THERE WAS A SHOOT

Arty AnTiDote, Issue IX, 6 November 1943, Page 3

THERE WAS A SHOOT

without benefit of publicity or cheering crowds, scornful of anything savouring o f th e spectacular, the Yield cillery, as represented by ~:A 5 l Bty. had. their shoot last Tues day morning. Ho open parade ground lined with spectators, no smoking guns pointing to the sky, no flashing ; 1 ane s or 11i m Instead, grimfaced and. tense 3 the gunners took their guns quietly into the bu5h....... Fizz r. Crash Bang :’. A. Th I), jerked itself from its customarily somnolence■» The glassy stare disappeared from classes undergoin lectures, the men on. the guns looked apprehensively or slit trenches, co oks cu r sed the dis ’J o dyed dust, clerks foggot to look busy and Quartermasters ceased writing home in order to place the Hl 32U’s in a vulnerable spot. The barrage had started » A moment’s awful silence - well, perhaps several moments - then the barrage opened up again. The shell shined its way over the carp and a cloud of smoke appeared among the trees , Anxious ex-Infentrymen, veterans of the barrage ar 11 Alernein hoped wistfully that it had not landed short® But the gunners knew their guns. There was lots of margin, Several hundred yards of it according to the sweating, swearing, off!cars, Split minute corrections were made. Cnee again the camp was racked by the concussion as the barrage crept on. The other shell was rawed home - and fired.« A./T.D. shuddered and lapsed into somnolence again. A ,: Buttery carefull;/ cleaned its little gun and quietly and modestly trundled it back to the gun park. They appraised, its roues in sober tone Four times had it Bored and only once had it Fizzed. Thank God their guru were not as other guns. The von squared their shoulders and looked into the future with quiet determination - cx-infantrymcn shiverQl