AN ADVENTUROUS CAREER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 189, 30 December 1912, Page 5

AN ADVENTUROUS CAREER.

RECIPIENT OF FRANCE'S V.C. We reported on Saturday the death at Wanganui on Boxing Day of Lieutenant Neville Thornton, at the age of 77 years. His life story was told recently in the Wellington Times. We take the following extracts from the article: What an adventurous career the old man had. He has in turn been soldier,. miner, chef, actor, policeman, journalist and artist. lie claims to be a lineal | descendant of Sir Matthew Hale, Lord Chief Justice of England during the reign of one of the Henrys. With a view to ascertaining some of the facts in the career of the veteran, the writer called on Thornton at his residence in Bell street, Wanganui. I found Monsieur Thornton ill in bed, but nevertheless received a hearty welcome. "Tell me, Mr. Thornton," I said, "how you came to receive the Cross of the Legion of Honor." "Oh," replied the veteran modestly, "I really don't know why they gave it to me; but here is a typewritten account of the incident which the Frenck Government considered had made me i worthy of that honor."

In the article mentioned it was explained that Mr. Thornton, as a youth o p seventeen, was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in the French Army. This was on account of his knowledge of English, which he spoke as well as French. So young and boyish did he appear at that time that his comrades called him the ' Norway Doll." General MacMahon showed an interest in young Neville Thornton and took him to the Crimea, where he was attached as orderly and interpreter to Colonel de Brancion, of the Algerian Tirailleurs.

HOW I WON THE CROSS. "After a while," says Mr. Thornton, "the assault of the Lunette of Mamalon ws decided on. I asked the colonel to allow me to accompany 'him. He tried to dissuade we. 'lf you go with me, 1 he said, 'you are almost, certain to be knocked over, as I must lead my men, so you will be amongst the forlorn hope.' But I told him it would look cowardly for me to remain behind, so he reluctantly consented. The attack commenced. I kept as close as I could to the Colonel. We got up to some embrasures; the Colonel clambered through one, and taking a flag from one of his officers, made his way to the parapet. I followed closely. He just managed to stick the stick of the flag in the ground, when he was shot dead, bringing the flag down with him in his fall. I picked the flag Up and had just managed to replace 'it when I was shot in the groin. I received a wound on the jaw, an,d my chestbone was smashed by, I suppose, the butt of a musket. When I regained consciousness I was lying in the Colonel's, tent and his dead body was stretched oil the camp bed. I was informed tjiat my wounds gave me no chance of recover}.

