One Page In A 1915 New Zealand Herald

[Dave Homewood]

I happened by chance on an interesting little article on Papers Past. I looked at the page it came from and noted so many interesting stories on that one page, I figured it deserved a thread here! So here are the most interesting stories from that one single page, dated the 19th of June 1915.

"LIKE CAGED BEASTS."

ENEMY RUN FROM SHELLS.

TEUTON OFFICER'S BARBARITY.

A French soldier who was promoted sergeant for bravery on the battlefield of the Bois d'Ailly has written home, giving the following glimpses of the fighting as he saw it:—

" The Boches," he said, "were like caged beasts, running ragingly about in wild efforts to shelter themselves from the terrible shells hurled by our '75' guns. . .

"Soon afterwards we were ordered to advance from the first line of trenches to make an assault. What a terrible moment! Each man begged the one next to him to write to his relatives should he be killed in action, and to mention that he died bravely, if not boldly.

"A whistle gave the signal to mount from the trenches, by means of ladders which had been placed in readiness. Some men fell before climbing the ladders, for the machine-guns were in full activity and the bullets came along like torrential rain.

"I was one of the first to start, and, with my comrades, did not take long to cover the 150 yards that separated us from the Boches. My dearest chum, who had been close to me throughout the whole campaign, fell with a bullet in his forehead, and several other comrades near us shared his sad fate.

"I am not a bloodthirsty fellow, but when, a little farther on, we came across the countless German corpses, with skulls shattered, I must admit that my heart swelled with joy. I smashed the brain-boxes of two Boches who came quite too inquisitely near to me with the intention of leaving me a corpse. . . .

"We maintained our position for three hours, when a counter-attack drove us back. During the retreat I became entangled in some nasty wire contraptions, and a curious cold shiver seized me, for I thought that 'my number was up,' and I imagined I could feel bayonets being driven through me. I shall never forget that sensation. . . .

"However, I managed to extricate myself, and, to my further horror, saw a Teuton officer exterminate about 50 wounded men who had not been able to get away. The sight made me almost crazy. . . .

"A little later another whistle notified us that we were to advance anew. I picked up a dead man's rifle and went ahead. This time we chased the Boches and mastered the position, which, I can assure you, we shall not let them retake.

"We avenged the merciless slaughter of our wounded comrades thoroughly, but it is best not to give too many details.

"At one stage of the battle I was ordered to guard a narrow communication tunnel termed a 'boyau.' I suppose I must have done my duty all right, for I was promoted sergeant afterwards. But it was an agonising task, and of the 15 men of my squad only four survived."

[Dave Homewood]

VICTORIA, CROSS HEROES

TWO FRIENDS FACE DEATH.

WIRE ENTANGLEMENTS CUT

There is a great story in the way Sergeant-Major Harry Daniels, of the 2nd Rifle Brigade - Dan, as the whole regiment call him— won the Victoria Cross at Neuve Chapelle.

"For most conspicuous bravery on March 12, 1915, at Neuve Chapelle. When their battalion was impeded in the advance to the attack by the wire entanglements, and subjected to a very severe machine gun fire, these two men voluntarily rushed in front and succeeded in cutting the wires. They were both wounded at once, and Corporal Noble has since died of his wounds."

Such is the official account. The 2nd Rifle Brigade had gone through the hottest fighting of the great battle of Neuve Chapelle. On March 12 they pressed forward till before them, forty yards away, were the wire entanglements of the enemy. These had got to be cut. Sergeant-Major Daniels volunteered to attempt this.

"Come along, Tom," he called to Corporal Noble. The two men for months had been inseparable in all the dangerous duties of patrol work at night, and Noble without hesitation joined his chum. Lying on their backs, they cut the lower wire. A bullet struck Daniels in the thigh and he fell. Four or five minutes later he heard a gasp, and called out: "What's up, Tom?" Noble's voice, very faint, called back: "I am hit in the chest, old man." these were Noble's last words. He became unconscious and soon after he died. In a shell hole Daniels remained until dusk. Then he began to drag himself towards the British trenches.

