Williams news., 1918-09-13
OVER THE TOP"
(COntinued)

Then the prOfeSSOr would take an- ,ther handful of mud and fill the tin, liter which he would punch a hole in he lid of the tin and put 1t over the op of the bomb, the fuse sticking out Then perhaps he would tightly wrap wire around the outside of the tin. and he bomb was ready to send over to Fritz with Tommy's compliments.
 A piece of wood about four inches vide had been issued. This was to be strapped on the left forearm by means >f two leather straps and was like the dde of a match box; it was called striker" There was a tip like the head of a match on the fuse of the bomb. To ignite the fuse, you had to rub 1t on the "striker," just the same IS striking a match. The fuse was timed to five seconds or longer. Some of the fuses issued in those days would burn down in a second or two, while others would ''sizz" for a week before exploding. Back in Blighty the muni- don workers weren't quite up to snuff, the way they are now. If the fuse took a notion to burn too quickly they gen. orally buried the bomb maker next lay. So making bombs could not be called "cushy" or safe job.
 After making several bombs the pro- lessor instructs the platoon in throw Ing them. He takes a "jam tin" from the fire step, trembling a little, be- cause it is nervous work, especially when new at it, lights the fuse on his striker. The fuse begins to 'sizz" and sputter and a spiral of smoke, like that from smoldering flag, rises from 1t. The platoon splits in two and ducks around the traverse nearest to them. They don't like the looks and sound of the burning fuse. When that fuse begins to smoke and "sizz" you want to say good-by to it as soon as possible, so Tommy with all his might chucks 1t over the top and crouches against the parapet, waiting for the explosion.
 ? Lots of times in bombing the "jam tin' would be picked up by the Ger mans, before 1t exploded, and thrown back at Tommy with dire results.
 After lot of men went West in this manner an order was issued, reading something like this:
 '"To all ranks in the British army: After igniting the fuse and before throwing the jam-tin bomb, count slowly onei twol three."
 This in order to give the fuse time enough to burn down, so that the bomb would explode before the Germans could throw 1t back.
 Tommy read the order-he reads them all, but after he ignited the fuse and it began to smoke-orders were forgotten, and away she went in record time and back she cane to the further discomfort of the thrower.
 Then another order was issued to count, "one hundredl two hundredi three hundredi" But Tommy didn't care if the order read to count up to a thousand by quarters, he was going to get rid of that "jam tin," because from experience he had learned not to trust it.
 When the powers that be realized that they could not change Tommy they decided to change the type of bomb and did so-substituting the ''hair brush,'' the ''cricket ball." and later the Mills bomb
 The standard bomb used in the Brit ish army is the Mills" It is about the shape and size of a large lemon. Al though not actually a lemon, Fritz in- sists that it is; perhaps he judges it by the havoc caused by it's explosion. The Mills bomb is made of steel, the outside of which is corrugated into AS small squares, which, upon the explo- sion of the bomb, scatter in a wide area, wounding or killing any Fritz who is unfortunate enough to be hit by one of the flying fragments.
 Although very destructive and eff fcient bomb the Mills" has the con- fdence of the thrower, in that he knows it will not explode until re leased from his grip. -