SIDELIGHTS ON THE WAR

New Zealand Tablet, 4 November 1915, Page 13

SIDELIGHTS ON THE WAR

GENERAL. J-iieut. Boyd Kocniort, V.C., the latest Irish soldier to win the Victoria Cross, was rejected on account of varicose veins when he first sought a commission in the Army. , He underwent an operation and was thereafter accepted. A well-informed London correspondent says that the two departments of war enterprise in which British efficiency has surprised everybody are aviation and the Secret Service. The superiority of British airmen has long been undisputed. The British Secret Service is credited in its latest coup with capturing most important communications between German agents in America and headquarters in Berlin. ° The report circulated in the press that Madame Carton de Wiart, wife of the Belgian Minister of Justice, was released from imprisonment by the Germans in deference to the wishes of the King of Spain needs some explanation. The facts are that Madame Carton de Wiart was not released until she had served the full term of the sentence imposed upon her. She was sentenced on May 21 to three months and five days’ imprisonment for writing to her husband. ‘ The benevolent intervention of the King of Spain was only responsible for Madame Carton de Wiart not being interned in Germany after being automatically released from the women’s prison in Berlin, but even then she was not permitted to return to her home in Brussels to see her six young children, but was compelled to go to the Swiss frontier. COMMISSIONS FOR O’LEARY AND DWYER. Sergeant Michael O’Leary, V.C., and Lance-Cor-poral Dwyer have each been given a commission in the Northumberland Fusiliers. Dwyer, S whose home is at Fulham, is only nineteen years of age. He won the V.C., for holding, single-handed, a trench against the enemy during the fighting around Hill 60. O’Leary received the V.C. for killing eight Germans and capturing two of the enemy’s barricades at Cuinchy practically by himself. IRISH VICTORIA CROSS MEN. " Seventeen Victoria Crosses have been awarded to Irishmen or soldiers of Irish descent during the present war. The following is the list: —Major Massy Wheeler (killed), Captain G. R. O’Sullivan, Lieut. Geo. R. Dallas Moor, Lieut. Boyd Rochfort, Lieut, S. R. P. Roupell, Lieut. M. J. Dease (killed). Sergeant (now Lieut.) Michael O’Leary, Sergeant Hogan, Sergeant J. Somers, Sergeant David Nelson, LanceCorporal (now Lieut.) Dwyer, Lance-Corporal Holmes, Corporal William Cosgrove, Corporal Robert Morrow (killed), Private William Keneally, Private John Lynn, Drummer William Kenny. REV. FATHER DORE’S WORK AT GALLIPOLI. In the course of a letter to his parents (Mr. and Mrs. J. Curran, Shannon), Private J. Curran, writing from Gallipoli on August 18, says: — 1 I met Rev. Father Dore just as I got back from the trenches, and I need not say how pleased he was to see me. ... Father Dore is very knocked up, and to see him now, you would not think he was the same man as left you twelve months ago. Everyone speiaks well of him. for the wonderful work he is doing. He came right out to where we were under fire in order to give the remains of Colonel Malone proper burial, but . he was unable to find the body as matters were terrible there, and it took up all our time to hold the position, which we had taken from the enemy.’ Writing from the Duchess of Connaught’s Hospital, Taplow, England, Private Curran says: have just seen by the papers that Father Dore has sheen

'wounded at the Dardanelles. • ‘ -He has been doing greab - work ; never idle, but going from trench to trench. All—Catholics and non-Catholics —-highly appreciate' it.’ - - • - . ... ’ A CATHOLIC V.C. MAN. GETS £IOOO. • ] > There was a remarkable demonstration of enthusiasm in the village of Carluke recently, when LanceCorporal Angus, the Scottish V.C. hero, returned to his native place. Innumerable gifts were publicly presented to him, and these ranged from a modest gold badge, subscribed for by comrades in the trenches, to vouchers for War Loan stock, representing one thousand pounds.

' j This large sum was raised by villagers, and many footballers in Scotland, who in the old days admired Angus as a player. Both donor and recipient were deeply moved when Lieutenant Martin presented Angus with a gold watch and memento of his heroism. It was this officer whose life the V.C. hero saved. Carluke was gay with bunting • and triumphal arches. One of the mottoes which greatly pleased the hero, since it struck a homely note, was ‘ Glad to see you, Willie.’ TWO MORE CATHOLIC V.C.’s. The names of two more Catholic heroes are included in a recent list of soldiers who have gained the coveted Victoria Cross. Captain Robert O’Sullivan', Ist Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, was awarded the V.C. for conspicuous bravery during operations south-west of Krithia, on the Gallipoli Peninsula, on the night of July 1-2.

