Show ANT ab TOO wr avent fr MACHINE N aunce 1917 BY ay I 1 1 y JOINS THE SUICIDE CLUB AS THE BOMBING SQUAD IS CALLED illtred IL llred by the sinking of tho the lusitania mith the loss 1093 of 0 i o 0 arthur guy empey an american living la in jersey city england and anti enlists na us a private in the british army after a ner lence as a recruiting officer in london lie Is sent to train in Q i ranee rance where here he first hears the sound round of big guns and find tile nee of co tootles coo otles atter after a brief period of training company I 1 la cent sent into the front line trenches where lie takes tarn on the fire step while the bullets whiz overhead ampey is coiante falls that death lurka lurks always aloys in the trenches goe roes over the top tor for the first time and has a desper desperate ate fig fight XII bombing lathe section welcomed me there were ere many strange teni of our in men en had gone tit at charge and nd were lying t la in france with a little tt at their heads hads we were tl the next day our cap fur volunteers for bombers to ray MY name nam e and was nc lic ad 1 joined the suicide club a ables commenced thirty he battalion including my kot pot to I 1 L where we w e ft h a it course in bombing we ere instructed in the uses throwing and manufacture kinds of hand grenades hi jam tin now Ob obsolete at mils lulls bomb the standard army enda ads here yon you are tire RS as t to 0 r tailed Ml led in france th they ey bomber and give 1 yon you media neutral countries they i anarchist and elvo give you i very start the germans quipped equipped with eff tive trained bomb throwers th rowers but inny waa was as little pre department of ift a many others at bomb a lolle old sergeant ergeant of the orea oren i whom I 1 bad had the good ett told me ot of the 9 il branch of the service fore ore they could meet the in equal footing pit pad cl mil I 1 army people in III the rth with care the first forces had no albat I 1 but lad clicked a R lot of 0 from those thrown by the r a bright morning someone d in mca idea and issued an tin ung awu men from froin each euch go to bombing school to des of a bomber and find how fare e bombs fri were generally selected 11 arse after about two ill hool they returned to their I 1 irbit it billets or in the fire tie 0 case might be and got 11 it at their how to I 1 IT y la am oro er hail been issued 4 to a e emi t ty y jam tins tills re rf r bomol A pro robbing would bit sit on the 1 tte the front trench with the of c his section crowding 01 him work t sauld be a n pile of em empty apty pty ia am tins while beside h him I 1 in top would be a a tot ot at material used in ire of the jam tins LV tm stoop down get nn an rw W tin take a handful of I 1 bra the parapet and line 10 atthe of the tin lah this ia he h would reach over iff detonator eto and explosive them in the tin fuse pr pro 1 the fire step would woula be a of shell shrapnel II 11 f iron mils wills etc anything fd to send over to ah lid semp up a handful of M wit in lie bomb per iab platoon would asic ask him this for 0 and he would ewh hen ell the bomb exploded id fly and kill 1111 or ra german hit by same some the H immediately pull 11 hinic tunic and hand band it to iter with well blame I 1 over as a souvenir or I 1 my would volunteer volun tyr nn an rv broken jackknife both betted 1 l and inserted would take nn an 1 lilt 1 ottaus of anuil and fill the tin 14 be rould hole in y punch a till a end put it over he ti r ww the fuse sticking kinc out aff ht c fould tightly wrap III outside of ala tin and ys 13 ready to lend end over to i stalls compliments rf wood about tour four inches Is wag wn to be tbt left t forearm by roean means I 1 can ani was ns ilka like the box it was called a i a tirl a like the aid on the ruse fuse ot the bomb to ignite the tile fuse you had to rub it on the striker just the tile same as striking a match the fuse waa was timed to five live seconds or longer some of the fuses hsuch in those days would burn buru down don in a second or two tio while olben other would mould bizz for a week before exploding hack back in blighty the muni munt tion workers quite up to snuff the way they are now if the fuse took a it notion to burn too buic IY they gen orally burled buried the bomb bornt maker next day so making bombs could not be called a cushy or safe job after making several bombs tho the pro fessor instructs the tho platoon ill throwing them lie ile tales takes a jam tin from the fire step trembling a little because it Is 1 nervous work especially when new at it lights the age fi on nil striker the tue fute begins to and sputter and a spiral of smoke like that from a smoldering fag ribes from front it the platoon splits in two and ducks around the traverse nearest to them they dont like the looks and sound of the tile burning fuse fu se when that fuse begins to smoke and birz you want m ant to say good by to it as soon as possible PoR sible so tommy with oil his might checki it over tho the tor tell and crouches against the parapet parn pet waiting for the explosion lota lots of times in bombing the tho jam tin would mould be picked up by the germans before it exploded and thrown back nt at tommy with dire results after a lot of men went west in this manner an order was as issued reading something like this ito i to all sit ranks in the british army after igniting the fuse and before T az throwing hand grenade grenades throwing the jim j tin aboab count slowly onel one I 1 atwol ahr el eit this in order to give the fuse tin time enough to burn do don n so that the bomb would explode before the he german germans could throw it back tommy read the order he read them nil but after he be ignited the fuse to smoke orders were and it began forgotten an and d away she went la in record furth r tu tho the time and back she calno dlO discomfort for of th thrower then another order wall wa iss red to hundred I 1 tw twi one count but tommy d ddn t three hundred bundred 10 count it up t to read to care if it P order a thou thousand tand by he be was well going J jam JM M tin bebau because to 10 get rid of that not from