- Contributed by听
- Wyre Forest Volunteer Bureau
- People in story:听
- Gwendoline Thomas (Lance Corporal Botterill)
- Location of story:听
- Hayling Island
- Background to story:听
- Army
- Article ID:听
- A3186876
- Contributed on:听
- 27 October 2004
It was my day off and in the afternoon I decided to go to the small picture house on Hayling Island.
About ten minutes before the end of the picture the guns opened up. I thought "I'll just see the end of the picture" and after that I nipped over to see the boats coming back from Dieppe.
I was walking along and could hear a noise like "shhh, shhh". I thought "What the hell is that" 'cause it was all open with the sand and stones and shrubs.
Then it went "ping!" It was only a hail of shrapnel coming down, so I put my tin hat on and ran like hell back to camp. I remember wishing the hat could have been as big as an umbrella!
To think that only a few days before the Major had taken us all for a picnic on that beach while another battery had been practicing on our guns!
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