Sapper Hemmans (Signals, Royal Engineers) described himself as a "Luton lad and a constant reader of The Luton News," when he wrote to the newspaper about a lucky escape on the battlefield for himself and four comrades on July 24th, 1917.

He wrote: "I thought I would let you know of a little incident which occurred with me and, no doubt, it will interest some of he boys in the town. A party of five of us were out, just behind the lines, gathering in wire cables on Monday, July 24th.

"On our return journey to our quarters, we sat down to rest, as it was a very hot day. We rested for a matter of about five minutes, and had not proceeded on our journey a hundred yards when 'Fritz' placed a shell right on the very spot where we were previously sitting.

"The shell made a hole in the ground quite large enough to hold a horse and cart. This was a very narrow squeak for us, and we took to our heels and ran until we found shelter in an old dug-out.

"After things had quietened down, we hopped along and got back quite safely, I am glad to say."

In another part of his letter, Sapper Hemmans wrote: "We often see exciting air fights between our machines and the Germans, especially when our aircraft guns get going. But we have to be very careful about the falling shrapnel from the shells, as we would undoubtedly get a nasty smack if a piece hit us.

"'Fritz' generally starts shelling us about 10pm, but for every one he puts over here he gets two of ours in return.

"I hope this will be interesting to some of my old pals in Luton, as I am rather well known to many of the football section."

[The Luton News:Thursday, August 16th, 1917]