In news of troops being issued amour,
Conjures up an image of clanking soldier,
In silver plate, on the parapet, bullets
Zinging, rebounding and dinting the metal;
Hindering any proper aim with an Enfield.
The truth being more subtle - in a spade.
In the hint of days of yore comes the news
From Ottawa Free Press, that Canadian
Troops who will carry this innovation.
'Business-like' the soldier's basic spade
At 4lbs, can be carried easily on his back.
Its lightness for ease during marches,
Used for trench digging - when bullets
Fly does the second usage make its play,
Acting as a rifle rest and soldier's shield.
Within the blade's centre is an oval hole,
Where the rifle is rested and aimed.
Described as practically bullet proof,
The shield underwent tests at Valcartier
Camp, where a Sergeant Hawkins,
The King's prize-winning shooter,
Took pot shots at the line of spades.
Only at 200 yards with mark 7 bullets,
Was damage done, appearing as a crack.
The 1st Royal Montreal Regiment,
Were involved in a test, making volleys
At spades but none were pierced.
Even a Laird machine gun, firing mark 6
Bullets had little or no effect.
Yet in reality what practicality in the field,
Can be done under rapid fire,
And urgency of battle in fumbling to use
Such knight's shielding - the size
Of spade is not mentioned in protection.
The wonder is, how really useful they are.
by Jamie Mann.
Anon.,1914. Leaving Belgium - Canadians' Spade Armour. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 1 Oct. p.5. Col.6. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11131626/Daily-Telegraph-October-1-1914.html [Accessed: 1st October 2014].
Mann, J., 2014. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 1 October 2014).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11131626/Daily-Telegraph-October-1-1914.html
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