THE CHINA MAIL, NOVEMBER 29, 1939
SKIPPER'S SWIM WITH NAZI MINE
People living near the sea wall of an East Coast town are talking with gratitude of the bravery of Mr. Leo- pold Romyn, a 35-year-old trawler skipper, who waded into the sea early one day and brought ashore an enemy mine.
A mine exploded on striking the sea wall and damaged a number of houses including that occupied by Skipper Romyn.
wat-
Later coastguards and other chers sighted another mine drifting towards, the coast.
The mine was made tast but dur- ing the night it broke from its moor- ings and began to drift towards the sea wall.
100-YARD PUSH
While it was still dark Skipper Romyn put on his thigh-boots and despite the warnings of the coast- guards, waded into the sea up to his armpits.
He seized the rope which held the mine and, sometimes wading, some- times swimming, pushed the explo- sive 50 yards down the beach away from the houses.
Then he dragged the mine ashore where experts made it useless by re- moving the detonators.
A woman whose home suffered on the previous occasion said: "When we saw this mine being washed near- er and nearer the sea wall we left| our homes, as we were all nervous after the shock of the other explosion. We all think Mr. Romyn deserves decoration."
REFUSED TO TALK
a
An official said: "There is no doubt that Mr. Romyn took his life in his hands. Mines sometimes 'go off at the slightest touch. He certainly pre- vented hundreds of pounds worth of damage."
Mr. Romyn refuses to say anything about his action.
The Admiralty has been informed of Skipper Romyn's action.
MEMORIES OF THE MUD
An "old sweat's" memories of the Great War were revived by a photo- graph of a group in which he was in- cluded, used in the News Chronicle recently to illustrate Major-General A. C. Temperley's review of the week on the Western Front and headed "General Mud.”
The old soldier is Mr. (formerly Private) Walter N. Bradshaw, of Sul- tan Street, Accrington, Lancs. He is now trying to arrange a reunion of those who served with him in the 48th Field Ambulance, 37th Division. Chief among the men he wishes to meet again, of course, are those who also appeared in the picture.
It showed the return of two stret- cher parties with the wounded man, a bearer who "caught one."
"Immediately I saw the picture I recognised myself and remembered the place where it was taken at Boesinghe on August 1, 1017—al- though I never knew it had been taken," he told a reporter.
UP TO KNEES
"The headline was right. 'General Mud' it was. Many and many time I have been with a stretcher party that had to carry a wounded
£1
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ALLIED PROPAGANDA IN U.S.
Mr. Herbert H. Elvin, a past- president of the Trades Union Congress, who is attending the annual convention of the Ameri can Federation of Labour as de- legate of the Congress, refers in a letter from Cincinnati, Ohio, to the "Intense disappointment" felt in the United States at the lack of publicity given to the case of the Allies.
The result is that all kinds of misunderstanding exista. "The great need," he says, "is more facts, and I hope that something will be done immediately to alter the present deplorable state of affairs. I am convinced that the lack of publicity has coloured largely the case of those against the repeal of the Neutrality Act."
DEFENCE
LAWS TO BE REVISED
London, To-day.
Following the criticism in the Commons that certain Defence Re- gulations, as drawn, constituted too
KING'S THEATRE
THE VIOLET CAPELL SCHOOL
OF DANCING
presents
"A WOODLAND IDYLLE”
and
A Scene From "THE WATER BABIES "
TO-DAY AT 5.10 P.M.
Proceeds In Aid of
THE DIOCESAN GIRLS' SCHOOL BUILDING FUND
And
THE BRITISH WAR ORGANIZATION and THE INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL RELIEF FUND
Admissions:-$5, $3, $2, $1, (Incl. Tax)
great an impost on civil liberty, the PETROL
А
Home Secretary has consulted Committee consisting of members of all political parties.
an
Discussions have resulted in agreement to revise and the amend- ed regulations as agreed upon were laid in the Commons yesterday. British Wireless.
ATTEMPTED FRAUD
Six months' hard labour was im- posed by Mr. Q. A. A. Macfadyen this morning on Chan Ngok, 25, charged with attempting to obtain $2.40 by false pretences.
on
Dec.-Sgt. J. Johnston said that at 3 p.m. yesterday, Chan with a letter purporting to be addressed to Leung Kin-ping, from Canton, called Leung, asking for $2.40 for carrying it from Canton. He said he came down on board the s.s. Fat Shan.
Leung knew the vessel had sus- pended sailing and arrested him.
MURDER
CHARGE
HUI FUK-SING, ALIAS HUI YIP-FAI, 43, COOK ON BOARD THE S.S. SEISTAN, WAS CHARGED BE- FORE MORNING, WITH THE MURDER OF MR. R. EDWARDS THIS
PUN YAU-SZE, ALIAS LI YAU SZE.
It was alleged that defendant fatally stabbed deceased during a quarrel in Des Voeux Road Central' on the night of October 30.
Defendant was formally remanded for one week,
Detective Sergeant D. G. McPher- son is in charge of the case.
SCOT PICKED UP EXTRA BUN
man a mile in mud up to the knees. A private in a Scottish regiment
"Often we slipped off the duck-picked up an extra bun from boards and finished waist deep in table at tea-time. mud."
Another member of the stretcher party in the picture, Mr. R. Bly, of Bury, met Mr. Bradshaw again soon after the last war ended and has kept up a firm friendship.
Mr. Bradshaw, a hand block printer, is still doing ambulance work. He joined up at 18 and was France before he was 20. Mr. Bly is in the A.F.S.
in
the
For this he was sentenced to seven days' confinement to barracks.
The soldier was Private Robert James, and the regiment the Royal Scots Fusiliers.
Mr. A. Sloan, Labour M.P. for Ayr and Bute, is to ask the Secretary for War, in the House of Commons, if he will make inquiries "with a view to discouraging ine imposition of pun- ishments in similar cases". ·-·
COSTS
DOWN
VAUXHALL engines get 20%
VA
more power out of every drop
of petrol used. That is why recent R.A.C. official trials over 1000 miles of public roads, produced these extraordinary results:
22.48 m p.g.
25 h.p.
14 h.p.
30.31 m.p.C.
35 m.p.g.
12 h.p.
10 h.p.
43.4 m.p.g.
Compare these figures with those obtainable on cars of similar power. And then compare general per- formance. We will provide an ade- quate trial run on any available Vauxhall model and prove its patrol economy,
UNION
BREWERY
友
UB
啤
SHANGHAI
LIMITED
VAUXHALL
SEE & TRY THE 10 & 12 H.P.
HONGKONG HOTEL
GARAGE
Stubbs Road.
Tel. 27778-9.
Epular Beer
throughout
Sole Agents:-W. R. LOXLEY & Co., (China) · Ltd-