18-year-old Sepoy’s Heroism

Manawatu Times, Volume 66, Issue 114, 15 May 1941, Page 7

18-year-old Sepoy’s Heroism

(British Official Wireless.) • Received Wednesday, 9.20 p.m. RUGBY, Alay 14. An Indian officer with ten years’ active service who took part in storming the fort at Dologoradock, the key to the main defences covering Keren, described the action as being hard as any he knew. ‘ ‘ The fort had concreted machine-gun positions, a double apron of wire and some field guns. Our gunners did very well but could not find suitable positions to cut tho wire. We simply had to advance straight up to the fort, cut the wire and urivo the Italians out.

‘ 1 After we had taken the fort we got observations and started for the first time to do some effective counter battery fire. Under its cover our battalion advanced to the top of a small hill just under the Italian positions on the crown of the heights. We lay there for several days shelled from the right, left and centre and having constantly to repel counter-attacks until we coulu advance again. “There were many brave things done. Our platoon had been toid to capture two machine-gun posts wnich were troubling them. Instead of using the whole platoon the officer asked xor a volunteer. The youngest man in the platoon —he was only eighteen—stepped out, filled two haversaexs with Hand grenades and worked his way round behind the. machine-gun positions, each of which contained lour men. He killed the whole eight with two hand grenades. When he was retiring on -the rest of the platoon he was counter-attacked by 12 Italians. He killed six and captured six. He was au ordinary .Sepoy."