Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-02-08
BALDWIN TO TELL
THRILLING TALES
British Soldier Has Remarkable Ex.
pcriences TO Recount in Lecture
Next Sunday Afternoon.

Thrilling experiences are to be told
by Sergeant Harold Baldwin OF the
British army. who is to lecture Sunday
afternoon at the patriotic mass mee.-
ing to be held at the Moline high
school auditorium. He lost leg in
the war, and being unable to render
any further service in the field because
OF permanent physical disability, he
is now touring the country in be1alf
of the Red Cross movement.
Sergeant Baldwin is of English
birth, but enlisted from Saskatoon,
Canada. He was with the Canadian
troops in some of the hottest fighting
of the war in Flanders. having been
through the second battle of Ypres,
being wounded in the third battle Of
the same name, and in between being
present at the battle of Festerburg.
There was an extraordinary con-
trast Of conditions just before | was
knocked out" he says. We were or
dered to go over the top early on the
morning of June 2 While we were
waiting for the time to advance ev-
erything was quiet. A lovely summer
morning, birds singing above us up II
the sky. and then the order to Charga
and the hell of bullets and death all
about US The Canadians had made
their advance and gained their OBJ
jeetive."
Sergeant Baldwin and his company
were busy in converting a captured
trench into defense against the Ger
rhnp nd
ferring sandbags, when he was hit in
the foot by a dunn dunn bullet which
tore the flesh and bones into shreds.
At that moment counter attack
came and before he could be rescued
and carried back to the field hospital
he had lain there "a hours By this
time gangrene had set into the injury
and amputation of the leg was the
only course possible to save his life
He now comes to talk to American
audiences in the same calm manner
that he faced death in Europe.
He will tell of events grave and
gay, for. as he says. "All is not gloom
and tragedy in the war, there is muc:,
that is amusing. much that is thrill
ing, and a great deal that is in the
Ai6uSSt uSSIee lllSplTluS.
Nurses Wonderful,
What the Red Cross means to the
army only those who have been SOL
djers and felt its kindness can tell. "
This is the statement of Sergeant
Bell. ut is worth while to lose a
leg in battle" he continued, because
by the time tie Red Cross has finished
with you, you wish you had a thousand
arms and legs SO that you could go
back and lose them all for its sake.
There never were women so kind, so
self sacrificing, so wonderful as those
women who are in the nursing service
now.
After / got my wound some Of is
were moved to room III a French
Chateau. There was only one nurse
for us, a French girl who did ever v
thing for us all that is ordinarily
done by whole corp of orderlie, in a
hospital. Then we were finally moved
back to England. and when we landed
at Southampton We We're nearly killed
by Kindness. A passage way from the
ship had been blocked off by timbers,
but the crowd struck them down as
though they were matchwood and in
trying to do something Tor us they
nearly succeeded in doing what the
Germans had been unable to do.
In due time We arrived at our per-
manent hospital in Liverpool. where
we were put in charge of the V. A. D.
Volunteer Aid Department - a
branch of the Red Cross, and what
they did for me and all the others
with me ! shall never be able to tell
fully They gave cigare's. brushed my
hair. they gave me postal cards 70
write to my mother, they wrote let
tiers for those who were unable to
write. There was time when ! was
In rather serious condition. in fact, nv
life was trembling in the balance
During this time they took the time
and extra trouble to send four buIle
tins TO my mother. Finally. on the
day | was able to get out of bed and
stand on crutches they sent, her a
special telegram telling her of the
fact"