NO FEAR OF DEATH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16020, 11 September 1915, Page 4

NO FEAR OF DEATH.

YOUNG OFFICER'S VALOUR. LEADS ELEVEN INDIAN HEROES. HOW ANOTHER V.C. WAS WON. Nobody will be able to read unmoved ' the wonderful story of the winning of the V.C. by Lieutenant J. G. Smyth, of the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs, a young hero! of 21. This narrativeone of the most I inspiring which the war has produced j has been communicated from the front i by an officer in touch with the head- I quarters of the Indian Army Corps. On the night of May 17, writes the officer, a company of the 15th Sikhs, ■ under Captain K. Hyde-Cates, relieved a portion of the Ist Battalion Highland Light Infantry in a jection of a trench known as the Glory Hole," near the Ferme Du Bois, near Ypres, on the right, of the Indian Army Corps front. I Furious fighting had been in progress here for some time, the position at the "moment of relief being that we had i taken and occupied a section of the Ger- I man trench, a portion of the same trench ' on qui- left being still held by the enemy, ■ who had succeeded in erecting a barri- i cade between themselves and our men. | Necessity tor Relief. In the early morning Captain Gates observed that attempts were being made to reinforce the enemy in the trench. Numbers of Germans were seen rushing towards the further extremity of the enemy's trench. Rapid fire was brought to bear on them as they crossed -the open, but in the dim light the effect could not bo judged. When day broke it was ascertained that the German trench was packed with men with the evident intention of i attacking us.

A short time afterwards the attack began by heavy bombing, to which the 15th replied vigorously, and succeeded in holding their own until noon, when the position became critical, as all our dry bombs had been expended, and those that had become wet from rain were found to be Useless. It was then resolved to attempt to relieve the situation hy sending up a bombing party from the reserve trenches.

The desperate nature of this undertaking may be gauged from the fact that two previous attempts had been made by the Highland Light Infantry. On both occasions they failed, the officers in command being killed and the parties having suffered very severely.

A Desperate Venture. However, the position wag desperate, and Lieutenant Smyth, a young officer, who, in spite of his years—only numbering 21had already been brought to notice for his gallantry, was ordered to take command of the party. Volunteers were called for, and were immediately forthcoming. The alacrity with which the demand was responded to speaks volumes for the spirit of the regiment, for each man felt sure' that he was proceeding to almost certain death. Lieutenant Smyth and his liCtle party of ten men started at 2 p.m. to cover the 250 yds Trhich intervened between them and our trench, taking with them two boxes of 96 bombs. The ground to be covered was absolutely open, devoid of all natural cover. The only possible shelter from the frightful fire which met the party as soon as they were over our parapet was an old, broken-down trench which, at the best of times, was hardly knee-deep, but how in places was filled almost to the top with the dead bodies of Highland Light Infantry, Worctfters, Indians, and Germans. Truly it was an undertaking to appal the stoutest heart. Dropoing over our parapet, they wriggled their way through the mud, pulling and pushing the boxes with them, until they reached the scanty shelter of the old trench, where they commenced a progress which for sheer horror can seldom have been surpassed. A Deluge of Fire. Pagris—or pugrees, the turbans worn by Indians—had been attached to the front of the boxes. By means of these the men in front pulled the boxes along over and through the dead bodies, while those in rear pushed with all their might, the whole party lying flat. At any moment the bombs might have exploded. The whole ground was hissing with the deluge of rifle and machine-gun fire, while the air above them was white with the puffs of shrapnel. " To the anxious watchers in the rear it seemed impossible that a single man should win through. After they had accomplised a mere 20yds of their deadly journey, Sepoy Fatteh Singh rolled over wounded, followed in the next 80yds by Sepoys Sucha Singh, Ujagar Singh, and Sunder Singh. "These Were Super-men." This left only Lieutenant Smyth and six men to get the two boxes along. Under ordinary circumstances four men are required to handle a box of bombs. However, these were super-men, and the thought of their comrades in dire necessity ahead of them put fresh heart into them. They crawled on and on, until, just before they reached the end of the trench", the party had dwindled to" twoLieut. Smyth and Sepoy Lai Singh. Of the remainder of the band of heroes Sepoys Sara in Singh and Sapooram Singh had been killed, Ganda Singh, Harnam Singh, and Naik Mangal Singh being wounded. The second box of bombs had, therefore, to be abandoned, and to haul even one box along in the face of such ■ difficulties appeared an impossible task. , Smyth, however, does not include the] word " impossible" in his vocabulary. Still pulling and hauling, he and Lai j Singh emerged, wriggling nainfully along into the open, where they were met with an increased blast of fire. Miraculously' surviving this, they crawled on, only to i be confronted suddenly by a small stream 1 which was too deep to wade. Across it lay the direct line to safety. | The ordinary man, under such circum- j stances, would probably have" taken it. but these were no ordinary men. They ' crawled on and on, in full view of an enemy now at close quarters, until they . »ame to a point in the stream which was just fordable. VictoryAt What a Price! Across this they struggled with their valuable burden, and in a few yards they were among their friends in our trench, j both untouched, although their clothes | were perforated with bullet holes. . Sad to relate, shortly after reaching the trench the gallant Senoy Lai Singh ' was killed. For his most conspicuous j bravery Lieutenant Smyth has now been . awarded the Victoria Cross, and each of i the brave men with him the Indian Distinguished Service Medal. The men in the regiment believe that Lieutenant Smyth bears a charmed life, for he has had his cap blown off by shells • five times, has had bullets through his ' olothes, and, lately, while lighting a < cigarette, the match was taken out of his fingers by a bullet. ■ Long may ha continue to hare such luck!