Sergeant James Somers, of the same Battalion, earned his V.C. on the same day for conspicuous bravery at the Gallipoli Peninsula. REV. FATHER RICHARDS AT THE DARDANELLES. Writing to a friend under date September 6, Chaplain-Captain Richards says: ‘I am still in the land of the living after my first real adventure. Our ship was torpedoed on the way up (from Alexandria to Anzac), but most happily floated for a long time, and was eventually beached. I got away an hour and a half after we were struck, on a raft, and we were picked up four and a-half hours after we were attacked. The night before, I had heard confessions for four and a-half hours, and had a big congregation, and sixty for Communion at Mass the same morning, including a General and a big number of Catholic officers.’ •

SEVEN SONS WITH THE COLORS. There are few prouder Catholic women in Edinburgh (says the Catholic Herald than Mrs. Wynne, 16 South Richmond street, who was recently the recipient of a letter from the King congratulating her on having given seven sons to the service of her country. 411 the sons were pupils of St. Patrick’s School, and it is a remarkable fact that notwithstanding that They have gone through some of the stillest of the fights, not one of them has had so much as a hair of his head injured. The names of the gallant young fellows are:—Thomas Wynne, R.S.F. ; Benjamin Wynne, R.F.A.; Joseph Wynne, H.L.I. ; James Wynne, A.S.C.; Frank Wynne, Naval Volunteers; Norman Wynne, H.L.1.; and Duncan Wynne, Royal Merchant Service. This is. another instance of what Catholic Edinburgh is doing in these troublous times. I PRAISE FOR A CATHOLIC CHAPLAIN. 1 The following letter,was recently received by the Right Rev Dr Cleary, Bishop of. Auckland, from Rev. H. Mason, : -Vicar of'Otahuhu. The Rev. Mr., Mason is well-known throughout _ the Dominion for his alto-

gether ’phenomenal success in ' locating- underground water-one of the - places benefited . by his remarkable gift being the Home -of - Compassion,i Island Bay, Wellington. . The following letter is a graceful tribute by the Rev. Vicar, to the kindness of a Catholic chaplain to the writer’s son ; y . : ‘ The Vicarage, Otahuhu, N.Z., ‘ October 22, 1915. My Lord Bishop,— have just received a letter from my eldest son. Bombardier F. W. IT. Mason, who writes from the military hospital, Fulham, London, and therein he speaks in enthusiastic terms of a priest of your Church, a military chaplain at Alexandria. My boy was desperately ill there, and this priest (whom unfortunately he omits to name), by his devoted attention to him, rendered such service that, as my boy says, ‘he saved my life.’ ‘ It is with a heart full of gratitude that I make this acknowledgment to you as the head of- the Church in your diocese, and the debt which my wife and myself owe to this (to me) unknown priest, though unrepayable, will never be forgotten. : ‘ You are quite at liberty to use this letter in any way you think fit, as showing the unselfish and truly Catholic spirit of your chaplain. ‘ Hoping that you may yourself soon recover, . ‘I remain,

‘ Yours very sincerely, ‘ H. Mason.’ TIT-BITS ABOUT THE TYROL. Austrian Tyrol, where fighting is going on-between Italy and Austria, is one of Europe’s healthiest provinces. In the northern parts the air drifts pure and cool, from the haunts of the glacier and pungent with fir and pine and in the south it is soft with Mediterranean sunshine and fragrant with orange and lemon. Though it is a country where . Nature has been overlavish with beauty, and where there are more than 350 registered health resorts, it has not been very popular with English tourists. Austrian Tyrol forms a considerable part of the forbidding and difficult boundary that runs between Italy and Austria. It is 'a barrier more effective “than the Vosges barrier between Germany and France, or than the Carpathian barrier between Hungary and Galicia. -

