Norwich bulletin., 1918-03-30
Foley's Honey and Tar


 warning Us that the boche was out for a wholesale killing this time. It seemed like a full minute before we saw a thin black streak curl up this second balloon, and the volume of smoke increased as the balloon sank, with ever gathering momentum, down to earth. Six more white specks now appeared, and, since it was evident that the entire line was being attacked, gave the order to haul down.
 At 1000 feet, ordered the winch stopped. No more balloons had been7 attacked, and although ours was now the only one up, 1 could see British fighting planes ascending from the aerodromes behind us to chase away the enemy. So I decided to venture up again. We ascended to 5000 feet this time, and soon were at it again. "Then suddenly something happened. It happened swiftly as in dream. We didn't see the German Albatross ap- preaching, but our ground officer and his scouts gave us the alarm just q second or two before the hawk was on us. I heard my observer. at the tele- i phone, say suddenly. What's that? Stand byi Good heavens!' Then he turned calmly to me and said with a smile, Sorry, old man, Swe- must get ! out at once He helped me over the 1 side first, and had a confused notion
 trat somewhere or other near at hand, a machine gun was banging away briskly.
 l q dropped, and heard tRumph' as ] the parachute left it's ease. This was the last sensation 1 attempted to an- alyze as fell like a stone for 30e feet. i I saw the balloon shoot violently up-
 wards, and then my view was plotted tout by a large white umbrella which
 suddenly appeared above my head, and il realized that the parachute had opened. I didn't look down as 1 felt frny body swaying easily in the breeze. 1 The roar above told me that the AL
 batro5s had done it's work and the 1 balloon >was afire. You cannot of l course, manoeuvre parachute, and there is always the possibility of the tburnfng balloon overtaking you and I burning your only means of escape. l -"But before I reached the ground II saw, far in front, the Albatross f crashing to earth, minus a wing. She had been hit by cluster of anti-air- craft shells.
 "The next thing I knew was that was lying in the middle of a plougned
 field. while a short distance off I saw
 my observe coming across toward me. =
 ='All twelve of the officers of the
 wrecked balloons escaped safely or this occasion. They are not always SC fortunate. At this same station a few l days before an officer was shot and q killed while dropping in his parachute I His balloon had been set afire by g 'i German airp1ane, and as usutf he and
 his companion took to their parachute They had hardly got clear of the bal. } loon when the attacking airplan' lswooped down on them, its machine : was killed, and although the other es , capped, his parachute was torn by ;
 bullet and several of it's cords wer, cut. Few men have been neare , death and lived to tell the tale.
 , The balloon commander told tn : story of an officer who had gone III r alone, and whose balloon was shellet } when flying at 4,000 feet. On thes
 occasions it is dangerous to hau
 down, for the position of the winch i !, thereby given away to the enemy gun 2 ners. At last, however, after clou of shrapnel smoke had appeared afmos 7 under the basket, and no respons F came down the telephone wire to in } Iquiries as to whether everything wa
 all right, the ground officer gave tn order to haul down. Ten minute [ later the car touched the ground. an g the observer was found lying at tn I bottom of the basket, unconscious bu 7 unhurt. It was a bad case of shell X shock, from which the officer was sev a eral months in recovering
 s "A few days ago. at nearby station $ a balloon suddenly caught fire, fo v no appearent reason. The two ob
 servers tried to escape in their para
 chutes, but the blazing balloon over t took then. and they were killet : Theories as to the cause of the disas S ter were numerous, but the one mos a generally accepted was that the bal f loon had been fred by an electri = spark from thunder cloud. The fac . that the wire cable had parted nea n the balloon was saidSto give suppol Ito this theory. It was the parting { d this cable which was generally re } Isponsible for the death of the of = servers, because it made ifnpcssib r. the towing of the burning balloon cles
 lof the parachutes.
 "One of the officers at this static
 was up in a balloon a few days az f when it was shelled and the cab I severed. The balloon started at {
 miles an hour for the German line IL The officer had not much time 1
 think, but he threw all his maps an - documents overheard and pulled Il
 Iyip cord. He and the balloon fe
 about 1000 yards frurn the Germa