Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1916-12-07
200 VICTORIA
CROSSES Won
DURING THE war
Greatest Honor That Can Come
to Soldier Fighting for
Great Britain.
SOME HEROES LOSE LIVES
Deeds Of Valor In Battle for Which
Men Were Decorated Make Task
More Thrilling Than Fiction
Majority From Ranks Of
Workers,


Majority From Ranks Of
Workers.
London.-In the course Of the great
war nearly 200 British and colonial
soldiers have won the Victoria Cross,
the greatest honor that can come to
man who fights for Great Britain.
Most of the awards have gone to men
Of humble station. Two Of them be.
gan life SO dou5tfully that they "com.
pleted their education" under the en-.
forced discipline of reformatOries and
Industrial schools. Others were quiet
living working-class folk before the
war.
But It Is curious to note that nearly
all of them seem to have had a spice
Of the English love of games In their
natures-the games In which they
learned to be fearless Of physical dam
ger and careful only for the achieve
ment of what they had In view. Take
the case of Private James Miller, V.
of whom 1t Is said:
"He was great believer In keeping
cool. They called him plodder, and
when he played football he suffered
from lack of devil Once he gave
good hiding to a bigger fellow who
had fouled him four times very badly.
He was silent man and there was
nothing in his life to suggest that he
was anything more than u very re.
spectacle, Woodworking paper-mill la.
bOrer."
But this Is what he did:
"Ordered to take an important mes
sage under heavy shell and rifle fire
and bring back a reply ut all costs,
he succeeded in spite Of gaping
wound in his abdomen, which he COM
pressed with his hand, and falling dead
at the feet of the officer to whom he
delivered the message"
What Some Of Them Did.
One of the new V. C.'s, Private
Veale, Of the Devonshire regiment,
cOolly went out to wounded officer,
who was lying in growing corn within
80 yards CT the enemy, dragged hiL
to a shell hole, went back for water.
returned, went back again and brought
assistance, and after several attempts
covered an approaching enemy patrol
with Lewis gun and saved the Of
fcer.
When King George was at the front
recently, Private Thomas Turnbull of
the Worcester regiment was called out
of the trenches to be spoken to by the
king. Writing home to his mother he
said, subsequently,: II cannot tell
what passed. l trembled all over" A
few days later in the middle Of fierce
fighting he remained with his wound
ed officer for three hours under con-
tinuous fire from machine guns and
bombs, and, although at enc time COM
pletely cut off, he held his ground and
finally carried the officer into the Brit
ish lines. He was painter and paper
hanger by trade, and an enthusiastic
cyclist.
A young Yorkshire man named DON
aid Simpson Bell was q schoolteach-
er at Harrogate, and fOotballer.
During an attack, In heavy enfilade
fire, he crept up communication
trench, followed by two men, rushed
across the open under heavy fire, shot
the machine gunner, destroyed the
~ he x,ip
many lives and insuring the success
of the attack. For this he got the V.
G. He lost his life five days later In
a similar act of bravery.
A Lancashire boy named James
Hutchinson was only worker In q
spinning mill when the war broke out.
This Is his story of an attack on the
German trenches in the Somme front.
After describing the terrible rush over
the bullet-strewn No Mans Land, he
says:
Gets Seven In a Trench.
"Soon afterward / reached the Ger
man trenches, quite breathless, but
was soon through gap in the wire,
which our artillery had cut for us. The
first thing 7 saw was a big German
firing down the trench and knocking
chalk off the side. When he had fin
lshed his little game rushed around
the traverse and put my bayonet
through him.
There was another Boche there,
and when he saw me he commenced
to run toward dugout, but seemed
to slip back q step, so promptly got
him through the head. Another was
resting on one knee, and started shout
ing for mercy, but he paid the same
penalty. / next went round another
traverse, and found three more Ger
mans, and they all met with the same
tate, either with the bayonet or rifle
bullet. Hurrying round the next tra-
verse l saw about seven Huns throw
ing hand grenades at the lads who had
not got in the trenches, but were fight
Ing along the top.
"There was one German left to
guard the traverse, and he tried to
throw hand grenade at me, but could
not get 1t ready IN time. so l firel q