The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1916-06-14

thvislst enough 70 makr the wildcat
dreams 81 a movie hero pale 10 in
sienificance- have been packed ia-
to the young Hfe e. Lieutenant
CIlncrd Prcserf. aged ~.
The fun story came today from
Biaenaycn. wales, Probcri's native
yiiisfe.
Daring deeds under fire. promo
ton from the ranks. awarded the
ID. $. o., wounded % times. blown
MP while on hospital ship and lapse
OF memory are few OF tho youth
full soldiers experiences.
Before the war young probert
operated a haulage engine In coal
mine md was the assistant chief
Boy sfouf ~ tho district.
In September. 1914. he Joined the
army by incorporating bis eRe 20
recruiting sergeant lie told the
sergeant be was ~ when be wae on
" fifteen. Its parents objected to
his militariam and he char sed his
name TO William Gordon williams.
AZ bin co In Northern France. the
youthful soldier received his bap-
,lsm OF Gre. He also went to the
hospital for twelve weeks With two
wounds In the head and two IN the
legs.
Some time after he had reioined
his regiment. the colonel. command
Ing. decided that 9 distant tower
was being used as. an enemy obser-
walton post. The colonel chose two
men TO cut the wires that connected
the tower with the enemy batteries.
The men chosen were Lieutnant
Marphy aud Williams tprobert).
After crawling two hundred yards
through darkness. In the direction
Of the tower. Murphy was shot thru
tho head.
PFobert cra~Iied forward and
eventually arrived. lie dug IN the
ground around the tower for an
hour with his hands before he dis
covered the wsres.
There were seventeen. which
meant that seventeen German bat
tcries we're being accurately in
formed OF the accuracy Of their FIRE
on the british positions. probert
tried 10 snip the wires with his
pocket knife. The metallic sound
produced. however. made the oper-
alton dangerous aud he searched his
Red Cross packet for vaseline.
snearing the oil on the wires. he
spent several hours in noiseiessly
cutting all seventeen and then crawl
"a tcdiouuiy back to tho British
trenches,
II was ON September Is. tho
start Of the big British defensive,
that the young trooper got into
action. His regiment charged A
reached the third line of the
German trenches.
Probert was one Of the handful.
A shell exploded nearby and threw
him into the air. nazed and suf-
ferine from shock he arose and
charged again but came under the
fire Of machine gun and fell with
1--WE bullets wounds in his abdomen.
beth hips riddled and his head bad
~ battered. He lay in the open,
without attention. for two days be-
fore stretcher bearers camc along.
Probert lowered between HE and
death Ia = base hospital for weeks.
Youth and vitality finally conquered
until he had sufficiently recovered
strength 10 be sent &c England.
Subsequently. with other wounded
men. he was taken to goulogne and
placed aboard the hospital ship An
glia The Anglia was hair way
across the English channel enroute
TO fotkeStone when she Was mined.
The explosion occurred Just as a
nurse was raising pTobert's head to
see the coast of England.
The nurse and an orderly carried
Probcrt. cot aud all. 10 the main
deck and. telling him 10 hold tight,
slid him into the sea. A rescuing
destroyer picked him up before he
had swallowed too much sea water
Eventually he arrived in an Eng
lish hospital Here he was awarded
the medal OF the Distinguished Ser
vice Order for Ealiantry and APP
prised Of his promotion to ieu-
tenancy.
Weeks later Prubert was we'll
enough 10 be discharged from the
hospital. But he had not gone long
before something seemed to SNAP in
his brain aud wipe away his mem
ory.