SIDELIGHTS ON THE WAR

New Zealand Tablet, 15 June 1916, Page 11

SIDELIGHTS ON THE WAR

GENERAL. Mr, Swift Mac Neill, M.P., in a letter to the Times urges that the Duke of Albany and the Duke of Cumberland should be deprived of the British peerages they hold. Both are natural-born subjects of Ring George, and both are ‘ open and avowed enemies of this country, to whose Sovereign they owe allegiance.’ The Manchester Guardian prints an incident that was related in the pulpit by the Anglican Dean of Manchester: ‘As I was standing somewhere in France, looking out on the sea of passing soldiers,’ said the Dean, ‘ a Roman Catholic Irish Canadian saluted me, and we entered into conversation.’ * You know,’ said the soldier, in parting, ‘ there are four crosses to be won in this war—the Victoria Cross, the Military Cross, the Cross of the Legion of Honor, and (after a pause) the Cross- above a fellow’s grave.’

Major and Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel) Charles Michell Aloysius Wood, Northumberland Fusiliers, Temporary Assistant Ad-jutant-General, War Office, who has received from the President of France the decoration of a Knight of the Legion of Honor, is a Catholic. The second son of Sir Evelyn Wood, V.C., he was educated at Beauncourt, entered the Army in 1893, served in the Khartum Expedition, 1898, was a Company Officer at Wei-Hai-Wei, 1898-1900, went through the South African War, and was appointed General Staff Officer at the War Office in 1910 T

The helpfulness of the Vatican in war issues is being manifested in various ways. The London Tablet prints a list of the names of British prisoners of war now detained in Bulgaria. The list reached England through the Vatican, and had been secured by the Bishop of Philippopolis. ‘ When the full story of the great struggle comes to be written,’ says our contemporary, ‘ not the least interesting of its chapters will be that which tells what Pope Benedict XV. was able to do to facilitate the exchange of disabled prisoners, and to trace and identify those still kept in activity.’ The list gives one hundred names, a number of them Irish.

Amongst those whose names appeared in a recent list of killed was Lieutenant-Colonel R. C. B. Throckmorton, of the Wiltshires. He was a son of Captain Richard A. Throckmorton, and nephew of Sir Nicholas William Throckmorton, Bart., of Cough ton Court, near Alcester. He was heir to the Throckmorton estates, which comprise upwards of 22,000 acres. Previous to his being called up for active service Colonel Throckmorton resided at Coughton Court, and was well known in local cricket circles as one of the best bats in the district. A Requiem Mass for him was celebrated at Coughton Catholic Church by the Rev. Father Collingwood, and was attended by many tenants of the estate and others. .

Captain Hilliard Atteridge, in an article on ‘ Catholic Chaplains in the British Army,'’ quotes the of Lord Wolseley that ‘the bravest man he had ever known was Father Brindle,’ the recently retired - Bishop of Nottingham, who was formerly a Catholic military chaplain. Captain Atteridge also quotes the statement of General Burton, a non-Catholic officer, who, speaking of a Catholic chaplain on service in India and Afghanistan, said ; —‘ He is probably the only living man who twice refused the Victoria Cross. He begged me on two occasions to cancel s the recommendation,, saying that- the V.C. was given for any brave act beyond mere duty.,. . . As for what he had done it was simply his duty.’ v '

A MODEL COMMUNITY. The large Belgian colony at Blackpool, possessing as it does ; its native-staffed school, its Belgian nurses, its doctor (Dr. Phillipe, of Brussels), and its devoted priests, is in all respects a model community, and is pointed to with pride by the Belgian Central Authority in London as an example of what organisation can accomplish. The Home Office have now provided the refugees with their own police, though this implies no reflection upon the conduct of the Belgians, who are a law-abiding people. The gendarmerie are under Adjutant Aime Lepez, who was the commandant in charge of the police at Malines when the war broke out, and their work will be done in conjunction with and under the direction of the Chief Constable, Mr. W. J. Pringle. RECOMMENDED FOR V.C. Sergeant Wm. Cronan, R.E., a Chesterfield soldier of twenty-four, who was educated at the Chesterfield Catholic School, has been decorated with the Distinguished Conduct Medal and also recommended for the Victoria Cross. Attached to a tunnelling company of Engineers, Sergeant Cronan saved the lives of no less than 20 comrades who had been buried owing to the wreckage of their dug-out. His three brothers are also serving in the Army. v BATTLE OF MILLIONS OF SHELLS. Some information on the huge concentration of artillery by means of which the Germans expected tobeat down the French resistance before Verdun is given by the Petit Parisien. The whole of the available German artillery (it says) was transported to the region of Verdun; batteries were withdrawn from Russia and Serbia. Altogether 3000 cannon thundered when the great bombardment opened on February 21. The deluge of shells on the French lines was such that not a yard of ground was spared. ~~ln the town of Verdun there fell a projectile from the Germans’ 380’s every four minutes during a period of 15 hours. North of Verdun and in the vicinity of Forges certain French positions were for ten hours the targets of more than 100,000 shells of every dimension save that of the 77, which was not employed by the Germans in this bombardment. In a comparatively .small space of terrain 5000 tons of explosives fell during a few hours. In fifteen days 5,000,000 shells ploughed the ground held by the defenders of Verdun. The region of Verdun has, indeed, become a veritable iron mine, since 250,000 tons of that metal is now buried in the soil.

