In half an hour the stronghold of the Double Crassier had been carried, and the men of the 47th Division were pushing on to the village of Loos through clouds of bursting shrapnel. Before long they had seized the cemetery, and their left was on the outskirts of the village. A few minutes later and they were surging into the shattered streets of Loos, where they joined hands with the Highlanders of the 15th Division beneath the "Tower Bridge." Then began a fierce and deadly struggle. Every ruined house was packed with Germans from cellar to garret; the muzzles of rifles and machine guns peeped out of every window and through every grating. Through the wet, slippery streets went our men, bursting through barricades, battering down doors, fighting upstairs and downstairs, bombing the enemy out of cellars, slag heaps, and pit-workings, and gradually clearing the place. In a deep cellar a German officer was discovered directing by telephone the fire of the batteries, which were smashing the ruined village to atoms. So the fierce, red work went on, and by nine in the morning Loos was won. * * * * * The inhabitants of Loos were overjoyed when the British entered the village and set them free from German bondage. Though the place had been heavily shelled for many months, some of the people had lived in their cellars all the time. When our men appeared they came out of their hiding-places, and while doing so some of them were killed. The remainder, however, were sent to a place of safety, and were given food. Some of the women greeted the Highlanders with hearty kisses. A pretty girl of eighteen, named Emilienne Moreau, was one of the first to assist our wounded. She helped to carry in the stricken men and to bandage them. As the poor, helpless fellows lay on their stretchers two German snipers in a neighbouring house opened fire on them. This was more than the brave girl could bear. Suddenly, without a word, she bent down beside a wounded officer and took his revolver out of his holster. Armed with this weapon, she disappeared down a side street and made her way to the house in which the snipers were hidden. She managed to get inside by means of a side entrance, and, taking steady aim, shot them both. Such is the story of the girl who will go down to history as "the heroine of Loos." On November 27, 1915, she was decorated with the French Military Cross. When General de Sailly pinned the decoration on her breast, he said, "I congratulate and admire you, young lady. You do honour to the women of France. You are a fine and inspiring example." And so say all of us. * * * * *