INTERVIEW WITH DR. MARTIN.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1417, 29 June 1915, Page 3

INTERVIEW WITH DR. MARTIN.

Auckland, June 28. Dr. Arthur Martin, of Palmerston North, has returned to New Zealand for a brief rest to recuperate alter bis trying experiences in France and Flanders, Twice his gallant conduct on the battlefield has been mentioned in dispatches, but of the circumstances attaching to these incidents Dr M u tin declined to speak. Speaking of Tommy Atkins as he found him, Dr. Martin said that the British soldier was splendid. He was very cheerful ; be was not afraid to die ; he could march on, although he knew that march led to certain death. The only thing that really upset him was the gas, aud that was because he did not understand it. The British Army was now supplied with masks) hut these were not quite effective, although very near it. There was a great deal of doubt as to what the gas consisted of. Some supposed it to be a mixture of chlorine and bromine, but a famous Swiss scientist was of the opinion that it was azotic acid, made from ammonia, aud that the Germans could produce any quantity of it very cheaply. He saw several of the men die from poisoning and it was one of the most terrible sights connected with even a military hospital. “It is just as though an asthma sufferer, while in his worst paroxysm, were strangled by a cord,” said the doctor, “Most of the sufferers had died, and the survivors would be crippled for life.” Dr. Martin spoke appreciatively of the magnificent work of the famous French 76th Battery, and of the reputation won by General Davis, the only New Zealand General in France.