At Hammersmith Infirmary, where Sergeant Major Daniels is recovering, there was great enthusiasm. At first the new V.C. was unwilling to tell anything about the "little affair at Neuve Cnapelle." He was eager to say everything to the credit of Corporal Noble.

"Noble and I had done everything together since we went out in November. I trusted him and he trusted me. It was hot. work, but the worst moment was when I heard my poor chum call out that he was hit in the chest. I am more glad about Noble's V.C. than I am about my own."

[Dave Homewood]

CONFESSIONS OF A COWARD.

CANDID GERMAN DESERT

SENSATIONS UNDER FIRE.

DID NOT EXPECT TO FIGHT.

Some days ago there arrived in Amsterdam a young man of 22, who confessed that he was a deserter from the German army. In the following article, which he contributed to the Handelsblad, and which his been specially translated for an English paper, he gives vivid glimpses of the sensations of a man under fire. There is nothing heroic about the article. He confesses himself a coward, and describes the horror of the men of his regiment when they found that, instead of doing garrison duty, they were sent to the firing line. He writes: —

Our regiment, the Reserve Infantry Regiment 208, from Brunswick, consisted mainly of volunteers from 17 years upward, and of a few older men. It was commanded by Captain Zeidler, a good-hearted man 54 years old, who had volunteered when war broke out. We were told that our service would consist merely in guarding Ostend, Ghent, Bruges, and other cities, so we were in high spirits when, at the end of September, we left by train for the west. We did not feel any hatred, nor did we wish to fight; these feelings came later on, during the fight, when our feelings can best be described as a sort of blind rage.

We arrived at Melle, near Ghent, still fully convinced that we were to be placed somewhere along the lines of communication. To each of us was given two belts tilled with cartridges, and then came a military doctor, who showed us how to use our bandaging-outfit which we carried in our coats, ready for first aid.

Shot at Own Aviator.
This caused a terrible commotion amongst us. Young and old looked at one another, and tears filled their eyes. "You won't see anything of the war - that will be long past," my father had said to me, and everybody else had assured us that this was so. And now we were to be sent into action!

In one village where we halted we fired our first hostile shots. An aviator passed over our heads, and soon there came the reports of rifles all along the street. We all fired, as delighted as schoolboys. It seemed glorious to aim with real cartridges at a living target. Then there came a lieutenant running up to us: "Don't shoot, don't shoot; it is one of our own men!"

The First Shell.
We were to pass the night in a wood; but just as we were halting we all jumped up, trembling with fright, for only 300 metres away a shell exploded in the air, its flash showing clearly in the twilight the explosion. We looked at one another in alarm. Where were we? And then we understood the terrible truth that they had been hiding from us— we were being led to the firing-line.

At the first signs of daybreak we moved on through a little hamlet, at the end of which we halted. There we were told to dig a trench. Near this trench I saw the first dead. He was a comrade of the 205th Regiment, and was found behind a bush. "Look, look!" they cried, with shaky voices and we all drew near, attracted by a sickly feeling of curiosity.

Fear of the Unknown.
Behind the village of Beers, where we were now, is an auxiliary canal of the Yser, behind which were the French and Belgians. We did not see them, but their artillery threw shell after shell in and over the village. Then came the command. We were to storm the position beside the canal. We knew nothing else—only that we had to advance to where the rifles were chattering.

Our officer gave the order, but he knew no more than we did what we should meet with when we moved forward. I can still see him - as he stood there. The old man stood with his legs apart in the middle of the village street, and peered through his field-glasses. In the other hand he held a rose, which he smelled when he took the glasses from his eyes. That rose must surely, have been given to him by his wife — poor chap, and it was evident that he also felt fear - fear of the unknown.

"Look at the Cowards."
The meadow, which was swept by the fire of the enemy, was cut up by ditches, and behind a dyke at the other side of the canal was the enemy. Together with some comrades I got into a ditch, and up to the waist in the water, our heads hidden behind the rushes we plodded on. The others, crouching along in the field, sneered at us. " Look at the cowards," they said at first, but that soon changed. We had advanced too far. The bridge over the canal had been blown up and the Engineers were far behind us. But still our lieutenant, an excited young man, waved his sword and cried out: "Ahead, towards the bridge." Ten at a time they fell into the canal, this lieutenant being one of them and whilst their bodies plunged into the water we hurried on to get out of reach of the fire from the machine guns.

