China
THE THIRD MAN
THE CHINA MAIL, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1950.
World Copyright. Dy arrangement fosth’Daity Herald,
66T'HILE HINGE OF FATE”
THIRD
E left London (for the third
W
Washington Con- ference)
on the
'I owe you my life' she said to- The sisters who flew to opera
☆
By WILLIAM TOWNSHEND
WHEN Hitler's persecu- (Hamish Hamilton,
Wtion of the Jews was 60.)
Moved by the plight
120.
of
at its height two London
sisters made frequent
tera decided to try to help
week-end visits to Germany Jews in Germany, the sis-
to see the opera.”
On Friday evening Louise, as many out of the country the elder and a civil ser- as they could. vant, would leave her office and bo joined outside by her sister Ida, ex-typist turned novelist,
Together the girls would dash off to Croydon and catch the last plane for Cologne.
At a friend's house in Frankfort they interviewed hundreds of men, women, and children who knew that sooner or later the Gestapo would take them away concentration camps.
to
Back in London, the sisters "domestic sponsors for
There they usually took found train for Munich to see and
helps" end "students." Ida hear two old friends, Cle- raised money by giving talks on mens Krauss and Viorica the refugees plight. Ursuleac, conduct and sing at the opera.
But more often than not their trips were a blind, Ida Cook now reveals in a modestly written hook, "We Followed Our Stars"
CHAPTER 39
WASHINGTON
CONFERENCE
By Winston Churchill
night of May 4, 1943, and members of my Defence
The
the Queen Office. went aboard
Commanders- Mary in the Clyde on the in-Chief in India, Field- following day. The ship had Marshal Wavell, Admiral been admirably fitted up to Somerville, and Air Chief meet all our needs. The Marshal Peirse, were also whole delegation was ac- with 18. commodated on the main
Ja
I had summoned them because deck, which was sealed off I was sure that our American from the rest of the ship. friends would be very anxious Offices, conference
everything that we should do rooms, and of course the Map possible and even impossible- the way of immediate opera- Room, stood ready for im- tions from India. The COPY medinte
use. From the ference must hear at first hand moment we got on board the views of the men who would our work went forward have to do whatever task was
easelessly.
chosen.
It had been decided at Casa- All kinds of clever pre. blanca to attack Sicily, and all cautions had been taken to preparations were far advances The Chiefs of Staff were con- conceal the identity of the vinced that an attack upon the passengers in the Queen mainland of Italy should follow Mary. A number of notices or even overlap the capture of Sicily. They proposed the sel- had been put up in Dutch zure of a bridgehead on the toe to suggest that Queen Wil- of Italy, to be followed by a helmina and her suite were further assault on the heel as travelling to America in prelude to an advance on Bari and Naples. A paper setting the ship. Ramps were 08- out these views and the argu-
led up
to them tentatiously built in the pas- ments which sages so that a wheel chair was prepared on board ship and handed to the American Chiefs could traverse them smooth- of Staff on a basis for discussion ly. This
order to on our arrival in Washington. was in start a rumour that the Pre- sident of the United States and a considerable staff were to be brought to Eng-- land on the return voyage. The more tales, the more safety.
Cover plans
Akyab failure
a
grey head,
But spare your country's flag,"
she said."
feared unduly the imminence of "Shoot if you must this old
Chinese collapse I support were not forthcoming. I disliked thoroughly the idea of recon- quering Burma by an advance along the miserable communica- tions in Assam. I hated jungles which go to the winner any way-and thought in terms of alr - power, sea - power,
and phibious operations, polnis.
amTM
key
Another burning question for us was how to obtain the use
When it was clear that no one else in the car could add to this quotation I started out:
"Up from the meadows
with COTT,
"Ida's little piece," her family called it.
Brought 29
The Cook sisters succeeded in bringing 20 doomed people to Britain. The last pair, an aged
man and his wife, landed in Britain four days before broke out.
war
When the police at Cologne airport became suspicious of the sisters' frequent visits, says Ida, "we were simply operatic en- thusiasts, coming for a special performance, about which we knew all the details,"
Krauss had seen to this side.
There were smiles for "the
opera - mad English couple”...——— but no more questions.
Says Ida: "The whole
work
States. She was at this time in was a fight against suicide. One New York, and intimated that had to give people enough hope she would be glad to receive me to stop them tuming on the gas, there. Amid the pressures un- or opening a vein...." der which we were working and in the few days that remain-
Jewels were smuggled across
ed before I must leave I did not by the sisters so that the re- teel able to make so long a fugees could sell them for their Journey.
The President therefore in-
vited the lady to lunch with him to meet me at the White House. The Invitation was refused with some hauteur. Madame was of rich the opinion that I should make York. the pigrimage to New The President was somewhat Clear in the cool September vexed that she had not adopted
his plan.
morn.
ď the Portuguese Atlantic The clustered
islands. We wanted facilities in for operating our the Azores long and very long range air-
San Terceira and from Miguel Islands.
craft
spires of
Fre-
derick stand"...
and sailed steadily on:
We wanted to "Up rose old Barbara Frictclle
then be allowed to refuel our naval escorts at either San Miguel or use the Cape Vedre Islands for Fayal, and to have freedom to reconnaissance aircraft.
Bowed with her threescore
years and ten;
Bravest of all in Frederick
town
She took up the flag that the
men hauled down."....
Full marks
Strong desire
keep on this side.
-
How it was done
This is how it was done: “We used to go over there without" so much as a wrist watch be- tween us, and return wearing all that two rather over-dressed English girls might wear.
