WHEN THE WHISTLE BLEW.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 February 1919, Page 7

WHEN THE WHISTLE BLEW.

FREYBERG, V.C.'S PINAL RAID. AN INTERESTING. LETTER. Captain Prank P. Johnson, R.A.M.C. (who has been on active medical service for close upon four years, including Egypt, Gallipoli, Salonika, and France, with occasional home work in England), was at last writing—November 16, 1018 —in Belgium, after taking a share in the final chase o( the Germans immediately preceding the armistice. Fortunately Dr. Johnson has come through his extended service with nothing worse than a slight attack of pleurisy a couple of years ago. Inter alia, he says, in writing to his parents in Wellington.:— "I just arrived in time for the scurry after the Boche, and we were chasing over the country to some tune., Wlicn 1 got back to this brigade X found the most famous New Zealand V.C. in command, and everybody in it thinks that lie is the only general in the BritUh Army." (The reference is, of course, to Brigadier-General Freyberg.) "On the morning of the armis-tice hostilities were to cease sit 11 a.m., so 'Tiny' gathered some cavalry together, and galloped them about nine miles, and just caught the Boche in die art of blowing \ip a bridge in this town (t)ie bridge was NOT blown up; he rounded them up, and altogether got one hundred prisoners and lour c-flic-ork at 10.5S am.) He had very few wounded with his squadiu'.i, and only eivod a bullet in the pommel of hi* saddle ior himself. He rounded up some three hundred more Huns, but had to let them go «s the 'whistle had blown.' Our orders were to advance ar. fnv as possible by 11 a.m., and 'Tiny' put a finishing touch on nn already brilliant career dnring the gre.it Win 1 . lie c.mtuml amunsf'l other* the

He captured amungp-l otiier-i the commandant of the (own, who leqi.iirc! ;:r: escort ol about twenty to get him -i' Any, as {lie populace ..vonld have liUiv] a slight disiiusiiion v. iih the gcntlemn.n and tried to get it It vus a bit of .1 sc'.in-y to get ;u-ros-, with alt his hurry no, but some of out infantry were in Hi.? tov, u \erv KOOI. afterwards, and had diilicuK;,. in geiting through. The people absolutely mobbed then ;"<! iliß.v b.'d tc come )r. i>- sitiqie tile; flic civilian fell on iheri and eir.braei.:£ them, pnti loading the boys Vi Ml bread, fmi .1110 •■. Ine

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