Driven to the Attack.
"Engineers to the front!" came the order then. A bridge must be built. Three regiments had to pass over it. That took a long while. In bunches they fell into the water, and every time a shell came whistling towards us the bridge was deserted, and each man lay down. Even when at last we had the order to storm Pervyse, we had not seen a single one of the enemy. That attack was the most horrible of all.

Near Pervyse is a castle, from which the Belgians were keeping us under fire. We stormed that castle. I got in front of the entrance gate and intended to push it open, when, with a crashing sound, a shell exploded, and the whole gate, stone pillars and all, crumbled together. That was our own artillery, bombarding Pervyse. We were too early!

I didn't know what to do, and mechanically ran away, together with a couple of comrades, and lay down in a ditch behind the castle. A young lieutenant came hurrying up. "Charge" he shouted, angrily, showing his revolver in a threatening manner.

"Out of that!" he cried, his bloodshot eyes gleaming at us:. "Whoever doesn't come out I'll shoot down with my revolver!" So we went to the attack. The boys of 17 tried to cheer themselves up by shouting, "Hurrah!" But it sounded more like sobs and howls than like a war-cry. I don't feel ashamed to admit that I also was afraid. When we came into the streets of Pervyse it was as if hell had broken loose. The village was under fire both of the French and that German heavy artillery. And we ourselves in the middle of that infernal turmoil!

Huddled in a Ditch.
I can still remember, as in a nightmare, how we huddled together in a ditch. Suddenly there was a deafening report. For a moment I saw and heard nothing, and when I rubbed the dirt out of my eyes I bled. Blood, blood, and torn-off limbs —  that was all I could see. I mustn't think of it. ... I only remember how I ran away, to a deserted Belgian trench, where I found some comrades, fugitives like myself.

Was this war — this hiding and shooting? Even then I could not remain where I was, for a Belgian machine-gun, placed somewhere , high up in a house, sent a hail of bullets into our trench. We pressed ourselves against the side, and many of us died in that position. Next to me sat a man, 38 years old, of my own company. He yelled and lamented like a child because he had lost a finger. With him and two others I tried to find the way to a hospital. We hurriedly crossed the bridge over the canal, which was still being kept under fire. Then I went to the ammunition train, only to get a scolding because I could not produce a permit in writing. But I had food to eat for eight days, and when I found my company again they all looked famished—at least, those who were left. The greater part of them had fallen. 

[Dave Homewood]

BOMBS FROM THE AIR.

AMERICAN SHIP'S DANGER.

A Walmer pilot, George Sinclair, who landed at Deal, told a remarkable, story of the American petroleum steamer Cushing, which was attacked by a German airman.

The Cushing, which had been anchored off Deal, left for Rotterdam with Sinclair acting as pilot. On the following evening, when about forty miles north of the Haas lightship, a German aeroplane approached and dropped a bomb, which struck the after-rail and scattered shell all over the deck. Two other bombs were dropped, but fell into the sea. Sinclair says the airman came sufficiently low to be well within rifle range. Although there were six rifles aboard none was loaded.

Captain Herland, on reaching Rotterdam, took six pieces of shell to the American Consul, who has since sent them to the Ambassador in Berlin. The pilot took three pieces to Deal. '

[Dave Homewood]

PATCHING AN OFFICER.

MANY OFFERS OF SKIN.

Scores of people answered the advertisement of a wounded officer who asked for a piece of human skin so that his wound might heal more rapidly and enable him to return to the trenches, says a London paper. Scores of offers were received from all quarters from people forced to stay at home who welcomed this opportunity of doing something. Happily it has not been found necessary to take advantage of any of the offers.

Although fearful wounds have been received during the war it has not been the experience of London hospitals that grafting has often been necessary, 'It is always possible to obtain skin grafts," said the matron of one large institution "Generally it is possible to take a piece of skin from another part of the patient's body. It is very rarely that the skin of another person is used.'

[Dave Homewood]

THE DRESDEN'S PIG.

