SEEING THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2712, 6 March 1916, Page 7

SEEING THE WAR

MINERS' LEADERS UNDER EIRE. The manner in wliich a contingent of South "Wales miners''• leaders were brought face to face with the realities of war on the Western front has just been made known. . When the delegates got to France a day or two vas permitted them to see the results ok previous German bombardments, by easy stages they were enabled to tret tnro or close to the front lino treaches. Away to the left a violent bombardment was proceeding, and the major in charge of the party kept informing thorn that as there was nothing to bo seen at the spot where they entir-sd the communication trenches they might as well proceed lower down, "as Welsh miners were never known to be afjaid of anything." "Wo followed the custodian of the party," says the man who tells'tho story. "Gradually shells wero heard screeching overhead. .Peremptory orders wero given" us not to expose our heads. Wo did not like the look of things; but tho major went on saying, 'Oh, these Welsh miners want to see tho war,' and so wo were continually being told to hurry along and see things so that wo .could inform the boys at Jlomc. The din eventually bccauie terrific. The hum and roar and hissing of tho shells grow worse, until we thought we were surrounded by express trains. Not a thing could we see but Iho major's heels, and occasionally wo heard a shout of 'Keep your heads down. Let tho Welsh miners see what we have to face.' On we went, walking ten miles or more. . . . The roar of artillery became more intense; our heads buzzed and grew sore. Wo dared not look or speak. All that wo did was to hope fervently that we should not bo compelled to walk tho ontiro length of _tho trenches running right into the .Belgian dunes. At last we were permitted to walk a mile or two to the rear, anil on tho following morning were given an opportunity of seeing the excavations which tho German shells had created all about tho neighbourhood of tho trenchos which we had visited on tho previous.day. What we saw was enough lor ns, and some little timo afterwards we learnt that wo had passed under moro shot and shell that day than it was expected wo should do. Any one of the sliclls which went over our heads would have been enough to blow our little party to pieces, but tho experience we iiad been so unexpectedly given nas to some, extent due to our desire to see the was as it was—not to mention a certain major's opinion that tho South Wales miners' contingent should on no account miss anything while they were pt. tic front;"