25 YEARS AGO

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 69, 14 December 1939, Page 8

25 YEARS AGO

Attack By Submarines (From "Tho Dominion,” Dec. 17. 1914.) In connexion with the possibility of an attack by submarine upon British transports, aii unconvincing story is told of n German discovery which will enable their submarines to remain under water for several days on end. This may safely lie scl aside as untrue, for, apart from its inherent improbability, if such an invaluable discovery had actually been made, it certainly would have been jealously guarded. The dangers to which British transports are exposed from German submarines is no new thing, but tlie fact that the under-water raiders of the enemy have not succeeded in disposing of a single one of our transports is a satisfactory indication that the Admiralty lias means at command of staving off the danger. * Q *

Wounded soldiers belonging to the Highland regiments who wear the kilt in action now state tbat their experience at the front has convinced them that the kilt iu modern warfare is a serious handicap. They have been in the trenches throughout long vigils and protracted periods of fighting, often under heavy rain. When they require to advance from I lie trenches they find the extra weight of the soaked kilt a hindrance. In rushnig the enemy in a charge the kilt keeps Happing against the soldier’s limbs, so much so, that the friction lias often left sores lin’d made inarching painful. Another disadvantage of the kilt is that; it offers a clear mark about the knees for tho rifle lire of the enemy. Evidently the garb of old Gaul is destined to go out of fashion on the battlefield, the London correspondent of the "Daily Dispatch” remarks.