A STRANGE -MEETING. ! "One of the nurses who used to come round I mef in Hawera'a couple of years agd. She was known in the mea as Nurse Clive, but was at the time of my second meeting Mrs. Evans, a halo' and hearty woman eighty years of age. .While iij the' hospital I .was. frequently visited by Miss ' Florence Nightingale', who used'to chat'with me and 'tried'to . cheer rile up. 1 Geherals C'anrobert, MileMahon atid' Bosquet came to' see ; me. MacMahori took'my hand arid said, 'My' -boy, if you get Well again, you 'shall fio't ',be forgotten.'' After passing through'' ■the horrors of the'improvised hospitals' ■of the war and experiencing' th<! deadly' voyage across' the |?lack Sea on si Vessel on' which dozehs of Soldiers died 'everyday and were brtried'at a fixed ffoutj' every morning, whilst the sundry .aims' and legs Which had been'amputated dtir-i ing £ he day juid night were made up 1 into a packet, and thrqwn' overboard, I ■ was' transferred to a vessel bouiid fpr | Southampton. I eventually reached Cherbourg, ,i)ear wljich seaport my par- ! ets resided; SoiWV months later,, when I jbecame. cqnvalesce'nt, I left for Pa'ris,' and about it Week afterwards received aii order, froih" the Bureau de Guerre 'commanding'my. attendance at the "Ecolc 1 ! Pplytechriic on the following 'Monday by. : order of the Emperor Louis Napolen.' , This official 'notification puzzled me ed day, arid interviewed the.prinoipaT of. the school, who told me that I was to kpjirade with the boys-at 2 o'clock that djiy. Wheii, t .appointed hqur arrived, the Emperor; attended by a stall'of officers, including General MacMahon, rode ..into thd'eoitft.vWd.-'- I'Was' ealled to tfo ' f)'ont;'- : whei-i!. ! -I stoOd ,: ht attention and his Majesty. Ho expressed' J'pjris'e' iit' mV yOuth,'.and asked- fee .'a. tot'. o,f Questions' concerning tW'ifrcMbnfc.-iilie i ~ajssault on the Lunette <Vf''the Mamiilbw' ?e also asked me how l came to bear an nglish name. ••' I briefly as possible that my father was an Eiigii«h:4ian; ' And'l¥ank iWsls'iliut his adopted qoiihtty:^- : Filially the' Emperoi- told irid" ; that lie hA<l decided • ''to 'iidcord 'me the decoration, 'of'the' ! Legfon of ' Honor. ' iftharikifd tlib :: Emperor, : arid th'ey' : tfode': | sj,way." . ; r , :, I | Mr. Thornton then hamlod to'me forI ; the Cross. ;l : It : is''a simple ; <fnam<<l Wd 'silver-Maltese •e'rosS,' 'fi'Ot liuch bigger than a sixpence, stirMbiint? d by a silver crown. Lieutenant Thornton,, coiitimiing his sto'fy, said': "I afterI vards joined the Chasseurs d'Algeria; mt.ili-licliltlv compelled, mo to resign my coinriiiijs'roh', ,and 1 left, for'A : u^i ; aTia'bn I u baVfJuli called the! 1 Grantham,, Ja'ndiiig'' | at 1 ' : "> -< Si ' '■<■' i ; I SpcpjEß''Or 1 - FORTUNE;"" lij ( Thorns,ton had fflorQ. ;han 'his share of the adventures thjiti [ .isuallv befel the pioneer of those dayi. :Ie tackl(;d.,,ipost .-kinjls; -p£r ; >irork| from :utoring to bush carpentering," from mining, to, art (painting), and was for h tiriie-'a,' member bf'J,he mounted.police, pf 'his adventures as a, ed the Mounted Police at' Adelohg binder Mftjor .Broughton." sa,id .Mr. Thornton, "ftiifi 'was 'sent' to' : take cliar^' ; of the black, tracker sis,atipn at Murrumbidgee;. : 0n r'oach]iig> my destination ,1 found that' I had':'Six black , tracker'*,, smart' - active' ;fel]ows, at mj service—spJeiWtyl horsemen they were, and wonderful' trackers. Tll'ey coulij follow, tracks over tlie hardest ground. 1 I occupied a large' liiit"at' the ba'clc of which was a log .building used as_ a lock-up. The Uppei". K'rling: ",Dl^ek»' T We're'; Terv troublesome at this time; on one occasion we were besieged- for several days in a log.hiit,by. a .large, party of blackfellows;' ' Tlid' lnit' was lobp-holed for purposes of defence, and wo acpouijted for lfia'hy 'a' by means of'our rifles; b'efqie .'a ]jarty' of rescuers, consisting''of. 'to : thirty white men—stock-riders,' statioij 'hands, and two 'mounted troopers—came to 'our assistaiice. Another time T received the Government reward for' the capture of a notorious aboriginal who 'had murdered four or live "white meir, their bodies having in e.ic't instance been found speared, t'heir' ffides Aliened aiid their kidney fat stripped - off. One poor wretch was! found iq his dying agonies after having. suffered the horrible mutilation. It 1 was a superstition among the bkeksi that if tliey, could spear a whito man! and strip ofi' hi* kidney' fat while hoi was still living, and rub their, bodies,' with it, it made them invulnerable to' .a bullet, b"t if the man died before they, obtained ,t|ic fat the charm was usolesij . I elutaedi the murderer up the Anabranch river some* distance, a'ud shot him 1 as hj

attempted to escape into the malleo scrub. I took the body to Swan Hill, where it was identified, and I eventually reecived £25 reward. FRANK GARDINER, THE RUSHRANGER.

"Later on I left the police and started at Lambing Flat diggings us a storekeeper and baker. One day while I was away on some business, Frank Gardiner, the notorious bushranger, was ehased by the mounted police and narrowly escaped capture by them. He abandoned liis horse in the bush and managed to get into the township before the arrival of the police, and took refuge in my bakehouse. Shortly aftewards, his pursuers arrived and searched every tent, and went down several shafts. At length they entered my bakehouse, but could find no trace of the outlaw. The troopers had not been gone very long i when I arrived home, and the man J em- ! ployed as baker coolly informed me that Gardiner, who was a friend of his, was hiding between the trough and the side of the building. At length the bushranger eanie from his hiding-place, and after securing a parcel of food and a bottle of brandy, left hurriedly, thanking me and assuring me that I would not regret my kindness to him. Some time afterwards I started one morning to cross the range with £6OO worth of gold, intending to come out at Stoney Creek, and from there to take the road to Spring Creek and so on to the main township. Our small party was well mounted and armed. As we reached the saddle of the range, I heard a snapping of twigs. I immediately put my hand into the pocket of my monkey jacket and attempted to draw my revolver, when a horseman rode out of the scrub. It was Frank Gardiner. He put up his hand and said laughingly, 'Don't get your feathers up, Thornton. I am not a dog to interfere, with one who did me a good turn as you have done. I know what you have got on you, but as far as Frank Gardiner is concerned, you have nothing to fear. I have been trying to crome across that d——d Torpy, and if I do, he will be the first man that I ever shot. So good-bye. and remember me to Ned' (my baker). With that lie gave a signal, and two;men came out of the

■bush. The three then put spurs to their horses and clattered down the stony ridge.