the town of Lapanne. The King and the President rode in an open motor car, while the Queen and Mrs. Wilson followed in a closed car directly behind. I was in the third car in a good position to collect the dust and to see just what was going on before we came to any particular spot but we went past everything so quickly that there was no chance to look when we were abreast of any matter of real interest.
Minister Brand Whitlock, accompanied by General Joostens of the Belgian staff, also joined the party before we left.
The first stop that the party made was near Furnes, where the party alighted from the motor cars and inspected the locks of the famous Ypres Canal. It was by the use of these locks that the Belgians were able to flood the low territory of Flanders when the Germans made their famous effort to break through to the seas.
Returning to the cars the trip was resumed, passing through Nieuport,Pervyse,Dixmude and Houthulst Forest, where a stop was made for lunch.
The trip was made at a speed that was never less than 35 miles an hours and averaged probably close to 50. The roads were very dusty. Most of the territory through which we passed was a complete waste, the armies having fought over and over it during the war. The towns had been leveled and only shattered semblances of buildings appeared on the horizon.
The luncheon stop had been arranged so that the President would see the wooded ridges where the Belgians finally turned back the German assault. A tent had been erected in the midst of a little clearing, just off the main roadway, and lunch was served in picnic fashion. Just a short distance away in the woods were the half-picked skeletons of a number of dead horses that had fallen victims to the shelling during the war, and the flies were as big as the normal bumble-bee at home. They bit right through heavy clothing and a more uncomfortable luncheon probably has never been enjoyed by a party.
During the luncheon the Queen, who is an expert photographer, insisted on photographing the party from every possible angle. She explained that she had collected several volumes of pictures, numbering many hundreds, which she personally had taken during the progress of the war.
Reentering the cars the trip was continued to Poel Capelle and to Ypres. The run from Poel Capelle to Ypres brought home to the entire party just what had happened during the war. This was the battlefield where the Canadian troops were practically annihilated, and at Ypres the Germans first used gas in shelling the Canadians, practicably wiping out the crack Princess Pat’s Light Infantry - the pride of the Dominion. As far as I could see, on either side of the road, was war wreckage - huge British tanks stood on end or lay shattered masses of steel, where they had been destroyed by German shell fire. Here and there the ground was dotted with the remains of shot-down airplanes; broken motor lorries were scattered in the dry sand. This ground was very dusty now, but during the entire time that it was being fought over it was a morass of mud. In fact, it was explained that when anything - automobile or truck or munition lorry or even ambulances slipped off the road no effort was made to retrieve it; it was simply turned further over and gotten out of the way.
For miles along the road little clusters of graves could be seen - some German, some British, some Australian, some Canadian; in fact, every branch of the armies that had been fighting were represented by the crosses of the men who had left their bodies there.
Arriving at Ypres the former Burgomaster of the Town, and the officials of the district, were waiting. The President alighted from the car and was welcomed by the officials, who walked with him through the ruins, pointing out where the various historical structures had stood. The old Cathedral, which, before the war, was one of the noted landmarks of this section presented a fanatic appearance, one segment of the tower standing out in bold relief, with the rest of it just a crumbling mass of bricks and dust. The noted Cloth Hall, which dated from the fifteenth century, was nothing but a memory - just a mound of broken stone standing where this structure had been. The Germans originally shelled the structure because the Canadians were using it for observation purposes. The Canadians after being driven out of the building completed the work of demolition by simply wiping the tower off the face of the earth. One great hall, to thre right of the road on leaving Ypres, has been taken over by the Canadian government and a big sign upon it proclaimed that it was to be a memorial to those Canadian soldiers who had lost their lives while battling here, and that a suitable monument would later be erected here.
Leaving Ypres we motored at top speed through Menin, Roulers, Thourout, to the noted watering-place of Ostend. All along the road we passed hundreds of German prisoners, who were engaged in cleaning up the debris from the battlefields. They gazed curiously at the President’s car but had no opportunity to see him because the King kept the machine moving at break-neck speed.
