THE SEARCHER

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3198, 24 September 1917, Page 5

THE SEARCHER

TRACING THE MEN WHO ARE MISSING IN THE WAR • . ./ . ; A COMPLICATED TASK The Searcher is a produot of the great •war (says a writer in tho "Westminsttjr Gazette"). His work is a work of mercy .comparable to the great' art of healing; for he'seeks to find cjmfort for anxious . and weary hearts, to end the dreary time of waiting for broken-hearted women yearning for news of husbands, son, or lover. His business is to trace tha kiwi posted in tho casualty lists as "missing" —the cruellest fate of all for those who ' Trait at home—and so to end the wearing ngony 1 of doubt. He works (need it bo said?) under the Rod_Cross, and he owes his existence to tbo inspiration of -Jjord Kobert Cecil, tho praseafc Under-Secretary for Eoreign Affairs. In the early daya of tho war Lord Robert trent to Pranco ,to seek for news of a missing friend from men who took part in tho same engagement. It occurred to him on his return that there were thousands of men and women in England equally anxious to hear news of a missing relative or friend, but quite unable to go to Franco to seek for it. The result .was the "Wounded and Missing Department of the British Red Cross Socioty, which was established soon after the Battle of the Marne. Round tha Hospitals. From smalt beginnings the . department has grown to .a position of great import- J ance. Its central office i£ u njantiion in London where the daily lists Qf "Missing" are received from the War) Office, the reports sent in tabulated, and the necessary letters written to tho.inquiring relatives; while, at eaoh baso in- -franco and elsewhere you find to-day a little group of Searchers, men who give lheir time and services to the great-work of finding news, of- the missing/ The Searcher worts chiefly in the hospitals, .where he visits the wards with a book— Wo must not say how big—containing the iames of men reported' missing during the past ten months or so. He goes from bed to bed inquiring from each wounded man what ho knows of the men in. his company who appear in the. book as "Missing", or "Wounded and Missing." He is not an unpopular figure, despite his questionings, for wounded men just love to see a new face and to ha\y a little, chat, while, generally (whisper is gently), he has a box of cigarettes in his pocket, and what British soldier is proof against a friendly Woodbina? . :

He needs many qualities to.be an ideal eearoher—a certain bedside' manner, to deal--with sick and.wounded men; some powers', of .cross-examination, for all stories must be carefully sifted and many rejected, so that only trustworthy news goes through; plenty of tact, to encourage the uncommunicative and sometimes to check the too talkative; but, above ftll and :■ beforo all, the divino gift of patience.' See him on his rounds in a ward, going from bed to bed, and drawing li , blank every time. "Yes, sir, I knew Jiim yell; but what happened to him 1 can't say;-' I never sawvhim after we went over the top." Such is the all too frequent reply which is returned' to his request for : information. 1

Somotimes he strikes oil: "John Smith is?a.prisoner and ten others with him. Ave were all on an outpost when it was surrounded, and, we had no chance to get away. I managed to escape later, • when we were 6ent back to a prisoners' camp." Or, again, "Robinson? I know him well; he was in my platoon. No. 7 B Co. He's not missing. I saw him well ■two days ago.when I got knocked. You' 6ee, he was out on patrol one night, and did.not come back till several days later. He'd been lying in a shell hole, living on. the rations from dead men's haversacks, waiting his chance to get back to. .our lines." With if hat joy the Searcher gets his notebook and enters up the details of ,< a case, like that! Such cases, alas! are rare, and usually the Searcher's story is one sadness: "Bill Tones, of the, Blankshires? He was my mate, and we went over together. : About . half-way across lie was bit right in the head and, killed outright. I was hit in the leg by' a piece of the same sholi. Pino chap lie was, too; always ready to do his bit and help anyone; lie wns always..the first in. billets to get sticks to make a fire for our tea.". ' , Many Gallant Deeds. ■ Sometimes-the story is not conclusive, but has the highest value for the Searcher, who has to try to put himselt in the place of the writing sir, I was with him when lie was wounded—not badly—in the arm. L bound him lip, iand he went down xo, the -dressing; station. He was-not se«u again. :. . . Pro- • bably blown up; there was a heavy bar-, rage ,on at tho time.. ...'• . How was he wounded? Weil, it was this way: Lieutenant X. was lying-wounded thirty yards in front of. the trench, and'he volunteered to fetch him in with tho only stretcher-bearer left, 'l'hey got the ofiicor back, but poor Jim was'hit just as they ,got into the trench." That.is something that will be treasured by that soldier's wife and son while memory exists. The Searcher could lell you of many who earned V.C.'s whose names appear in iio honours list except that'of the gallant dead. | In.a certain famous wood in Trance, the scene of many a fierce light, a young second lieutenant was badly hit' and mortally -'wounded. A sergeant—who ,was telling-the story—ran' to his assistance, and asked him what he could do to help him. 1 The officer was just able to reply, "Never miud me, sergeant; 1 shall be all right. Carry, on." 'lhe Searcher may well feel tliat. his work is not in vain when he sends home a story like that. ' ' '" ■; And so he goes from bed to bed and wai'ti to ward collecting his reports, hearing'many tales (for the incidents above are true) of unrecorded heroism and dc-' votion to duty, and marvelling always at -tho 'wonderful' cheerfulness ■ of ' tho wounded British soldier. Often, 100, he attends tho base camps .where the, men are paraded for his inquiry and the proceedings are necessarily: more crisp and businesslike. His day's searching done, he returns to the olSce, where lie gives his reports to the typists—the Searcher's indefatigable fellow-workers—who make copies to speed the news on its way, sometimes the cheerful word that the missing one is safe, more often the sorrowful tidings that lie has fought liis fight and .finished his course. Such, in brief, is the main work of the' .Searcher, and of the Department which he represents. He lias won for himself a recognised place in the great war. While keeping his voluntary status lie works today not only for'the .'inquiring'relative, but also for the War Office, which uses "his reports in'compiling -its casually lists. ■He has become, indeed, a necessary part of the British Expeditionary Force. His first thought, however, is still for those at home who look to him, for news of wounded or. friends, and in their gratitude and appreciation „he finds both his chief inventive and his full reward.