A member of the crew of one of the British warships which destroyed the German cruiser Dresden writes, in the course of an account of the brief fight: "By the way we have a pet now. One of our ship's company dived overboard and saved the Dresden's pig. It's the only prisoner of war we have on board. About two hours after the Dresden had sunk the pig was seen swimming near our ship. Since its stay on board it has developed a beautiful appetite, eating coal with great gusto. Some would-be wit attributed the frequent coaling of the ship to this cause. We gave it the iron cross (made out of cardboard) for its swimming so long without cutting its own throat, which, we understand, is the usual thing with pigs."

[Dave Homewood]

SHAMING THE "SHIRKERS."

Young Englishmen continue to arrive from abroad to join the army, says a London paper. They come from every part of the globe, and scarcely a passenger vessel arrives but has its complement of these patriotic sons of the Old Country. Some leave good positions and, being comfortably off, travel home in "style," but a great many are not able to afford an expensive passage. Nothing daunted, they come steerage, but the steamship companies allow them some special facilities, such as the reservation of a portion of the steerage quarters for their use. They constitute a striking example for their compatriots at home who still hang back. That there should be any young eligible men out of khaki is what surprises them most when they land.

[Dave Homewood]

THE SUBMARINE PIRATES.

ATTACKS UPON TRAWLERS.

BRUTAL GERMAN METHODS.

NEUTRAL VESSELS SUNK.

The activity of German submarine pirates continues, and details have been received from England of many more outrages. The steam trawler Queenstown recently returned to Grimsby and landed the master and six of a crew of nine of the steam trawler St. Lawrence, which was sunk by a German submarine on the Dogger Bank.

An exciting story of the incident was furnished by Master J. Hines, of the St. Lawrence, who said that he was trawling upon the Dogger Bank at 11.30, when he heard the report of a gun, followed almost instantly by an explosion in the vicinity of the trawler. Other reports and other explosions all round the ship followed, and it dawned upon him that the vessel was being shelled by some unseen foe. He gave orders for the gear to be got on board, and while the crew were hauling in he kept a sharp look-out. and eventually sighted a submarine running awash and distant about two miles.

The gear was got up, and the St Lawrence given full steam, but the submarine came along in pursuit at a high speed, firing all the while from a gun mounted forward. Shells burst above and around the trawler, and splinters crashed on the deck, but none of them struck the ship direct. The submarine, however, overhauled the trawler rapidly, and a shell fired at less than 500 yards' range burst aft, and a fragment cut open the master's head.

Forbidden to Rescue Comrades.
"It seemed to clear then." said the master, 'so I ordered the chaps into the small boat. Seven of them got into her, but the third hand, William Hanson, and a deck hand, P. Rodgers, went down to the cabin to get their oilskins and sou'westers. The submarine had got quite close now, and her commander waved us away from the trawler, while the gun's crew continued to bombard her at short range. We had to cut the painter, and pull out of the way. Then Hanson and Rodgers came on deck, and I wanted to go and pick them up, but the Germans ordered us back and menaced us with guns, making it clear that they would sink the boat if we proceeded further.

"They continued firing at the trawler, and we shouted to the two men to put on lifebelts and jump overboard. They did so, but when we made to pick them up the Germans again threatened us.

Explosives Placed Aboard.
"The continued firing didn't seem to have much effect on the old St. Lawrence, and the submarine commander steered his ship alongside of her eventually. Here was my chance, to try and rescue the two men. We pulled towards where we had seen them last, but when we got there the lifebelts were afloat empty. Apparently the exhausted men had fallen from them and been drowned.

"Several of the Germans boarded the St. Lawrence with explosives, and after arranging a charge and fuse they exploded it on board, doing such damage that the ship foundered. She sank at half-past one, two hours after the firing of the first shot."

The master of the Queenstown stated that he had been fishing in company with the St. Lawrence earlier in the day. Probably a mist on the water proved his salvation, for they escaped attention from the Germans. 

