"TOO BIG FOR A SOUVENIR."

Taranaki Daily News, 6 January 1917, Page 2

"TOO BIG FOR A SOUVENIR."

GERMAN CHAINED TO HIS GUN. "In our recent charge I captured a German, but he was too big to send home as a souvenir," writes Private Percy Hardy, in a letter from France, to Mr. Hush Craig, of Melbourne. "While I was disarming him," lie continues, "I gave him a drink, and the cow nearly emptied my bottle. I almost bombed him for that (everybody carried a few bombs). I nearly had to bomb him in the first place, before he gave in. I was on the machiue-gim ■and had hard work, For four days and nights I had no thought of sleep, and only ate a few biscuits. The excitement kept us going tiil Ave got out, and then when the relaxation came ive weTe knocked up. I was a sorry sight with hair awry, face dirty and scratched,'and uniform all blood and tears and dirt. "My first machine-gun was blown up, but I was soon on to another one. The shelling was intensely furious; not a square inch of ground was left untouched, and the barrage of fire swept us over and over again the whole time. You couldn't have walked three yards without falling into a shell hole big enough to burj three horses in. It's a wonder any of us come out, ami I still marvel at my narrow escape. I will not tell them now, and anyway you could hardly be expected to believe the experiences unless you had been through a similar hell yourself. "Y/e did well with our machine-guns. My first one was blown up with nine men, while five others were wounded. We captured three German guns, solid heavy affairs like Maxims, and it was hard work carting them back. Wc found one machine gunner chained to his gun, but a shell had blown off his legs and part of his body."