“Father Finn,” wrote a correspondent, “was one of the first to give his life in the landing at Sedd-ul-Bahr. In answer to the appeals that were made to him not to leave the ship (the River Clyde), he replied, ‘A priest’s place is beside the dying soldier,’ whereupon he stepped on to the gangway, immediately receiving a bullet through the chest.
“Undeterred, he made his way across the lighters, receiving another bullet in the thigh, and still another in the leg. By the time he reached the beach he was riddled with bullets, but in spite of the great pain he must have been suffering he went about his duties speaking words of consolation to the dying men. It was while in the act of helping one of his men that he was killed by the bursting of a shell.”[7]
[7] From a letter published in the Times History of the War, with acknowledgments.
LIEUTENANT ROBINSON AND THE ZEPPELIN
Warneford caught his Zeppelin in Belgium because it was flying low just before getting near to its shed. In the late summer of 1916, a young English airman brought down another of these airships when it was flying high over London to avoid the fire from the anti-aircraft guns.
There were many air raids on the capital during 1915 and 1916 and a great deal of damage was done. The time chosen for these visits was usually the dead of night, when there was no moon and very little wind. People got used to saying to each other, with a kind of thrill, “This is a good night for a raid.” And at one time most people went to bed fully expecting to be called up some time after midnight for an adventure of a kind which was quite new to London and to peaceful England.
The authorities gave instructions to the people what to do if a raid should take place. They were very careful to tell them to keep indoors and not to gather in crowds. But when the airships came many people felt that they must get out of the house to see what was going on; and one morning in September 1916 great crowds of Londoners saw a sight which had never before been seen in the long and varied history of the great city.
They saw a burning Zeppelin fall from the sky like a meteor. And it was not until some days later that they learnt that it had been brought down by Lieutenant W. L. Robinson, who received the Victoria Cross for his skill and bravery, which were indeed of a very special kind.
About midnight on Saturday, September 2nd, London airmen were warned that Zeppelins were on their way to the city. At once a number of them went up in the pitch-black darkness and circled round and round in search of the “terror that flieth by night,” Lieutenant Robinson was one of the number and all were keen to do something great for the honour of their corps. For the British airman does not work to win praise for himself, but to make a fine tradition for that branch of the military service to which he belongs.
The airmen had been up for quite two hours flying about among the darting searchlights before the Zeppelins arrived. There were two of the airships at first and it was known at the time that others were on the way; but the rest did not appear for a reason which will be evident when this story has been told.