Sharp diary 1918 page 355. Wednesday 18 December 1918 - SS Lapland
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Document date
Wednesday 18th of December 1918
Transcription Notes
Very much the same sort of day as yesterday but more sun and less gloomy but rather colder. A notice told us to have our heavy cabin luggage ready by 10 p.m. so we are evidently to arrive tomorrow. Got money out of the Purser’s charge. A man on the Tribune told me that the blind officer’s name is Barber. He was a territorial and went through the war without a scratch. He was then sent as an instructor to America and taught machine gunning at a Camp in Georgia. A gun exploded and blinded him in one eye & seriously wounded the other one. He has been in Washington since February in hospital and has had 5 operations. When the last was due and the question whether or not he would have any sight left was to be settled the Armistice was declared and his Army Surgeon cleared out & refused to go on any further with the case. So Barber is now returning to England for his operation. His case came before the Senate who unanimously voted him a pension of 100 dollars a month for life. Congress however by one dissentient vote (that of congressman Stafford of Wisconsin) refused to ratify and he has got nothing. It is hard to decide which is worse the cold- blooded action of his surgeon or the pro-german vote of the Congressman!
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