|SCOUTS AND FARMERS.I|1916-07-13|The Cambria Daily Leader

|SCOUTS AND FARMERS.I

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|SCOUTS AND FARMERS.I Swansea B. P. Boys Offer to Help. The Scouts" of the Swansea District Association B.P." Boy Scouts are will- ing to undertake harvesting work during the summer holidays (end of July, August, and beginning of September) in the Gower Peninsula and the neighbourhood of Swansea. Farmers desirous of taking advantage of this offer should send in an application in writing, stating the number of Scouts wanted and time for which they will be required, to District Scoutmaster J. H. King, at Y.M.C.A., Swansea.

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SEASICK FIREMEN. I -

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SEASICK FIREMEN. Eventfu Voyage of The Bouncer." The Bouncer was much in evidence at the Neath County Court on Wednes- day. It was immediately explained to his Honour Judge Lloyd Morgan, K.C., ,that The Bouncer was a steamer, and the mate, Charles Willey, sued Joseph Lee and Sons, shipbrokers, Port Talbot,, for £ 7 10s. alleged to be due to him for discharging duties on The Bouncer. Mr. Dan Perkins appeared for plaintiff, and Mr. T. S. Bevan for the defendants. Mr. Perkins explained that The Bouncer was an old boat, and was to have voyaged to Rams-gate, but after a series of brea kdowns was taken in tow by a trawler and conveyed to Milford Haven. Plaintiff said the boat made a lot of water in a heavy sea, and drifted about for a day. The defence was a breach of contract, Mr. Bevan lalleging that the mate left The Bouncer" without permission. Capt. Bevan said they experienced heavy seas, and although admitting that the boat was an old one, the primary cause of "The Bouncer's" distress was the rough weather. His Honour: What is the tonnage of this sir. Mr. Perkins: Near Lundy Island did you hail the Ruabon r—Yes. Questioned as to the age of the boat, witness said he believed she was about 30 to 40 years old. Mr. Perkins: Didn't the old Bouncer take General Gordon up the bliie -Nile? That is so," replied thf> skipper. The engineer, Wm. Henry Thomas, said the engine was in fairly good con- dition, but the pump was broken down. They lost the lifeboat owing to the rough weather. Crcvss-examined, witness said he was taken ill an therefore did not subse- quently proceed to Ramsgate. He heard that the skipper was forsaking the boat, the mate talking about leaving, that the firemen were going. (Laughter.) So," continued witness, we got a new crew to finish the trip." During t he voyage," added witness, "the firemen were seasick like children. (Laughter.) When they were wanted they could do nothing." His Honour: How do rmi make up the expenses, Mr. Perkins, of 10s. 2d.? Mr. Perkins: Well, he paid for the log- book—fourpence. (Laughter.) Eventually, his Honour gave judgment ,for plaintiff for £3 10s. and costs.

SWANSEA JUNIOR ORGANISATIONS.

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IHUSBANDS IN ARMY.

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I HUSBANDS IN ARMY. II Neath Application for Eject- ment and Damages. At Neath County Court on Wednesday, —before his Honour .ludge Lloyd Morgan, K.C.-Mr. Godfrey Williams, J.P., Aber- pergwm, applied for an ejectment order and damages against Sarah Hallett and Jenny Jones, of Pentrenialwed, Glyn- Neath.—Mr. Trevor Hunter (instructed by Mr. Edward Powell) appeared for the applicant, and Mr. Lewis M. Thomas for the defendants.—The action was the se- quel to police court proceedings of a similar nature, when the county justices dismissed the application for an ejectment order. It was stated that the original tenant was Richard Jone&, a brother of the two women, whose husbands were in the Army. He arranged that his sisters should con- tinue to live in the house and he would be responsible for the rent. Jones wrote to the landlord in these terms, and a reply was received refusing to accept the trans- fer of the tenancy oh the grounds that the house was required for the colliery > workmen. Richard Jones said he was anxious to keep a roof over his sisters' heads until their husbands returned. He had offered plaintiff's agents the rent money, but it was refused. Ilia Honour argued that the women could not be deemed to be trespassers I until Richard Jones had quitted the house. His furniture was in the house, and the women were practically sub-tenants. After subsequent argument, his Honour adjourned the case in order to add Richard Jones to the action.

r -MARRIAGE AT CWMBWRLA.

