DYING CHAPLAIN'S HEROISM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15951, 23 June 1915, Page 8

DYING CHAPLAIN'S HEROISM.

IRISH REGIMENTS' GREAT LOSSES.

The devotion of a chaplain to his duties is described in a letter written on May 6 by the Rev. Patrick Dore, formerly of Foxton, who is one of the chaplains with the Mounted Rifles Brigade, to Archbishop O'Shea. Our poor boys, particularly of Auckland and Wellington, have lost quite a large number of officers and men," he wrote. "Father Finn, of the Dublin' Fusiliers, was hit four times in the chest while on the boat going from the ship to the beach. As he was taken from the. boat, although in great agony, he attempted to administer the last rites to some who were around him. An hour' after arriving on land he was'struck by another bullet in the head. He died within an hour. The Dublins, a battalion strong, landed under a constant fusillade of rifle and machine-gun fire within a range of 30yds. They' were " practically annihilated. Two days after landing th'jj Dublins and Munsters were able to muster only a company between them. The Turks are well officered by Germans, and their ruses are as dexterous as their treatment of wounded is repulsive. One of ouj wounded officers was found with his tongue cut out. . , I hope you will send us more priests, for, even exclusive of casualties among us, the work of attending to the wounded is growing exceedingly, heavy. Our wounded in Cairo are scattered over five hospitals, fresh cases come in every day, and more hospitals ar<f being opened, which makes a lot of work' for one priest."

ON THE QUEEN ELIZABETH.

HIT TWENTY-THREE TIMES.

GREAT SHIP NOT DAMAGED.

EFFECT OF SHELL EXPLOSIONS.

A great deal has been written of the share which the Queen Elizabeth has taken in the attack on the Dardanelles, but very little has been Heard from the ship's company. A letter from one of the principal officers of the great battleship was received in Auckland yesterday by a relative.

The power of her guns to hurl giant shells across the Gallipoli Peninsula has apparently not enabled the Queen Elizabeth to avoid the attacks of all meaner weapons, for the letter states that she had been hit 23 times. The damage caused by the Turkish shells was, however, of only minor importance, and repairs were effected by the ship's artificers. _ The letter was written with a reservation that it could not bo used to communicate any news. Great care has been taken to maintain secrecy regarding the movements of the ship, and when she left England, relatives of her officers were told that she was proceeding to gunnery trials. Letters intended for members of her company have to be addressed: to tho G.P.0., London. p

An interesting description of the effect of heavy gun-fire is given by the officer. He states that the effect of a shell actually striking the ship is not nearly so great as the explosion of shells in the water. When a shell bursts near the ship, the explosion causes "Big Lizzie," as she is now affectionately known by the colonial soldiers, to shake in all her great bulk, and the vibration is most distressing. The shriek of an approaching shell causesa general ducking of Leads, although tho projectile may pass far beyond the ship. Referring to the loss of the Bouvet and the Irresistible, the officer states that immediately after the explosion of the mine, the French battleship listed heavily, and then practically steamed to the bottom. In two and a-half minutes the' vessel had disappeared. There were ] 700 officers and men on the Irresistible, and many' of the survivors were rescued by boats from the Queen Elizabeth.

SCIENTIST KILLED.

SON OF MR, CLEMENT WRAGGE. [BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

Christchurch, Tuesday. Private advice ha» been received that Private Clement Edgerton Wragge, of the Queensland portion of the Australian Expeditionary Forces, was killed in action at the Dardanelles. He was the eldest son of Mr. Clement Wragge, <lie we known meteorologist, who is at present residing at Auckland. Private Wragge was one of those on board the yacht Ariadne, when she was wrecked between Timaru and Oamaru. For some time ho was in charge of the observatory on Mount Kosciusko. Later he assisted in the stir--sveys of the Scottish lakes, under Sir John Murray, of the Challenger, and more recently, when he had finished his mcuicaj course at Edinburgh, he returned to Australia, with the object of accompanying Captain Scott, on what proved to be his last expedition to the Antarctic. Mr Clement Wragge has another son at th« front, who is a corporal in the Ambulance Corps,