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Fritz. I was just in the act of banging a sandbag up on the parapet ……
when one of Fritz’s shells burst over heads, my piece just missing my head
by a very small margin. I was frightened I might get a bit deaf as my ears
were pretty bad when I got to the dressing station, but they are much
better now.”
The uncertainty of life on the Front line, the need to dig in as quickly as
possible and the vulnerability to artillery fire and its terrible consequences
are emphasized by George’s letter home.
Australian War Memorial AWM Photo A03042
M
en of the 53
rd
Battalion waiting to don their equipment for the attack at
Fromelles in 1916. Only three of the men shown here came out of the
action alive, and those three were wounded.
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