experience he had learned to trust it it allien han the powers tb that at be that they CIO could uld not clIf change Inge tommy of t the in type they decided to change bomb and find did eo 90 sn ung the hair brush 0 the Crick crickett tt ball bull I 1 and later the wills bomb standard bomb III ged in the british the mills it 1 Is 19 9 about the h army Is the although and size of a 11 large lemon alope in 11 not act actually ally a lemon temon frit it it ie 19 perhaps he judges 2 elsts that caused used by its explosion the havoc ca by 1 the acel made nt it the bomb 11 Is into outside tide of which Is expiation plon upon 0 the e email if squares equa res which in 0 wide itter the tle bomb of any atz 11 area wounding woun ding or enoah enough to 5 be h it anfort unfortunate ite who Is by one of 0 f the fragg nad efficient Alth rh A very ba ha the C cun 12 1 the mill mence of the in n that he knows it will nut not explode until re lea leahl cat from bil grip it to I 1 a 0 mechanical device with ith a 1 c tilted into a lot at the top aich extents half way around tho the and nd ill held in place at the bottom by n fixing pin in this pin there I 1 lii a email metal ring for the of extracting sl reeling the he pin when ready to t throw lou do not throw a bomb the way a bast ball hall Is 1 thrown because when la in a IL narrow tri arnch rich your honi ban I 1 ie Is liable to strike against the tl parado parades traverse verse or out and chitti down ROM gom tho the baab and in a couple t if f seconds or 64 w up noer goer tommy in throwing the bomb and lexer are 9 in the right hand 1 the left foot Is 1 adva stiff about one and a half ite its length to the front while the bigit leg 1 knee bent 1 carried slightly to the right the left arm la Is tx extended tended at an ancle angle of 4 dg agrees rees fainting in tre direction the bottie la is to b thrown thron this position lon Is st similar rallar to that of hot putting only that the right ann arta if ii extended th alia n you hurl the bomb from you with an over overhead bead bowling motion the same ai as in crit cricket ket throwing it fairly high la in the nic air this in order to elv give the fuse a chance to bum burn down so that aben the bomb lari bli it immediately explodes i and ches the germans no time to er out ot of its range or to return it As the bomb leaves your hand band the lever by beani of a sprint Is projected into the air and falli 11 harmlessly to the ground a few feet in front of the bomber ilian 1 n the lever files off it releases a strong spring which form the firing pin into a percussion cap this ignites the fuse which burns down town and sets oce oft the donator to charged with mith fulminate of mercury which explodes the robin charge of ammonal the tile aver overage alge british soldier Is 1 not an expert at th ing it Is a a new game to him therefore the canadians and americans who ho have played I 1 la from the kindergarten up take naturally to bomb throwing and excel in this tills act A six foot bomber will stand in awed aed silence when he be sees a little five tool foot nothing ca indian outdistance his throw by se several aeral yards I 1 have read a few war stories of bomb ing ng where baseball pitchers curved their bombs ahen throwing them b but ut a pitcher who can do this would mould make inake I 1 christy 1 mathew son look like a piker and Is losing valuable able time playing in the european Kur war bush league when he would be able to set the big league on fire 1 e bad had a cushy time while at this school in fact to us it u was as a it regular vacation and we me were very sorry when one morning the adjutant ordered ut US to report at headquarters for transportation por tation and rations to return to our units up the line arriving at our section the boy boyi i 0 once nce gain tendered us the glad mi mitt tt but looked askance at us out of the corners of their eyes they could not conc conceive elve as they espre expressed ased it how a man could bj ba such a blinking idiot as to join the suicide club I 1 was beginning to feel forry that I 1 had become a member of said club and find 11 my ly life to me appeared doubly pre prec cloos now that I 1 was a sure enough bomber I 1 was wits praying for peace and hoping that my services as such would not be required CHAPTER XIII my farat official oath bath kight behind our rest billet waa was a largo large creek about ten fet eft deep and twenty feet ti across cross and it was as 11 hat lint it of the coi arany to avail themselves of an opportunity to take 1 a I swim and at the same time thoroughly wash themselves and their underwear when hen on their own a e were having a spell ot of hot weather and ani thee baths to us were a luxury the tommiet would splash around in the water end and thea then come out an and d sit in the tile sun and have what they termed a shirt hunt runt AT at first we tried to ta drown the coolies burthey but they also seemed to in enjoy the bath both 0 one no sanday morning the whole see ee tion was in the creek and we were hav bay ing a gay guy time the seri servant vant major appeared on the scene lie ile came to the edge of the creek and ordered come out of atit it let flet taur equipment on drill order end and fall in for bath parade look lively my hearties you U have only got fifteen minutes A bowl howl of indignation arra the creek greeted this order but out we came discipline Is 19 discipline we ive lined up in to front of our billet with rifles and bay acta ets why you need rifles and bayo bath gela gets me a full apts to take a and find our tin hats ammunition quo quota t 4 of bac each h man had a piece of soap and a 8 towel after an at eight kilo tu march along dusty road with ac sr occasional shell whistling a overhead we off arrived ived at a little squat fro frame building upon the creek nailed over th the a door bank bant of a of this was wag a lir tare besign eign which h in a wooden hatha read R d re we a rould could hear a the rear eliell 1 ed in w wheezy old engine pumping water the joy of the he bath are fire de 1 in the ral next 11 d by empey piet picked j tall ment I 1 Is TO BE |