Nicholas belonged to a Lewis machine gun section, which was ordered to form a defensive flank to the right of the advance, which was subsequently checked by the enemy at a strong point. Nicholas rushed forward alone and shot the officer in command of the strong point, and overcame the garrison of 16 by means of bombs and his bayonet, capturing 400 prisoners and a machine gun practically single-handed. Subsequently, when the advance reached its limit, Nicholas collected ammunition under a heavy machine-gun and rifle fire. His exceptional valour and coolness throughout the operations were an inspiring example. Private Nicholas is the second son of Mr and Mrs R. Nicholas, 35 Berry Street, St Albans, and is 26.
Deliveries restricted
Sir James Barrie once explained that one of his reasons for preferring London to other cities was that it was the only city in the world where a man could eat buns in the street out of a paper bag without attracting attention. But under war conditions stranger sights than a man eating buns will be witnessed . Owing to the shortage of petrol and labour, shopkeepers are trying to enforce a rule limiting delivery by vans to parcels over 7lb in weight, and, owing to the shortage of paper, shopkeepers make a favour of wrapping up parcels. Therefore, it will soon become a common thing to see the city clerk walking through London streets to his railway station on his way home with a bag of oatmeal under his arm, a leg of mutton in one hand, and a pair of new boots in the other.
Lonely soldiers
The Minister of Defence in Australia, Senator Pearce, stated a few days ago that as a result of insertion in the Australian press of advertisements of ‘‘lonely soldiers’’ inviting correspondence from residents in Australia, several bags of letters, papers and parcels were received by members of the Australian Imperial Force, two advertisements alone resulting in the arrival of some 10,000 letters for two men. The Minister further stated that the practice of inserting advertisements in the press inviting the correspondence of strangers, is strictly forbidden by the censorship regulations, and is an abuse of the facilities granted. It also causes congestion in the post office to the detriment and delay of ordinary correspondence, to say nothing of additional work thrown on the base censors.. — ODT, 14.1.1918.