I -NEATH NURSING ASSOCIATION.

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I NEATH NURSING ASSOCIATION. The annual meeting of the Neath Nlrs- ing Association was held on Tuesday night at the Rowland Homes, London-road, Neath. Mr. W. Hibbert provided. The president (Mr. E. L. Evan-Thomas, J.P.) wrote regretting his inability to attend owing to pressure of business in connection with the Belgian Hospital work. The secretary (Mr. D. M. Jenkins) sub. mitted the 19th annual report, showing that 332 new patients were attended to during the year, and the total number of visits made by the nurses were over 14,400. Midwifery fees brought in 9139,1 which was the highest in the records of the association. Very useful work had been done by the nurses, with the assist- ance of Dr. J. M. Morris, in connection with the local Council schools. Mrs. J. D. James, Cadoxton, the treasurer, in sub- mitting the balance-sheet, said that the receipts were t731 and expenditure £632. leaving a balance of £ 102. Both reporta were adopted.. The committee were re- appointed, and votes of thanks were ac- corded to Messrs. D. Shirres, D. M. Jenkins, W. Shetland Roes, Ald. D. Davies, Messrs. R. P. Morgan and Sons, and the officials for the services rendered by them during the year.

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FRICOURT & LA BOISELLE.

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FRICOURT & LA BOISELLE. Gallant Fighting by British Troops. —————————————————————— DEADLY WORK IN A DOUBLE SALIENT. I (From MALCOLM ROSS), Official War Correspondent with the New Zealand Force. War Correspondents' Headquarters, France, July 2nd. The great battle of the Somme along an extended front became really a series of battles, and some of the fiercest fighting 'has taken place in the vicinty of the battered villages of Fricourt and La Boiselle—strong points in the German line that for a time held up our attack. This was really a battle in itself, and I had the rare good fortune to watch it from an adjacent slope within easy range, and right out in the open. I was a unique position fi-om which in this war one could witness a real battle. Well within a corHplete circle of gunfire, and even within the range of the machine-guns and rifles bad they cared to shoot, we could follow almost every -movement of our troops, in places even with the unaided eye. Both villages had been battered beyond recog- nition by our intensve initial bombard- ment, but the enemy still clug tenaciously to the positions. Prisoners said after- wards that they had been told to hang on at all costs. For superb gallantry in the face of great odds I have eeen nothing to equal this fight since the attack on Chunik Bair—the highest point we gained on the Gallipoli Peninsula-by the New Zea- landers. For hours our bombardment of the trenches and ruins of these villages made of them a veritable inferno. That which was the German front line trench at La Boiselle had in places become almost a level road. Trees in the adjacent woods had been shot almost to bits, and bricks and mortar had crumbled till the houses were shapeless ruins. Mametz, a village to the right, had already been taken, and when we arrived on the scene our troops were trying to get round the Fricourt Wood from there, while another body was endeavouring to join with them round the other side of the wood. I AT MAMETZ. I Gallant work was done at Mametz, too. The men from one unit got into the Ger- man line with a single casualty, and were in the second line with only two. One man himself took twenty prisoners. Other units were not so lucky. They came up against machine-gun fire, and were also heavily bombed. In one spot, lying amongst the grass in the line in which they were advancing were the bodies of six men and a little dog—the mascot of the regiment-that had gone into the fight with them. One regiment had taken itiany prisoners and was tremendously buckl up. Another had got it in the neck," and was correspondingly depressed, but they continued bravely fighting, and in the end the Germans WPl e worsted. Next day, as our men advanced from this position to get round Fricourt Wood, the German gunners put a very hot barrage of high explosive and some shrapnel in the hollow thror^gh which they had to pass, yet they got there all the same. The enemy also crumped out firing tine, but were too late. Our men had already advanced. "Woolly Bears" that burst with a peculiar tearing- noise were mixed with the other stuff. An officer told me that our shelling had been most effective. He had wandered into a, German redoubt that had been greatly H strafed," and found it a heap of tumbled earth. Some cheery pioneers from a northern county were al ready at work digging a communi- r-ation trench soon after our troops had