THE FLANDERS CAMPAIGN

Gisborne Times, Volume XLV, Issue 3995, 30 July 1915, Page 3

THE FLANDERS CAMPAIGN

BLACK WATCH NOXBI.rSSFII). J ( (JJSIXiitXE BOV'S STOBV. Tin' following letter is written from '•Somewhere 7 ’ m Flanders by a member of the air souadron to a relative in Gisborne under date May oe . I have been meaning to write to you lor some days but have been rattier busy. Yesterday l was .'just going to start a letter when 1 hau to rake the air. When we got back the p,r : !iad gone. L was up at three this morning anti we took the air at 4.40 and were up for 2V hours. _ It was a beautiful morning and unite warm. L went over and saw the battery last night. Brice was looking rather tired. . . Of course I shall only he seeoinievi from the LMCA. and not even that till J have finished my probations" period as an observer. I find it very interesting, but getting no every morning at three or four o clock while this show is on makes one ieel a bit sleepy, although in our mess we generally ‘go to bed about A bnei account of the show on .Sunday inn Mav, which mother asks for, is a> follows: , , We were to take the TTnn trenches after a bombardment. My job was to run a telephone wire down to the front 1 inti trench and observe from there. Well, aftor the first bombardment, our fellows went out and were shot down by rifle and machine, ami lire although most of the wirein front of the enemy trenches was rut. bv our gun fire. L can tell you i ■ was hot nice seeing the poor do' »s £.cuppere<L onlv about ou <u so yards away. There was a deep ditch which had to be crossed between the Huns' trenches and ours, and they had to carry out. midges under lire. . YVell, thev could not inane any pio>rross and the remainder of them crawled back. It appears that these Huns have dug themselves right down, and even aftci an awful fire a their trenches were manned although they must have had an awful >1 ot casualties. This took p ace m the early morning. Later oil the infan were relieved ami more came m A second bombardment was started m the afternoon. 1 ' v;ls watching through a periscope from the t-icic and of course had a oret-iy good view. The noise was tremendous, and Hu men in our trenches who re t ‘* A I j lack Watch this time instead ot Cnoorkas, wer a'wfuily excited. Well, the Huns got pretty "ell halted bv the bombardment and under cover of this two companies ot. each battalion crawled over then parapets and out in front. i got knocked over endways by <>ne of our high explosive IS pounders bursting short and tell on top of the telephonist and the telephone. Too Huns are tine soldiers, and even during the bombardment some o mom stood up in the trenches witn their rifles at the ready oyer the pa lapet. You would see a shell pitch j the middle of some of them am knock them out and the kflhiws m* bv never even ducked their heads ‘Well, the same thing hanpem. again. The Black Match eoukin t make any progress,. ami it "as tl - same down the whole lino ait-hough the Ist Battalion _ Black M ateh tui ther down got up in a solid bods a walked, not ran, over to the 1 trenches under an awful hie ■ stuck their bayonets • into sin > thl £ i hpv «n\v i was talking to aP l vat-e in the Highland Light and said I hoped his.battalion had! not taken any prisoners. He said - \\ did take three, sir, but aft. i a thev were’nt prisoners Ml Well, after, the non-success " hat was left or our fellows came ba k under cover of another simdh i bon bardmeut to make tne Huns ku TVioiY heads down. J wont go stalls, such as shooting at « wounded and retting them alight h> aiming Vary’s lights at them ot but I tell you it was a pretty blood* show. I have written an ammnt o what 1 saw—re setting light to out wounded lying out and ' yoA tl,ess li-'s get it. 1 showed the chat red' remains to Priee and he reported it and that is how ' Lye-Vitm.s heard about it. Wo hud two gu"'^ 1 ' maiorsMcilled in the observing station and a. subaltern and anothei majot wounded.