The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-06-18

got from his wife a couple of boxes of fuses with which to light his pipe in rainy weather. Like everyone else, he was keen on the bomb, so he suggested that we use fusees instead of matches. And we did. But that didn't keep the fuse dry. We had to find something 10 cover the end of the fuse-something that would come off in hurry. like rubber, for example. The only thing l could think of were those imitation nipples with which some mothers quiet babies
 ROBBED THE BABIES
 T sent my men, armed with all the French I knew and a full vocabulary of signs in addition, to buy up every fake nipple In the nearest town. After we had got them all one of the young CT officers came to me and said that he could hear all the babies of France gnashing their toothless gums and cursing the jam-tin bombs which took away their pacifiers.
 "The manufacturers name was very prominent on the tin. Ticker, it was and all the other chaps near my men got to calling the bombs 'Ticklers' and us Tickler's artillery We didn't mind. It was rather an honor. And the name has clung to us.
 "The jam-tin bomb went round the
 
 chap who had been on the peninsula Gallipoli, you know. He told me that they had used them. If the Turk wouldn't respond to apricot. they fell back on plum and-apple. l don't know if strawberry ever was deemed neces- sary.
 But after we settled down to trench warfare the jam tin went out of course. Now we've got the Mills-a naTfanf ret1. 4,.fa hands at many other things-among them one that was beautiful, just like the present type of German egg bomb Only we couldn't use it, because there is Hague convention that all bombs must 'be at least pound in weight That doesn't bother friend Fritz much The Mills is over a pound, and, of course. the difference in weight cuts down the range a little. That's why we always practice throwing German bombs and grenades-so that we can use theirs when we get into their trenches"
 The Mills bomb Officially Mills grenade, No. 5 is good handful It is made of cast iron and looks like large chocolate goose egg. The little rectangles into which it is divided break off when the bomb explodes and fly every which way, binding, wounding and even killing those whom they hit. The essential parts of the bomb which our soldiers presently will know as well as they know a baseball now are the ring-pin and the lever A good bomber can throw above 40 yards The rifle range is much greater,
 These are the essential facts about mod ern bombs. but the art of bombing in cludes much more than the setting up of Mills. This is where the work of the school comes in.
 First there is definite way of throw ing the bomb.
 Baseball pitching is exactly the wrong motion. The bomb is too heavy for pitch ing and the 1erkiness of the motion is dangerous. If our soldiers forget pitch ing and remember how to lob a ball they will master throwing easily The Brit ish sportsman had an easier time because bomb throwing is exactly the same as bowling in cricket.
 The motion starts when you have the ring out holding the bomb at about the level of the thigh. Then, with an over hand motion, you bring it well over the head and throw, quick and high, gauging the height so that the bomb does not ex- plode In the air
 There are three stages in the education of bombers. The first is the nervous stage. The second is the confident but respectful stage. The third is the period OL ONei-cOullQcHCt. ON lie second IS lQeal. The first can be cured. The third may be fatal.
 One officer at the school told of his experience with a new man who never had seen or heard a Mills bomb go off The dummy practice had not prepared him for the real thing. When She in- structor took him down to the firing bay the man took, the bomb. pulled out the pin, and then. holding the lever down with all his might, he turned to the of fcer and said
 T can't throw it, sir" He was tremb- ling with fright.
 Go ahead" said the instructor
 ''I can't" c
 The instructor went to him and tried to work his own hand down over the lever, but the man was holding it too closely. Had he let go both of them would have been blown to bits. But he could neither let go nor throw the bomb.
 The officer was thoroughly frightened, but he didn't let the man see that, h. stead he sat down and inquired whether the bomb would ever be thrown
 No, sir said the man.
 Very well, I shall smoke
 With that the officer broke the first rule of the throwing range and lit a cigarette
 A moment later he told the man that he was going to sleep. Wake me up when you get ready to throw" he said, and leaned back against the sand bags. He pretended to close his eyes.
 Gradually his own indifference had it's effect. The bomber, still mortally afraid, edged closer and closer to the wall of the bay. Then, when he thought that the officer really had gone to sleep, he dropped the bomb gently over the side and sprang back. Five seconds later that bomber had lost all fear of his profes- Ci To ho6 rd ha knew that he was safe. At the end of the To-day course he was an expert.
 When a bomber-to- o-be knows his bomb bs and knows how to throw them, either from standing position in the trench Or from crouching in crater, when he knows his range and can calculate the trajectory of rifle grenade, his work in tactics begins. Even with diagrams it is impossible to give any idea of all the complications of this work. So, at the great school a trench system has been built which combines all the varieties of trenches to be found on all the fronts where the British army is fighting. A crater has been blown up and under ground passages have been run to it. The ground is pock- marked with shell holes. Traverses, saps. underground con- munica tions, hidden dug-outs, snipers' posts, traps. wiring, everything is com plete.' In early spring when the furze and the heather keep the countryside a dark brown. the whole landscape looks like the battle front as it useo to DC north of Arras and elsewhere in France
 HOW TO BE A BOMBER
 The men who are studying for certifi cates as bombing instructors go into these trenches and, have daily battles. Hal1 of them are Huns" ana one or the bright ideas of this school has been tC