taken the German line. With their more peaceful implements of war they streamed down laden with beams of stout timber. LA BOISELLE. When we arrived on the scene the real battle for La Boiselle was just commenc- ing, and the last of the main German force was already in process of being cleared ollit of Fricourt. We got so close to the fighting that with the unaided eye we could clearly see the troops going into aotio-n. They streamed round one corner of the Fricourt ruins and swung to the right of the wood. Others came up out of the hollow of the valley more to the left. They also advanced, but almost at the same -time we heard the crackle of a machine-gun, and could see that they were held up. The gun was hidden somewhere in the wood. Most of them took shelter on the edge of a little copse at a place that had been Fricourt Farm. The trees of the copse had been torn and dismembered by our shell fire. They were living skele- tons. Farther round on the left, on the crest of a ridge overlooking a chateau in a beautiful wood, was all that remained of La Boiselle after our guns had been at it for about a week. It was very, very little, but such ruined villages afford a good deal of shelter to an enemy, and with their deep dug-outs in which both men and machine-guns have been saved they are the very devil to clean up in an advance. In one case our men went right through a village—so q-uick was their ad- vanef-and the enemy afterwards came out of their bunny-holes and fought. But they failed to save the position. Many of the Germans who remained were killed and WcTmded. The others were taken prisoners. MERCILESS SHELLING. While our men were held up at the end of Fncourt Wood our gunners were merci- lessly shelling the La Boiselle position still strongly held by the Germans and commanded by their artillery fire as by our own. The high explosive sent the earth tearing heaven-ward, and the al- ready broken brick wa.las of farm and cot- | tage disappeared in clouds of red dust. At intervals a big shrapnel or universal shell would burst in air, spattering the ground with its pellets, and leaving be- hind it a beautiful rolling cloud of light greyish green smoke. That was no doubt to catch any German who might take it into his head to cut and run for better shelter. But all the time we watched not a man showed himself. So terrible was the shelling that one thought nothing could have lived within its zone. For hourp the terrible preparation for our advance went on. Away on the left a battery of heavy guns with fine teams of black horses swung into action right in the open. This was a splendid and a cheering sight-a sight such as one had not expected in this war of trench a.nd wire and dug-out. On the slope of the Fricourt-La Boi- selle Ridge our men were nonchalently walking about, and the stretcher-bearers ,A ere going and coming in the open. Amongst the uniforms I noted some that I were strangely grey, and, looking through my glasses, I saw that they were Ger- mans, right among our men. But they were German prisoners. There must have been a whole company of them under the gleaming bayonets of half-a- ] dozen guards. They were marched down the valley to a barbed wire enclosure well away from the battle-ground. Other H Tommies were bringing in prisoners in twos and threes from the captured trenches on the Fricourt-La Boiselle Ridge. At intervals, for fully half-an- hour, we watched one humorist slowly bringing his man in. The prisoner seemed to be shamming, and was reluc- tant to come. Apparently he thought he was going to his doom. Occasionally there would be a bit of an argument, in which a threatening bayonet point played a part, but the Tommy" persevered. He made the man cross the trenches in front of him, and when it was his turn to clamber up the other side he made the prisoner stretch out his hand and help him up the other side. A BATTLE OF A LIFETIME. The position at both Fricourt and La Boiselle was intensely interesting. In modern war in such country one might not see such a battle in a lifetime. So we ventured along a little farther to where a small group of our soldiers were lying on the yellow earth of a communi- cation trench. The group consisted of a colonel, a major, and some signallers. Amongst them was a big, handsome young Australian, whose father was a Broken Hill millionaire. He had been in England when the war broke out, and had joined the Artillery. He was enthusiastic, and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. For some hours we lay beside these men on the yellow clay watching the wonderful battle spectacle and listen- ing to one end of messages going and coming over the field telephone. Expres- sions of delight were sandwiched in be- tween orders and messages to the guns. There's another blighter