NEW ZEALANDER'S STORY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15767, 16 November 1914, Page 4

NEW ZEALANDER'S STORY.

EVERYTHING LEFT BEHIND,

Mr. Alexander Barr, of Christchurch, with Mrs. Barr and their two children, succeeded in escaping from Antwerp after many exciting adventures. Mr. Barr was born in Oamaru, but resided (or several years in Dunedin. He was until recently chief officer of the steamer Maori, but went to Eugland early this year on leave, in order to return next spring with the new liner which is being built at Glasgow for the Union Steam Ship Company's mail service from Vancouver. Mrs. Barr, who is an English lady, was brought up in Antwerp, where her parents have resided for many years.

Mr. Barr states that up to October 3 life in Antwerp had been quite normal. Food was cheap and the town was full of provisions. The end came with dramatic suddenness, and Antwerp fell in eight days. The bombardment started at midnight on Wednesday, October 7. Mr. Barr said that the two children were in bed and were sleeping soundly, having become quite accustomed to the noise of the guns. He and his wife were lying down, sleep being quite impossible for them. Suddenly they heard a peculiar screening noise, followed by a terrific explosion. Mr. Barr ran outside, and saw other shells falling. Instantly he made up his mind to leave, and to walk 25 miles to the Dutch frontier. The two children were roused and dressed, and the Family was accompanied in its flight by a young French woman, who had been married m a French soldier two weeks before the war began, and whom they had befriended. Everything had to be left behind. All they could take were two eiderdown quilts, a parrot, and a dog in a basket. The house was left as it stood, furniture and all. " What I most regretted leaving for the Germans," said Mr. Barr, "was the supply of wine in the cellar. We had 500 bottles stored there. I liad a great desire to smash every bottle, but there was no time for that. Also, my wife had spent a good part of the evening making soma special tomato soup. This, too, had to bo left. It was on the kitchen range when we came away—all ready for the enemy. All we could take away was a loaf of bread, a tin of salmon, and some butter in a glass dish. Just enough to sustain us till we could reach the Dutch border."

On the outskirts of Antwerp they had to cross the railway line, and " some officials near by told" them that if thev cared to wait a little while a train would be passing. They decided to avail themselves of this unexpected offer, and presently a queerly-made-up train put in an appearance, a sort of goods train, made up by the railway people for their own use. The party of five eventually got into a carriage, and there they remained for two hours before a move 'was made. "This wait." Mr. Barr said, "was the worst experience of all. During the whole of those two hours shells were going right over the train, and though it was "a woirdly magnificent sight to see them bursting in the south portion of the town, yet the train was too near the falling shells to be pleasant. I was in agony lest one should fall short of its destination and alight on our engine, or that it might fall on the railway bridge that spans the river, making it 'impossible for the train to get away at all. At whatever part one leaves 'Antwerp there is a bridge to cross. Finally, to our intense relief, we got away at 3 a.m. on Thursday. Looking back, the bursting shells over the city made a magnificent picture but a terrible one." '