BOMBARDED DAILY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15906, 1 May 1915, Page 2 (Supplement)

BOMBARDED DAILY.

LIFE 'IN • ARMENTIERES. , i Interesting '; sidelights ■' upon life in' a bombarded city were given by a correspondent who recently returned frbra'Ai'-! mentieres. "Long ago," : he,said, "we ceased i. cou ating. the bombardments of Armentjores. % One , hardly t knows how to describe tho life in this city!. that is daily bombarded. But the town owes. its animation above all v to the British Army. Thanks to the . English soldiery,' the : grocere' and confectioners' shops are doing •a roaring'; trade. The' English, when they are relieved ! from work in the trenches,' lose . n#l! time in emptying them of ; their stock of good things.' Nearly, all the soldiers are billeted with the inhabitants or in empty houses. '• " \J>. ! : ,' .. ' \ '■■

All lights have.to be extinguished at about 8.30 or nine p.m. All civilian traffic in ; the town is stopped .between seven o'clock in the< evening '.and 5.30 in the morning, and no' one is allowed to go out between.six in the. evening . f and six next morning. . Seven 'or,/ eight factories were restarted quite a good time ago. .The' supplying of the town with food is managed splendidly.,' Only ; eggs are dear. , The municipality has converted tho college into a food store, and , 4000 or 5000 rations .. are ■: distributed ,»■ there every day. * The water supply is uninterrupted, but there is (no longer any gaa All.the lighting is done with oil. >~y ; '

I "An Englishman , with .whom I had some conversation assured, me that every in' front of his ;trench alone a.score of Germans "raised the cross in the air" and .(surrendered. V Altogether, the English 'Army before . Armentteres takes 100 odd ,• prisoners daily. ~ These .ore Bavarians . belonging to the Grand Prince Ruftert of Bavaria's army. ! When 1 150 to 200 of thorn have been collected the .whole batch, sent to the ;rear. .-•■■■£ ' c (:--%

"In short, it is the shells which, play the biggest part in the life of the town. The Germans were bombarding it on the Monday, and also on the Tuesday while I was there. On Monday they sent us a contribution of thirty shells. On Tuesday they were satisfied with ten .or twelve. > , "One soon gets accustomed to anything,, and Armentiercs takes its bombardments very lightly. It is not at all an uncommon tiling to see gangs of youngsters .following the English ' soldiery,, arid you could hardly guess at their favourite amusement. . They imitate the shriek lof a shell and then 6cream with laughter to see the soldiers throw back, their heads and look up_ at the sky to see where the shell is coming." ' - , . "-;■=