The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-02-16
ENGLISH RETAIN
 SENSE OF HUMOR Re-Establishing COmmuni-
 cation With Battalion TRIP IN THE NIGHT Abandoned Motor Busses Serve as Target for German Sniper and He
 Sends Bullet Down Path
 Every Thirty Seconds
TRIP IN THE NIGHT

London, February 13-(5pecial)-De- spite the rigors of a winter campaign, the British in Flanders manage to re- tain that national sense of humor, which Rudyard Kipling thinks is world mon- opoly of his countrymen. Here is an example of this cheerfulness in letter written by a young officer at the front
 Just after finishing off that letter to you came ,a to say he had an in- teresting little job on. He was to get through after dark to an infantry bat tallion with which headquarters had lost touch, owing. it was thought, to the telephone wires having been cut by shell fire, and to tell them c. o. If this happened again he was to keep up com municaton by orderly whatever the risk.
 Sent on Same Mission
 Soon after had left the mapor came in and said I was to try and catch him up and go with him, and then if we found the battalion he was looking for I was to go further on to another battalion and give them the message. and find out as much as l could as to their wants in the way of material for improving the trenches.
 "I went off on my gee, with an orderly to bring her back when had caught up
 - who was on foot, and I soon over took him. We had long walk together through the dark over the most vile roads which were badly knockel about by shell fire.
 ',The Germans, and we too, of course pepper the main roads pretty continu- ously during the day just to make it jolly for anyone coming along.
 We had luck, for we stumbled into a crowd of men who were going to re- lieve some of the people - was look ing for. So he went on with them and I stumbled on, hoping to come across battalion.
 My luck was in. for almost the first man I met was on his way to their head quarters-a rergeant who had been back to arrange about rations-a delightful Irishrnan who was as merry as sand bay, and who regaled me with long, winded yarns of their doings in the trenches, until we got near up and 1t was unwise to laugh too loud.
 'It was a piece of luck, becau@e when I started out on this mission l was quite sure I was going to be in a de/f of funk and when it was all over l was mighty surprised with myself to find I had been much too interested and amused by the Irishman really to take it in that there were bullets buzzing about, and it really didn't seem much worse than digging trenches on the hills with some of our fellows making rotten bad shots at the targets on the range near by.
 'Our way led through village. Such an abomination of desolation have never seen It had been shelled to blazes. The most depressing sight imaginable, but the piles of brick and masonry were rather comforting for it was just here that things began to liven up. We had to take a track across open fields after lea wing the village and it was then that we really stopped talking
 Light Magnesium Flashes
 "The Germans have a nasty habit of buzzing up magnesium flares every half minute or 50 that light up the ground around. You can see them com ing along, however. and all one does is to stoop down and stand stock still until the glare dies down, then move on till the next one comes along.
 ssWe passed three old derelict London motor buses which lie on their sides cnly few yards behind our lines. They serve a beastly German sniper as an excellent mark and he snipes doWn that patch about every 30 seconds. so regularly that our fellows call nm "old clockwork,' and they have all vowed to square his account as soon as thep spot him.
 One rather hurries past those buses and then takes a dive over prick barrier into what was once, snould say. a rather fine farmhouse IL Is now a tumble of brickwork and timper which affords some shelter. It was pitch black inside and I was at once col Jared by someone and asked my tusi- ness.
 All being o. K. I was shuffled across to the far corner, a flap door was pulled up and I tumbled down flight of stairs into the most evil-smellinS stuffy dungeon. Once the wine cellar. 1t now served the purpose of ready made splinter proof and the headauar- ters of the people I was looking for. Tine place was dimly lighted, q roof about four feet six inches above the floor. an atmosphere, phew! We'll, it was indescribable. and chock-a- block with officers and men sitting around on chairs. some giving or taking re- ports, some eating their rations, oth- CTS attending to the telephone and all