New Britain herald., 1919-11-08
By FREDERICK MANWEIL. Copyright, 1919, Frederick Maxwell

ue work of getting escaped DriS- $bnerS through the German lines was hot always SO difficult as one might #Mag!ne, and not even attended with i Nch risks a& l have described in pre- 3NouS articles. In spite of tho rigours tSa*taFn German occupation movements ! Phaa42elSipm and France were compor- RtNG!y easy because of the wholr- i 3Aatc6d Sood-Wil Of the people and IRstf FcadlnoS% tO cooperate with flu f5i'2,' io eNadir" the Germans. 4As ik@. real danger i@y in attempting &s cross tGa enemy lines at thc points 1Nh"Fe .NrrN foot If soil W;ta covered #N trenches ~.nG niunUol by troops #A 9N, alert for the Ai2htc#l mnV&- N 0l. tl9d it been necessary for ~& N 57ttfT>r&ono"s past these points in hnl% Nct have h4o., on anything like M en',o on "hicn we worked sue ns9%[gBir% aud tl" Io..H Of life would V: ys.. been much heavier than ii W&G. estsfNsNEH@Cly "" were not obliged to ssEsssss=syt a4ss144 risk. for We haI tW" %uH- S9sgEssg339Irs},y goats Ky which "" could M x t9ataDGd n,jscn"r" under thc Aprnlaps sIincs, and even on occasions M csc Ec;x 1N.jd for pa 0sSin@ spies N tlire eos thc~l undcT&"oln!d roads ksia in the ArAonne. knew little Sbout it, for | nevc" had occasion to ls6e jbl but' l have seen Ht Belgian Hbadquarters since the armisticc a 6an. 1of $tho passage, and have seen HN1 cAF Testimony to it's existence and hlue
 E The secret roadway with which Hms%vapailiar was the one around .ille.- Access to this was gained by Aeans Of a mine shaft sunk Somo sight miles to the northwest of Lille, lnd, then we passed along coal work npS for about two miles, when we seached other workings through BShieh, one passed 10 a point just out SdchIens. which was near enough to he British lines to make it safe to tse Later when the British cap hreaS9his pithead or slag heap, the hxiES&om the mines was within the srithsh lines, and our task became orhkpondingly easy.
 Thk secret of his underground pas 4aga Mas first revealed to me by MT. Toukdain, tho Belgian inspector of niueSi He told me that the exist mcslpf the connecting gallery giving scceSs to the Lens coal fields was SnoNh only to a very few people, and souide hardly be known 10 the Ger nanE.4 He produced plans of the workings which he had explored linlscll during the period following bn !i,EDig collicry disaster there in 9lt!E
 Wesmadc our first descent not by ho ,nlan shaft in the Lille region y.hits1e, was closely guarded by the fciiilans but by an abandoned shaft barflv hidden by the slag and waste hat haG been deposited there.
 IL Miles Underground.
 The total distance travelled under sroulld by this road was about four cen miles, and it Was not d very pleasant journey, Tor part of it had o be made on hands and knees. There was also great risk from gas, yith which the Germans systnmatical Y filled part Of the workings after heir first use Of poison gas in the Flanders fighting. have known men shrink from making this jour- ley. ad declare that they preferred to take their chance of breaking through the German lines lboye ground.
 I recall one case, that of a young officer, who had proved himself q lero in some of tho most terrible Fighting Of the war, hcrOism that was ewarded by the V. C. and other dec brations. This officer had been cap ured by the enemy in Flanders in he early part of 1917, and made his sscape in May of that year. I under : pok to see him back to the British ines, and we started to go through he mine galleries We had not gone Very far when my companion pro- ested.
 "I cannot stand this" he said. Narrowing through the earth like lis is not a mans job. It is a worms.
 am going to take up my hance.#I would rather break through he German line than go on like this" ;"
 He went up to take his chance, as 1e called it, and alas! it proved to be l very poor chance, for he was shot lead whom trying to eVade a Ger nan post Later I heard from some Belgian peasants that this officer had yeen carried to their cottage, but had been dead on arrival and was Buried behind the cottages in a field With some German dead.
 Friendly Foes.
 In tho early sumner of last year he existence of this underground road to safety must have become Known to men Of the German army, For one morning when we entered at he Lille end we were surprised to hear mems voices. was accom- Yanied by two Belgians and party pf British soldiers, number fourteen.
 We were on the point Ot retracing bur steps whom party of Germans anc forward, and made il imposSi- H1lc for us to get away unseen. One pf the Germans burst out laughing at hc sight of the British soldiers and jailed to them in DasSablc English, 'Therc is nothing to fear. W" are lick of this business, and want to get way. We will not botruN NOu, be- .ause ii we did so il would meHn be- raying ourselves"