ANOTHER GAS MARTYR

Evening Star, Issue 16994, 17 March 1919, Page 7

ANOTHER GAS MARTYR

Captain Alexander Gemmell, poison gas expert. Royal Engineers, belonging to Edinburgh, died early in Janur&y. He was a martyr to his military duty. An analytical chemist, following a year in command of a contingent, he was appointed to the command of the anti-gas school in the Scottish Command. In 1917 he transferred to the anti-gas department, London, where he conducted research work under Lieutenant-colonel E. F. Harrison, G.M.G., who recently died as the result of experiments in air charged with gas. Captain Gemmell is the s-ec-ond victim of these researches. Captain Gemmell and Colonel Harrison (writes the ‘Daily Mail’) were two of a small band of officers and n.c.o.s, nearly ad chemists, who knew they -were risking death by slow poisoning to ensure better protection for our troops against the German gas. In testing every kind of gas, gar antidote, and gas mask, these selfsacrificing men went into chambers filled w'th poison gas daily. As a result of H air work Britain was from 1915 always ■ / months ahead of the - Germans.