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[Page 70]
over 6 ft. in height and most of them in new clobber. They were very well content to be taken and didn't care which horse won the boat race. They were a Canadian capture, I was accompanied by an old 5th Bn, mate, Dick Wardle, and we had a guessing competition, before they moved out of the cage, as to the number of prisoners in it. Dick said a battalion; my guess was half a battalion. The N. C. 0. in charge decided for us, 550, so I won. There were only four mounted men in charge of them as they moved off- but these were armed with swords and revolvers. My companion and I hopped a lorry and got carried part of the way, until the lorry turned off our road. We then struck a bunch of armoured car drivers, the chaps who did such splendid work. They were working the cranks of little machines, filling belts for their Hotchkisses and were anxious to know what the Aussies thought of their work and were very pleased when I told them - "splendid". They told us of many most interesting and stirring things they'd been through. They said they'd been told about our prowess by the French, with whom up till now they'd been, and had been anxious to see for themselves if it were true, I asked them, did our boys come up to expectations? "Come up? We've never seen anything like it in the war. They're marvels; the dizzy limit!" They're some limit themselves. They drove into a village filled with Huns and on the first turn they took into the main street, found the guard being relieved. They turned their Hotchkisses on them and hotch-kissed them to death - guard and relief. Going on they caught sight, through the window of a restaurant, of a bunch of Hun staff officers lunching. They pulled up and through the window gave them some lead savouries. On they went and turning into a street found it full of horse transports. These, no doubt, under the impression that the armoured cars were their own, for the driver and crew are invisible, actually gave them right of way. The first of the armoured cars went ahead and did nothing so as not to disturb them. The second trained on them as it went past and shooting from the back aperture laid 'em all away. That gave the alarm and all in the street made for the door of a church they'd turned into a hospital. But, they jammed at the door and the car boys turned on the tap and hosed them down to Hell. They got a crate of homing pigeons and presented it to our gallant