17/12/1914

WORLD WIDE WAR. “SCRAPS” IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA . Ammanford Man's Interesting Letter Home. P5

Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Jones, of the New Inn Hotel, Ammanford, have received a highly interesting letter from their …….(hole in paper) ………Mr. Williams …………..who is Acting Pier Master abroad in British East Africa. ……………struggle between the …………on the battlefields of ………..(end of hole) and, judging from Mr. Jones’ letter, it is a stern reality in British East Africa, which adjoins on the German territory, and many “scraps” have occurred , of which we in this country have heard nothing. His references to the hunting down of the Konigsburg makes interesting reading despite the fact that her fate at eh time was not sealed. Nevertheless, subsequent events have proved the accuracy of what he says. His many Ammanford friends will be glad to learn that he is “in the best of health and quite happy” and that his business abilities have won recognition in strange land. The following are extracts from the letter :- “I am very sorry I did not write to you by the last mail but I am now writing ready for the next, which is to leave here shortly. In fact, I have been very busy. The Pier Master has now gone on six months leave to South Africa, and I have taken his place for the time being as Acting Pier Master, and since he has gone away I have my hands full, handling troops and also dealing with steamers which arrived here after having been hung up owing to the war. The work after the P. M. left, three steamers arrived from India packed to the hilt with soldiers, mules and guns, and for three days I was working practically night and day, but no sooner had I got rid if them by train then another three steamers arrived from Europe with cargo, and, further, there are three more due in the next fortnight. So, you can see I am quite busy. Just think of it I have about 209 boys to look after, about 60 clerks, four shunters, seven steam cranes and a whole number of sidings where various firms have sheds, and I have to supply them with wagons. You can therefore imagine what I have to supervise. I don’t suppose one firm in hundred in England would trust me with such a big job as this. I can assure you it is a handful, too.” “There have been a few nasty fights in these parts, and I don’t think we have had the best of it in all the fights, or “scraps,” as we call them. In a “scrap” about forty miles from here the other day all the soldiers were wounded, and three natives were killed and wounded, but no Europeans were killed. England wants German East Africa badly, because there is a strip of land there that is essential for us to get in order to complete the Cape to Cairo railway, and when we get it, we will be satisfied. Also it’s a very valuable possession in more senses than one.” I wonder how long this war is really going to last. I expect Europe is upside down. I see according to Garfield’s letter, which I received two days ago, that Ammanford has given a good share of volunteers. I am very glad that Ike has joined just to encourage others. If I was home I should have joined long ago. No doubt Ammanford is nearly deserted now after so many of the young fellows have gone.” “We have four cruisers hanging about here now, H. M. S. Chatham, Weymouth, Dartmouth, and the Fox, all cleared ready for action. They do all their coaling at this port. They are still after the German cruiser, the Konigsburg, but at the time of writing (October 23rd) have not caught it. This is the cruiser that accounted for the ill-fated Pegasus about 80 miles from here. A few days ago the H. M. S. Dartmouth brought in here a German launch, which was conveying six months’ rations to the Konigsburg, but they cannot find out where she is lying. She is hiding somewhere on this coast up in a creek, and is quite safe so far, but when either of our cruisers do come across her, they are going to avenge their ill-fated friends of the Pegasus.”

GOOD TEMPLARSHIP IN THE TRENCHES. TIDINGS OF AN AMMANFORD MEMBER. P1

Mr. Sam Jenkins, the general secretary of the Ammanford Y.M.C.A., has just received an interesting communication from Private E. Stead, on active service with the 1st East Surrey Regiment. It should be mentioned that Private Stead is a member of the Ammanford I. O. G. T. Lodge and he is not the only member of the Order in his regimental company, with the result that when circumstances permit they hold meetings. The communication reads thus :- “No doubt you will be surprised to hear that I am out here, and have been here since the war started. There are a few I. O. G. T. members in my company, and we have a meeting when out of the trenches, which, unfortunately, is not very often. Am sorry that I cannot tell you where we are or what we are doing, as the military authorities well not allow us to. But you can bet that we are making things as warm as we can for the Germans. Kindly give my best respects to the Lodge. Wishing them all every success.”

STOP PRESS FOR WAR NEWS. THE ESCAPE OF THE RAIDERS. P8

Press Bureau, 9.20 p.m. The Secretary of the Admiralty makes the following announcement:- “A number of the fastest ships were engaged in shelling the East Coast. They were engaged by the patrol vessels on the spot. “As soon as the presence of the enemy was reported a British patrolling squadron endeavoured to cut them off. On being sighted the Germans retired at full speed, and favoured by the mist succeeded in making good their escape. “The losses on both sides are small, but full reports have not yet been received.



