Item 01: Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett diary, 1915-1917 - Page 164

[Page 164]

whilst the infernal bullets whistled all round. I made a sort of a barracde which gave me some protection and enabled me to take Cinemetograph pictures but I have no idea how they will come out on account of the difficult conditions the smoke and thv flames from innumerable fires. The shelling was awful. In the middle of the afternoon Lawrence came to me with the news that Nevinson had been wounded in the head but not seriously by shrapnel. He went and had it dressed and then pluckily returned to watch the fight. I stayed some time with the Naval Maxims which were endevouring without much success to find a target. In fact the whole affair was disgracefully conducted and every possible tactiacl fault committed.

For instance a young Subaltern from the 60 pounders sent to observe arrived on the hill five miuntes before the bombardment was due to start and beggee me to point him out the trenches they were supposed to fire on. This I did to the best of my ability. He said thier .
target had been changed three times in the last hour and no one had any clear idea of what they were supposed to do. Wgen the action started the shell fire was so heavy that the Subaltern made no effort to spot but lay all the afternoon in a dug out to obtain some cover being thoroughly scared. About five thirty I returned to my old position and immediately came in for a terrible shelling. I had to lie low for several minutes at a time finally a shell whistled by my head a burst only six feet away in the parapit behind. The next moment another landed within six inchs of me on the parapit but I had my head down. It blew three sand bags on top of me covering me with smoke and sand. I found myself in total darkness and thought I was buried alive. I called for assistance and after a time a soldier came a dragged me out. The nose of the