A MOVING STORY.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 August 1915, Page 12

A MOVING STORY.

WITH THJS WOUNDED. THEIR PAIN AND SACRIFICE. The following letter has been received .by Mr. Brownell, secretary of the Christchurch Y.M.C.A., from Mr. Chris. Reda, main body Mounted Field Ambulance, New Zealand Expeditionary Force: Dear Mr. Brownell,—l know you and my old Y.M.C.A. associates" wall have often wondered how things were going on out here. lam writing this aboard a transport, on my way back to the sphere of operations, This will make my fifth trip to Gafoa Tepe and Helles. We run up near to the base, sometimes in a transport, and other times in a mine-sweeper, according to the activities of submarines. Now, I think it would be better to give you an account of one trip. The news has just reached us at Lemnos that a big battle is taking place, and that the ambulauce have to get away at once in Mine-sweeper No. 3. Away ive got through the now rather heavy sea. After two hours' steaming, in the distance can be heard the boom of the big guns, and as .we get nearer you can hear the reports from the smaller batteries. Then, soon you can see a flash, followed by a loud report. "That's ©irty Lizzie'!" says a gunner; "she's given 'emisox; I'll bet she's shaking hell out of them Turks." She was certainly shaking something, for everything seemed to vibrate. At last we arrived off Gaba Tepe. All around us were the fleet, firing away at the Turks. Now a destroyer has rushed right .in-shore, and her searchlights show up quite plainly some Turks with a machine-gun. Three flashes and three reports finish Turk—exit machine gun. It's nearly light now; the rattle of machine-gun and riflefire is not so fierce; the warships no longer pour their deadly shells into the Turkish position. Every now and then a shell will burst around us, and a few bullets fly overhead. "They have piled i them up,'' says one from the base. Yes, it proved true, our lads certainly had mowed them down in rifts. The sun was ndw up, proclaiming another day. My attention was drawn to three or four tugs steaming towards us from the shore.' I knew then that our lads, too, had suffered in the night attack. At last they were near enough to hail, when bangl Only a shell burst over the last tug, only a few more wounded wounded again. Poor chaps, they get hit in the trench and shelled down to the dressing station, and then to the ships, running the gauntlet all the time. Now they are alongside. We haul them on' board, and lay them out on the hatchways, give them beeftea, etc., look to the minor cases, give them bread and ham (if procurable, which is not often). After two or three hours'' hard toil we have them aboard. "Wait for another lot!" comes the order from the shore. We wait for a couple of hours, and then we can see them being towed out. They come I quite near, we take some aboard, and ! then comes the order to clear out at once. "Submarines in vicinity; never mind the others; make safe those aboard!" comes the order from the base pinnace, and soon every ship is making for the harbors of refuge. On our arrival we were all transferred on to a transport, fitted up as a temporary hosship. All is in order now; the operating room is ready; the worst cases have been sorted out from the minorOn every side lies the wounded chum, some nearing (he borderland, others trying to look pleasant although suffering great pain, others laughing and joking. Now and then a snatch of song will reach your ear. What a sight! What a scene! We had 1300 aboard, all brought in on different mine-sweepers. Men from all parts—37 different regiments were represented. Youth and age, rich and poor, uncouth and educated, there they lie side by side as they fought s!de by side, thinking of each other as brothers; so they act now when wounded. •'Never mind me, old pal," "Give him a drop first; he's hit pretty badly." That's what I hear on all sides. I remember well one Australian: "WeH, Shirty," he days, "is there many of our boys hit? Sec our sergeant there? He's got it fair in the leg; -give him a drink-first." I go to the sergeant and ask him how he feels: "Pretty fair," says he, "if it wasn't for my leg I'd be all right. I say, sonny, do you see that chap there?'' "Yes," says I. "Well, he's got it right in the hip and in the arm; sure to lose liis arm, and perhaps never walk again; go and 'attend to him first, there's a pal." Yes! the first man was hit hardest, and he died the next day. Bravery, bravery everywhere. Here I might mention something. A weekly paper from New Zealand was lying on the deck, and one of the wounded men got hold of it and looked through the illustrations. I'll never forget his looks ami his words. "My God, it's for this, for this, boys, we've been plugged!" He drew his pals' attention to a racing meeting, the winner in the middle and crowds of young men looking on at the finishing post. He turned to me and asked me what 1 thought of it, and I told him that the nation never did reckon on that class, only as a liability, and that by no conjuring trick tould they be made into aa asset. He then turned to me, looking very thoughtful, and said: "You're right! If they were forced to come they would be in the way. We'll do this job without them; they can do the flag-waving when we go back. Still, don't you think they could fill in different pictures just now?" I knew what he meant —rivers, mountains, seashores, ferns and waterfalls, scenes that would remind him of home.

"Improve the breed of horses! You fools, it's men that count!" The operating room is now in full swing—several amputations, mostly arms, now a very delicate brain case requiring much skill. The operation is over, the patient is put in a bed, he soon recovers and asks questions of the others. Yes! the first thing they ask is: "How is Bill or Tom?" For the first three days the operations were going on all day, dining which the minor cases were being attended to at the dressing-room. The serious cases,, too, need special nursing. So all hands are kept busy. 1 was nursing some specials on the third day, having been in the operating room till then. One Australian had been hit in the right femur, severing the fenmral artery, lie was in a very critical condition. I watched by him all the night and day, and we became greatly attached to each other. As I held the cold cloths to his brow he would turn and say, "That's good, Ellen. T knew you would come. They have nearly done for me, but I'm pulling through for your sake." Then ho would turn and say, ''Pal, where are you from ? Ohristehurch ? Have you a good, pure sister? Pal, t have! Oh, she is a : grand girl! I wish she -was here. Oh, ■ Ellen, you're a good girl," and then he . would faint and awon, That's the 'linSueiwe of goodness and ipurity, ian't it? Several daya after, when u w«t »

little bettor, lie told me again about bis sister, and I said, 'Tfes, old boy, you told me about her before." "WeH," says he, 'Tin glad I did; she's one of the tbest! 1 ' He hovered between life and death till we reached Alexandria, where he is now doing fairly well. I'll never forget him, and Hi always feel that I've met at least one man whose devotion to his homo stands first and foremost, We buried four on our way dc/wn—aio ceremony over them, I don't know, l>Ut it does not seem quite the thing. On our arrival at Alexandria or Malta we aJe relieved of our ■patients, who we tsiken to the different hospitals to be cared for and nursed 'back to strength to fight again if needs be. Several are on their way for the third time. The great scare coming down ia submarines, and it ia aJeo the menace going back. No place is safe, only your own sanctuary, the Itoone of Grace! Yes; the outstanding feature of thia terrible conflict is the call for self-sacrifice and the response to the call, for on every aide one eees life saved. All the factors here for alleviating pain and suffering and the institutions that abound for the soldiers' comfort and welfare are the direct outcome of Christianity. Our institution, the Y.M.C.A., perhaps stands out on its own, because mainly of its perfect organisation, having the experience of years behind it), and the knowledge that the right man for the job or no job. There's plenty yet to be done. The work is hardly begun; we've a long way to go, so we might as well cultivate the cheerful side and sing and smile, trusting that the clouds of war will soon pass away, and that peace wiil come, to be appreciated more, having been purchased at such a pice. I often thiiik of you all plodding away, and the good times I had with you. I'm thankful, too, for those days. They are worth more now than then; tley are storehouses of good things inexhaustible. Several of my old chums have crossed the border—grand fellows, every one. They are now reaping the harvest of a well-spent life.