rved by Nelson and three other
men--Sergeant-Major Dornell, Gunner Derbyshire, and Driver
Osborne--that, despite all the painful and distracting incidents
happening in the farmyard, was worked with such speed and cool and
deadly accuracy that the Germans were compelled to depart. The British
gun was crippled and almost completely shattered, but it was saved.
All the heroic gunners were badly wounded, and all were decorated.
Nelson had one of his ribs so crushed in that it pressed upon his
right lung. On his recovery he was promoted to a second lieutenancy.

The official record of the services of the 1st Canadian Division in
Flanders shows that the late Company Sergeant-Major William Hall, 8th
Canadian Infantry, who won the Victoria Cross near Ypres, was a native
of Belfast. Hall was awarded the coveted distinction in the following
circumstances: "On April 24th, 1915, in the neighbourhood of Ypres,
when a wounded man who was lying some fifteen yards from the trench
called for help, Company Sergeant-Major Hall endeavoured to reach him
in the face of a very heavy enfilade fire which was being poured in by
the enemy. The first attempt failed, and a non-commissioned officer
and a private soldier who were attempting to give assistance were both
wounded. Company Sergeant-Major Hall then made a second most gallant
attempt, and was in the act of lifting up the wounded man to bring him
in when he fell mortally wounded in the head." Sir Max Aitken, M.P.,
who has written the official record, states that Hall was originally
from Belfast, but his Canadian home was in Winnipeg. He joined the 8th
Battalion at Valcartier, Quebec, in August, 1914, as a private.

Finally we come to the epic of Michael O'Leary, of the Irish Guards,
which remains the finest and most amazing feat of the war. I remember
well that afternoon of Friday, February 19th, 1915, when the
announcement of the award of the Victoria Cross to O'Leary was given
to the public. It was sent out in the afternoon, so that it first
appeared in the evening newspapers. The record was one of a dozen,
each of which told a tale of thrilling adventure. Yet all the London
evening papers with one accord seized upon the exploit of O'Leary's
capture, single-handed, of two enemy barricades--thus saving his
comrades from being mowed down by a machine-gun--and killing eight
Germans in the process, as the "splash" line for their contents bills.
"How Michael O'Leary Won the V.C." "How Michael