FUN IN THE ARMY

Opotiki News, Volume III, Issue 323, 18 October 1940, Page 3

FUN IN THE ARMY

air-raid comedy MAN’S LEAP INTO TRENCHLAND'S ON NAKED OFFICER The spectacle of a naked olficcr, covered m soapsuds, running for a sheiter trench, only to bo jumped on by an army-booted private, is described by Corporal Howard Frost in a letter to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. V. 11. Frost, Eltham. “We had two air raid alarms one day last week,” writes Corporal Frost. “Tho first one wo ignored as we could not hear apy planes overhead, and by the time the ‘all clear’ was sounded, about an hour later, \vc had forgotten all about it. The second one sounded just as wo were going into mess, and even when wc heard the roar of many aircraft we took no notice, thinking that they were our own. Wc starteel tea, but one chap suddenly spotted a large number of planes approaching and he. called everybody out to have a look. Wc all streamed out and gazed skywards. ' “Small Objects Fall”

“'Suddenly we saw a number of small objeets fall from the planes and eoine whistling down to strike the ground and explode with a terrilio roar. And at the same .time there came the rattle of ma-chine-gun lire- and bullets thudded into the ground all around us. “Well! I have never seen such a scatter. There was a wild rush to the trenches and the chaps dived in head first. In sc.me of the trenches were several inches of water; others were muddy. One of our Taranaki boys flung himself down between two heaps of coal. When we all emerged later we found him black from head to foot, the result of trying to bury himself in the coal. He tiow rejoices in the name of .Lhe Coalman.’ “Another very funny sight was that of our adjutant, Captain - . He was having a shower and had just reached the stage where he was soap from head to foot, when ho heard the. bombers coming. He ran outside and gazed skywards. The Air Was Blue

“When the bombs started to drop, he, too, streaked for the shelters, tumbled in and flattened himself on the bottom to be followed a few seconds later by one of the boys who, not being aware of the unlucky adjutant’s presence .in the trench, took a flying leap and iandcd feet first (clad in army boots), <i' ~ on toil of him. The air was blue for many yards around. “Fortunately, there were no casualties and no damage was done, owing to the usual bad mailcsmau ship of the ‘Jerry’ pilots. But wc all had a good laugh out of it afterwards,” says Corporal Brost.