His hands are up! his hands are up!" There's another fellow in a long coat by the, Crucifix!" The Crucifix and "The j Poodle came into a good deal. The Poodle" turned out to be a woolly-look-j ing. tree on the far ridge just in front of the other German line. The Crucifix" was a real crucifix still standing amidst a small clump of naked trees on the hori- zon. Crucifixes seem to have a way of escaping shell fire, and in these cases the French peasants regard them with a sert of superstitious awe. Interspersed with such talk were other sentences of a more technical kind, such as putting n.r four gun on to Burnham Wood," or j number three on to X 20 ak 16," "drop- ping twenty-five," or ''twenty minutes more left" or right as the case might be. The Germans were shelling our troops in a place called by these enthusiasts Lozenge Wood, and our aforesaid guns were now cheerfully strafing the Germans just over the ridge. The shells tore past, and we watched them bursting just over the crest of the ridge. Our infantry had been in Crucifix Trench, and others ad- vancing to the further attack were now held up at "The Poodle." The shelling, was to let them get on. This they subse- quenfcly did. and by next day the whole Fricourt Wood was surrounded and the position made good. Another battery commander wanted to know if he could chip in, but an officer replied No; Major Blank's battery will do the necessary." It was very much as if a man were sit- ting in his office ordering a ton of coal for his household, or arranging a deal in shaws or produce. They could not, of course, see their own guns. Neither could the gunners see what they were shooting at-it was all done with scien- j tific accuracy Trom the map, and from ob- j servation in this forward position. I WHIPPED WITH SHELLS. The position at Fricourt having been satisfactorily cleared up, we again .turned our attention on La Boiselle, which was more than ever now being whipped with a rain of shells. Other batteries, includ- ing some heavies far back, were doing this. It seemed as if the gunners had warmed to their work. One could imagine them stripped to the shirt, going for aLl they were worth. Their shelling was dreadfully effective and terribly accurate. Presently they banged in a tornado of shrapnel and then suddenly lifted." From that we knew that the infantry at- tack on La Boiselle was just on the point of being launched, and sure enough in a- minute or two we saw the first of the men debouching from a communication trench and creeping up across a battered German trench in the direction of what had been the village. Others followed, and soon there was a little group in a very exposed position waiting for their chance to go forward. It was now the turn of the German gunners. They put a heavy barrage in the hollow to the left to endeavour to pre- vent our men coming up, and they also shot at the little group crouching on the i white chalky rubble of a damaged trench on which they were finding aill to inade- quate shelter. The ground was whipped with shrapnel and high explosive, and a German machine gunner who had evident- ly lived through our fire now bravely emerged from his bunny hole and com- menced firing. There was also the crackle of rifle firing now mingling with the re- ports of the guns that were banging a way all around ue and with the noise of the bursting shells immediately in front. One felt very sorry for the little group of brave men crouching there in the open. Pre- sently there was a burst of shell beside them and another right over them. The smoke of the shell and the whipped-up dust obliterated them for a moment. When it cleared we saw man after man get up, and crouching low, advance into the vil- lage against the machine-grin fire from the leafless wood and the ruined houses. There were some seven or eight who did not move. They still lay in strangely huddled attitudes, motionless on the light earth of the battered trench. They were still there next day-in the same strange attitude. Death had caught them in the very hour of victory. But other gallant fellows came oa, through the pitiless hail of German shrapnel to take their places. They came on singly and in twos and threes. Some dropped, but ikera was no flinching-no turning back. It was all very sad, but finely inspiring. It made the pulses thrill. One felt proud to be of the breed. In this manner did we gain our footing in La Boiselle. And all the time with this wonderful battle panorama being unfolded before us, on a slope decked with red poppies and blue cornflowers, the swallows were flitting about, and in the blue above a soaring lark was putting all his soul into his song! [We are indebted for the foregoing article to the courtesy of Sir Thomas Macken- zie, High Commissioner for New Zea- land.]

