Todd war diary, 3 August 1914-29 February 1916 / Arthur Todd - Page 38
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[Page 38]
Within the first few minutes the lieutenant in the after control was brought down on the back of a petty officer. His legs were riddled with shell fragments and his boots were full of blood.
While he was being attended to the operating table took charge and ran to the other side of the bulkhead and the fittings in the station fell with a crash the ship gave a violent lurch and the lights went out. We all thought we were gone but it was only the helm going over at such high speed causing the ship to keel over and a fuse blew out.
See opp page. [See Page 37]
This happened every few minutes after that, and we got used to it. Meanwhile the guns went on firing, a welcome sound, for it told those anxiously waiting below that all was well. Soon the wounded began to arrive, some carried, others limping down with assistance, but all cheery and willing to wait their turn. One man was killed with a splinter through his heart. A second, the man who had his leg shot off when the range finder was hit came down in a moribund condition and died almost immediately. He had lain bleeding in an inaccessible position for some minutes and bled to death.
Another petty officer had portion of his inside blown out and died just after the action ceased.
The only other death was an able seaman through whose chest a fragment of shell passed, piercing his lung and wounding the heart wall.
All the rest of the wounded, some sixteen in numbers not including minor injuries such as burns from flaming cordite, did well, though the wounds inflicted by the pieces of hot jagged metal were frightful to behold.
Some men were so riddled that it was difficult to know which hole to plug first.
All the time the wounded were receiving attention the action still went on. Outside in the tunnel the cry was always for ammunition and still more ammunition, and half naked smoke-beginner boys just lately from the Tingira staggered by in the gloom with 100 lb shells to feed the insatiable guns.