The town which, until 1918, had practically escaped damage, suffered severely in the subsequent bombardments, and was moreover thoroughly pillaged by the German troops during their occupation. In this they complied with the instructions of the High Command, who ordered all the churches and chapels in the region of the Somme to be carefully searched, not excepting the "_altars, confessionals and other parts of the church, access to which is reserved by ecclesiastical rules to the priests only_." In pursuance of this decree, dated May 20, 1918, the church of Bray-sur-Somme was despoiled of its furnishings. A magistrate-member of the Enquiry Commission, visiting the church a few days after the Germans had left, reported: _"A large number of bottles were lying on the floor. The baptismal font was fouled with urine. The door of the Holy of Holies, which bore traces of having been forced, was twisted and the iron-work torn off."_ The church itself _(Hist. Mon.)_, dated from the 13th and 15th centuries. It was greatly damaged by the bombardments. The spire collapsed, the façade was pierced with numerous shell-holes, while the timber work and roofing were partly destroyed. The church is reached by the Rue des Massacres. _After visiting the church, proceed to the bottom of the square, where, on the right, turn to the left into the Rue de Cappy. Pass a Merovingian cemetery, then follow the marshy Valley of the Somme to =Cappy= (3 km. from Bray)._ [Illustration: CAPPY. THE VILLAGE AND BRIDGE OVER THE CANAL.] Cappy, lost on March 26, 1918, was reconquered exactly five months later by the British. The Germans had a dump in the village for all the sacred articles stolen in the district. This depôt was installed in the yard of the billet occupied by the "_officer in charge of the booty_," opposite a building which, according to a notice posted up by the Germans, was the meeting-place of the "_detachments for the collection of the booty_." The sudden arrival of the British did not leave them time to carry away the booty, which included three bells, a quantity of metallic objects, chandeliers, candlesticks, crucifixes, and "six greatly damaged ecclesiastical ornaments." [Illustration: THE CANAL NEAR THE LOCK. WOUNDED ON THEIR WAY TO THE DRESSING-STATION.] The church has a massive fourteenth century fortified belfry, the upper story of which comprises four watch-towers resting on the corner abutments. Two of these towers were destroyed by the bombardment. [Illustration: FRISE CHURCH IN JULY, 1916 _(see pp. 71-72)_.] _Near the Church, take the road which runs parallel to the Somme canal. On leaving Cappy there is a large_ Franco-British cemetery _on the left_. _=Eclusier= (3 km. beyond Cappy) is next reached_; it is the principal portion of the "_commune_" of Vaux-Eclusier. =Vaux=, which forms the other portion of it, lies on the northern bank.