THE YPRES TIMES "5 to the left bank of the Scheldt, thence to march to a railway about 12 miles away, where it was hoped to get trains to take us to Ostend. My particular job was to get three lorries containing the Headquarters baggage and papers across the river and thence to the rendezvous, and it was no easy matter, not only because of the vast mass of transport, guns, troops and civilians, all trying to get across, but also because the Belgian officer in charge declared that one of my lorries was too heavy for the bridge, which was a temporary affair of planks and boats. How ever, the contents of the lorry were too important to be left in the hands of the Germans, and I decided to risk the crossing with much creaking and groaning we got over. The road beyond the river was crowded with an endless stream of vehicles, Belgian soldiers and refugees. Looking back over the river, one saw several great oil tanks burning on the other bank, huge volumes of flame and smoke rising into the evening air and darkening the skyan unforgettable sight. The British troops did not leave their trenches till after dark, and crossed the river an hour or two later. Then began the weary march to the railway and the hoped-for trains, and only when we got there, after seemingly endless blocks and stoppages, about 1.30 a.m. did we learn that the enemy already held the railway further down the line, and that our only course now was to turn north through country by-lanes to another railway six miles away, which was the last remaining way of escape. Trains had been diverted there to meet us, but these last six miles proved the most trying of all, as may easily be imagined. Nevertheless, by dawn the head of the column reached the little station of St. Gilles-Waes the long-expected trains were there, and by 9 a.m. eight battalions had been started on their journey to Ostend. One picture that remains in my mind is that of Colonel (now General) Seely, ex- Secretary of State for War, and temporarily lent to the Naval Division for staff duties, standing outside the village shop and handing cigars to the worn-out men as they passed. As already stated, eight battalions got away by train, and these got safely through to Ostend. The other four battalions in the division were less fortunate. Owing to the miscarriage of an order, they did not leave Antwerp till several hours after the other two brigades, and when they reached the railway they found the Germans had got there first. A few managed to fight their way through the great majority crossed the frontier to Holland and were interned for the rest of the war. Those of us who went by road had a comparatively uneventful journey. My chief recollections of it are the continuous and irritating blocks caused by Belgian cavalry and guns, unwilling to make room to pass, the immense quantities of dust, and, above all, the astonishing and pathetic behaviour of the inhabitants of the poor villages we passed through not only did they cheer and wave to us as if we were coming to relieve them instead of leaving them to their fate, but in many instances they were giving food and fruit to the passing troops. The Oxfordshire Hussars had been left at Hazebrouck when the Marines went to Antwerp, and had some adventures of their own with German patrols on the Mont des Cats, being thus the first Territorial unit to be in action, as recorded in the Official History of the war. Three men from the regiment were lent to the Naval Division as motor cyclist dispatch riders, and one of these distinguished himself by a performance which attracted some attention in the newspapers. During the bombardment of Antwerp he found a Belgian girl outside her blazing home. He was on his way to the coast with dispatches, and took her to Calais on the carrier of his motor-bicycle. Arrived there, he was ordered to London, so conducted her across the Channel to Eng land, where his people befriended her. Not long afterwards he married the damsel he had rescued in distress, andlet us hopelived happily ever after. \y K.-F.

HISTORISCHE KRANTEN

The Ypres Times (1921-1936) | 1932 | | pagina 21