Instead of wearing the conventional garb, which ordinarily would have been expected in these circumstances, the President was forced to wear a long linen duster to cover his clothes and protect them as much as possible from the dust. A golf cap had replaced the usual brightly polished silk hat. The King was in the uniform of a Field Marshal of the Belgian Army.
En route to Ostend the car carrying the Queen and Mrs. Wilson, and the car in which I was riding, took the wrong road and we were lost for some little time. The reason for this was that we were delayed from starting from the village of Thouront because a delegation of children were presenting the Queen and Mrs. Wilson with some bouquets of flowers, and the car with the King and the President had started not knowing that this was taking place. However, we managed to pick up the main party before Ostend was reached. We were given a warm reception at Ostend, where the people had gathered in large numbers in front of the Hotel de Ville. The party passed down through the main thoroughfare in front of the famous Casino, around by way of the wharves, and thence to the Hotel de Ville, where the King and the President and most of the members of the party alighted from the autos and went inside. The Burgomaster made a short address of welcome, after which the President briefly told how glad he was to be able to make the trip.
Resuming the motor cars the trip was continued to Zeebrugge, which was the end of the motor journey. Zeebrugge naturally was a point of deep interest inasmuch as during the war it was utiilized by the Germans as their submarine base, from which all of the undersea boats were sent out to prey upon shipping in the Atlantic lanes. It was at Zeebrugge that the British carried through what has been characterized as the best naval operation of the war. They sent a submarine into the mole loaded with dynamite and equipped as a depth bomb, timed to such an exactness that it exploded exactly as it was underneath the main bridge leading towards the Zeebrugge Canal; the bridge was blown up killing more than 300 Germans. It was also at Zeebrugge that the Cruiser Vindictive and a squadron of destroyers were run in and sunk so that they blocked the channel and made it impossible for the Germans to continue sending out their submarines through the canal. It was also at Zeebrugge that Captain Evans, now the Port Commander of Zeebrugge, ran the converted merchantman Brussels up against the concrete breakwater, demolished a section of the wall, and landed 400 men, who raided the German fortifications and caused great loss to the enemy. Captain Evans himself took charge of the party and escorted the President all over the frotifications. The President walked the entire length of the seawall, which was an enormous mass of concrete, having been constructed by the Germans at very great cost. It bore all of the evidences of the various battles that had taken place in and about it. The President was very much interested in the recital of just what had taken place during the war.
Reentering the motors, the party was driven to the railroad station, where a special train was in waiting to bring us to Brussels. We arrived at Brussels at 9:30 in the evening to find the usual guard of honor lined up at the station and a good crowd along the streets between there and the Palace. The automobiles were quickly boarded, and we were escorted to the Palace, where the President and his immediate party were to be housed during their stay. The Palace in Brussels is one of the most magnificent structures in Europe. It was constructed by the late King Leopold, whose taste were extremely luxurious, and who by reason of his Congo monopoly was the richest reigning monarch. he had spent money with a lavish hand and the structure not only is a delight to the eye but is one of the few modern buildings of its character in the world.
Gathered in the Palace to welcome the President were the chief officials, Cardinal Mercier, and members of the Belgian Cabinet. They were presented to the President, one by one, the King doing the introducing. While this was going on the crowd outside was cheering loudly demanding an opportunity to see the President. However, the King apparently had no intention of presenting the President to any one outside of the Palace walls and good-nights were speedily said, the King casually saying “good night”, and leaving - all of the other guest departing forthwith. My attention, however, had been attracted to the size of the crowd and to its very evident desire to get at least a glimpse of the President before it dispersed. So I went to the President’s bed-room and found him partially undressed. I told him of the circumstances, and he put on his coat, and the lights were turned on. As he moved over to the window the people recognized him and cheered, so he opened the window and stepped out upon a balcony and made a brief but touching address to the people below. In part the President said: “In coming personally I had merely followed my own heart and the heart of the people of America to Belgium.” The crowd then dispersed and the President went to bed very tired as the result of the tremendous tax upon his resources by the day’s strenuous program.
Original Format
Diary
Files
Collection
Citation
Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938, “Cary T. Grayson Diary,” 1919 June 18, WWP17200, Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.