A SOLDIER'S "WARNINGS"

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 110, 26 January 1918, Page 7

A SOLDIER'S "WARNINGS"

SOME HAIRBREADTH ESCAPES. • A member of the staff of the Sydney Boyal Mint recently received tho following letter dated October 12,1917, Bethnal Green Military Hospital, London :-? . "On September 21 we passed close to 'the ruins of Ypres. On Monday, September 24, began a series of events niOM or less exciting to- myself. First of-all, ivhilo I washed feet and socks in, a shell-hole a few yards away, J left my tunio lying in a heap on, top of a sheet of galvanised ■ iron that . threo of us had slept under. When I came back I found that a pieco of German shell had put several holes through it and gone through the Iron. Next day I had a further 'warninp..' As I was boiling some water a sniper knocked the wood out of my handan'l had two inoro 'pots' for luck, but the luck was with mo, for he missed. "About midnight (25th) we startc' ■ out to take up a position for an advance the next morning. It was a long march over rough country, towards the end through what was once a wood full of. shell holes, otc., and captured pill, boxes, or little forts made of concrete reinforced with heavy rails from railway lines-.intended to hold .machine-guns. - You would think Jt very- hard to get tho better of these unless you knew the Allies' artillery. - There, were plonty of them in the ■ Wood we took next day. "Before we reached the startingpoint I had my third warning. Fritz • was putting over all sorts of shells and turning machine-guns in different directions trying to catch somebody, and nearly, caught me. Ono of his niachine-gun bullets hit mo on the left side, but by marvellous luck came full against an ammunition pouch nnd glanced, leaving a beautiful bruiso and graze. Still, you see, he was getting closer and closer till he got me. We got into place' without much time to spare and- went' over the ton a little before 6 on the morning of September 26, following pur barrage "The going was very rough, mostly along narrow necks of looso earth between shell-holes. About 600 yards from tho start I struck trouble", or rather a bullet struck mo, passing through the left leg. a little below tho knee. It was really another escape, us it turned out, for it missed tho bone. A little higher, and it would have smashed the knee. However, as it was, I managed to get back. The dressing etntions were too busy with more serious cases to attend to lee wounds, so I went on into Ypres itself on an artillery lumber, and this was the last I saw of the battle in tho which tho Australians took Polygon Wood."