"TINY" FREYBERG, V.C.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 185, 7 August 1925, Page 7

"TINY" FREYBERG, V.C.

Hit CHANNEL SWIM.

MANY FINE TRIBUTES

LONDON, August 6. Colonel Bernard C. Freyberg, V.C., C.M.G., D.5.0., who barely failed to swim the English Channel, being taken out of the water only half a mile froirt Kingsdown, strove with might and main for a whole hour to bridge the final gap through a turbulent, raging Sea, but the ebbing tide flowed too strongly and carried him rapidly north, away from the shore. The swimmer declared he would wait afloat for the four hours necessary until the tide turned, but eventually he yielded to the entreaties of his wife and two small children who were aboard the tug. The "Times" correspondent, who was on board the tug, save: "Using the old English side-stroke. " Colonel Freyberg swam strongly until lie neared the vicinity of the Goodwin Sands. Then a strong wind raised a heavy, choppy sea, »nd he reduced his strokes from 19 to 3 a minute. These adverse conditions lasted for three hours and proved to be his undoing, as coon afterwards the tide turned against him. "Colonel Freyberg continued to (strive heroically to make headway against the current. "There was & thrilling incident when he was three miles from Dover. He cast off his costume, retaining only a slip. The spectators were astonished nt the number of wounds which were revealed on his ariiife, legs and back. "A number of non-commissioned officers and men of the Army Service Corps swam alongside Colonel Freyberg for company." The morning papers pay tributes to Colonel Freyberg for his attempt to swim the Channel. The "Westminster Gazette" says the most remarkable feature of the effort was the precedent set by Colonel Freyberg in not announcing his intentions. "Even yet," says the paper, "we are not told what proprietary foods constituted his diet, nor what appliances were used to administer them. "Press photographers were completely surprised. Apparently it suddenly occurred to Colonel Freyberg that it would be a good idea to swim the Channel, although we would huve thought his nine war vrounds would ha.ye taken the edge off his keen craving for adventure." ("Sun.")

THE CHANNEL SWIM.

ANOTHER ATTEMPT. (Received 12 noon.) LONDON, August 6. Colonel Freyberg states that he ie going to make another attempt to ewim across the Channel.—(A. and N.Z.)