The Oskaloosa herald., 1916-06-15
WHAT ONE BOY DID
FOR HIS COUNTRY
WOUNDED TWENTY-FIVE TIMES
IN SERVICE.
ONLY SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD
Cut German Telephone Wires, and
Was Nearly Killed by Explosion
of SheIl-Thrown From
Hospital Cot Into Sea.

London, June 14.-Scads of thrills
enough to make the widest dreams of
a movie hero pale to gnificance-
have been packed into the young life
of Lieutenant Clifford Probert, aged IT,
The full story came today from Blaen-
avon, Wales, Probert's native village.
Daring deeds under fire, promotion
from the ranks, awarded the ID. S. O.,
wounded 22 times, blown up while on
a hospital ship and lapse of memory
are a few of the youthful soldiers ex-
periences.
Before the war young Probert oper-
ated a haulage engine in coal mine
and was the Assistant Chief Boy
Scout of the district. In September,
1914, he joined the army by misrepre
senting his age. to a recruiting ser
geant. He told the sergeant he was
IS when he was only fifteen. His
parents objected to his militarism so
he changed his name to William Cor
don Williams.
Baptism OF FiFC.
At hill 60 in Northern France, the
youthful soldier received his baptism
\of fire He also went to the hospital
fer twelve weeks with. two wounds in
the head and two in the legs. Some
time after he had rejoined his regi-
ment, the Colonel, commanding, de-
cided that a distant tower was being
used as an enemy observation post.
Tho Colonial Dhncn IN fhn
wires that connected the tower with
enemy batteries. The men chosen
we're Lieutenant Murphy and Will
liams (Probert). After crawling two
hundred yards through darkness. in
the direction of the tower, Murphy
was shot through the head. Probert
crawled forward and eventually ar
rived He dug in the ground around
the tower for an hour with his hands
before he discovered the wires.
Cut the German Wires.
There were seventeen. which meant
that seventeen German batteries were
being accurately informed of the aC-
curacy of their fire on the British pO-
sitiOns. PrObert tried to = the
wires with his pocket knife. IN q
talliC sound produced. however, made
the operation dangerous and he
searched his Red Cross packet for
vaseline. Smearing the oil on the
wires, he spent several hours in noise
lessly cutting all seventeen and then
crawled tediously back to the British
trenches.
1t was on September 25. the start of
the big British offensive that the young
trooper again got into action. His
regiment charged. A handful reach
ed the third line German trenches.
Probert was one of the handful. A
shell exploded nearby and threw him
into the air DaZed and suffering
from shock he arose and charged
again but came under the fire of ma
chine gun and fell with five bullet
wounds in his abdomen, both hips rid
died and his head badly battered. He
lay IN the open. without attention, for
two days before stretcher bearers
came along.
Probert lowered between life and
death in a base hospital for weeks.
Youth and vitality finally conquered
until he had sufficiently recovered
strength to be sent to England.
Thrown Into Sea But Rescued.
Subsequently, with other wounded
men, he was taken to Boulogne and
placed aboard the Hospital Ship An
glia. The Anglia was half way across
the English channel enroute to Folke-
stone when she was mined The eX-
plosion occurred just as nurse was
raising Proberts head to see the coast
of England.
The nurse and an orderly carried
Probert. cot and ALL to the main deck
and, telling him to hold on tight, slid
him into the sea. A rescuing de-
strover picked him up before he had
swallowed too much sea water.
Eventually he arrived in an English
hospital. Here he was awarded the
medal of the Distinguished Service
Order for gallantry and apprised of
his promotion to Lieutenancy.
Weeks later Probert was we'll enough
to be discharged from the hospital.
Rut he had not gone long before some
thing seemed to snap in his brain and
wipe away his memory. The young
officer finally was found in London,
wandering. Someone recognized him
from his photograph published in a
London newspaper. 1t was not until
he caught sight of familiar scenes in
his native village that Probert regain
ed his memory. He hopes to rejoin
his regiment in another month.
81 want to get back into the SCRAP
before it is all over" Probert is tell
ing his townsmen up in Blaenavon,
Wales.