Second-Lieutenant Smith of the East Lancashire Regiment was engaged
in the fighting against the Turks in Gallipoli. He was in the act of
throwing a grenade when it slipped from his hand and fell to the bottom
of the trench. At the moment there were several officers and men quite
near to him.
Smith shouted out a warning and gave a jump which landed him clear of
danger. Then he saw that the other men would not be able to get into
cover. Without a moment’s hesitation, therefore, he jumped back into
the trench and flung himself upon the grenade. He was at once killed by
the explosion, but the rest of the men were uninjured.
“Possibly,” wrote Smith’s commander to the young man’s father, “he
thought he could extinguish it; more likely he gave up his own life to
save others from death and injury. Whatever his thoughts may have been,
his act was one of bravery such as I, personally, have never heard
surpassed.
“There was only one result possible. I am afraid no decoration can make
up for the loss of your only son, but the explanation must make you the
proudest man in England, when every one reads the story and couples the
memory of his name with that old and honoured phrase ‘A soldier and a
gentleman.’”
Lieutenant Forshaw hailed from the same part of England as the brave
young officer of whom we have just read. He belonged to the Manchester
Territorials, and he won the Cross in trench fighting against the
Turks. His station was at an important corner which was to be held at
all costs; and in holding it Forshaw showed what is perhaps a higher
form of courage than impulse--that of stern unflinching endurance.
By his spirit and example he encouraged his men to hold their own
against repeated and savage attacks of the enemy. He set them an
example of heroism by his cool disregard for danger. At the end of 24
hours’ continuous fighting his men were relieved; but he offered to go
on directing operations, and his offer was accepted.
For another 17 hours he repeatedly threw bombs at the enemy, lighting
the fuses with a cigarette. He was choked by acid fumes, bruised by
fragments of shell, and scarcely able to lift his arm for weariness,
but he “stuck it” until the position was safe.
“It was due to his personal example, magnificent courage and
endurance,” said his superiors, “that this very important corner was
held.” When a brave man is in a tight place of any kind he will do well
to remember “Forshaw’s corner.”