On the 26th, I motored with O’Hagan to find the place where Walter crashed, and on the following day he was buried close to an 18-pounder battery near the Bois-de-la-Maison Blanche, Sheet 5l.B b.27, and we marked his grave with a cross made out of a propeller. C. P. O. Scott and a party of machines got a good dusting while salving the machine, but they got both airframe and engine back all right.
On the 29th we had the misfortune to lose Cuzner. The Canadians reported having seen a triplane brought down near Courrieres and, as the air was stiff with Huns that evening, it seemed probable that he had got separated from his formation and been attacked by superior numbers.
On the following morning we had a stroke of luck and an early wild goose chase after some supposed bombers led to a real field day. We were awakened early by the sound of bombs being dropped somewhere quite close and, in quick time, four machines were got away in chase. The bombers weren‘t seen but this was hardly surprising because it was misty; besides, there was the possibility that they were British machines dropping their eggs in the wrong place! However, away went our fellows over the lines and fell in with a whole party of Huns. Little and Compston each got two and Booker one.
On May 1st, Roach was killed in combat and Shields was brought down in our lines and severely injured. I saw Shields in the Casualty Clearing Station at Barlin next day and he told his story. Having got separated from his formation he was returning home when he sighted and attacked a Hun near our lines. During the scrap he was taken unawares by a whole Flight of Albatross Scouts and he had to stunt for his life. With his machine badly hit about and driven low over Vimy Ridge he finally lost control and crashed in a spin. Luckily he was thrown clear, and, although he had a broken leg and other injuries, he managed to crawl into a shell-hole near by. Shelling was continuous during the day and he was forced to remain in the shell-hole in the heat of the sun, and in great pain from his injuries, from half past nine until four p.m., when he was found by three Tommies and removed to the C.C.S.
Round about this date, we had visits from Staff Paymaster Ricci, better known as “Bartimeus,” who had come from Dunkirk to get copy for some stories about the R.N.A.S., and from Major Orpen, the well-known portrait painter.
