BRITISH SOLDIERS CRUCIFIED.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15338, 23 July 1915, Page 9

BRITISH SOLDIERS CRUCIFIED.

SWORX STATEMENT BY AVOUN'DED TERRITORIAL. _____ fy The following sworn statement has been made by a bandsman now lying iv No. 2 Hospital at Exeter:— One day between May Ist and May oth, IDlo, I was on duty as ytretcherbearer with my battalion, who were advancing on Hill 00. south-east of Ypres. While wo were advancing wo had several casualties in tho battalion. 1 assisted to carry these back to some' dug-outs in tho railway embankment, wiicro there were some officers and men of tho X.A.-M. Corps.

Attcr i «a'J to carry several Ciisuiiiwes Jiom my uauaiiun back £O tueso uug-outs, a rut-dioal otncer orueied sovoral 01 us witu btretcncrs under a sergeant, not of my own regiment, to go uuel loos lor wounded to tuo ielt ">t, \MUue my battalion was advancing. Wniic wo" were looking lot wounded wo passed an old barn at a distance of rioin fitly to one hundred yards. On tho door of the barn wo saw two men iastened with their backs towards tho door, and with arms outstretched. 1 tnought that there were nails througn the paims of their hands; some of tno other men thought they were fastened with spikes th.io.ugh their hands. I do not think their legs were i'ustened. Their heads were hanging down towards their chests, so that wo could hardly see- their faces, but from ivh.it we could see, the men appeared to have been only recently killed, as tho flesh was not discoloured. The sergeant in charge of the party would not allow us to go any closer, as he e'aid there was moro work to do further on. I imagined that the men on tho door were dead. In the case of one- of them, there looked to have been a fire lit under him, as his clothes were- all black, and there was a heap of wbr.t looked like cinders beneath him. When I saw tho men on the door there Wjjro no men of my regiment -with mc. The stretcher-bearers had got muddled up. and we were detailed haphazard. Out of the men who were with men when T saw the men on the door, two were killed and one wounded. All belonged to tho R.A.M C, and T do not know any of their names. I had never seen any of them before, and I have not seen them since. Poth of the vnr-n on the door were in tchaki. but we did not fro close enoucli to distinsroisT , to resrnnent they belonged. Wo talked thincs over amongst ourselves, and sortie men thought belonged to ono l'erriTipnt. some to another I do not know to -wTot t-Tic two men belonged, but T know iliat they were hanging on tbo door. "Late- ; n the evening I was wounded Tho. nluvre tp.is tnken by Mnvor of T><»f«r. on Jn«« 4th, 1915, mir? was sirno-l Jyr f*r>« po'rT«(»r. Cartridges! New Supplies of Ammunition nor to hand--C. and H. "Amberite." "Eley's Smokeless, ,, "Remington Smokeless." and "New Club." in j.pjte cf advanced e-csi. we are sclliuj: for tins month at oiJ rate;--Haslie, Hu\\ v.:<u l'k-lcpriiip, Casbestiwt. Fui! ~f "M;r>intnro lUtio \ivifi;:n»i;i:):i. 'i