"THE GREY GHOST."

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XLII, Issue 11470, 23 February 1918, Page 6

"THE GREY GHOST."

STRANGE STORY FROM THE FRONT. A strange story comes from America relative to the well-known German racing cyclist, Walter Rutt, who some 12 years back raced with considerable success in Australia, and more recently carried off some of the biggest events in America—including throe New York “six days’’ races. It appears that for many months last year the French lines were frequently visited by an enemy aviator, known as the “Grey Ghost,” whose daring raids on the Western Front caused much comment in the military camps. At last the iudeutity of the “Grey Ghost” has been unmasked and found to be none other than Walter Rutt. The news of Rutt’s death was cabled to America in November last. A letter from a member of the American Ambulance Unit in France, written before Rutt was brought to earth, gives the following interesting details of the German’s tactics “ “We have a peculiar—-not to say weird—thing on this front. There is a German aviator here who calls himself “Fantemas” or the Ghost. His name is Walter Rutt, and he used to be a bicycle rider in the six-day races in New York. Well, it appears from the notes that he dropped that, he has had three brothers killed in the war, and to avenge them he has adopted the plan of strafing the French from an aeroplane, He never fights other planes or makes observations, but just flies over the French lines at a height varying from 30 to 400 feet, and everything he sees, even one poilu waggon or auto he dives at it, banging away with his machinegun. He attacks sentinel posts and supply trains, and once or twice Tie has shot into aviation camps, winning a unique place as a dangerous pilot. You have no idea of the amount of damasge ho does. He certainly has the respect of the Frenchmen here in this sector, where he flies almost exclusively. Ho hovers around all day long, and although he has been shot at with machine-guns, rifles, and auiti-craft guns he never seems to be touched. It certainly is mysterious, beciuse he often comes close enough for us to hit him with a stone. It was he who dropped the warning about the hospital being bombed, about which I told you in my last letter.”