for San Francisco. His splendid constitution stood him
in good stead, and he arrived there as fit as a fiddle, soon afterwards
winning enough money in a swimming race to take him to London. In the
English capital he received a commission as a sub-lieutenant in the
Royal Naval Division, and his promotion has been rapid.

Colonel Freyberg was caught in a live electric wire in Antwerp; but it
was of so high a voltage that he was not killed, sustaining only an
injury to his hand and arm. He was even fired at by his own men, who
believed that he was a German crawling through the wire. Just before the
landing in Gallipoli, on the 25th of April, 1915, it was proposed to
throw dust in the eyes of the Turks by landing a platoon at a point on
the coast of the Gulf of Saros, where no serious landing was
contemplated. To save the sacrifice of a platoon, Freyberg, who was at
that time a company-commander in the Hood battalion, pressed to be
allowed to achieve the same object single-handed. His wish was granted;
and on the night of the 24th-25th of April, oiled and naked, he swam
ashore, towing a canvas canoe containing flares and a revolver. He
reconnoitred the enemy's trenches, and, under the covering fire of a
destroyer, lit his flares at intervals along the beach. He had some
difficulty in finding his boat again. A mysterious fin accompanied him
during part of the swim. He at first took it to be that of a shark, but
found later it belonged to a harmless porpoise. After some two hours in
the water, he was picked up, and for this gallant and successful feat he
was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. In Gallipoli
he was wounded in May, again in July, 1915, and he was mentioned in Sir
Charles Monro's despatches in connection with the successful evacuation
of the 9th of January, 1916.

Hence, this sailor-soldier in a comparatively short time attracted a
good deal of attention among the naval and military authorities; so it
was not surprising that when he applied for a permanent commission in
the British Army he was given a captaincy in the Queen's Royal West
Surrey Regiment. The same day, however, he received this news he was
seconded to the Royal Naval Division with the temporary rank of
lieutenant-colonel. So he retained command of his old battalion--the
Hood.

Inasmuch as the first despatches concerning the storming of Beaucourt
referred to Lieutenant-Colonel Freyberg as "a naval colonel," all
Britain was wonde