Two Men Killed, Seven Wounded.
"Two men were killed and seven wounded by an explosion which caused the Grimsby steam trawler Recolo to founder in the North Sea. The Recolo had been at sea for a week, and at two o'clock one afternoon the fishermen were working a last haul before stowing their gear, and starting for home, when there was a terrific explosion amidships. Every man of the nine on board was injured by it, while half of the trawler's side was torn away. The engine-room was wrecked, and the second engineer, Fred Smith, who was on duty there, was killed instantly. Water poured in through the hole in the ship's hull, and she began to settle down.

Master Gladwell ordered the crew aft to launch the boat. The task was rendered more difficult by the condition of the men, not one of whom but had gaping wounds in either head, face, or chest, caused by fragments of metal which struck them after the explosion. The boat, however, was got afloat, and into it the least injured helped their suffering comrades  just as the trawler sunk.

Norwegian Vessels Sunk.
The crews of two Norwegian vessels arrived at Burntisland on the Danish steamer Anna, both vessels having been fired upon by a German submarine. The vessels are Oscar, barque, of Fredrikstad, and Eva, Norwegian barque. When about 170 miles north-east of the Longstone, the submarine came first alongside the Eva, and demanded production of the ship's papers. The Oscar was next visited, and a similar demand made. Both crews were given 10 minutes to leave the vessels, and the Anna was stopped by the submarine and ordered to take the crews on board.

Both the captains agree that 10 or 12 shots were fired at the vessels, which began to sink. The captain of the Oscar thinks his vessel would sink, 200 tons Stone ballast being in the hold. The Eva, when last seen, was settling down, and smoke issuing. Both vessels were loaded with pit props, and bound for a Firth of Forth port.

The Danish steamer Nadaros, which was arrested by the Germans while on a voyage from Aarhus to Grimsby with dairy produce, and was subsequently released, arrived at Grimsby safely.

The submarine U38, which stopped the Nidaros, is a vessel of the newest design. Her commander ordered Captain Gothardt, of the Nidaros, to throw overboard the food intended for England. "If you don't, I'll torpedo the ship," he said. The Danish captain flatly refused to obey the order, and defied the German to sink the vessel. Eventually instead of doing so, the Germans arrested her. They demanded to be supplied with food from the Nidaros' cargo. The captain let them have one barrel of butter; but got a receipt for it, and said he should expect payment.

[Dave Homewood]

BATTLE SIDELIGHTS.

GALLANT WEST KENTS.

HOLDING HILL SIXTY.

THE NIGHT LIT WITH SHELLS.

Many of the men wounded in action on Hill 60 are now back in hospital in England. They state that men of the West Kent Regiment were the first to occupy the summit of the hill after the terrible mine explosions that shattered the German defence. 

An hour's artillery bombardment of Hill 60 preceded this explosion, and one company of the West Kents occupied the summit within three minutes afterwards at a cost of only four casualties. They swarmed at the steep slope (the hill is about 100 feet high) with fixed bayonets, but the Germans remaining alive there were utterly demoralised. The sight round the mine craters was ghastly.

Ten minutes after they gained the summit the German artillery bombardment began and soon increased to terrific ferocity. Under the continuous light of star shells high explosive shrapnel, bombs from trench mortars, hand grenades, and bullets from machine-guns and rifles searched Hill 60, while the British hastily constructed improvised defences and maxims and more men— ever more men— were brought up to replace the dead and wounded. At one time only thirty men of the West Kents held the summit of the about 150 yards long—against a German attack.

Miles and miles of wide plain, perfectly flat, can be seen from the hill-top, and the nearest German trench on the other side was only about forty yards away. While the bombardment lasted the British defenders of the hill could see the Germans in this trench busy trying to extend it zigzag fashion near the base of the hill, but in spite of the rain of shells they kept a maxim gun continually playing on the German working party, and finally they had to cease their digging.

The British losses also were heavy owing to the shell fire, and fresh troops had continuously to be brought up along the communication trench. Queen Victoria's Rifles, the well-known territorial battalion of the London Regiment, helped very gallantly to hold the hill, and other regiments who added to their heroic records there were the East Surrey, the East Kent, the Liverpool Regiment, and the King's Own Scottish Borderers.

