£5 FOR A STORY.
RESULTS OF THE COMPETITION.
16
The announcement of a prize made available by the generous kindness of a good
friend of the Ypres League created quite a sensation among readers of the Ypres Times,
and the response to it lias been extraordinarily good. Not merely were a good number of
episodesone gentleman sent in fourreceived, but the standard was so high that the
work of the judges—three in numberwas very difficult, and it was only after much
argument that the final decision was made.
By that decision the prize goes to
SERGEANT T. MARTIN,
R.F.A., 15th Division,
now residing at Bury Street, Guildford the runner-up being
CAPT. R. C. BROWN,
7th Bn. the Rifle Brigade.
The episodes of both are printed below.
The difficulties in judgment were not minimised by the fact that in the announcement
the definition of the word episode was made so wide. Some people wrote regular
war histories, others wrote what was little more than an anecdote, and as they were of all
sortssome funny, some tragic, some humble, some just ordinary (if life over there ever
was just ordinary) that a wish for more than one prize was often and fervently expressed.
But there was only one, and so it could only go to one story, Sergeant Martin's, though
Capt. Brown was a close runner-up and will receive a book prize. There was a certain
straining of the rules with regard to writing on one side of the paper and keeping to the
given number of words, but the judges did not let these weigh with them and the result
was not affected thereby. There were many other excellent stories, and though it may
seem invidious to make distinction the judges wish to commend very highly the following
H. de Hamel, Capt. H. M. B. Salmon of the South Wales Borderers, Bernard Austin of
the West Yorks, and Capt. Nisbet of the West Kents.
The following are the two stories
THE PIPE LINE.
B Battery has always been noted for its excellent communications, a reputation that had been
gained at Loos in 1915, and maintained with a varying degree of luck up to the time of the present
incident.
A stray 8-inch had dropped into our battery on an early morning when birds were singing in the
glorious new born sun, and the very atmosphere seemed to breathe of joy and hope. The whining
whizz and the reverberating crash of the shell broke Nature's spell. Out of the smoke appeared a
staggering formit was Blinks the linesmanthe man whose very life was devoted to the telephone
lines, and through whose ingenuity the Pipe Line had been laid.
It was with many regrets I lifted the crumpled form of Blinks on the stretcher, shaking his hand
with a hope he would soon be in Blighty and Blinks answered as he disappeared through the arch
way on the shoulders of four stalwart gunners, Thanks, and don't forget, Sergeant, if a do comes
off, you can rely on the Pipe Line keeping you through to the O.P.' and the infantry." Damn
good fellow," muttered the Major as the footsteps of the stretcher party died away in the distance.
Full credit for the Pipe Line must be given to Blinks. It was whilst he was patrolling the
forward lines one morning that he saw a party of Sappers surveying for a water main, to connect up,
and build a reservoir near our present front line prior to the" big push." Blinks ever on the look-out
for something that would give his precious lines additional security during a strafe," foresaw great
possibilities by getting a line buried with the water main. The outcome was that permission was given
