IMPRESSION OF THE WAR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16970, 2 October 1918, Page 9

IMPRESSION OF THE WAR.

LECTURE BY DR. H. W. CLEARY. ' fAn intereating recital of his impressions tof the war £ was ' 'given by Dr. H. W. Cle&ry, Roman Catholic Bishop of Auck- ' land, ; ; at the ' Grafton Library Hall last evening. The bishop said his • first • experience was" in the Zeppelin raids of September,% 1916, at which time he was chaplain of,'a New Zealand hospital to the . east of London. Two " baby-killers" were brought down, and the", fate of the Zeppelin as .a military machine ..was sealed. Dr. . Cleary gave a graphic description; of; his experiences 'in France with the New Zealand troops. It was a remarkable fact that in this war of all wars the percentage of deaths by disease was phenomenally low, Our men had to endure the bitterest winter for 21 years, and , stringent hygienic measures were enforced. He looked upon the bayonet as one of ' the y most terrible weapons of the war, and with it the colonial troops had proved themselves whirlwind fighter?. Very, few Germans could stand up .to f,he crossing ~of lue blades. 1: Many humorous incidents occurring, at the & front 'and in military hospitals were re- | lated by Dr. Cleary, who in conclusion said the medical men had almost eliminated '4f- disease, but there was one thing they had a'' failed to eliminate, and that was home?|i " sickness. He appealed to those present to write every .week to their relatives at the front. A vote of thanks to the lecturer t Was moved by Miss E. Melville, and iv. carried by acclamation.