[Dave Homewood]

AIRMAN'S DARING RAID.
A French despatch describes the aerial raid made on April 19 against a German airship shed near Ghent. As stated, it was carried out by an officer acting single-handed, carrying three heavy bombs, besides hand grenades. He arrived near his objective about five p.m., and found a captive balloon anchored on guard. It was a calm evening, which enabled him to manoeuvre as he was reconnoitring the position. He threw one bomb at the airshed, clearly visible below, from a height of some 6000 feet. Then, on discovering that he was being fired at from the car of the balloon as well as from the ground, he flew over the balloon, and descending in a spiral exactly above it, so that the occupants could not shoot, threw a second bomb at it. This missed, but exploded below, probably doing a certain amount of damage.

As by this time the whole neighbourhood of the aerodrome was alive with, soldiers, running about and shooting, still planing down steeply as directly under the balloon as possible, so that the occupants could not conveniently shoot downwards, and the troops below could not shoot upwards for fear of hitting their friends in the car, and continuing to throw hand grenades at the enemy balloon, until he was below it, he descended to a height of some 200 feet before he dropped his last bomb on the airship shed below. Then, he flew back to the base untouched, though the planes of the machine were perforated with bullet holes. Beyond the fact that a heavy explosion was caused, it is not possible to say what damage was done to the enemy's shed.

[Dave Homewood]

"QUEEN VICTORIA'S" PART.
A sergeant in the 9th London Regiment (Queen Victoria's Rifles) gave a vivid account of the fighting between Ypres and St. Julien. We had been in the fight for Hill 60," he said, " and on Thursday midday we went to the north of Ypres for a little rest. A little rest! We were just going to our huts when we heard a commotion on the road and saw troops retiring. We had our orders at once and went off and dug ourselves in on the west side of the canal. That night and on Friday the Canadians were holding out in advance of us. Nobody can praise them too highly, and regiments like ours who were in reserve speak of what we know when we say that those Canadians were heroes to a man.

"On Friday I was at the canal on the high bank, and, looking across the flat ground, I saw a grand sight, line after line of infantry advancing steadily and unwaveringly under terrific shrapnel fire. We stayed in reserve throughout the day. At night while I was at the canal bank a long range bullet found a hole in my shoulder, and I do not know what happened on Saturday." At Hill 60 Queen Victoria's Rifles won themselves a reputation, and London can be proud of its riflemen.

"The whole business was a sort of mining race between us and the Germans," said two wounded non-commissioned officers of the regiment. "We had some first-rate miners, men who found the burrowing in sand a regular picnic after coal-mining. The hill was blown up on the Saturday. On the following Tuesday Queen Victoria's Rifles were in the fray in a terrible fight of trench mortars and rifle fire at the crest of the hill. We gave better than we got, although we lost two of our officers."

[Dave Homewood]

STORMING THE HILL.
The following letter is from a Liverpool officer to his father regarding the desperate fighting for Hill 60 "At seven on Saturday evening the mines were to be exploded. When the first explosion took place you really can't imagine the awfulness of it. Well as soon as the last explosion of the mines had taken place the other battalion were to rush up and hold the top of the hill, and as soon as they were up we, who were waiting in a trench alongside them, had to rush up with sandbags and spades to put the position in a state of defence. I was the leading man of our two companies, as my platoon was in the front, and as soon as the captain gave the word for us to go forward we went over the parapet of our trench like deer and right up the hill, the men following up splendidly, and as soon as we were up started filling sandbags and building a parapet.

"We had to work till midnight, when we were to be relieved by our other two companies. The men worked like heroes, and some of our chaps were singing as they filled the sandbags. It was a fine show altogether, and we took over 100 prisoners. I got one, but he was naturally too dazed to give any resistance. Of course the German guns soon began. What with theirs and ours the noise was tremendous. The sky was lit up with bursting shrapnel and so on. Most of our casualties occurred during the counter-attack, which, of course, did not commence till after my company had been relieved. Well, at 6 am, these two battalions had to make another bayonet charge, so I came in for a second bombardment. The charge was quite successful though, and we hold the hill now."

[Dave Homewood]

VICTIM OF GERMAN HATE.

NEUTRAL LADY ILL-TREATED.

SUBJECTED TO BRUTAL SEARCH.

