TRAITORS WITH THE ALLIES.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 September 1915, Page 8

TRAITORS WITH THE ALLIES.

£ EETUKSTED TROOPER'S STORY,

Trooper E. Lamond, of Puerua, near Balclutha., who returned by the Tahiti, was in the early stages of the war one of Sir lan Hamilton's bodyguard, and consequently accompanied that General everywhere and saw much that was denied others. He spent several daya on board the Queen Elizabeth, and had opportunities of seeing the tremendous effect of her fire. On one occasion i|n aeroplane reported the presence of a large body of Turks in a certain spot, so conveniently located that "Big Lizzie" was able to drop one of her largest shells, weighing 10001b, right in the middle of them. It was reported from the aeroplane that this single shell bad destroyed a very large number of Turks —WOO, Trooper Lamond declared. Gen--1 era! Blrdwood goes up every morning in an aeroplane to make a personal reconnaissance. "Big Lizzie" was frequently hit, but the shells made no more impression on her than "peanuts on a stone wall," to use the soldier's expression. The French General 'at Gallipoli appeared to be of opinion, Trooper Lamond said, that he could have captured Achi Babi in a very few days by using the poisonous gas plant which the Allied forces 'had brought with them, in the belief that such plants would be used by the enemy. But General Hamilton steadily refused to use gas unless it was used by the enemy.

The difficulties of the Allies were quickly increased by the number of spies and traitors in their ranks. Men who lhad been with them in Egypt were either found in the ranks of the enemy or else betraying the Allies to the enemy. The necessity for interpreters made it very difficult to stop this, but there were many and very summary executions in the early stages of the war. Greeks, Syrians, and Mahommedans of every nation were found to be giving the Allies away in wholesale fashion. The Greeks were to have assisted the British in the landing l but possibly through no i fault of the Greek Government, the I Allies' landing plans got into the hands of the enemy.