Austrian Tyrol is 10,305 square miles of Alpine mountains, etched with a wonderful and intricate design of valleys. While there are fewer lakes in Tyrol than in Switzerland, and while the highest Tyrolese summit, 12,790 feet above the sea level, falls far behind the monarchs of the Swiss Alps, yet the Austrian crownland yields nothing in charm by comparison with its neighbor. Tyrol, though small, has more sorts of climate within its borders than any other part of Europe. There are parts of the crownland where the winters are those of north-east Siberia and the summers are those of Franz-Joseph Land. There are other parts, more southern, where an Andalusian languor is hardly freshened by recurring winter. Tyrol is primarily a pasture land. There is a little farming within the sheltered valleys, but, for the most part, the population depends for support upon its flocks and herds. Moreover, there is a goat’s milk cheese prepared by the peasants of Tyrol that equals in its mellow, fragrant beauty any product made of milk, whether from Brie, Neufchatel, or Roquefort. ’]> CAPTAIN JOHN AID AN LIDDELL, V.C. ' With' regret (says the ? Universe) we chronicle the death of Captain John Aidan Liddell., who .was awarded the V.C. for the deed which unhappily resulted in his death on . August -31 in Belgium at the age - of 27. Captain Liddell, V.C.,; the eldest son v of Mr. and Mrs. John Liddell, of Sherfield Manor Basingstoke,

belonged to the 2nd Argyll and:. Sutherland Highlanders, and was attached to the Royal Flying Corps. Oh July 31, while carrying out a flying reconnaissance near the Belgian border, his thigh was smashed by a fragment of shell. For a time he lost control of his damaged aeroplane, which fell a distance of 3000 feet. The heroic pilot, however, partially regained consciousness, and while the machine was still being made a target by the enemy's guns, he succeeded in reaching the British lines and saving his machine and his observer. ‘lt would seem incredible that he could have accomplished his task/ says the official description of the deed which won him the V.C. The remains were sent to England for interment, and conveyed to Farm Street Church, where a Requiem Mass was celebrated in presence of a small congregation, comprising mainly members of the family, personal friends, officers of the Royal Flying Corps, and a few wounded soldiers.

THE IMMUNITY OF SACRED IMAGES. The testimony from soldiers as tothe extraordinary immunity of sacred images when their surroundings have been shattered has been overwhelming. A further instance may well be quoted. A Boston man, serving in Belgium, writes: "‘Many stories have reached England concerning sacred relics which have been found undamaged while everything else near by has been blown to atoms by German shells. Recently a party of us were waiting near a school in a village which had long been a target for the German guns. We were fetching stores from a ruined cottage, but, as the Germans were shelling the road, it was deemed advisable to wait a little. ‘ One room in the school had been badly knocked about; the roof was falling in, and the floor was full of holes. Everything in the room had been smashed by the shells except three things—a statue of Christ, a large figure of the Virgin Mary, and a statue of one of the Apostles. Not one of these three figures was even so much as scratched or discolored. No one could help contrasting the wreckage of the room with these statues, which were as perfect as they were on the day they were placed in the school.’

SOLDIERS IN FRANCE ATTEND FIVE DAYS’ MISSION. A ‘ mission ’ to the soldiers in France is described by a sergeant in a private letter. He says; The priest, Father Gleeson, held a fine mission for the lads, for five evenings, and you can imagine how well they took advantage of it. I played the organ (a wheezy one), and it was altogether a grand mission. The village people came every evening to Benediction, and were highly pleased to hear how well the lads could sing together. The church was prettily decorated, and on the altar was placed the company flag- of the battalion. The flags were pre-sented'by-an Irish lady to the battalion, and the lads always carry them up into action. On the last evening of the mission all the flags were blessed, and presented to the company sergeant-major of each company, and then the mission was finished by an open-air procession and Benediction, and it was a grand sight. The next day the regiment -went back to the trenches, and that is the way life goes on. We had to move on the third day of the mission, and I had some distance to come for the last two evenings. Every, of the battalion received Holy Communion during the mission, so you can tell the lads went back with light hearts.

REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE. The O’Mahony, of Grange Con, County Kildare, has written for the Weekly Freeman a description of the visit . paid by . the . deputation from the Irish Recruiting Council to the front, in Prance and Flanders, at the invitation of the War Office. The O’Mahony writes: — . -

• On August 30 I obtained - permission to visit - the front trenches with Colonel Sir Nugent- Everard, Mr; Percy, ; and Mr. Doig. • We reached, headquarters on the evening •of August 30. ’ On ' the 31st we ; visited the trenches, ; and walked: through 7 £ miles of i trenches, including the firing trenches. On the way I saw and examined a ruined church. There was no roof on the church, all the windows were broken, the walls ■ battered and in ruins. The tombstones and monuments outside broken by shell fire; amidst all this ruin there was a large crucifix against the wall of the church with the figure of our Lord absolutely untouched. On September 1 we visited another portion of the trenches, and walked over three miles in them up to the-firing trench. We also saw at the rear the arrangements for giving the men baths and clean clothes. The rule is to give each man a hot bath and clean clothes at least once a fortnight. ‘ I was greatly struck with the cleanliness. of the trenches, also with the cheerfulness and excellent spirit of the men. They were having dinner whilst we were in the trenches, and the food was excellent. Everything possible is done for the health and comfort of the men, with the result that the health of our Army is far better than in any previous war. I also visited the hospital and was greatly struck with the great cleanliness and the admirable arrangements for the treatment of the patients, also by the cheerfulness of the wounded.

