AT THE SOMME

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 36, 10 August 1918, Page 10

AT THE SOMME

THE TRANSFERENCE OF NEW ZEALAN.DERS

GETTING IN TOUCH WITH FRITZ

GRAPHIC PICTURE OF THE

REFUGEES.

"The civilian population has evacuated ." During the gi'-eat German advance & statement to that effect was cabled out almost every, day, but it is doubtful whether the people of Now Zealand realised its full meaning—the sufferings an evacuation meant to the peasantry of France. A vivid description of the plight of refugees is supplied by Rifleman Donald K. Lybn, formerly secretary of the Wellington Early Ssttlers' and 1 Historical Association, ia the course of an article entitled, "My TTri-p to the Somme," which he has fonfarded to the association. Rifleman Lyon mentions his arrival at a small village, "Pont de Something," and says:—"lt was here that I witnessed a sight that I shall never forget—the fleeing of refugees, old men, women, and children, with their goods and chattels, before the ruthless invasion of a cruel foe.

PATHETIC SCENES.

"There was a long, white road stretching as far a's the eye could see in a perfectly straight line, bordered on either side by rows of tall, stately ■ trees, on th©. -whole making a great avenue such as you see in many parts of France. On one side of the road, going in one direction, was a continual stream of military traffic, great lumbering motor lorries, full of dusty troops, batteries of light guns, great naval guns drawn by traction engines, Army Service xragons full of the hundred and one things an army needs, pack mules laden with shells for the batteries', a.nd, lastly, the human pack mule—infantry on foot, all heing rushed forward to, reinforce that thin line of khaki holding the Huns at bay. On the other side of the road, vgoing in the opposite direction, was traffic of a very different nature—a continual line of refugees, old men, veterans of 1870, old women, young women, and children. A typical example of the many groups that passed us that evening is as follows: An old farm wagon—a. real hay "wagon, with its high wooden sides—driven by a little boy of eight or nine, the man of the family. His mother, with her youngest baby, sits alongside him in front. On top. of a strange collection of bedding, clothing, household furniture, crates of fowls, and bundles of hay, is perched grandma, an old lady of eighty summers, surrounded by her grandchildren. Tied to the axlo of the wagon is a goat, to the tail-board are tied two cows and an old horse., As a rearguard comes the eldest daughter, who is seen carrying- a hat-box and leading a calf. At her heels is the ever-faithful dog, '■

"A GROTESQUE PROCESSION."

"Another of the many pathetic sights I witnessed that evening, was an old lady, every bit eighty yeara of &g<s, wheeling a wheelbarrow in which was a, great bundle tied up in an old quilt. Following her came her husband, older if anything than his wife, carrying an eight-day clock. Suspended from the axle of one wagon, I noticed, a large crate containing a fat sow and family. It was, as I have seen it described by ono writer, 'a grotesque procession full of pathos.' I only wish a few of our consciontiaus objectors had been standing alongside of us as wo watched these poor brave souls pass by.

FROM YPRES TO THE SOMME.

"After tea and a short spell for a smoke- ws net out on the march again, passing through lovely scenery as yet untouched by the cruel hand of war; in fact, bo peaceful did everything appear that March evening on© could almost imagine one was on a route march in some rural district in dear old New Zealand. The only discordant note was the occasional boom of a gun or the distant flare in the sky of the village in flames. Tim was all very strange to us ; coining as we did from tho Ypres sector, where every inch of ground tells the tale of three and a half years of continual warfare. This se-ctor had been our,homo for the past six months and we knew every inch of ft—the Meninroad and Dead Mule Gully, where you could always count on an exciting time —tho old landmarks—Shrapnel Comer, Idiot Corner—all hot places; the Bnttes, where it was never safe to loiter; the Crucifix, where all wise 'Diggers' got a hustle on; Hooge Crater, Railway Dugouts, and Halfway House—what memories they conjure up ! Then the whole countryside, every foot ploughed up by great shell holes full of stagnant water and slime, dead horsc-s an-d mules partly buried by the roadside, broken limbers, wagons, and guns, telling the.tala of the past bombardments, trunks of tree 3 stripped of all their bi'anches, shattered and torn first by the British shells arid then by tho German. To be transferred from scenes such as these, to bo set down in the peaceful Somme Valley with its undulating hills, savoured almost of the' Magic Carpet Act.

LOOKING FOB FRITZ.

"About 2 a.m. we •■arrived at a large clearing in the wood, where w bivouaced for the night in the open. By foraging round ' I managed to secure some hay from a deserted bam, and with this, and my oilsheet I managed to make a nest in the ground and was scon fast asleop. I wok© at 5 a.m. frozen stiff, there being a thick white frost all over the ground. However, numerous fires had now bean lit, so, joining the group round one of these, I was soon as warm as toast. We stopped hero until after our midday meal, when we once more set out on tho march. We were now approaching the front area, and as the country was very open and Fritz'had been moving with such rapidity, we had to exercise great caution, as we were never sure whan we might run into him. We passed through the village of -, where Fritz was dropping a few shells, and passed on to the next village of , -where our battalion established its headquarters. This village had been in. the hands of the Huns before we arrived, but they were chased out by another company of 'Dinks' who arrived before us, and were aided by a dozen light tanks, which we met returning as we entered the village. After tea, as soon as it was dark, we" set out to take up our position on tho slope of a hill a, mile or so beyond the village. Our orders were delightfully simple, being to go on till we got into touch with Fritz, and then dig in. We spent a very anxious night, as we had a very hazy idea where we were, iwhero Fritz was, a.nd in what strength, or where our supports wore. However, the night passed without incident. The next day vre improved our position by advancing some 200 yards and driving Fritz back. This little stunt we accomplished with very light casualties."