Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-01-28 | Page 15 | Welsh Lad Tells War Experiences

WELSH LAD TELLS WM EXPERIENCES Sixteen-year-old Private in Fusilier Regiment Receives Re-ceives Many Scars. ENLISTED AT FIFTEEN Sturdy Youth Deceived Officers Offi-cers in Order to Serve His Country. LONDON, Jan, 27. The war office press bureau has just made public the story of England's 16-year-old soldier, Private Weil of the Welsh Fusiliers, who has been invalided back here from the French front. ' The story of Private Weil reads as follows: "Private W. Weil of the Royal Fusiliers, Fu-siliers, at the age of 16, is back in London, Lon-don, wearing a thin gold stripe on his left sleeve, which tells that he has been wounded in the war. Like many other well-built, sturdy British lads, he deceived de-ceived the enlistment officers as to his age, calling himself 19, when he was only fifteen, and a year ago he joined the Fusiliers and was trained as a snipe scout. At the back end of last summer he was drafted to a battalion in France, and in due course reached the trenches. Dugouts Are Marvels. ' This is his story: . "In the trenches "we were fairly secure, except for shell-fire, but in the morning the Hun must have had an inkling that we were there, for he treated us to two hours' continu-- continu-- ous shelling, but it was of no avail. We were here two days before we moved, and then -we had a few cas- -ualties from shells, four men from A company and two from B being killed. The trenches at were captured from the Hun, and the dugouts were marvels, forty feet deep. Some had beds for officers and bunks for the men. They had evidently thought to stay there for some duration. "Here I was detailed as a -brigade runner, or messenger, a somewhat warm job. When the battalion went up to the front line I was left behind. I was liable to be called upon to go with a message any time of--the day or night. Loses His Way. "One night I was called upon to go to the front line with a message, .and owing to the darkness, and my own stupidity, I suppose, lost my way and got separated from my companion, wandering on in the hope of meeting someone. I eventually event-ually landed in tho open during a pretty lively shelling period. " "ou may imagine my predicament, predica-ment, alone in the dark, stumbling oyer obstacles such as barbed wire, shell holes and dead bodies. I hope never to be in a like case again. At last I sighted some French troops, and was set on the right way. "On August 15 some battalions went over and took their objective, but it turned out to be a dummy trench, and the enemy's real front line was 200 yards behind this. Reinforcements Re-inforcements were brought up, and during the ensuing fighting we had temporarily to withdraw. Was Knocked Flat. "At 10 o'clock of the night of August 17 I was aroused for a message mes-sage for the officer in charge of the night's operations, and it tefpk me three hours to traverse a distance of about a mile. In one spot a "coal box" dropped among a working work-ing party and killed seven men, and, though I was a distance away, I was knocked flat. Another shell dropped on a shelter under which a group of stretcher bearers were crouching. It killed the lot; they were blown to pieces. "Reaching the end of my Journey, Jour-ney, I had to .wait for seven hours foran answer. Where I waited I saw the "wonnded pass; one officer... was terribly injured. I received my ! answer and left the front line for the last time. After I had delivered deliv-ered my -message I had barely -walked ten yards before I was hit by a shrapnel bullet."