A BRAVE OFFICER

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2954, 18 December 1916, Page 8

A BRAVE OFFICER

GETS THE VICTORIA CROSS LIEUT.-COL. B. C. FREYBERG - London, Dccembcr 15. " The Victoria Cross has been awarded to Liout.-Colonel B. C. Freyberg, of New Zealand, for conspicuous bravery and brilliant leading as a battalion commander. , By splendid personal gallantry ho carried an initial attack straight through the enemy's front system of trenches. . ; Owjng to a mist and heavy fire of all descriptions', Lieut.-Colonel Freyberg's command became much disorganised after .the capture of their first objective, hut ho personally rallied and reformed his men, including men from other units who had become intermixed.

/He inspired them all by his own contempt of danger, and, at the appointed time, he led his men to a successful assault on their second objective, capturing many prisoners. During this advance he was twice nounded, hut again rallied and reformed those with him, and altliougn unsupported in a very advanced position, he held his ground for the remainder of tho day and throughout the night under a heavy rrtillery and machine-gun lire. When reinforced in the morning, Lieut.-Colonel Freyberg organised an attack on a strongly-fortified village. He showed a fine example of dash, personally leading the assault, capturing the village and five hundred prisoners, where he was again wounded.

Later in the afternoon he was again •severely wounded, but'refused to leave the line until he had issued final instructions..

The personality, valour, and utter contempt of danger on the part of this single officer enabled a lodgment in a most advanced objective to bo permanently held, and, oil this point, the d'appui line was eventually formed.— Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.

It was reported, towards the end '.F November, that Lieut.-Colonel Freyberg, .described iffe. tlie hero qf the recent attack bv the British Naval Division at the battle of the Ancre, was lying seriously ill in a, London hospital, having received four wounds. His great gallantry on this occasion earned him widespread fame, arid a> correspondent declared that "every man in his division is proud of him." When the war broke out ho was in Mexico, but he made his way to London and enlisted in the Naval Brigade, in which arm of the Service he received rapid and wellmerited promotion. Wounded at Antwerp. where ho greatly distinguished himself, .he'was sent'back to London. f"r treatment, and on recovering was dispatched to the Dardanelles, where lie again received some wounds.

At. Antwerp Xieut.-Cokmel Fre.vben* suffered partia! electrocution throni*h comiiKr into contact with a wire which tnrmprl pari of the outer defences of • the oitv, After the retirement from 0 f tjjg ]?nval Marine*, with whom he was serving under Major. G. '■I. Richardson (formerly of Wellington V he was Tcni.-ivcd for treatment to the hospital at Ost'end, and on the German approach m that seaside town was taken to Eneknd. It; is said that T.ieut.-Colonel Freyherg lost the use of h>«. nnrio. f/* r snmo through the effect of the ■ electrical charge he received. At Gallipoli ho swam nshore onn night from » destroyer, and-by d®nosit.in" "=o",ie lighted torches o« t!>e led thi. Turks to believe that n landing was being m.ide, which a useful diversion. TiVr tliis deed "he V'as awarded the D.S.OJ