A HERO OF THE AIR

Otago Witness, Issue 3239, 12 April 1916, Page 53

A HERO OF THE AIR

LIEUTENANT A. DE B. BRANDON

By his daring and effective attack on the Zeppelin raider, Lieutenant A. de B. Brandon, the New Zealander, has eclipsed the famous exploit of the late gallant Lieutenant Warneford, who was the first airman to accomplish the destruction of a Zeppelin. Warneford's attack was delivered in the daytime, Brandon's at night, at a much greater altitude, and under much more dangerous conditions. Sub-lieutenant Brandon is a son of Mr A. de B. Brandon, of Wellington. He is 32 years of age, and went Home last year for the purpose of entering the Aviation Corps. Ho attended the Flying School at Hendon, and the Military School at Harrow, and received his commission in the Royal Flying Corps later. He is a Wellington College boy, and later attended Cambridge University. Before the war he was a member of the legal firm of Brandon, Hislop, and Brandon. In the course of the last letter to his father Lieutenant Brandon stated that he had just obtained his commission, and was waiting for it to be gazetted. He was then at the Military Aviation School at Harrow, where he had been engaged in flying experiments with a new model of an aeroplane, known as the "Avro" machine. As is well known, the aeroplane (biplane and monoplane), has been at a disadvantage as compared with the " Zeppelin" airship, owing to the fact that these great " clippers of the clouds"' could rise or fall practically vertically, whilst the aeroplane has to mount in spiral circles. The advantage of the " Avro" type of aeroplanes is that, though still a thing of planes, it can ascend in shorter circles, and therefore much quicker than other types of British machines. The " Avro" can climb vertically at the rate of between 50 and 60 miles an hour, and has a speed of 70 miles an hour when flying horizontally. It is this type of aeroplane that Lieutenant Brandon had been given the opportunity of experimenting with, which points to the probability that it was in one of these new machines that he made his sensational attack on the Zeppelin A number of members of the legal profession in Wellington scut a cablegram to Flight Sub-lieutenant A. de B. Brandon congratulating him upon having surmounted and bombed a Zeppelin.

THE LATE TROOPER W. D ANDERSON.

Three of his squadron mates, noticing a report of tho death of Trooper William D. Anderson (0.M.R.) through falling into a

boiling pool at Kotorua, have forwarded tho following letter of appreciation:—"'lie was one ot tho finest men who went away with the Main Body— always there to do his whack, and when we got to Gailipoli and our troops were going into the trenches, 18 or ZQ, instead of 3b, 'Billy' was always ready to go m, or share his last cigarette. On the night of August 6 he was badly wounded in tite abdomen at the first trench, and said: ' them; they have got mc-; just as things are beginning tj move, too.' lie, with three others, lay in the scrub there intending to wait for daylight. As wo had gone out with nothing in our magazines, using the bayonet only, ho loaded up, as in the dark we had not moved all the Turks, and the four, being wounded, were helpless with the bayonet. After lying there a couple of hours—we were by this time on Bauchop's Ridge—three Turks came one way and two another. Anderson said to the other: 'Lie still, they will not seo us' ; but one of them, weak from his wound, jumped up and was immediately shot, dying almost at once. Anderson fined, although badly wounded, and the Turks threw up their

hands, thinking they had run into an ambush. But there was only one thing to do, if possible, and that was to 'down' the lot, as they could not take them prisoners. Next morning there were five dead Turks —three and two—all having been shot; yet we had only used our bayonets. One of the four men was Tommy Ourran, from Henley, still at the front, and tho other Lin Todd, from Morton, who, like the writers, is fortunate enough, to be home. We, of tho 0.M.R., who are returned, wish ti express our deer est sympathy with his parents and other relatives." CORPORAL MORRISON. Official news announces that Corporal Morrison (son of Mrs R. Morrison, of Bluff) was killed in action in August, 1915. (says the Press). When he enlisted, Corporal Morrison was a keen and valued member of tho Bluff Territorials, with which corps he learnt the rudiments of Morse and semaphore .signalling, which stoocf him in such good str-ad with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. He left Bluff with the Main Body in August, 1914, and, while in Tali una encampment he was selected for special service as the wireless operator of the 8.6. Ruapohu—one of tho troopships which took the Main Body to Egypt. On arrival there he was drafted into the Signalling Corps as a lance-corporal, and he was shortly afterwards promoted to corporal. Corporal Morrison landed with his unit in Gailipoli early in May—shortly after the big landing and the stivnuous fighting of those heroic days—and he saw all the service that took place from May to the big attack of August. His death is rendered all tho more touching by the fact that he was practically tho sole support of his widowed mother and her family. Corporal Morrison was 23 years of ago, and was educated at the Bluff Public School and then at tho Southland High School, at both of which he carried off several prizes, having been a bright and adept pupil. Ho was a, keen oarsman and cricketer, particularly the former, and he was in several winning maiden crews. IN THE HEART OF AFRICA. WITH MOUNTED MACHINE GUN CONTINGENT. An interesting, though brief, account of operations against the enemy in the heart of Africa is given by Gunner Neave, of the Mounted Machine gun section, Nyasaland Imperial Service Contingent, in a letter to his parents in Christchurch. The contingent travelled by transport from Capetown to the port of Chinde, and then went up the Zambesi River in paddle steamers for a distance of about 200 miles, passing through plantations of tea ; coffee, tobacco, and cotton. At a settlement called Chindio the men disembarked and toglc train to Limbe, where tho Scotch settlors greeted the soldiers with the greatest enthusiasm. From Limbe the troops travelled to Zamba, where a rest was made for a day or two. Travel ling was not easy, for horses cannot live in the climate, and journeys have to be made on foot. Each man has a boy to carry his kit, and native boys also carry machine guns and provisions. For a force of less than 300 there were 500 carriers. From Karanga, north of Zamba, the force went out on patrol and had a brush with the Germans. For a while the engagement was lively, but owing to the high firing of the enemy, only one man, a native scout, was injured.