HOW HE FELL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2861, 28 August 1916, Page 6

HOW HE FELL

TRIBUTES TO THE LATE CAPTAIN M'COLL. Mr. Peter M'Coll, engineer in charge of tho power-houses of the municipality, who was advised some weeks ago or the death at tho front of his son, Captain A. B. M'Coll, has received several letters from'officers and men who wore associated with the deceased on tho field. One and all bear tho highest testimony to the love and respect in which Captain M'Coll was held by thoso who served with and Tinder him. Private M. R. Henry (son of Mr. T. Henry, of the Government Printing. Office, Wellington), who was formerly an engineer on the Union Company's Kittawa, and who is now attached to the machine section of the Wellington Company of the Seventh Reinforcements, in the course of a, letter to his parents at Petono, describes tho raid in which Captain M'Coll met his death.

Dealing specially with tho part Captain M'Coll took in the raid and tho sad circumstances attending his death, Private Henry writes: "Our leader, Captain M'Coll, was splendid; 'ou fc. on his own' j brave as a, lion; and was all for us, his 'boys.' Captain M'Coll was pleased and proud of his 'boys,' and helped them over the parapet, laughing and joking all the time, and telling us to get well, down the sap as I' rltz must send something before long. "It was when wo were at headquarters that we heard that Captain M'Coll had been bib while helping the stret-cher-bearers hi with a dead man. After being safe in, our poor captain went into our wires and helped the stretcherbearers—and the pity of it was that there was no need for him to do so, as there were plenty of men there— and a machine-gun got him. Although thoy. brought him in all right and everything seemed fine, by the time they got him down -the sap ha was dead. My word, it was sad; in fact, we hardly seemed to .think it was true. We all (the raiders) paraded at the cemetery when ho was buried, and it was an awfully sad time for us all, and put quite a black cloud over our great 'raid. A better man than poor Captain M'Coll could not have been found." Mr. and Mrs. M'Coll have also received several letters expressing tho groat admiration which all had for Captain M'Coll.

Colonel Hart, after describing the attempt of Captain M'Coll to help with some of the wounded, continues: "The whole regiment foels his loss; and I, most of all. He wae exceedingly popular with us all. Ho and I had lived together, worked together, and fought side by side through' many, many months of hard campaigning, and I am deeply grieved that this should have occurred. ... He diea fighting for honour and glory, for the sake of his country, and thoso ho held so dear." Colonel Hart expresses the wish that "some day I may have the privilege of meeting the mother of such a bravo, cheerful, and gentlemanly officer." Captain E. J. Harston, who know Captain M'Coll in Gishorne, says he never knew a, finer man in his life. "He would dare anything any time, and his wonderful endurance and devotion to duty were unparalleled." Corpl. Roland L. Armit, in a long letter of personal appreciation, says: "When Alex, heard that one maD waa still unaccounted for, he went back with the bearers to find him, and waa actually about to jump down into hia own trench (having brought the man in) when a bullet found him." Further on he says that tho men.nro of ono voice in their admiration and manly sorrow, and are determined to oiact full revenge