DID THE HUNS KILL KITCHENER ?

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 36, 10 February 1917, Page 15

DID THE HUNS KILL KITCHENER ?

THE GERMAN CLAIM. After six montis the Germans are- tsying to claim the credit of sinking the Hampshire, and itfrus causing the death of Lord Kitchener. In order to do so (says the London "Daily 'Express") Chey have Invented a mythical story of finding a. letter in a bottle add essed to Mils 'Smith, of South iShie-lds, by a member of the crew of the Hampshire. m ; "Daily Express" correspondent at South Shields has made inquiries, and finds that there is no Mrs Smith in Soufli ■Shields who had a husband or other relative on board the Hampshire. The story is told by the "Frankfurter Zelrung" of December 1: — "A bottle -which was -waebed aehiore ot Bestaracnoy, In the Stnvanger Wold, containcj a paper, on which were written the following words in 'English: •TORPEDOED TWICE." "H.M.S. 'Hampshire.—We have kept well up to now, but how much longer we can hold oat we know not. Onr boat makes water fast. It cannot last much longer. We can sight no land. "Oood-bye, all of you. We know we shall be a-venged. Onr lads win see to that. .were torpedoed twice, and "we b&d no time to fire again before the U boat disappeared, and we Tjegan to eink. Five of us are -here all exhausted with rowing and baling out water. This Iβ the -hiet jou -will hear of us. If this is found hay* It sent to Mrs Smith, South Shields. "The message is evidently genuine. It was handed to the British Consul. The Hampshire, In which, as Is well known. Lord Kitchener was drowned, was torpedoed on June sth." ANOTHER TALE. In addition, the "Frankfurter Zdtnng" publishes tine following message from Chrtetianla:— "The genuine nature of the message found in a bottle thrown OTerboard by some of the crew of the Hampshire Is proved beyond a doubt. Persons -who have spoken with the finders and -who have seen the message declare that it was very well preserved, that the hand-w-rltlns wae quite clear, and the English perfect. There is no longer any mystery about it. People retnrning from England assure mc that it ■has been common knowledge for a long itlme that the Hampshire was sunk by a submarine, but out of regard for the pnblic feelings tbe authorities have shrunk from admitting it."