POISON GAS IN LOCAL BILLETS - Dec 23, 1916

During the last few days many Northampton householders to whom poison gas has been no more than a name,

have had an unpleasant experience of the effects of this new and deadly weapon of attack.  Soldiers who have

practised gas drill by passing through a chamber filled with very strong gas have returned to their billets with

their clothes veritably reeking with acrid fumes.  The heavy pungency of the gas causes it to cling to clothing

and impart its irritating properties to upholstery ; and as a consequence many rooms occupied by soldiers have

become temporarily untenable.  Even the noxious whiff which has been distributed in this manner is

sufficiently strong to give an idea of the terrible potency of the gas at full strength, and further proof of this

has been afforded in tragic manner by the death of the poor fellow who was overcome in the gas chamber.