SAILOR'S STIRRING STORY.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16404, 26 December 1918, Page 10

SAILOR'S STIRRING STORY.

WOUNDED FOURTEEN TIMES.

BLINDED IN MUNITION WORKS

1; I don't want any publicity, it's no good to me," said Warrant-Officer Edward Firth, a blind sailor, who, though wounded fourteen times in the service of his country, and rejected for active service, .volunteered as a war worker | last year, and, after going'to England, met with an accidont in a munition works, and lost tho sight of both eyes. His remark wag made a few days ago to a representative of the Melbourne •'Argus/' when He was asked for his story. With, his wife and son and little daughter, Filth, wno has been serving the Empire since ho was 13 living in apartments at the back of a shop in Smith street, Fitzroy, and through technicalities finds lumsoir blocked at almost every turn in his efforts to obtain adequate, assistance and prompt compensation. Firth, though only 40 'years of age, has six war medals with innumerable clasps. He has also the Albert medal and tho gold crc-3s for 32 rescues from death, of persons in Great Britain ; tlie first being when he was between 1- ami 13 years of age. Ho speaks witn pride on iiaving had these presented to him 1 bv tho Countess of Warwick in Bolton, oh March 17th, 1904. After much persuasion he told his story thus: "As far as I know I was born on the ; old Malabar troooship, in 1878. My • father was in a YVolsh regiment, which > had been stationed in India, and my ■ mother was in the servic-o there. My father's regiment was ordered to South ' Africa to the Zulu war. and my mother W3(S on her-way to England when I was • born. She . died soon after, and my father was killed in the Zulu War m i 1879. so 1 was roared by the Sailors' Or--1 phans' Home at Farnham, under Commander Heaton. My mother was born | in Tasmania, and nly father in Western Australia." ■ . '• When did you join tho service? "Why, blctss your heart, I was born ' in it, and .when I was 14 X werit on r _ on * '■ the home into-H.M.S. Galatea. Tuat was in 1892. Our commander was I Captain Wilson. Wo called him the | . Count of Texas. 1 served a whole j commission in her while slie_ was a ; at Grimsby and. Hull. Then - wo. went to tho Mediterranean to tho > manoeuvres, that time when the _\ ic--1 toria put the Camperdown down. Then ! I left tho Galatea and joined li.M.b. ' Dido, That was in 1895, and we came 1 to Australia. We had been here five : clays when the ship was ordered to tho - west roast of Africa, and I was one of ; tho landing brigade at Bras,3 River and in the Benin expedition. I was an " \.B. then. I was wounded in the : ankle. For that job 1 got the West r African medal .with two : bars. -. I w j* s - invalided to England, and passed the > gunnery school before I was old enough » to lie a' seaman-gunner. Then I joined ' HMS Revenge, under Captain ' Bridge-5. arid went" to the Mediterranean and volunteered. for torpedo trainin ir in tho mosquito fle-et. I was told off to H.M.S. Vulcan, and volunteered for H.M.S; Hallard for the Nile, and wns all /through the Khartoum and Nile expeditions,-' and was twice. wounded T won un- w'aj-rant- at the taking ol' Th<» Atbara. That job brought me the Ouch's Soudan medal and the Khedive" 4 medal with threo bars— 'T-fnfir. The Atbni-n, and Khartoum ■\fter being in . hospital and on kick leave. • T reported' for duty again, and went with H.M.S. Monarch to South Al'rjca. T. landed with the Naval. Brigade, and. was all through with jiullof", 1 was wounded at Colenso— shot in- tho knee—and was in hospital" at. Rehsburg. ...Then.l Twas drafted to; ' H MS Terrible to China, and landed with the crew of tho H-.M-S. Jlainbow, and'was at the taking of the .Legation at "Pekin, where I stopped one in the back 'of tho head. I was ' -at. 'Taku Forts, too. I got over my wounds, ana cot back to the Rock of Gibraltar. I .have the China modal with two.bars. 1 tumbled down for every medal I got. . 3>id you etop then? . „ ~ "No; I volunteered again for feoutn \frica,' and was wounded at Talanna Hill. I got hit twice in.the groin, and had a couple of ribs carried away. Then 1 was sent to Netley Hospital till July 6th, 1903. 1 was doing convention work under Sir Percy Scott, the Hon. Captain Craig, and tho Hon. Ralph Webster,, till 1911,. whon I took my djschargc nnd returned to Australia. •What brought y6u out here? "Well, you se«, I'd married a girl from "Richmond; Vittoria Hancock. She was named that because her grandfather was killed at \ ittoria. Did you stav there, then ? "Oh no. I had not been here more than about 25 minutes, so to speak, when'l went off to the Argentine, just for a. bit of fun, and joined the Argentine navy. There were five of us joined at the same time-r-an,American, an Italian, and three Britishers. , Being ablo to it-peak Spanish—' "He. can speak seven languages, interpolated .hjs wife. "Wjall,.because I could speak Span sh, I was made'bos'un's mate. I was thero six months —and here the fun comes-in —I was down the luvrbour one night, and went aboard a merchantman, tho King John. .The chief was an old mate of mine,'and' thev were short of men. He said, 'What about a- job with us? Do vou dare sign on?' I said, 'Right, oh J'* and dr'onped.njy uniform over the' side, tied to a Jump of lead—a dropped uniform- tells no-tales. I got a suit of dungarees, and 'in- ten nvnutos I had sighed on. 'I was in various ships to Newcastle, America, up the Amazon, to Mexico, until eventual'y I came Back to Australia, and was paid off here." You had had enough knocking about, I suoposp? • "Yes. Tliat was in 1913 and I joined the rrew of the Hvgeia and ran bay trips for a while. Then I worked for Mr Clements Langford, as labourer, rigger, and all softs —you'd better call it labourer: Ther. an old wound came agavnst me, and I had to go into tho Alfred Hospital.. where I was operated. °n-" - "He- never takes _chloroform, you know," beamed his wife. "That was* soon" got ovdr. I had a tidy little business l when war broko out." . ■ ■ _ What were vou doing then? "Well, I was buying wool clippings, ' and volunteering every week. I went up about 30 times, but when I told my wounds they would not look at me, and told me to get ouU and give someone else a chance: You see, I'vo been wounded fourteen times." How did you get away eventually? "Well, I wrote a letter to Senator Pearce, and offered to go as a war ; worker, and they let me. I went to England in -April, 1917. and got. a job at Sheffield, in tho works of Thomas Firth and Sons, : loading shells. On January 18th of this year some acid spurted up while we' were working, and I lost the sight of both eyes. I was in Harefield Hospital, and left England) in March, reaching here on June 12th in-the transport Marathon." I>o the doctors give you-any hope of ; recovering your sight? "Major. Brown, at Harefield, told mo J that one eve was qui to gone, but there j was one chance of getting back some . of the sight of the other, and that was quietness-, fresh air, and no worry, and those are just what I can't get". They tell me I ought to get compensation, but I have not got it. I'd like to getj back to England, " to St. Ihinstan's. ; They might fix my eyes up there."