SCROLL OF FAME.

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SCROLL OF FAME. GORSEINON SOLDIER KILLED. Pte. Andrew Jones (son of Mrs. Jones, West-street, G o r- seinon), who is re- potted to have suc- cumbed to his wounds on Saturday last. TREBOETH SIGNALLER MISSING. A Treboeth sig- naller, Willie Rees, from Treboeth, who, as already xeported in the ",Calilbi-ia Daily Leader," is missing since the recent naval engagement. IN THE BIG FIGHTING. Private W. R. Griffiths, son of Mr. and Mrs. T. Griffiths, 52, Philip- street, Manselton, who was in the big lighting with the Devon Regiment. No news has yet come to hand con- cerning him. _I Pte. L. G. Hadson (BrynanimaD) Pte. Ellis Evans (Swansea). Lieut. J. W. James (Ammanford). Stkr. J. D. Williams (Ammanford) Pte. W. Granville Brazen (Morriston) MORRISTON MAN KILLED IN ACTION Private Ellis Evans, 18th Hussars, of 2, Strawberry-place, Morriston, who, as previously reported in these columns, is officially reported to have died in action. He war, last heard of in October, 1914. He was later reported to have been taken prisoner, but this proved to be incorrect. TTi- widow desires to thank the numerous Morriston friends who so kindly sent parcels, all of which have since been re- turned to her.

LOCAL CASUALTIES.

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«BREEZE" AT WORKHOUSE.I

IAMUSEMENTS' TAX.i

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, | BIBLE CONFERENCE.

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| BIBLE CONFERENCE. Dr. Hutton at Llandrindod Wells. The Rev. Gwilym Rees, of Merthyr, was the preacher on Tuesday evening, and he was warmly welcomed to the Mundesley platform for the first time by Dr. Camp- bell Morgan. Hia subject was God-» consciousness as the supreme need of the hour," and his heads were (1) The meaning and content of God-consciousness; (2) The effect of God-consciousness; and (3) The means whereby God-consciousness may be attained. On Wednesday, Dr. Hutton continued his lectures to splendid morning attend- ances; and in the afternoon there was an. excursion to the Birmingham Water- works in the Elan Valley. The Welsh at- tendance is larger this week than last, and Welsh hymns are sung with a swell and go that greatly delights the English visitors. Dr. Campbell Morgan's Bible lectures never fail to attract splendid at- tendances for the first hour, 9.30 to 10.30, and even those who do not share his some- what literal interpreta-tions find much to help. Here are some of Dr. Hutton's sayings:— a Gentlemanliness will take you a long way towards the Kingdom of God." The thing that makes a man a gentleman is shrinking from giving pain." The true measure of our growth in grace is our sensitiveness." Wo are in this world in order that we may grow, learn, im- prove, to get rid of certain things and to work certain things into our immortal spirit." H We are here to take in cargo for the great voyage for which death weighs the anchor." If we are not go- ing to do better, we may as well be dead." rr If we are not living as God intended us to, we are simply hanging about and wear- ing our boots out." You may be paralysed by some expectation, Wait till the war is over,' < Wait till some evan- gelist comes.' That is always wrong. It is a subtle apostacy. It is turning away j from God."

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