HELPLESS WOUNDED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12243, 15 February 1918, Page 3

HELPLESS WOUNDED.

IS'i FRENCH HOSPITAL.

BOMBED BY THE GERMANS. The following extracts from a letter received by Mrs A. 0. Barton, of Ifalton, Belmoro Street, Burwood, Sydney, from her husband, Gunner A. 0. Bar. ton, concerning an air raid on a hospital in Francs, in w T hich he was a patient, are published by tho “Sydney Morning Herald ” “I witnessed tho other day ono of the most impressive scenes of my life, and that was tho funeral of twenty-one victims of an air raid here on the hospital', including four sisters. It was an awful night, and ono that I will never forget as long as I live. Of course, air raids arc quite common in thesd parts, and every favourable night Fritz comes over dropping bombs- When IIOU’S is received of his planes coming over the towns people, are warned by the church bells ringing, and down they go into cellars and anywhere else for safety. Of course, all lights go out immediately, and everything is in darkness. He has got close to this hospital several times, and made a. job of it last Sunday night. It was a beautiful moonlight night, and early in tho night the church hells rang the warning, and w© could hear the anti-aircraft guns g°ing in the distance, rapidly coming nearer and nearer. A few of. us who could walk were outside watching the searchlights, and at last the engines of Fritz’s machines could he heard, ,and very soon the ’pianos could he plainly seen coming our way. Nobody who has not been in th© position can imagine what the feeling is to be amongst hundreds of poor, helpless wounded men lying in their beds waiting every moment for a bomb to drop. Most of the chaps just simply say, ‘ Oh, well, if he drops on© on me he drops it, that’s all.’ The sisters go about as usual, and try to calm the nervous cases, and poor chaps who are suffering from shell shock. First oi all ho dropped a few bombs close to tho hospital, on tho town, and the flashes and noise were awful- But all last over lie came fairly low, and dropped one bomb right on the ward next to ns. If hell is. any worse than what, followed, it is bad. 1 was again luckv, and was only knocked down by conciission, but ono chap standing next to me was wounded in the abdomen, and died a day later. Another chap near me was killed instantly. He was a lino chap, too. The yells that went up from the wounded and dying were awful, and never to be forgotten, and the sights were indescribable. Altogether he dropped three bombs on this hospital, and did his awful work well. The doctors and nurses worked hard all night, although bombs wow still dropping, and hero was ©f work to do, too. Two of sisters were killed outright, and t.wp died later on. There were altogether ,fir.,.l about 100 casualties. “Tho night foiiowmg 'the raid wo were all packed off to big tunnels under the town, that were built by Napoleon, and it was a great sight to see hundreds of people huddled together in the candle light in these huge tunnels, including doctors, nurses and patients, some of them on stretchers, as well as French people with their few valuables, babies, and alb All the patients who conkl walk wont to the funeral the next, day, and it was the saddest thing I have over witnessed. In a pretty litttle spot on the side of a. hill, where there, were already many little wooden crosses, tho victims wore buried. All the time the service went on our aeroplanes circled about over our heads. The nurses are still working away here as n. ual. and are paying as much attention 1© Ger■num wounded as our own, although it must be a. strain on them to dr- so, Hint is Gorman culture for you, and it is really hard to believe that anybody who boasts civilisation could bo so cruel as to bomb helpless people in their beds,'’