The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1918-03-28

| gulshed conduct medal Private Tay.
lor's own story. as told In the London
Express. Is rs follows:
ut was during one of the attacks on
part of the IIlndenburg line on June
| 10 last year" he said 1--WE had gone
over the top two companies together
following up successful attack made
In the same direction on the previous
! day. This time we were met by n
terrific enemy fire. and our fellows
were dropping like nlnepins. | was a
stretcher bearer and | was trying 10
patch up one Of our men who was
down. when was knocked out myself
by the bullet which fractured my
thigh.
Behind Enemy's Trench.
After that | remembered nothing
for some hours. II may have been a
day or II may have. been two when
recovered consciousness. with parch.
ing thirst and u great sense OF weari'
ness and pain.
81 discovered afterward that we
must have passed beyond our objec-
tive, and we were therefore behind the
enemy's trench and support trench at
this point. His front trench had been
taken on the previous day, and these
he now occupied were not backed mp
by others. but had open country be-
hind them. did not know at the time,
however. that was behind the en-
emy's line at all. ! managed TO crawl
into a large shell hole near at hand
and lay there another day and night.
Then a comrade, a man named Pc
tiers. Joined me. lie also had been
wounded. but could move more freely.
He had found shelter In another hole
near by.
I'VE could tell the position OF our
own trenches fairly accurately by
watching the fire of the trench NOR
tnrs. which seemed about "A thousand
yards away. ] was In too much pain
and too weak TO move. We lay to-
gether all day in the hole expecting
night Peters crept out and foraged
among the dead for scraps OF bully
beef and iron rations' and water from
their bottles. After few days. merci-
fully it began TO rain. and by spread
ing our caps and a sheet We collected
drops OF muddy water. which just kept
us alive.
Lived in Hiding for Five Weeks
This sort of existence lasted for
about five weeks. Then one night
Peters went out and did not return.
have learned since that he was taken
prisoner.
at was the following night that the
Germans, evidently rendered suspicious
by the capture Of Peters, came out
three Of them-to the hole where !
was lying. | lay perfectly still. One
Of them lifted my leg. luckily not the
one that was broken, or should prob
ably have cried out. They seemed
satisfied and went away.
81 was now left without help in get
ting food or drink. During the next
fortnight | eked out the small remains
Of bully beef; then for two days had
nothing. IL was then, feeling that
nothing worse could happen to me
that | resolved TO crawl toward our
own lines.
ut was an inky black night when I
started. had gone some distance
when Unexpectedly I came on the Ger
man trench. | could have put out my
hou1 and tnuaha1 tho man Tho
trench. n deep. narrow one, was light
ly held, and II would have been i'm
possible for me with my broken leg to
have climbed out Of II again, even had
| not been seen and seized. | man
aged to crawl a little distance along
10 quiet point, and then, summonlng
up all the strength l could, flung my
self across. The BOches neither saw
nor heard.
Reaches British Advance Position.
"rhe next thing | knew I was In
their wire, and how scrambled
through l do not know. was a mass
of cuts and blood and rags when II
was over. crawled on across No
Mans Land, and presently was against
more wire. IL did not occur To me at
the time that II was British wire, and
| was dead beat lust then a Very
light shot up beside me, and I'm its
flash | saw an unmlstakable British
face the other side of the wire.
shouted Don't shoot; I'm Tommy
A sergeant called out 10 know who I
was; then three of them lifted me
over the wire.
81 must have been sight; no
clothes, starved almost 20 the bone.
bearded, filthy; but the men were
amazed 10 see me at all. They were
an advanced machine gun post, snd
had been watching me crawling
toward them, ready TO pick me OF az
the right moment.
"rhey told me Il was n bank holt.
day / should remember. and from that
| learnt that II was August had lost
all count of the days"
Private Taylor Is single man, about
twenty-five, and before the war worked
In factory in London. lie was seven
times rejected for the army owing 10
the fact that he Is blind In the right
eye, but as he was otherwise M he
succeeded at last In eyading the sight
test by a feat of memory and has de-