CAUSES OF WAR VICTORIES ON LAND AND SEA SERBIANS BACK IN BELGRADE
06/08/14 13/08/14 20/08/14 27/08/14 03/09/14 10/09/14 17/09/14 24/09/14 01/10/14 08/10/14 15/10/14 22/10/14 29/10/14	WORLD WIDE WAR. “SCRAPS” IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA . Ammanford Man's Interesting Letter Home. P5 Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Jones, of the New Inn Hotel, Ammanford, have received a highly interesting letter from their …….(hole in paper) ………Mr. Williams …………..who is Acting Pier Master abroad in British East Africa. ……………struggle between the …………on the battlefields of ………..(end of hole) and, judging from Mr. Jones’ letter, it is a stern reality in British East Africa, which adjoins on the German territory, and many “scraps” have occurred , of which we in this country have heard nothing. His references to the hunting down of the Konigsburg makes interesting reading despite the fact that her fate at eh time was not sealed. Nevertheless, subsequent events have proved the accuracy of what he says. His many Ammanford friends will be glad to learn that he is “in the best of health and quite happy” and that his business abilities have won recognition in strange land. The following are extracts from the letter :- “I am very sorry I did not write to you by the last mail but I am now writing ready for the next, which is to leave here shortly. In fact, I have been very busy. The Pier Master has now gone on six months leave to South Africa, and I have taken his place for the time being as Acting Pier Master, and since he has gone away I have my hands full, handling troops and also dealing with steamers which arrived here after having been hung up owing to the war. The work after the P. M. left, three steamers arrived from India packed to the hilt with soldiers, mules and guns, and for three days I was working practically night and day, but no sooner had I got rid if them by train then another three steamers arrived from Europe with cargo, and, further, there are three more due in the next fortnight. So, you can see I am quite busy. Just think of it I have about 209 boys to look after, about 60 clerks, four shunters, seven steam cranes and a whole number of sidings where various firms have sheds, and I have to supply them with wagons. You can therefore imagine what I have to supervise. I don’t suppose one firm in hundred in England would trust me with such a big job as this. I can assure you it is a handful, too.” “There have been a few nasty fights in these parts, and I don’t think we have had the best of it in all the fights, or “scraps,” as we call them. In a “scrap” about forty miles from here the other day all the soldiers were wounded, and three natives were killed and wounded, but no Europeans were killed. England wants German East Africa badly, because there is a strip of land there that is essential for us to get in order to complete the Cape to Cairo railway, and when we get it, we will be satisfied. Also it’s a very valuable possession in more senses than one.” I wonder how long this war is really going to last. I expect Europe is upside down. I see according to Garfield’s letter, which I received two days ago, that Ammanford has given a good share of volunteers. I am very glad that Ike has joined just to encourage others. If I was home I should have joined long ago. No doubt Ammanford is nearly deserted now after so many of the young fellows have gone.” “We have four cruisers hanging about here now, H. M. S. Chatham, Weymouth, Dartmouth, and the Fox, all cleared ready for action. They do all their coaling at this port. They are still after the German cruiser, the Konigsburg, but at the time of writing (October 23rd) have not caught it. This is the cruiser that accounted for the ill-fated Pegasus about 80 miles from here. A few days ago the H. M. S. Dartmouth brought in here a German launch, which was conveying six months’ rations to the Konigsburg, but they cannot find out where she is lying. She is hiding somewhere on this coast up in a creek, and is quite safe so far, but when either of our cruisers do come across her, they are going to avenge their ill-fated friends of the Pegasus.” GOOD TEMPLARSHIP IN THE TRENCHES. TIDINGS OF AN AMMANFORD MEMBER. P1 Mr. Sam Jenkins, the general secretary of the Ammanford Y.M.C.A., has just received an interesting communication from Private E. Stead, on active service with the 1st East Surrey Regiment. It should be mentioned that Private Stead is a member of the Ammanford I. O. G. T. Lodge and he is not the only member of the Order in his regimental company, with the result that when circumstances permit they hold meetings. The communication reads thus :- “No doubt you will be surprised to hear that I am out here, and have been here since the war started. There are a few I. O. G. T. members in my company, and we have a meeting when out of the trenches, which, unfortunately, is not very often. Am sorry that I cannot tell you where we are or what we are doing, as the military authorities well not allow us to. But you can bet that we are making things as warm as we can for the Germans. Kindly give my best respects to the Lodge. Wishing them all every success.” STOP PRESS FOR WAR NEWS. THE ESCAPE OF THE RAIDERS. P8 Press Bureau, 9.20 p.m. The Secretary of the Admiralty makes the following announcement:- “A number of the fastest ships were engaged in shelling the East Coast. They were engaged by the patrol vessels on the spot. “As soon as the presence of the enemy was reported a British patrolling squadron endeavoured to cut them off. On being sighted the Germans retired at full speed, and favoured by the mist succeeded in making good their escape. “The losses on both sides are small, but full reports have not yet been received.	