The following extracts were from a letter by R. Lapsley, of the Hongkong and Whampoa Dock Co who was also a member of the Hongkong Volunteers. 'This is written in a dug-out in the trenches of the British lines in northern France ... It was fully half an hour before I got used to the whistling noises made by the various kinds of shells. All have a different note and in time one knows at which noise to duck or lie flat on the earth. You are not safe even when a shell bursts 200 yards away ... It's a matter of fate really whether one is struck or not. Shells do the most damage and are feared the most; hardly anyone pays any serious attention to bullets. Food here is principally hard biscuits and bully beef, sometimes fresh meat at billets [homes assigned for soldiers to stay at] and fresh bread (two days old). In trenches we all 'stand to' at 2.30am till 3.30am when those off duty go to sleep.'
In the Local and General column on June 29, it was recommended that 'smokers should avoid trading with the enemy. It may not be generally known to those who smoke Manila cigars that there are only two factories in that city supported by British capital, namely La Minerva and La Giralda'.
On the Telegrams page of July 3, a curious entry noted the bravery of the Bersaglieri. A Reuters correspondent reported that the Italians, advancing on the Carso mountains, were encountering extraordinary difficulties. 'Carso is a geographical curiosity, with grottoes, caves, wells and galleries adapted for hidden batteries and concealing large contingents of troops. The Austrians had been improving these vantage points for years. Yet the rapidity of the advance of the Italian scouting parties is remarkable, the Bersaglieri cyclists especially being reckless in riding along the conquered roads as if they were a race track,' the report said. One battalion found 700 Austrians holding San Canziano, but the cyclists dismounted, fixed their bayonets and routed the enemy. Footnote: The Bersaglieri were a highly mobile infantry unit of the Italian Army.
An amazing report from The New York Times on July 6 reported a man's determination. 'Despite the misfortune of being armless, Thomas McAuliffe, a youth of Buffalo, was a golfer of considerable ability ... he has an enviable reputation as an exponent of the game ... he is also quite adept at handling the cue in his peculiar way, and plays an admirable game of pool and billiards ... In addition to these accomplishments, McAuliffe is a speed skater,' it said. He also had ambitions to go to college to study agriculture and forestry.
'McAuliffe lost his arms on September 22, 1902, at the age of nine when an uncontrolled stone car ... disabled him. He returned to school ... he could not write a word ... He acquired the knack of writing ... when the pencil, which he held in his mouth, slipped and was caught between his cheek and shoulder.' In the first few weeks of his attempts at writing this way his efforts could not be read, but he perfected it so now 'he is able to write rapidly and so plainly that it can be read by anybody'. This was how he played golf, scoring 108 strokes. He could drive 100 yards and won the second flight cup at the caddies' tournament in 1912 and 1913.
An advert on July 5 touted the benefits of taking two Sargol tablets three times a day with meals. 'In two weeks note the difference. Five to eight good solid pounds of healthy 'stay there' fat should be the net result. Sargol charges your weak stagnant blood with millions of fresh new red corpuscles,' it said. One wonders what were the 'six best flesh producing elements known to chemistry' contained in Sargol.