The Aberdare Leader

The War. Two Mountain Ash Boys. photogrnph of two old1 ,^ntain Ash boys. Tin- one j, UK is B. 1'. Evafls, a Sergeant the New Zealand Rifles, and phoned at District Headquarters. Previous to the war he was > the ministry, having gone out to *'vv Zealand five years ago. The standing is Dan Kvans. the once noted tenor in these parts, who be- 1 i;u!zs to tiie N.Z.M.C., and is now U'L. the front. D.m Kvans left for | Xew Zealand about six years ago, MI.! before enlisting was a Super- ii;i.. lnlciix in an insurance Company, these young men are N.C.O.'s hoiding the rank of Sergeant. Dan i KVAJIS gained his stripes after the photo was taken. llf0U-ATE BRKTTEi;L. — In "'119 lll(,iiioj-N- of our dear son and ^°ther. Pee. 'Ben Jirettell, 4 Park Penrhiwceiiier. who was {,'Ved in France July 3rd, 1916.— S"Vei remembered by Mother, lsters and Brother. 11)))Iv he did his duty. Slrt BraYly he fought but fell, ■j v' tIJf' sorrows of those that mourn i v)iHv' i'.i-ijlig hearts c-^n tell. I tt soldier's honour >1- his country's .crdl to tall, •it we c-annot flunk of the glory. ^°r t!ie sorrow it. has caused us all. )Viv. \Vfti 'tt' Kivttell joined tiie .Royal Of .^h Fusili<>i-s in the early months I lie w;>.> previously eiu- ^,<r>ner Qaorgc Roes, Cwmaman. fr0n. was received last Friday Ci(.n fche War Office that Gunner ,oli (), :\r, U'" .o. 0)". I, .?- fion lym ;lm»n Road, Cwmaman, is now "I hospital, suffering from v r'('ivoi • .W0ll,ids in the back, re- alist whilst in France. Prior to ("oil; he wouked at Cwmaman *tHny* He has been out in Ce for the last 18 months. Sergt. F. lluss, Royal Engineers, of 4 Grove Terrace, Abere^ymboi, has been oil service in for 20 months. Previous to enlisting he was in the Police Force at Penrliiw- c-eiber..Mrs. Puss has been official- ly informed .that he has won the Creux-de-Guerre, a French Diploma. Our hero is the son of Mr. H. Puss, coal merchant. Volunteer Street, peiitre. Phondda. v

y. With the" Welsh" at Messines. 0 Bv 2nd Lt. \Y. T. Davies. Mountain Ash. Sir,—As one who has been through the Battle of Messines-Wytehaete Ridge, and after reading the account of the battle in whichf-the Irish and I Colonials were reported as having performed glorious deeds. J feel that the moment is opportune to write about 'the great feats bravery performed till the same battle by the Sons of Gwalia. About 1 kilometre (i.e.. 1,01)0 yards) North East of Messines, at a.m. in the grey dawn of the morning oi tne 7th June last, the Welshmen. mostly miners from South Wales, kicked off in the great- !t battle fought on The Western front. r was the dawn of a great day, and with it came a sight so terribly beautiiui. so mysteriously Ihriiiing, followed by a terrific roar, as the mines went up. which seemed tf) vibrate to the innermost parts of the earth. However, the Welsh bids were not there as spectators, when this vast panorama com- menced. darted forward to their objeeth es over ground which had been ploughed with shells, and scorched w'th powder for the past 2.J years. ilil-L oil they went through tiie 1st, 2nd. and 3nlH t:lt lines with the most terribly perfect barrage and concentration of fire supporting them that any artillery has hitherto produced. Never have troops car- ried out such a huge operation, with so much success, under such difficult circumstances. This only makes the tri umpli of the Welshmen ever so much greater, as the success of this operation is attributed to perfect organization, grand discipline, and ii of the iiie-ii. This is what the division on the left of the Irish Division did, and was mainly composed of 'elf;!] Pegtp. The versatility of the Welsh uiiners as soldiers is undeniable, when they Inm praise from the English trooos for th^ way they dug themsejves in alter reaching tfeeir objectives tne other side of the ridge. Even their I officers (who are Welshmen) were astonished when the men disappear- ed so suddenly into the earth. By so doing they provided cover, and were able to repel a counter-attack with, very few casualties. Only those who have had experience out here can appreciate the compatibility of the spade, the pick and tne rifle. Aye, it was a great victory for the Welshmen that day, just such another as Mametz Wood. 1 have seen them and been with them at both places. To think that these lads captured villages, and took their objectives without a hitch in 1 hour and 40 minutes after the liag went down, and had to contend with similar strong points—concrete fortresses—as the other Divisions, it is a gross injustice that their deeds are left untold. But. after all. the Welshman is a wonderful man— lie finds time for humour when per- forming the most dangerous task. IL was during this last battle, whilst doing some important work under heavy she!! fire, that I heard one man in my platoon (a Welshman) remark to his pal, "Dil, I'd be will- ing to work afternoons for ever only for me to get out of this stunt. Wouldn't your" "Aye." replied Dai, "1 won't grumble, at anything when this war is over." How would a pint of home brewed go in the New Inn, Tredegar, no\ asked another soldier of his pal. Wouldn't it be great, muni- So much for 'their humour. now for the-real fighting spirit. During this same job we had several casualties, and one man in the platoon of my friend. 2nd Lt. J. Howard Davies. Aberdare. having been hit with a piece of shrapnel in the neck. was ordered by 2nd Lt. Davies to be at- tended to Stretcher-bearers were shouted for but lie said. Sir, there are other men here who want the stretcher-bearers worse than 1 do. will you let me stay AA lia-L a splendid spirit! This man had To be carried away, persistently pro- testing. Well these are but little incidents in this huge war, but they form part of a day's events, and de- mand all that a man can give. Most of the officers in this battalion are Welshmen. I hail from Moun- tain Ash; my fellow officer is 2nd Lt. J. Howard Davies. from Aber- dare, and all who are dear to us both still reside in the Aberdare Valley. He aud ajl other officers share my views in this letter. I trust that this will be the means of conveying some small idea to the relatives of Welsh heroes as to how they fought. Let all 'Welshmen at home read with a feeling of pride of the "immbrtal glories of their countrymen. It has been my unpleasant experience to bury some Welsh boys who re- cently fell, but I did it with a silent feeling of joy and admiration—joy that their deeds would live for ever —admiration for the way they died. The boys are in excellent spirits. Their password is, "Stick it, the Welsh!" and take it from me. nicy are sticking it.—Yours, etc.. W. T. DAVIES. 6th S.W.B., B.E.F.j Fiance,