GERMANS CUNNING. AMMANFORD SOLDIER DESCRIBES “THE GAMES THEY ARE UP TO.” HIS COMPANY COMMENDED BY GENERAL. P1 Private W. V. Rowe, on active service with the 1st Devonshire Regiment, writes home to his friends at Ammanford and Pantyffynon, thanking them for a kind present which he “received all right and enjoyed very much indeed.” He says : - “I am now resting after ‘ roughing it ‘ this last fortnight. We have been having rotten weather, rain and snow falling, and it is bitterly cold, especially in the night time. Try and picture yourself in a trench in your garden, and stopping there for a fortnight while it rained and snowed and froze. That is what we have been doing, but there is one consolation : if we have got to do it, the Germans have to as well.” “We are tight on their heels now, about 200 yards from the last trenches we were in. I think they are just about done in. I don’t think they will shift any further down in France. We have got them bottled up too much. We can see them quite plain in their trenches, and we have a bit of fun with them sometimes.” “They are up to all kinds of games. You have to watch them pretty tight. I have seen them rig up a dummy and hold it above the trench and walk along with it for us to fire at it. That is what I call a silly thing to do, as we can get the range of their trenches as they signal if you can hit. The white flag business they try on sometimes, but that game is played out. We know them too well now. As one place I was in, they came up in the night, and called out “Cease fire; you are firing on your own men” in good English. We could not see who it was, so we stopped firing, thinking we were firing on our own men. The result was that they came right up tight to us before we knew who it was. But when we did see who it was we let them have; but they nearly got through. They got as far as the barbed wire, which we always put in front of our trenches. They got no farther, though we lost two officers of our company there, by we hung on until we were reinforced. Afterwards the General commended us for the work we had done.” “I could tell you a lot of things, but this letter has got to pass through the hands of the Censor. There is one thing I am sorry to tell you, Guard Wigglesworth, of Swansea, got killed in the trenches. He had just had his breakfast and got up to look over the trench when he got shot through the head. He had only just joined us, and it was his first engagement.” REQUEST FROM THE VICAR OF AMMANFORD. To the Editor of the “ Amman Valley Chronicle.” P1 Sir, – It is now common knowledge that the various religious denominations in this parish are sending Christmas presents to their own men who have joined the Forces. Whichever body started this kind of sectional treatment might foresee that it would force the hands of every other body to do likewise, or at least would place them in an invidious and anomalous position. By this sectional and unequal treatment of our soldiers it may happen that men who, form reasons best known to themselves, belong to no religious sect, will not be remembered at all, and yet if one of them should merit the V. C. Ammanford would only be too ready to acclaim him as its own hero and alumnus. For many obvious reasons it appears to me that these invidious distinctions between soldiers on sectarian ground ought to be avoided. But since this movement has been carried so far on sectional lines that it is too late for a united movement, I feel strongly that those men from this parish who are not attached to any religious body, but are serving in the Forces, should not be forgotten. They may prove as good soldiers as any of the others who have left the town. Although arrangements have been made to send a Christmas present to more than 70 Churchmen, I am prepared to undertake that if the names of men who are not definitely attached to any religious body are sent to me, I shall see that they are as well treated as our own men at the least. I am, etc., Yours faithfully, J. W. JONES. FOR OUR SEAMEN. P? Seamen, a song for you Down on the deep, Lovers may long for you, Mothers may weep; You shall not take your ease Home from the heavy seas Till from our enemies Secure we sleep. England believes in you, Seamen, her sons; Her high heart heaves in you Venturous ones; Soon shall ye come to grips, Soon shall your long grey ships Deal with their lighting lips Death from your guns. Songs shall be sung of you, Tales shall be told; Fame shall be young of you When we are old; Long through the countryside Shall their brave names abide Who fought, endured, and died Our peace to hold.	05/11/14 12/11/14 19/11/14 26/11/14 03/12/14 10/12/14 17/12/14 24/12/14 31/12/14