19/September 1914

 

Pte Wheatley wrote:

 

"It is the aeroplanes which do the damage. They drop white powder which explodes and shows where we are, and then the shells come along, six or seven at a time.

"You can hear them coming in the air, and your anxiety is in the waiting to see where they will burst. All the injuries were caused by their shrapnel.

"Their infantry fire is practically useless. They run along with their rifles on their hips but they cannot aim.

"The only bullet I heard of which hit the mark was one which struck one of our men in the forehead. It went straight through his head.

"He was a Birmingham man and the first one in 3rd Worcesters who was killed."