shot through the chest and lay huddled behind a tree

Atkinson told later of two soldiers who went about their radically different tasks with courage and coolness. One of his platoon commanders, Lieutenant Richardson, 5 was shot through the chest and lay huddled behind a tree breathing through the hole the bullet had made:

5 Lt C. H. Richardson, NX141420; 3 Bn . Public servant ; of Canberra; b. Sydney, 7 Aug 1920.

When Richardson was shot, Downes, a country lad, always with his pipe in his mouth, tried to spot the sniper. I went down to bandage Richardson. The sniper had a go at me. The bullet went between my pack and my back and hit my dixie. Downes saw the muzzle blast, moved out into the open to see better, and shot him.

Now the rest of the story.