NEW ZEALANDERS AT MESSINES.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 June 1917, Page 7

NEW ZEALANDERS AT MESSINES.

SUCCESSFUL MINOR OPERATIONS. STORY OF SERGEANT BROWN, V.C. (From Captain Malcolm Ross, Official Correspondent with the New Zea- , . land Forces at the Front). France, June 15. Since the capture of Messines the New Zealanders have been again in the firing line. In further operations on a minor scale our troops advanced to establish a forward post. Half of them were successful; the other half, missing their way in the darkness, returned to their trenches. Last night, however, they tried again, and were completely successfill, advancing a thousand yards in the direction of Warneton, occupying two strong points, and capturing eighteen prisoners and some machine-guns. At i one place the Germans fought determinedly, but were overwhelmed. The half originally successful also made a further slight advance, and all the I troops engaged linked up and are consolidating the line. The enemy put on ft heavy barrage, but our troops still hold their ground. Strangely, details of the heroic conduct that won the New Zealand DiviI sion's second V.C. were not kijown until long after the fighting in which it was gained, and .until long after Sergeant Donald Forrester Brown was killed in action in the second Somme offensive. The North Otago Company, to which he went into that action with officers. They came out with no officers. The command of the l company devolved upon Sergeant Rog- [ ers. He and Brown, after killing four «f the crew, charged and captured a machine gun that was holding up, the advance. - Later in the day the advance was again held up by another gun, and Brown, after bayoneting several Germans in the trench, disposed of the gun's crew. His company had. to stand to all the afternoon under an intense bombardment, during which Brown showed remarkable spirit and absolute contempt for danger. In the attack on October Ist on the third line he again displayed great bravery. Singlehanded lie attacked another machinegun, killing all the crew and capturing the gun itself. While sniping at the retreating enemy fifty yards in advance of this post he was himself killed.