PERSONAL.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIII, Issue 45, 22 October 1915, Page 4

PERSONAL.

Mr T. O'Neil, of Messrs Spence and Stanford's staff, has been successful in keeping his first year's terms, for the L.L.B. degree at the A'ictoria College University, Mr Lawrence King and Mr Colin Camphellj two of Stratford school's old boys, have successfully passed the first year's examination of the medical course. The lads joined the Otago University last February, and their success is very pleasing news. The first named is the son of Mr N, J. King, the well-known Stratford citi-

Private Dominic Sheahan, son of Mr and Mrs J. Sheahan, of Stratford, left for the front with the Main Expeditionary Forces, and was not heard of by his parents since January last, until a letter from Gunner Stan Robinson, to his father, Mr R. H. Robinson, Stratford, arrived on Wednesday. Gunner Robinson says that he saw "Gunner" Sheahan, who, by the way, is now in the New Zealand Field Ammunition Column, about the first of July, when he was then quite well in Alexandria;

Gunner Stan Robinson, writing to his parents in Stratford on September 13. stated, that he had just gone back td ; camp 'at Alexandria after several weeks in hospital,. Hvhere he had to undergo an operation for appendicitis. He was not then" feeling tod bright, hut was quite ; cheery and; felt confident he would, regain, his ' normal strength very shortly. Gunner Robinson relates an exciting experience that befel him the: day before he left the convalescent | camp. It appears that he was sitting reading on the beach, the day being very windy and the surf exceedingly • rough, when his attention was attracted by the cries of a drowning man, who was some fifty yards out from the shore. Although the doctor had previously denied Sjian permission, to go in for a swim, he jumped to his feet, and, divesting himself of all clothing except his shorts and, a .pair of canvas shoes, he dived'into tm angry sea. After much buffeting "lie succeeded in reaching the drowning man, who commenced to fight with his wcrald-be rescuer for a hold, and eventually grabbed' Stan by the thrd'at. "The man was 'mad," stated Stan, "so I just hit him as hard I knowhow, aiid then gained a hold from behind: The life-belt was shortly afterwards brought out to us by a nigger, but the frantic .crowd on shore pulled it away from me. .' .. The man started struggling again, down the pair of us went, but I was ; forced to let go my hold of him. But I was determined to carry out my job, and when the man came to the surface again I took another hold, and found that he was past the fighting stage, being, indeed, quite helpless. I was just about to touch bottom at the shore when the nigger relieved me by putting the life-belt over the man's head. I then got ashore myself, and after a spell went off to my tent for a change of pants. They got the man round all right, but he looked very sick when I saw him an hour afterwards. He afterwards demanded to know my name. If lam not mistaken the man was a Greek." Tn closing the incident Gunner Robinson stated that he did not want to see another man drowning—the situation was not a nice one. gj|