DEATH OF A CONVERT BRITISH OFFICER. Captain Steuart John Aldous, aged 38, was killed in France on March 25, while leading his men in an attack on a German mine, and was buried by Father Drinkwater. He was the eldest son of the Rev. J. C. P. Aldous, of (Anglican) Sywell Rectory, Northampton, and grandson of the late Dr. Pears, headmaster of Repton School. He was educated at Marlborough and University College, Oxford. He , served in France for more than a year. 'He was a convert, and a devoted son of Holy Church. His colonel writes: His bearing was an excellent example to his men, whom he was gallantly leading.’ And the senior captain writes: ‘I speak no idle words when I say from end to end of my company he was absolutely worshipped, and as for his brother officers, his place can never be filled in our affection for him.’ THE LITTLE BELGIAN ARMY. A very interesting long letter of Lord Northcliffe to the Times begins thus: ' The glorious little army that first arrested the rush of the Huns, the army that gave the allies invaluable breathing time, has been fighting longer than any of i us. And it is not too much to say that the world’s debt to Belgium has increased steadily since those hectic hours at Liege and Antwerp. The United States recognises its' share in the work for civilisation

by-generously feeding the six millions of Belgians who are holdipg themselves so proudly while under the immediate domination of the tyrant. I had been with the Belgian Army soon after its v long series of rearguard actions. It was then suffering S from its great losses; it was war,weary, and it needed ' sleep and equipment. It had never lost heart or discipline. To-day it is the same army, but renewed. It has no great reserves to fall back upon, because the greater part of the nation is imprisoned. The wise men who administer it under the affectionate care of the King have, therefore, while getting 'into the ranks every possible available Belgian of military age, wherever he may be, devoted themselves to the work of refitting and reorganising. The result is a perfect little army. * Belgium is above all things fortunate in having a man. For beyond question one of the most vital of all the forces among the Allies is the Belgian Minister of War, Baron de Broqueville. For years before the outbreak of hostilities the Times had consistently called attention to de Broqueville’s work and warnings. Except for those warnings Belgium would not have been in a position to offer the resistance it did to the Monster. De Broqueville, who is 53 and looks very much younger—though I notice the -war has not left him unmarked since our last meeting— as alive as Mr. Hughes, and it is remarkable that the views of the two men are alike.

THE DEATH OF A CHRISTIAN HERO. Early in April Captain J. G. Harter was severely wounded, and died shortly afterwards. The letter from the G.0.C., announcing the death to his parents, is a touching tribute to the gallant Captain, and must be a source of great consolation to his bereaved parents. It is as follows:—‘The G.O.C. announces with the very deepest regret the death of Captain J. G. Harter, Brigade Major, who was severely wounded by shell fire yesterday evening, and died this morning. The Brigade is poorer by the loss of a fine soldier and a very gallant gentleman. When severely wounded and in very great pain, his first thoughts were for others. He died as he had lived, brave and unselfish, and an example of single-minded devotion to duty. His fine soldierly character will ever be an example for us all. He will never be forgotten.’ The Medical Officer who attended him says: —‘ He was quite conscious and calm, and said to me, “Do you think I am going to die. Doctor?” I said I hoped he would pull through. He then said, “If I am going to die I should like to die soon, lam quite ready to die.” I asked him if I could send any message or write for him. He said, “Give my mother my love and tell her I am thinking of her, and that I am not afraid.” His bravery and calm endurance were marvellous. I had known him for many months. He died the death of a Christian hero, and all of us who knew him mourn his loss.’ ' . The deceased Captain was born in 1888, and was educated at Lady Cross, Beaumont College, and at Wimbledon, having adopted, the career of a soldier. On the outbreak of hostilities his first appointment was that of A.D.C. to Sir John Keir, but on his own initiative he relinquished that comparatively safe post to take up the duties of Adjutant, becoming subsequently Brigade Major. It was this act that probably led one of his brother officers to write : * Poor John' j*- he died a victim to duty, one who preferred to do what he considered right, cost what it might. We are the poorer and live to deplore the loss of one more gallant comrade who has been laid to rest.’ His father and mother were both' converts to the faith, into which he was baptised when about a year old. /

news does come, it is eagerly welcomed by those—and they are many—who have relations and friends in these regions. Thus, quite lately, I heard something of St. Quentin, a town that has been in German hands since the beginning of the war. The chief parish church is used alternately by the French and the Germans. On Sundays Masses are .said from five in the morning till eight, when the altars are stripped and a Protestant service takes place; at nine. Mass is again celebrated, this time by a German priest for the Catholic Germans; at ten, High Mass is sung, and till evening the church belongs to the French Catholics. During the week the churches are well attended, and many prayers —public and privateare offered for the cessation of the war. The cure of the basilica of St. Quentin has received from his Bishop, from whom he is cut off, the powers of a Vicar-General; they were transmitted to him from the Bishop of Soissons, through the German Bishop of Paderborn, and he regularly visits the districts now committed to his care. The nuns and the Catholic laity continue their religious and charitable occupations; the public schools are open, and the works of mercy that existed before the war have greatly extended their action and are grappling bravely with the necessities, created by the absence of the breadwinners in the homes of the poor. The religious Congregations, Little Sisters of the Poor, Augustinians, Servants of Jesus, and ‘ Dames de la Croix,' have been left in , their houses and continue to lead their useful and prayerful lives, amidst their German surroundings. They seem to have been so far unmolested.