COLONEL RHODES' TOUR.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 November 1916, Page 6

COLONEL RHODES' TOUR.

INTERESTING EXPERIENCES, THE CAPTAIN OP THE EMDEN. Speaking at the welcome home accordi Ito him at Leeston the other evening, olonel Heaton Rhodes, M.P., said an i irnate of the enemy prison comp at i ialta, .which he inspected, was von Mueli ler, commander of the Emden. Von > Mueller never left the crews arid pasr scngers of the vessels he sank to. the r mercy of the waves., but always put them [ on board one of the ships captured, i which he did not sink, but, released in order to convey them to a place of safe- . ty. Colonel Rhodes stated that he had inspected the famous British submarine Ell, which had accounted for no fewer : than HO Turkish vessels in .the Sea of • Marmora, though the officers and crew - felt a littie hurt at not having bagged - a century. They had treated their pris soner.s the same as von Mueller had - treated his; they collected them and put them upon the 1 last ship they cap- - turcd at the end of the day, and released ; her. 8 . Continuing, the speaker remarked: - ''One could easily realise why so many t of our. men were sick in Egypt. Fruit y and vegetables came into the town coys' ered with flies. When they became eove ered with dust, they were washed in the 1 filthy gutters. • With strawberries they • did worse. They got the dust off l£ e licking them in their.mouths. Peisont ally, I liked.strawberries," added Colonel Rhodes) "but after that I wanted no more in Egypt—(laughter)—and I would advise'any of you contemplating going to Egypt not to eat fruit or vegetables in tii.it country which are not well cooked." Regarding the loss of parcels sent to New Zcalandcr? at the front, the Coloncl said that he had met a general who stated that he had bad fourteen Christ- '• mas puddings sent him, and the only J sign of them he had found was an empty m : tin. "So you see," said Colonel Rhodes, -! "we have suffered from the highest to 5 the lowest." . ' Colonel Rhodes, when referring to his B visit to Gallipoli, showed a number of curios he had secured there. One was a machine, "made in, Germany," f or exploding a mine. It was secured in a cap- • tured Turkish trench, and was a neat id piece or work, containing a miniature dynamo with clockwork attachment, which generated a spark that caused the explosion. . Two Turkish bayonets—a long one-and a short one—were also shown* also a "75" shell-case and a Turkish shell of a type that was common and fell almost continuously during one period on Bauchop's Hill. A British en- ~ trenching tool was also exhibited. It was one of the first, of'its type to be made, 3nd was the invention of Major Sleeman, Director of Military Training ' in New Zealand. Specimens of bombs 31 and shrapnel were also shown.