WILLIAM ARTHUR SWEET-ESCOTT
Bill’s family received a letter after his death from one of the men who served under him which
reads;
“..........Thank you, saying that I may keep something of Bill’s, I should like to keep his wrist watch
because, altho’ I have one myself, before many battles we were in together we always had to check
the time to give to batteries and always used his watch and mine. I have given Bill’s knife to his
servant, who was so pleased.
Poor old Bill was killed quite instantaneously He had gone up forward to where we had established
HQ for the attack so as to be there when the battle started and get communication from there to the
rear. Directly communication was established the Col. and I were to leave our previous HQ. We
got there about 1/4hour after the fatal shell came. Bill was with a signaller by the window at the top
of a farm, watching for a signal flare to say the infantry had reached their first objective, when a
shell came thro’ the window and burst on a brick arch just behind. He was not badly disfigured at
all but some small splinters had hit him in the head. The signaller was also killed. I don’t know how
I got thro’ those days fighting. I am not ashamed to say there were tears in my
eyes............................”