2nd Lt. Howard Davies. The above letter reached the "Leader" Office on Friday. Three days later, Monday, July 9th. Mrs. Davies, ironmonger, Aberdare, re- ceived a wire from the War Office that her son, 2nd. Lt. J. Howard Davies, above referred to, had been killed in action on the 4th inst. Prior, to the war the gallant officer was a Bank clerk in London. He joined the Army as a private in the London Welsh Bate, of the Welsh Fusiliers. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and went to France, where he was wounded in December, 1915. After being in a hospital for some time he took up a commission and was gazetted to the South Wales Bor- derers. His last visit to Aberdare was in December, 1916. and he re- turned to France in January. -10] 7. On Tuesday afternoon Mr. Ivor Davies and his mother received a letter from Howard dated July 7th. which goes to show that the War Office has made an egregious blun- der in reporting his death on July 4th. In his letter the gallant officer states that he had been during the jtll and 5th inst. in several very hot engagements, but that he was now back for a rest in a place of safety. Mr. Ivor Davies wired TO the War Office on Monday mornieg for confirmation. and for. his brother's regimental number, but up to Wednesday morning no reply had been received.

Swansea Major Killed. News has been received at Swan- sea of the death m action of Major G. Trevor Gregor, of the Royal Field Artillery, which occurred in France on July 1st. He was the youngest son of the late Air. Joseph Gregor, timber merchant, of Swan- sea, and was a member of the firm of Gregor Brothers. The funeral took place with military honours on Tuesday. Major Gregor. who was 47 years of age, was an old and en- thusiastic Volunteer, having joined the Glamorgan Hoy:, I Artillery Volunteers as long ago as 1890. He is a cousin to Capt. A. 1.. Gregor, Aberdare. >

Sergt. J. Strickland Home. Iii the list of officers and men mentioned by Genera! A. J. Mur- ray, Egypt, for gallant and distin- guished conduct, appears the name of Sergt. J. Strickland, Aberdare. He belonged to he old Aberdare Volunteers, and subsequently the Territorials. Altogether he has seen 25 years service in the Army, He went through the South African campaign, and has seen nearly 3 years' active service in the present war. He has now been discharged, having served the maximum num- ber of years, viz., 25. "We are glad to note that he is looking well.

Assistant Chemist's Death. Information has been received of the* ueath in hospital in France of Private Gwilym Henry, Rova] Eu-. gineers (.gas section), who was wounded while attacking the enemy on the night of the "27th and 2Sth June..His commanding officer pays- a high tribute to his character and cheerfulness. Private G. Henry spent most of his life at Tylorstown as an assistant chemist. He was the son of Mr and Mrs Thomas Henry, who resided at Tylorstown. for many years, but now live at Caerau. He was for IS months an assistant at Boots Cash Chemists. Aberdare.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. THE CWMAMAN CARNIVAL. Sir,—The carnival of St. Joseph s Church is now among the things of the past, and I should like to ask "Is God glorified by tin-pot. bands and tommy-rot drpsses ?" How can the Church expect to bring the world ',lpp\rei: h/ht when it is so dark itself. Do they think that the Almighty will accept the proceeds of such a Trashy and degrading or- ganisation y The proceeds of u Carni- val to pay the debt on the stere(I house of GC!d! Pit pony and horse ,e hen and chicks, pig and donkev to i the means of liquidating "the debt! 4 he Lotd scorns such hypocrisy. A Church that is built on' slieli flimsical tottering things as carnivals and raffles will and "outfit to fall like the house that was built upon the sands.—Yours, etc LOVER OF REALITY. Cwmaman. N

"Dennis I'm told ye was the best nian at Mike's marriage." "The same is a lie," answered Dennis, "but bejabers, I was as good as annv man ^"as there."

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