FEARLESS YOUNG CAPTAIN

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2632, 1 December 1915, Page 6

FEARLESS YOUNG CAPTAIN

KILLED IN TAKING FIVE GERMAN LINES. , Splendid tributes to the bravery of Captain Douglas Carraichael, who waa killed in the £reat battle iu Flanders, ore paid by his commanding officer , and a sergeant, of his company in letters 10 ceived by his father) Mr. J. Carmic'hael, builder, of Sfcreatham Park. Captain Carmicnael, agod 21, was ono of , the youngest officers of his rank in tbo Army He, was at Cambridge University when war broke out and received bis commission in August, 1914. His commanding officer in his letter dated September 27 says:— "I shall never see a soldier like him again; it is quite impossible that anyone so fearless could ever bo found He carricd four linos of trenches with his company under a desperate artillery ■ and machine-gun firo. When masses of Germans came against him, by his wonderful personality he kept his men, reduced to a handful, in good spirits, ard led them again arftl again to the ;t»., tack. "They say it was glorious to see Mm •' throw himself,on the packed masses of Germans and/ almost alone force tlrefii back. He rallied the men over and over again and they stuck to bira 'till the ena. He was wounded early in tbo day ( but, just like him, mado nothing of it. He was killed instantaneously by a bullet in the forehead as he vaa once more leading a bomb charge. "I a6ked for a D.S.O. lor Douglas before, and I hoped every day it nculd come for him. flow I have asked for the V.C. for you, for he would have earned it ten times had he lived." Sergeant W. Walker says "Cajptain Carmichael led us antil be > was hit in the leg. He refused to have* any assistance, and just afterwards I saw him hopping ,on one leg toward* the next line of German trenches. Your son was still in command. On reaching one. German line ha rallied the f-mal! handful of his men left and told : heni' to hold it at all costs, which they did against masses of Germans until almost, orery man was killed or wounded. Your son was killed by a bullet from a ma-chine-gun, His last words were, "For God's sake, boy&, hold them back.' He earned the V.C. fifty times over."