Item 05: Fred Harold Tomlins war diary, 19 March-15 August 1916 - Page 51
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[Page 51]
7-5-16
with the left, (rather an awkward position shooting from the right shoulder) & on no account to rest the rifle on the parapet as the military rifles are now made to allow for the give when the trigger is pulled & if the rifle is held too steady it will not shoot straight, when firing with the bayonet fixed always aim high as the steel bayonet has a tendency to draw the bullet down when leaving the barrel & naturally drops short.
It was most amazing lecture I have ever heard of especially as 90% of the men addressed had been in the firing line for months & a good many of them have scars that remind them that it is not safe to keep your head above the parapet any more than a second or two; And still we are told to always to do as an Officer tells us, but I fancy if we ever get in a scrap Mills would soon be told to go to Jerusalem or somewhere else;
Eggs on toast for supper tonight