GIRL AT MONS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 201, 18 August 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

GIRL AT MONS.

SPECTATOR OP BATTLE. THREE DAYS IN A CELLAR. From the windows of a convent In Mosnsa Sydney girl—Miss Pauline Sullivan —saw one of the most thrilling scenes in the war drama. She got vivid and terrifying glimpses of the great battle, and, with a heavy heart, saw the comparatively small British force compelled, after displaying prodigious valour, to make their nowfamous retreat on account of the swarming legions of the enemy that, had they stayed.fi would have overwhelmed and crushed them. Miss Sullivan, the eldest daughter of Mr. A. J. Sullivan, of Lavender Bay, who arrived by the Ventura recently, was .. pupil at the Assumption Convent at Mons when the war broke out. When that event r.ccurred travelling b&came so difficult and so dangerous that flight to England was impossible, though that naturally was her first impulse. It was not long before the armies met in the neighbourhood of Mons. and some of the most furious fighting in the campaign took place there. Part of the battle raged around the convent, and charges and fierce fusillades took place in the very grounds. Miss Sullivan saw a number of brave Brituh soldiers fall, and when the battle was over corpses were lying everywhere. The convent was used for treating the wounded and the girls acted as nurses. "I happened to be the only one who could speak English, and as nearly all the wounded men were British I was, as you can imagine, in great request." she said, adding, "It was grand for us to be able to lend a hand in easing the sufferings of tho soldiers."

The rear of the big guns in the early stages of the battle was terrific, and allss Sullivan says it made her deaf for many • tys. When the Germans marched into the town, after the British retreat, the terrorstricken girls sought refuge in a cellar and remained huddled up there in the dark, with nothing to eat for two or three days, only daring to peep out when the shades cf night had fallen. It. was a fearfully trying experience. I'ltimately their hiding place was discovered and they were taken prisoners and were in the hands of the Germans for about 10 months. They were not badly treated, and as long as any of the many rules which they had to observe were not violated things were not made unpleasant for them, excepting that their food was severely plain, consisting principally black bread. Ultimately the case of the girls was taken up by the American authorities and they were allowed to return to their homes. They had once worn American colours in Brussels, thinking that this would ensure more respect, but the effect was such that they wer- very glad to discard their stars and stripes. "One. cannot appreciate the conditions in dear Australia unless they have had a little taste of the awPilness of war," remarked Miss Sullivan in conclusion.