A SOLDIER'S LETTER.

Taihape Daily Times, 12 June 1918, Page 6

A SOLDIER'S LETTER.

The folowing letter has been received by Mr. G. Terry, of Raukura, from Cecil Terry, which throws some interesting sidelights on the -fighting which took place three weeks after the first German offensive. The letter is dated Walton on Thames, April 17, 1918.

"Just a few lines to let you know how lam getting on. I was in the big battle which took place on the Somme about April Ist. I got a fragment of a shell in the jaw, and have been sent to England to have it removed. It is not a had wound, but the concussion and blow on the side of the head blackened my face and swelled up my head pretty considerably. The shell burst about three feet from me in the parapet, and blew my rifle to pieces in my hands, besides half burying me. The same shell killed two chaps and wounded four others. "We had been in the Ypres sector since last October .up till the time we left lor the Somme. I got a nasty smack in the face while there, and was blown out of the trench, four chaps being killed alongside of me and two wounded. We had a lot of stiff fighting on the Somme, mostly open warfare, which is much preferable to my mind. "Jerry," (a new name for Fritz) was marching on Amiens when we got there, and had to march out to meet him. It would have been very humorous if it had not been so pathetic to see the French refugees coming in as we marched out. Most of them had just a few valuables in their hands, and had left their homes just as they stood. We were warned not to interfere with any of their property on pain of death. I saw one farmer with a fat cow in a sort of low-built dray, household goods piled round her, another cow and calf tied on behind, and a dog tied to the tail of the cow,

pegging along for all they were worth. The farmer was ejaculating "Allemande, he come!" Anyhow, we ran into him coming down the road, about six miles further on, and my word, we gave him "socks." There were also, thousands of routed Tommies, too, coming along the road. They had "the wind up" properly. We pushed Jerry back about three miles, and next day we advanced and p ushed lim hack over a ridge and consolidated. We had the "Aussies" on our left and the Canadians on our right. The Aussies reckoned they had not had a finer bit of kangaroo fighting since they left Australia. It fell to the lot I of my platoon to rout Jerry out of the last strong post on the ridge' I mentioned the day after we consolidated. We had an easy win .and got two ma-

chine guns and five or six prisoners, T>esides killing twenty of the Huns. I yras put to guard a hedge, and manag-

e;l to capture four Germans. We got

a. bit of loot out of their dugouts, too. Our bombing section did terrible execution, and the punishment the Huns received was horrible. There were about 80 in the post. Next day we were relieved, and had a couple of days' spell in the reserves, and then into the line once more. It was then I got my quietus. I saw Alex Morrison to-day; he is Q.M.S. on the staff here. He told me he tried to join the Flying Corps and had a few flights. He is still the same fine, frank fellow he always was. He told me Alex Grant was here in Oatlands Hospital, minus a leg. Jack Pearson is also there, in j the mechanics' shop. I hope things are all right in Taihape. Remember me to all at Wainui. I got the holdall you gave me and pipe from Tom Mann smashed up in the accident, much to my disgust. CECIL TERRY

SUCCESS OF CONCRETE SHIP. WASHINGTON, June 10. The completed tests of concrete vessels have been pronounced a complete success. These , vessels have exceeded the guaranteed speed and stood bad weather. The Shipping Board has authorised five new yards to build 42 concrete ships, the majority of which" will be oil tankers of 7500 tons; others are to be cargo boats of 3000 to 3500 tons. Concrete vessels can be repaired under water and it is unnecessary to dock them. It is learned that Australia is . particularly interested, and probably will take early steps in the direction of constructing concrete' ships. MORE ENTERPRISING THAN THE GERMANS.

In the great exhibition of British industries recently held in London, Liverpool occupied the premier place for toys, causing a correspondent of the Liverpool "Post" to prophesy that the day is drawing near when Liverpool will hold as great a place in the toy world as Nuremberg did in the world which existed before the war. The correspondent subsequently paid a visit to a factory in the South End, where he saw special toys constructed by girls, women, and soldiers whose health had been broken by the war. These toys were already in demand, not only in England, but in France, America, Spain, South America, and Russia. The catalogue of the firm was printed in English, French, Spanish, and Russian, and showed that, given the opportunity, British manufacturers could be more daring "and enterprising than German.