The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-01-25

England robbed Walter GreenwaS |
ofzhf$~gUod% name,
Brarded.a convict by a cruel mis-
take he buried himself in the far
east.
Walter 'Greeuway. redeemed his lost
name by herOasm and endurance unz
eQaalled. perhaps, by any of the many
shining deeds of this war,
Arabs tortured and MANNED this
hero spy; loathsome disease wasted
and weakened him, Walter Green
way, ex-convict, served the country
! that had scornsd him, He died for
her under AN assumed name,
How well he served you may know
by his greatest exploit-the single
handed. blowing up Of the Bagdad Ar
Senal, Writers have thrilled the
world by classic stories. of the super
heroic. deeds of British officers in the
east. Whether this one is real or is
Fftctipn, the reader must Judge, 1t is
.narrated by the Sheffield correspond
ent.of Iloyd's Weekly News, London,
in the following words:
I. have heard from Robert Holmes
thek most romantic and thrilling story
of the war, Mr., Holmes is the IA
NOUS police, court missionary, and the
boys and men who have passed
through his hands have done great
things for England, Broken and
shaved. they have come to his little
Office after their terms of innpr1son-
ment, to leave with q sure hope in
their. hearts and a brave resolve to
make good. OF all these men Walter
1sreenway's name will shine in the
pages of history as the doer of the
most daring, mysterious and danger
Gus wODlxeever given in! the service of
&E0ng1and-
Convicted through the stupid folly
Of a magistrate at the age of IS, this
brilliant young man, educated at
sfannousrpubiic school, became a house
khreaker. and. it was not until the war
came, with all its strange chances,
kthat he brought glory to the name
which he adopted and by which he
Ealwaysswin be known.
It yves Walter GreeuwaT who lived
sAs an Arab, and whose mastery of
the, Arab Language apd7sof Arab ways
wass,so complete that he deceived the
very Arabs themselves.
It+Was Walter GTeenway who mar
RED an Arab woman, and who wrote
her some of most wonderful words
of love ever peunef in English.
And it was Walter Greenway who,
lnasUuerHding as German officer,
blew I'D the Turkish arsenal in Bag
dad, destroying thousands of shells
that would have wrecked English
Hives.
tt happened thatsGreeuway had be-
come casually acquainted with some
seaside visitors who had taken a
mouse in the town. He was asked to
ShaEe supper there one evening. In
an irresponsible, bUyfsh mood, he de-
ttermineftto make his entrance through
tho attic windowrand~ giveHt the family
seurprise.
Unfortunately, he went to the right
number in the wrong street This
shouse was locked up, and its owners
who were away, had asked the police
towatch it. Walter climbed in through
saswfndow-and the result came when
rhe. was charged with house-breakins
The magistrate, instead of Remaining
him for inquiries, which would have
surely cleared up everything, SEN
fenced the young man to three
months imprisonment
ut was a big mistake, 'Mr. Holmes
said: "the case looked suspicious,
know.sbut if inquiries had been made
well, it's no use cying over the case
now. But that wasn't the only mis-
take. When Walter came out o.
prison not one of his friends. me
him. don't think this was unlzind
ness solmuch as a mistaken Thought
lessness.
81 should he added, +Sbe out of al
temptation on a sailing snip, coul'
climb the rigging. Or an Indian wig
wan village might do, or Bedoull
fencampment-no attics there, under
stand ....,..
At ++is-verv- moment there came t
Mr.. Holmes a letter from a -snlppahi
company asking for men.
s'T resolved" Mr. Holmes told M
.to,give him a start. on sailing shiI
and, for 10 months I heard nothing o
him. Then he went ashore at &c
1onubo. and was left behind. No NOR
neVzsScame of him until November c
19t5. when a most extraordinary let
ter written on IS scraps of faded yel
low paper reached me-.
t have. seen this letter, and it is IT
deed a. curious document in 1t wa
ter Greenway describes, from some
where in Mesopotamia, a poor dee
rni1te. a slender, swarthy, agile Bf
dot1in-who is indeed, Walter Gree
vav himself, with the British force
as a spv. Here is his own picture
he describes it to Mr.. Holmes:
Somewhere in this blessed land a
afflicted creature wanders, all unao
- comprebend what his Mohamm'
dap corntrymen, their Turkish ma
ters and the German super-bosses a.
about. Respecting his afflietion as
the hand of Allah, they suffer him
wander among their camps and el
trenchments; they gaze upon M
r.lf-arnused, half in pity; they lea
him along lybyrinths OF trenches
tha measure of seeing his terror
the.engines of destruction winch, prl
tle-1n concealed places, and as ne ca
thew talk over their plans and u
German and Turkish commanders
sue instructions, for he is deaf al
he cannot hear; he is DUMB ana
literate, he cannot tell.
And this was Walter Greenwa
public school boy, understanding &c
man perfectly, rendering absolute
Invaluable service, as it turned o
later, to the British forces. For in
eight years residence in the Eai
Greenway, always a clever lingui
had learned to speak Turkish al
Arabic as native.