A REMARKABLE narrative of the indignities to which an American woman was subjected in Germany was given to a Daily Mail representative by Miss Mary Boyle O'Reilly, a well-known American journalist. While h Copenhagen Miss O'Reilly was asked by her editor to go to The Hague to report the Women's Peace Congress. Her passport was in perfect order and vised by the German Consul in Copenhagen, and she tried to take the shortest route over German territory to Holland, travelling by boat to Warnemunde and on by way of Hamburg.

"On landing at Warnemunde,'' she says, " a German who looked and spoke just like an Englishman asked my name and then referred to a list of names in an indexed book. Probably he had recorded there the facts that I had written for publication the facts as I saw them after the German invasion of Belgium. Under his instructions my bag was searched by four soldiers. My letters of introduction were stolen, as well as an English sovereign and some books.

"Forbidden to Enter."
"Four tiny toy animals that I had bought for my nieces were discovered to have been procured in Russia. In great seriousness the German said : 'These must be utterly destroyed.' I replied with equal seriousness: 'Germany is certainly at war.'

"I had then to submit to a brutal personal search, my dresses and the boots I was wearing being ripped open. I was ordered to return to the boat and my passport was marked 'Forbidden to enter Germany.' While I was in the boat the English-speaking German asked me: 'Do you wish the Fatherland to be victorious?' I replied: ''No.' After some further questions, he said: 'The Americans are sending England ammunition, without which the English could not beat us. — the Americans!'

Constrast in Denmark.
"On my return, when the boat again touched German soil the officers on board would only put down a steep and narrow plank for me to walk ashore, refused to help me with my baggage, and jeered at me as I made the perilous ascent.

" In Denmark the contrast in my treatment was very pleasant, for everyone tried all they could to help me, saying that they hated the Germans."

Miss O'Reilly declared that the so-called Women's Peace Congress was really packed and organised by the Germans. "Sixty of the Swedish delegates went far out of their way to Berlin en route for The Hague."

[Dave Homewood]

CARRIED OFF BY AIRSHIP.

MECHANIC'S TERRIBLE DEATH

Hoo St. Mary, a few miles from Rochester, was the scene of a shocking fatality in the vicinity of the naval aerodrome. One of the airships had returned from a trip and the rope trailers were held by several bluejackets as the craft was descending. Suddenly she rose again and William James Stanford, 23, a mechanic skilled in airship work, was carried up clinging to a rope. When at a height of 500 feet he released his hold and fell with a crash to the ground. The body struck with such force that a hole quite two feet deep was made. It was made clear at the inquest that the accident was primarily due to the effects of the wind and the sun, which caused the airship to break away from the landing party of 150 bluejackets who were hauling her down by means of a long trailing rope let down from the airship and the use of a snatch block. All the men let go of the rope except Stanford, who was carried up 500 feet and then fell, exhausted. Every bone in his body was broken. The airship commander vainly tried to save him by releasing gas to ensure a rapid descent. A verdict of "Accidental death" was returned.

[Dave Homewood]

PRISONERS IN GERMANY.

HUNGRY BRITISH SOLDIERS.

AS an indication of the plight of British prisoners of war in Germany is furnished in an original and ingeniour fashion by John Muir, a Girvan Naval Reservist, who was taken prisoner by the Germans at Antwerp in October, and is interned at Doebritz, in a postcard received by his wife. Between commonplace remarks as to his health and the weather in Germany, Muir writes the following:—

" I can't say what I would like to say; but you can look up Sankey's hymn book, 462. second verse, and see what you think of it."

On reference to the second verse of the hymn alluded to, it will be found that the following lines have a peculiar significance
My father's house abounds in bread, 
While I am starving here. -

Muir's postcard closes with the appeal: "Send me a parcel of eatables again, especially cocoa."

