The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-07-25
CHAPTER Ill.

~Our first real action was at Festu
bert, then Givenchy and finally Ypres
in April, 1915. We went through most
of the terrible days there.
One morning when / was washing
in pail just beyond the front line.
a bit Of shraEnel spun me around and
down. The steel plowed its way
across my scalp and scraped the optic
nerve. / was sent back to the base
hospital, and June s, 1915. I was sent
home to die. My sight had been at
fected, and when l reached England
II went totally blind. The medical Of
ficers gave me up and waited for me
to pass out.
Three months later / was back in
action agan--ths time as a captain
in my old cavalry unit. My promo
ton had come through when I was
lying in hospital / rejoined in
the Ypres salient September Is, and
spent the following winter in the
trenches.
MY unit was attached to the Four
teenth British corps, ordered to raid
Ostend at the time of the Somme at
tack. The capture of Ostend was, by
the way. the real objective in the
Somme fighting. but owing to the de-
lay in the Somme attack it was deem
ed inadvisable to attack Ostend, and
we marched back to rejoin the line
at the Somme. This was in July, 1916
TOOK CHANCE IN THOUSAND
Again hard luck overlook ME.
was inspecting posts at Montaubar
one night in July when my horse
stumbled into shell hole and I was
heavily thrown, Internal injuries
and sprung ribs gave me a ticket &c
he hospital for the second time. and
for the second time | was sent home
as incurahle, The medical officers
declared an operation would kill me
| insisted upon them performing the
operation. with one chance in thou
sand of getting through. l won and
was back to duty in four months.
While l was getting my strength
back | was attached to the Irish re-
serves. In 1917 we We're ordered tc
raid Sim F'einers at Kilkenny. We
had lots to do to keep US busy. blu,
l wasn't satisfied / wanted to ge,
back and see some action. l applied
for a transfer and after a week OF
two was asked If / cared anything
about Mesopotama billet.
jumped at it.
Osborne was attached to the Four
teenth Reserves and set out for Mes
opotamia via Bombay and Cape Town
on n. NJ. T. Ormonde's maiden voy-
age. He was seven weeks on the
ocean. Finally he reached Basra
where he disembarked and set out
for Bagdad to join General Dunster-
villes expedition. which was then
chasing the tail of the Russian revo-
luton in Northwest Persia and the
Southern Caucus. Osborne was ap-
pointed assistant Russian liaison
ofilcer and sypher secretary to Col
onel Rowlandson. He was made a
member Of General Dunsterville's
staff while engaged in this work.
Then began remarkable series of
adventures through Persia.
Il was ordered To report to Colonel
Rowlandson Immediately" explained
Osborn. with eight other officers I
started on a two hundred mile hike
to Kermanshah, where Rowlandson
was encamped. 1t was two hundred
miles OF the bitterest marching I have
ever put in. Rain. sleet and mud all
the way through a barren country.
ION every eide we saw evidences of
the Russian retreat. The land was
absolutely MIXED dry. The natives
were dying of starvation by the
thousands. Cannibalism was rife and
the weddings We're killed off as food
for the survivors. 1t took us three
weeks to complete that march--three
weeks of horror We slept in caves,
along the road, any place we came
to at dusk Once we turned lepers
out of the huts in order to gain shell
ter.
I'VE went through KILL and Robat
on our way to kermanshah. Most