RAIDING THE GERMAN TRENCHES.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 September 1916, Page 3

RAIDING THE GERMAN TRENCHES.

•LETTER FROM A MANAIA EOY. Writes Corporal A. Gilmour to his people at Manaia:— . France; 17/7/IG. I am still well, and am suffering from from nothing more than a very slight wound. My name may have gone through the papers *a.s being slightly wounded, but take no notice of it. I have done about the usual amount of duty during the last few days, so must be all right.

Our company had a terrible time on a raid to the German trenches a few nights ago, and those of us who came through unhurt marvel at it. Anyhow, out of thirteen scout 3, of which the raiding party was made up, I am the only one left, the others, with one exception, having been either killed" or wounded. The one exception I refer to was a wounded scout who lifts since returned.

- I am telling you this just to give you some idea of what the rest of the company has suffered. I lost many a friend, and am the only one left out of our tent at Moascar Camp. Neil McDonald,, who has been my friend right from my first day at Trentham, was killed by machine-gun fire. He was hit on the shoulder while lying out on No-Man's Land, and with the pain raised himself on to his knees, when lie got several hits in the stomach. We went through a terrific bombardment, confined to a small area. There was damage from our own artillery and trench mortars, and the enemy iired missiles of every description and swept every inch of the ground. I was in a shell hole about two feet deep for most of the time and once got a smack from a huge piece of earth on my body, and also on my steel helmet. These helmets save a lot of wounds. I had to feel to find out if everything was all there, but 1 found everything to be intact.

Once when the bombardment slackened a bit I took two walking wounded men over to a hole near our own parapet, then we got another spasm. I lay in this second hole with -five other men, all wounded, for about three-quar-ters of an hour, then I gave a hand to get wounded' in. The first man I went to was a Knov College friend of mine, Jack White by name. He has a commission. I found him in a shell-hole. He

had five wounds, the worst being on hi* lower left leg, the bone being broken, so [ hopped over our parapet to look for a man to 'help me* and for a stretcher. Every stretcher was in use, so I had to

got a duekboard —that is, a ladder-like arrangement placed along the bed of the trench to walk on. We got him in all

•ight. A few bombs were coming- our way

.hen. and machine-guns were on all the time. We had just time to rush it ivhen the fire and Hares send up by the Huns allowed us to.

The second man I helped in was a

stretcher-bearer weighing 14 stone, and with a big shrapnel wound on his hindquarters. We had just got him on top of our parapet when two of those beastly flares went up, and the two of us at each end of the duck-hoard were stand-

ing upright. We remained upright while the flares were up, Then the machinesuns got on to us, and we jumped into the trench and simply bad to tip the man off the duck-board and get him the best way we could . The machine-guns simply swept our -parapets for a few minutes after that.

The third man I helped to assist in had a frightful wound in the abdomen, and we tried to bandage him up, but it was useless. We gave him morphia to ease his pain. The poor little chap was very brave and said to his sergeant (the only one left) he was glad to have done something for the honor of his company. » When I got down to our dressing station'l had "to report that I was in and then Helped a man down to the nearest receiving hospital, whence he would proceed at night by motor ambulance to the hospital. I am a lance-corporal and will he a corporal in three weeks. I am not very keen about'stripes, but am needed just now. We are still in the trenches and wiH be for another week, and hope then to have a spell, .and our nerves certainly need it. The place we are in has become a regular hot-bed lately. By the time we go out we will have been in tluvy days on end.