ACCIDENT TO PRIVATE HERITAGE
Sergeant F Haines, of the 8th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment, writing to Mrs H Heritage for her son, Private Joseph Heritage, says:
“I am very sorry to inform you that your son, Joseph, met with a slight accident this afternoon, which will probably lead to the loss of a finger. He was cleaning his rifle after the day’s work when, for some unknown reason, a cartridge which had been left in the breech exploded and shattered his finger. I can assure you there is no cause for worry, as Joe was very brave and walked to the dressing station to be attended to. We are all very sorry to think that Joe should be the first to receive a wound of any kind in the “B” Company, and we all hope to have him with us again shortly. We shall miss him very much in our sing-songs, as he was always ready to do a little bit. He has been with me six or seven years now and I always found him ready and willing to do anything he was asked to, and we shall all be pleased to see him back again.”