EXCITING WORK.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11510, 5 October 1915, Page 3

EXCITING WORK.

GUARDING THE WIRES. ADVENTURES ON GALLIPOU. Sapper H. Pa.ter«ou, >.s riti ri;x to a friend in (/hri.stchurch iron' 1 i)«• Weir Hospital, Grove itoad, London, on August, 12, describes bis experiences a» I «. line.-,man when the >."ow Zcalanders j landed at Gahjpoli on April *2<> last. ; Ho had to patrol the telephone and j •telegraph lines, and keep them in. »•»>•* i pair. When a !ine wa-s cut by the i uri:n ho and hi.s fellow patrolmen had to go out and re-pair it. When tho laudi tig took piaeo there was only one JiiU! to liti: out, and when. thai wsis implied tho linesmen wore sot to <!isc tre.eehe.s and make roads and wire or-tauglen.K-nts. Sapper Pnterson M', part in tho first, general advance, and < was wounded on May 1.1) Desc-ribinsr one ot tho bayonet , charges, ho says: 'l'lieu oamo tho time oi' my short inc. A bayonet cuarge! How'did I ieel? i can't explain, hut I. know that J. was awakened by coming in contact with a Turk on ray bayonet, 'then 1 did go! My blood was up. 1 was mad. It seemed hours, but it was only sixteen minutes. We gained our goal and h-dd it, but what a tight! It was glorious- to sec our boys outing tho Turks. After that I had one more bayonet charge, but did not get the chance again, as tho Turks were very busy cutting our line at all hours of the night and day, mostly tilenight. I had' some ' near goes/ at night; had ray hand grazed with a bullet, and got four holes in the top of my hat, and several other things. But one night wo had a real good adventure. My mate and 1 set out to discover if anybody was tapping in on the wire. Wo went about two miles down the wire and found that it was cut, and just as I bent down to mend it, whiz, came a bullet just over my head. It got my pal in the knee and just broke the skin. VYe took cover and let the Turk, blaze away until we saw the flash, and then we lei him have it with a will. When we went up, there ho was, dear!. About a week later, when we were laying a piece- of line, we lost two boys_over it. Most of our line was just in sight of the enemy, and they watched for us all day and night. It was in Death's Valley, or Suicide Gul'y, tho hottest part of the line. The night that 1 was hit 1 was. mending a wire in the enemy s fire. I Had j'ist found the broken ends of the wire and was tying them, when I got it. I thought that my leg was broken right off. It was an explosive bullet. It went in at the heel and came out halt way up the leg- My mate stopping the bleeding and we finished the job. He then earned me down the hill to the track,, wliero my leg was dressed. It was broken m three places. I was placed m a dugout and left there for six hours. Alter that I was carried for four miles down to the beach, where I was take* on board a transport. At Alexandria they wanted to take my leg off three times, but I refused, and had an operation instead. Ultimately 1 had three operations in Alexandria, and have just had one here. They have saved the leg, but I have lost the t:se of it from the wound downward, and I don t think it will ever come right again, but I am hoping for the best, I have been here a fortnight. I am in a good hospital, and get plenty to eat."