TALES FROM THE TRENCHES.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 18, 22 January 1916, Page 2

TALES FROM THE TRENCHES.

ME. BEN TILLETT’S STOEY OF THE PRINCE OF WALES.

Th e Duke of Rutland presided at a meeting at His Majesty’s Theatre, London, at which Mr. Ben Tillett spoke on “A Message from the Trenches.” In introducing the speaker, the Duke remarked that they had not always seen eye to eye “But I will undertake to say,” he added, “that ever since the war broke out Mr. Tillett and myself have had one fnmmon aim with every man and woman in this country, to use every wff,H to win this war. ’ ’

Mr. Tillett, describing -his experiences in the trenches, told some humorous stories. “One young officer,” h P said, “was an absolute r knut. ’ He said to me, 'lt’s so jolly of you to "onie out here. We have had a beastly time, but the men .here know a lot. I have been plajdng, pitch=-and toss with them, and they rooked me every time.” Yet the offiier had got grit in him. and every man in the trench I'oved him., and would willingly have laid lown his life for him. “Two of our dockers,” said Mr. Tillett, “were appointed to look after ■an officer. That officer used to plunge ■ long thd trenches regardless of pudHcs or other hindrances. One of the ■non said to the other: “It’s all vary I 1 for him (the 1 officer); if he gets :illed he’s all right, but what becomes ,of us?” That young officer was the Prince of Wales. “One commanding officer,” said Mr. Tillett, “was so annoyed at his men being sniped off that he offered 2/6 fo*r every German killed. Two of our own snipers were elated at the offer. 'Gome on, Bill,’ said one to the other. ‘Fancy, half-a-crown each, and there are 7,000 of them in front! 1 ” , GERM-LADEN AIR BOMBS. The extraordinary high proportion of deaths following injuries caused by Zeppelin bombs has led to a strong uispieion among surgeons who have; ‘■rented these cases that the bombs mve been impregnated with deadly disease germs, remarks the Daily Mail.

Tho evidence- in favoif of the bombs

owing been so treated was reviewed by on of tite snrgc'ons in the London wen to which some forty seriously injured victims of the last raid were ad■;tted - for treatment.

"In the first place/’ the surgeon, stated, "the death-rate among these cases has been at lease' five times as high as-one would expect in patients wounded equally severely, either in battle or accidentally in civil life. In practically all the cases a germ causing rapidly fatal' gangrene, very rarely met with in ordinary hospital practice, has been discovered by the hospital bacteriologists. " Patients who received the best treatment afforded by a modern hospital within ton minutes of being injured suffered a much higher death-rate than soldiers at the front w-ho, after receiving wounds outwardly of the same degree of severity, have had to ■waif 24 hours or more before being fronted.

"Inquiries nre being: made to determine whethe-'r the Italian bacteriologists have found the same germ in the wounds of those injured in the recent raid on Yejrona. ' If this very rare gangrene-causing germ has been found there also, it will b e pretty strong evidence that the bombs have been delibrately impregnated- with one of the most deadly varieties of disease ge'rms known.’ ’