New Britain herald., 1919-10-25

when I deemed it wise to order the attack, which proved entirely success 1ul. The Germans were caught at a
 disadvantage, and very few of them got away.
 The whole of the prisoners num-
 boring one hundred and cisnl of French and British nationality, were
 released and broken up into small
 parties under competent guides. who undertook to see them safely on their way throl ph the German lines. Most of them succeeded iE the attempt, and the British headquarters got the in
 formation asked for without much further dclay.
 There was an officer in the party
 who was able to make a report on
 the state of the transport behind the
 German front line that gave the AL
 lied commanders all they wanted to
 know m time for the measures they
 proposed to take to break the Ger
 man unications at their weak
 est point by means of vigorous attacks
 from the air.
 Somc of these parties of British
 prisoners failed in their efforts to get
 through the German lines. and were
 severely dealt with when they fell
 into German hands once more One , party we encountered again and suc- ceeded in rescring it once morc this tune with better luck. There was a party Of elght men belonging to diff
 ferent Highland regiments that was
 unlucky enough to fail in the attempt
 to get through the German Hnes The names of these mon were Cooney Bass, Hill, Seton, Bruce, Gil
 
 out with two Belgians who had been l working with us for some time, and l believe succeeded in reaching the neighbOrhOOd of HoOge, where they
 were caught in the act of crossing
 over to the British lines. Fire was
 opened on them, and several of the
 party were killed outright. The sur
 ViVors took shelter in a shell hole,
 Where they remained in water up to
 the knees during the night, exposed
 to the terrors of one of the heaviest
 artillery bOmbardm eXrterienced on that part of the front
 In the morning, when the party set
 out once more, dodging from shell hole to shell hole, the Germans dis charged poison gas across the ground and all were asphyXiated with the
 exception of one of the Belgians, who was afterwards brought into the Ger
 man lines and nursed back to life,
 when he was put on trial at Brussels for plotting with others to released Allied prisoners who were employed , as spies on the Germans.
 Sentenced to Death. All that could be done by way of defence of the poor fellow was done. but it proved unavailing. He was sentenced to death, and in the Ger l man cavalry barracks the sentence was carried out the next morning. I was greatly distressed on hearing the but it was not found possible to aid him in any way, so strongly was he guarded. I am told that he met his end braVely. another martyr to the 1 cause of Belgian freedom.
 I heard later that he could have | got away during the attack had it ! not been that he went back to see what assistance he could render to Gilmore, one of the party who was be- | leved to be alive. He arrived in 1 time to find Gilmore breathing his l last and while he was trying to con- 1 sole the dying man, who was in 1 great agony, tho Germans released l more gas, which so affected the Bel l gian that he could not get away un- l til the German patrol arrived and ar l rested him.
 When the Germans began their l evacuation of Northern France and l Belgium it was decided that we could