INTERESTING NEWS

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 263, 12 August 1915, Page 3

INTERESTING NEWS

AN ARMLESS HERO. > For some time past the soldiers in I training at Rhyl, as well as the resi- ; ! dents of that town, have been feting , and entertaining a supposed Y.C. and D.C.M. hero, but on Saturday, June lth, the police put a stop to the man's game, and exposed his fraud. He arrived at Rhyl in khaki with one arm missing, and he said he had been wounded at the front, and for saving the life of an officer he was awarded the D.C.M. and also the V.C. He gave the name of Bradbury, and said he had been a sergeant in the King's Rifles. He went so far as to address gatherings of the soldiers, describing in detail the engagements he had been through, and he urged young men to enlist instead of spending their time at the seaside. He was a regular visitor to the N.C.O. 's messes in the town, and was everywhere welcomed and entertained. On' Saturday morning a lady was so taken with the man that she bought | him a large basket of strawberries and ( added a jug of cream to her while a gentleman bought him a new cap. ! Great was the surprise of the hero's numerous friends when the police marched him to the police station. Here he was examined, and it was | found that his missing arm, which he said a shell took off, was carefully stowed away inside his waistcoat and , trousers. It was also found that he j had not been wounded, and when [ charged with being a fraud the man readily admitted that his real name was Victor Henshaw, but that he svas also known as Victor McClare, and that he had been about a week in 'inScottish Guards, but had deserted. The man has been handed over to the military authorities for wearing the King'.' uniform without authority.

Many of the stories told concerning the man are most amusing. He had free motor rides, he addressed meetings in the gardens and on the sands, he was treated in hotels and elsewhere, and he even went so far as to give exhib" tions of his ability as a one-hand pianist. "WAR BABY" BOGY. With reference to t.'ae statement cir-Tlate-d in England as to the prospect -f a large increase in th? illegitimate Yvrth-rate. and the many statements "rnde in connection ith what has now :r.m e to be cal'ftd trie "war babies" an inquiry has been ccn'rcted by the National Society for the "*reventi'.on of Cruelty to Children rarughout England, Ireland and Vales. A circular letter was sent tc very inspector, and irejtfclies have been "eccived from all. The result is a unanimous expression of opinion that l.here< has been gross exaggeration in th 0 statements made. Many inspectors say definitely that there is not likely to be; any increase in their districts In many branches not a single case bo traced. In ethers only ver v "oi V ospcs pre known. In one town i~ "\*-vt ever 2000 was 'the figure given "■ "~y cases were fewer than normal.

P2AE ATTSS THE FIOHT. A LESSON IN THE ',7AYS OF WAR. The young officer—our new fighting j man who a year ago knew no more of the ways of war than the Man in the Moon—has taken to it aa tnough he were born to it, and of his deeds tiio race may well be proud. lie fights gamely, he dies gamely, his men love and honour him, and he loves and honours his men. Pride of birth, broad acres, and great riches hamper him not; and he has sunk everything in that sublime fraternity of carrying on, hand in hand, and arm in arm, with that splendid, rollicking scul labelled lovingly by us as "Tommy." and he has no fear of whatever may befall. No fear? Well, that perhaps it not quite the way to put it (writes a special correspondent of the London Daily News "in northern France"), ! for fear falls upon the bravest at the most unexpected moments, and then when the time comes to be really and horribly afraid, the demon most unaccountably vanishes, and a glorious rush of high spirits sweops in,.upon the wings of which incredible deeds are wrought. "A fellow is much more afraid of looking afraid than of being afraid." said a frank young officer of the London Scottish to me as we were talking one evening. "The only thing I have ever shot in my life was an old retriever with an ancient blunderbuss. At Messincs the first German who came to me appeared to be about nine feet high, and I wasn't in the least bit afraid. I got him in the chest, and he went down with a crash. The other men around him seemed to melt away, and I was left entirely alone on the edge of a muddy turnip field. For a moment I felt as I should imagine David felt when he slew Goliath, but the instant after, though there was no need for it, I became full of fear, threw my kit away, and ran unpursued into the night. "Since then," he added with a cjuiet smile, "I have shot nine Germans to my own certain knowledge, and after each man went down the same feeling of fear swept over me, and I always wanted to run away."