About five years ago Dominiek Dendooven of the In Flanders Fields Museum introduced me to the diary of Father Achiel Van Walleghem. As he told me about the riches of its contents, it became clear that this source would provide a fascinating insight into the war. Van Walleghem served throughout the conflict as the priest of Dickebusch (Dikkebus) where he lived, before being forced to move to Reninghelst (Reningelst) in 1916. A committed, intelligent, imaginative man, he faithfully recorded everything he saw around him, usually accompanied by an acute judgement or insight.
