Volume 2: Letters written on active service, M-W, 1914-1919 - Page 20
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[Page 20]
Sqd officers was killed, dead before we retired. I had one man killed & one wounded from my troop, but going back when the shrapnel was coming, got five more wounded – my groom amongst them. A bullet through below the knee & into his ponie's shoulder. However the horse kept going & we got the others back.
This may sound like a rabble, but was part of a scheme. Just before we got back to where we finally pulled up, the shrapnel came in amongst us properly some of it not bursting too well. One shell knocked my horse nearly over one way, & another on the opposite side straightened him again. One of the sergeants from the next troop told me I was the luckiest man in the Sqd. Not a scratch on my horse & not a mark on me. A big lot of horses were wounded. We held on long enough for the infantry & artillery to get in position, then retired through them & spent the middle of the day behind cover.
Stray bullets here got a few horses & killed one man also. All this time their artillery were pouring in the shrapnel & high explosives. They had several big guns to the East of Romani & kept up a terrific bombardment on the redoubts. Their aeroplanes were bombing hard. Our artillery replied & it was not till next day that