‘ On the afternoon of September 1 we were allowed to visit Ypres, which was under shell fire at the time. The once beautiful Ypres is now a mass of ruins, not a single building standing. I visited the Irish convent, and clambered over ruins to get into the chapel, of which only a few battered walls are left. There was nothing to show that it -had been a chapel, except the remains of the twisted and battered altar rails. Near the large square, amidst ruins and desolation, in what evidently was the garden of a convent, there stood a cupola about six or seven feet high. Under it on a pedestal was a statue of the Blessed Virgin. Surrounded by broken stones and glass and debris, there it stood absolutely uninjured, a truly remarkable sight. On the way to- Ypres I examined a ruined church, and again found a crucifix against the wall of the church with the figure of Christ absolutely untouched. ‘ On the way back to headquarters we visited the 2nd Leinsters, from whom we received a- most hearty welcome. Colonel Everard and I were allowed to address them and to express our appreciation of their noble deeds. Their spirit was splendid, and the chaplain, Father Malony, begged us to come again, which I hope to do. On September 2 I visited another ruined church, and again saw amidst the ruins a large crucifix with the figure of our Lord untouched, although even the wall against which it stood was battered by shells. On our way back to Boulogne we visited the 2nd Battalion of the Irish Guards, lately come out to France. We were again allowed to address the men, who were most enthusiastic and longing to get their chance. After being hospitably entertained by the officers at lunch we proceeded to Boulogne, and arrived in England on the night of September 2. ‘I feel that those three days were the most interesting days of my whole life. Nothing could exceed the kindness shown to us by the military authorities, nor the desire which they evinced to allow us to see all we most desired. We were particularly fortunate in meeting with two Irish Generals'—General Hickie and General Shea— accompanied us through their respective trenches. % ....

HOW COLONEL MALONE DIED. Chaplain-Captain Father McMenamin, writing from Gaba Tepe on August 25, gives the following account of the great attack of August and of the death of Colonel Malone ; - = - : ■ - - ‘ By this time you will have heard of great fighting which has taken place here - during the Hast three

weeks. After landing, we had heavy fighting for a couple of weeks and then settled down to trench warfare, which is a slow and wearisome business. On August 7, a further advance was decided on, and for four days the fighting was simply terrific. The first fortnight’s fighting was only child’s play compared with this. I was up in the thick of it during those four awful days, and I hop© I never see anything like it again. Our men, and many British and Indian troops, charged a succession of hills and held on grimly despite most desperate counter-attacks. Our boys fought nobly, and I can say without boasting that there are no troops to excel them. No matter how severe the assault, they' never broke or wavered for an instant. I cannot tell you of our losses, but the casualty lists will tell their own tale. The greatest loss that our Infantry Brigade suffered was, in the death of Colonel Malone. Plis work over here has been magnificent, and he has proved himself to be every inch a soldier. In this last great fight he rose to the occasion, and made fame for himself and the Battalion he commanded. On Sunday, August 7, his men had the foremost position, and from daylight till dark they fought like, tigers. Colonel Malone, who did not know what fear was, remained all day in the thick of the encouraging his brave men by his own example. About 6 p.m. he was struck down by a burst of shrapnel, and died without a word. He received Holy Communion from me a short time before his death.

* The chaplains over here have both had rather a bad time. One priest has been killed and two wounded. The two Protestant chaplains, who landed hero with me on April 25, have both been badly wounded. Father Dore, who came from New Zealand with me, was shot in the back last Sunday, but I am happy to say that I was able to get him away quickly to the hospital ship where the doctor assured me that the wound was not serious. An Australian Presbyterian chaplain who was ' hit about the same time died a few minutes after being brought in. We chaplains are not taking senseless risks, but there is absolutely no safety line here, and we are under fire of some sort most of the time. I have to thank God for my narrow escapes, and so far have not been touched. lam keeping fairly well, but am worn and very thin. The weather is trying, and the hills are very steep. The doctors had insisted that I should go away for a rest, and I had made up my mind to go on the very day that Father Dore was hit, but then I cancelled all arrangements, and will now hang on till some other priests come. A month ago I would have been sorry to leave my soldiers, but now they have nearly all left me, so I could go away to-morrow with no regrets.’ *