Private Alexander Lees, 1st Scots Guards, who was taken prisoner by the Germans in September, and is a prisoner of war at Gottingen, writes his mother at Tranent:-
"Just a few words to let you know that I am getting on all right; as well, at all events, as can be expected here. I had the two parcels you sent and was very, very pleased to' see them. Oh! do try and send two parcels a week from among you. Mind, bran half-loaves and white half-loaves, and a piece of cheap butter, or anything else you can buy cheap. Tell 3-5 (an old comrade) I was asking for him; and tell him— is, if you can— that if he will try and send out a cheap parcel now and again, I will be very, very

A Cameron Highlander, belonging to Ross-shire, who held a position in the insurance world, and who rejoined his regiment on mobilisation, writing home from a German prison camp, states that none of several parcels sent him has reached the destination, and whereas at first his letters did not indicate the conditions to be entirely disagreeable, a complete change has now occurred. He asks for parcels of foodstuffs to be sent.

[Dave Homewood]

INSURING A REGIMENT

Toronto Makes provision.

It has come to light that one of the largest insurance companies of Hartford (Connecticut) has insured at its regular rates one entire regiment of Canadian soldiers and half of another, portions of the second expeditionary force being sent to Europe.

The 1150 men to whom policies are issued are citizens of the city of Toronto, and the expense of the policies, which are twenty year endowments at 1000 dollars (£200) each, will be borne by the city for three years. At the end of that time the policies can be allowed to lapse, or can be kept in force by having the men make their own payments.

This is believed to be the first time that an insurance company has written insurance on an organised body of troops about to go into battle together.

[nuuumannn]

Jul 10, 2020 12:11:22 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

STORMING THE HILL.
The following letter is from a Liverpool officer to his father regarding the desperate fighting for Hill 60 "At seven on Saturday evening the mines were to be exploded. When the first explosion took place you really can't imagine the awfulness of it. Well as soon as the last explosion of the mines had taken place the other battalion were to rush up and hold the top of the hill, and as soon as they were up we, who were waiting in a trench alongside them, had to rush up with sandbags and spades to put the position in a state of defence. I was the leading man of our two companies, as my platoon was in the front, and as soon as the captain gave the word for us to go forward we went over the parapet of our trench like deer and right up the hill, the men following up splendidly, and as soon as we were up started filling sandbags and building a parapet.

"We had to work till midnight, when we were to be relieved by our other two companies. The men worked like heroes, and some of our chaps were singing as they filled the sandbags. It was a fine show altogether, and we took over 100 prisoners. I got one, but he was naturally too dazed to give any resistance. Of course the German guns soon began. What with theirs and ours the noise was tremendous. The sky was lit up with bursting shrapnel and so on. Most of our casualties occurred during the counter-attack, which, of course, did not commence till after my company had been relieved. Well, at 6 am, these two battalions had to make another bayonet charge, so I came in for a second bombardment. The charge was quite successful though, and we hold the hill now."

Photos taken at Hill 60 a year ago. This is the railway line between Ypres and Comines that was dug out to create Hill 60 to the left and Caterpillar Hill to the right.

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This is the Hill 60 crater.

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Originally a German bunker but inherited and expanded by the Allies, you can tell by the corrugations, which distinguishes a British bunker from a German one.

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This is a view looking toward Ypres from Hill 60. The two trees with the blue cage around them are Remembrance Elms that were planted around the region to mark the course of the front lines and show the location of the British trenches during the Messines Ridge Offensive. German ones are naturally red.

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Memorial to the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company at Hill 60.

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The Caterpillar Hill crater.

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[Dave Homewood]

I was quite staggered to read the Brits tunnelled under Hill 60 and blew up the Germans in 1915, I'd seen the movie set in 1917 and it turns out they did it twice!

[nuuumannn]

Yes indeed they did. Tunnelling wasn't new by the time of the Messines Offensive. The Somme was littered with mine craters after the campaign. There was also the mass of tunnels underneath Arras, which were largely dug by New Zealand miners. These were in fact the first Kiwis on the Western front, before the Div proper arrived.

This is the Lochnagar crater just outside of Albert in the Somme region, so named because it was dug from the Lochnagar trench by the Scots bunkered in there. It's an essential stopping point for visitors to the Somme battlefield sites.

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This is a map of the tunnels underneath Arras and badges from New Zealand tunnellers. The map is nearly 100 feet below ground. The museum is where the Wellington and Nelson tunnels are located.

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The Australian film Beneath Hill 60 is a good watch; not so factual, but a good little story.

[Dave Homewood]

Thanks. I did not know that the film was not good with the facts. That is a shame.