“ A HELL OF A GAME.”

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 172, 25 March 1915, Page 3

“ A HELL OF A GAME.”

SURGEON’S STORY. ; THROUGH MARNE, AISNE, AND I.A BASSEE. In a letter received bp Dr McNab, M.P., from Dr. A. A. Martin, of Palmerston North, now at the front, the latter says: “1 am here with the 15th field Ambulance, attached to the 15th ; Brigade unde| the command of Gen- | eral Count Gleichen, and Ave belong' | to the famous sth Division. I was with I the army during the last two days of i the famous retreat, was through the | Marne and the Aisne and at La Bassee | ail d latterly was at Ypres, where I witi nessed the charge of the Prussian 1 Guards. Then I Avas in those bloody j trenches for three days and three j nights, and was glad to crawl out; was I frozen half dead and could not feel my feet. It is a hell of a game. It is certainly exciting. I have had a considerable lot of major surgery. We had about 7000 Avounded British through our hands at one town in France during 21 days. The fighting at La Bassee was of an amazing, stubbornness, was pitiless and most sanguinary. At on e time I Avas up night and day operating, and had to keep myself going with coffee and brandy. Occasionally I snatched a quarter of an hour’s sleep; rolled up my coat for a pillow and lay cn the floor. Used to drop off and sleep like a pig. I was never so done up before. We have a lot of German Avounded at this time, i had to operate on a lot of them. The Avounded have no nationality with the medical service; they are to us simply poor felloAvs in need cf skilled help, and Ave give them all of our best. Trey are all so very grateful, be they wounded French, Belgians, Germans or British, to the doctor avlio stands by them in their hour of great trouble. I am glad I came out. I Aviil feel in years to come that T have done my bit. I never imagined Avhen a youth that 1 Avould serve in two Avars — South Africa and the Avar of the nations —but thebe it is. . . I am still going strong, but the hard life is telling on me a bit. Mercifully I have escaped so far.but fwice I thought that my hour had come. It was so that I got my notebook and several letters, re-tied them up and had them addressed to my Avife, but le bon Dieu saw me through. (The letter is dated 7th January, and a portion had been cut j out by the censor.)