New Britain herald., 1918-05-21
RED GROSS DRIVE
 BRINGS IN $'49,25l
Corporations Contribute S@,25O
 on First Day, Workers Learn
H 0RR0RS OF GALLIP0LI
Australian Soldier Says Allies Lost At GallipoH Because They Undercsti- mated the Enemy's Strength-- Praises Red Cross Work

mated tho Enemy's Strength-
 Praises Red Cross Work.
 New Britain will surely go over the top in the present Red Cross drive for a local quota of S1OO,0OO, Chair man C. F. Bennett has predicted Af- ter today's report the only question Is how much the city will go over the top for after only 24 hours of solicit ing total of $49,251 has already been contributed, of which $22,25O is the donation of the local manufactur- ing corporations.
 The principal speaker at the lun- cheon this noon was Signaller Tom Skeyhlll, who served for two years With the Australians on the Western Front and at the disastrous campaign on the Gallipoli peninsular He has been twice wounded and is now tour Ing this country featuring on the war. An artist and poet by profession the Australian soldier couched his mes sage in almost incomparable English and in conclusion said to the Ameri- can people: "Fcr Gods sake help your government to mould it's raw material into the finished soldier, for the foe is at the gate and the crisis of this war is rapidly approaching. Remember, gentlemen, America pre- pared is Germany defeated.''
 Report of Teams.
 Following is the days report of the several teams conducting the cam paign:
 Plainville, $1,00o; Newington, s268; Berlin, $1,417; Teams No. 1, $749; No. 2, $605; No. 8, $6,114; No. 4, $40; No 5, '$761; No. 6, $4,7S5; No. 7, $2,675; No. s, $2,56O; No. g, $332; No. 10, s484; No. II. $2,170; No. 12, $626; No. 13, $345; No. IA, $3S1; No. 15, $50; No. 16, $110; No. r, STA; No. IS, s647; No. 19, sS92; No. 20, $5S1; No. 21, SIP; No. p, $444 No. 23, s157; No. A, s1,o11; No. 25, $57; Corporations, $22,250; total for first day, $49, ,251.
 Given Tremendous Ovation.
 Signaller Skeyhill, a veteran of the End Anzac Infantry, First Australian Division, entered the dining hall shortly after the preliminary figures had been read and was rendered a rousing ovation, men rising from their chairs to cheer and applaud. The recipient modestly declined to accept the ovation as a tribute to himself but said he would accept it HaS an American. appreciation of what my country, Great Britain, has done in this war" He said he could think of no words to express his love and admiration of the Red Cross for during two years he has followed the red horizon of battle until he was W ounded and could go no farther. he has gone back out of the gates of hell and through the golden gates of Anlerica's beautiful democracy. He said he brought message of good fellowship and congratulations from tho. British to the Americans and he rejoiced, as he has never rejoiced be- fore, to think that despite the Ger man misrepresentation and camou- faged peace offers the American people have taken up the cause of righteousness.
 Britain, France, Italy, America and the other splendid Allies will fol- low the bloody trail of battle until bring our soldier boys back home. And in this respect a closer unity of the Allies means a quicker victory" the soldier declared.
 Signaller Skeyhill said that four years ago the Red Cross meant noth- ing to him, but after four years of war, after being two years in F1and- CTS, at Ypres, at the Somme and at Gallipoli, after being twice wound ed, the two words have become the most sacred in the English language to him. He told of the utter un- preparedness of the Allies at the be- ginning of the war, explaining how, after standing for 24 and IS hours in water waist-deep, the men had to return to their dugouts where there were no warm drinks, good food or dry clothes Now it is different, for the Red Cross attends to all these wants and stands for everything that iS good in a soldiers life.
 Telling of the Allied disaster at Gal lipoli, Signaller Skeyhill admitted that the defeat was the fault of mo- body, because the Allies were not war Wise
 We were simply not prepared and underestimated the enemy. ~ We thought old Abdul was the sick man of Europe and was not prepared for a stiff defense We thought we might lose 5000 or 4,000 men in scaling the 1 heights, but after the first "A hours of l that fighting we had lost nearer | 10000 men,"
 The soldier then explained in detail 1 the terrible battle and the unspeakable sufferings that his comrades were 1 compelled to undergo just because l there was not enough of anything for ] anybody He said that lying on the I Continued on Eleventh Page.l