COL. RHODES’ TOUR.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1633, 4 November 1916, Page 4

COL. RHODES’ TOUR.

INTERESTING EXPERIENCES

Speaking :i( tlit* welcome Imme accorded lo him :il Leoslon the oilier evening, Colonel Heaton Rhode*, AM 1 ., said an inmate of Ihe enemy prison camp at Malta, which he inspected, was von Alueller, commander of the Ennhm. Von .Mueller never left the crews and passerine is of (he vessels he sank to the mercy of the waves, hut always put them on hoard one of the ships captured, which he did not sink, hut released in order to convey them to a place of safely. Colonel Rhodes staled that he had inspected the famous British sulmuirino Ell, which had accounted for no fewer than DC* Turkish vessels in the Sea of Marmora, though (he officers and crew felt a little hurl at not having bagged a century. They had treated their prisoners the same as von Mueller had treated his; they collected them and pul them upon the last ship they captured at the end of the day. and released her. Continual”-, the speaker remarked: ‘dine could easily realise why so many of our men were sick Egypt. Emit and vegetables came into the town covered with Hies. When they became covered with dust (hey were washed in the filthy “■utters. With strawberries they did worse. They got the dust oil by licking them in their months. Personally, 1 liked strawberries,” added Colonel Rhodes, “but alter that I wanted no more in Egypt (laughter) —and 1 would advise any of you contemplating going to Egypt not to eat fruit or vegetables in that country which are not well cooked.”

Regarding the loss of parcels sent to New Zealanders at the front, the Colonel said that he had met a general who stated that he had had fourteen Christmas puddings sent him, and the only sign of them he hud found was an empty tin. “You see,” said Colonel Rhodes, “we have suffered from flu* highest to Ihe lowest.”

Colonel Rhodes, when referring li> his visit to Gallipoli, showed a number of curios he had secured there. One was a machine, “made iu Germany,” for exploding a mine. It was secured in a captured Turkish trench, and was a neat piece of work, containing a miniature dynamo with clockwork attachment, which generated a spark that caused the explosion. Two Turkish bayonets —a long one and a short one — were also shown, also a “To" shellcase and a Turkish shell of a type that was common and fell almosj continuously during one period on Banchop’s Hill. A British entrenching tool was also exhibited. It was one of the first of its type to he made, and was the invention of Major Slccman, Director of Military Training in New Zealand. Specimens of bombs and shrapnel were also shown.