"We never accepted earrings for pierced cars, because neither of us had pierced ears.
It was my streng desire to preserve unity in the Grand
"In the case of fur coats, we Alliance, and I offered to go half-way she would do the used to take one or two dress same. This offer was, however, labels from good English dress- considered facetious, so I never houses. had the pleasure and advantage
"On arrival at the town where
of meeting this lady until the the fur coat was, we would go Calro Conference.
Д
straight to the owner before the On Sunday
would President visiting our hotel. We to fish In wanted
on the stream both try
coat to seo which lowed through lovely whom it best fitted. woods. He was placed with
"Thon
we stitched in
our
All these facilities would give far better and wider air cover to our convoys, and consequent- ly more scope for evasive rout- Ink. They would increase our carrying power by enabling us 10 come more directly through
great care by the side of a the middle of the Atlantic, They
and sought to entice the nimble English label." would give us the
at- power to
and wily
fish. I tried for some tuck U-boats not only going to
my tim I got full marks from
No time myself other spots. No and from the Biscay bases, but highly select American audience, ash were
were caught, but he seemed also white they were resting, none of whom corrected my to enjoy it very much, and was was it great spirits for the rest of refuelling, and recharging their many misquotations, and batteries
Bu mid-ocean. We encouraged to discuss at some the day. Evidently he had the frontier with were to find the Americans even length the characters of Stone- arst quality of an angler, which mond brooch---pinned to a 6s. more ardent than us on all these wall Jackson and Robert E. Lee, is not to measure the pleasure 11d. Jumper points.
two of the noblest men ever by the catch. On the Monday born OFL the American con- we had to leave this agreeable tinent,
To Shangri-La
After a slumber
at
cool abode, and descended the Alleghenies for the really great and heat of Washington.
the
any
We anticipated more dimcul-
while silence ties in reaching agreement with our American friends over the
descended upon
we climbed with second great sphere of British
On May 11 we arrived off company, as military action, namely, the
Staten Island. Harry Hopkins many a twist and turn up the
Soon World Copyright reserved. Repro operations from India. At Casa-
was there to meet us, and we spurs of the Alleghenies.
which duction, even partially tr agreed to blanca i had been
entrained for we arrived at Shangra cabin language. strictly prohibited. aim
was in principle at the capture of Akyab immediately
Washington. The President was before May 1943, in order, by a
(MORE TOMORROW) པས on the platform to greet me, and with all modern improvements, limited advance from Assam, to whisked me off to my old rooms in front was a fountain and in which ew starting-poirds for im- gain new
at the White House. The next pool of clear water, proving the air route and air- life to China. A provisional date
afternoon. May 12, at 2.30 p.m., swam a number of large trout, we all met in his oval study to newly caught in the neighbour- of Nov. 15, 1943 for an assault
awaiting the survey and lay out our work at ing stream and
consummation of their exis- on Burma had also been fixed, subject to 0 review
So effective
the wero cover plans that even some members of the Cabinet Office staff, who had em- barked in the Queen Mary
for the Hot Springs Food available in July. of forces
The advance ou
the conference.
tence.
was
of en-
Conference, were dumb- All this had been set forth
For the week-end of May 15
The President had been look- the President proposed to take founded to see us board the on paper, but we had little to
me, not to Hyde Park, but to ing forward to a few hours was the with his stamp collection. Gen. ship. About 5,000 German show in fact.
Shangri-La, which Alyab had failed, and its cap-
"Pa" Watson, his personal aide, prisoners were already on ture before the monsoon had
name he gave the mountain re-
several large board. It had been sugges- now to be ruled out. The ad- fuge, about 4,000 ft high, in the brought him
albums and a number Catoctin Hills, in Maryland, velopce full of specimens ho ted that they should be vance from Assam had not been
where he sheltered, whenever had long desired. I watched transferred to another ship, trative difficulties
undertakon because of adminis- and the in-
from him with much interest and in the chance offered itself but I could not see what ability of the Chinese to advance
the sting heat and buzz of silence for perhaps half an hour Washington. We had a dispute harm could do to us, under to Yunnan during the
spring.
about where we should sit in as he stuck them in, each in its due control and without Some increase had been made in weapons, and, since the the air transport available for the car for this three-hour proper place, and so forgot the
Alike by his rank and cares of State, the China roule, but the
journey infrmity there
they should come along.
had
full
*** from his
whd
Real fans
Once Ido
across came
a valuablo
the dia-
When the girls told their story this side they invariably found the Customs sympathetic.
Now, when they go abroad, they are real opera fans again.
Their reward for the risky work they once did is in five words spoken by a woman they helped "I owe you my life."
Artwork
FOR
Under the direction of Mr F. N. Kent
Mrs Roosevelt wished to sit in Meeting Madame A comprehensive
000 of the small front seats,
point was referred to me, development of the air route had given instructions that and the requirements for only one place for the President. land advance towards Central Burma
utterly proved beyond our resources. It there- and put me, next to the Preal- tere seemed clear beyond argu- mant that, the full "Anakim" operation (ie, the recovery of Burma] could not be attempted In the winter of 1943-44.
The Conference, which 1 had christened Trident," was to last, at least a fort- night, and was intended to cover every aspect of the war. Our party had thero
T
scheme including dont. I would not have this, But soon another car drove tous, layout and finished and the British Empire went in- up to the door, and out alebo design is available to to action.
Gen. Bedell Smith, quick-wing-
ed from Eisenhower' headquar-advertisers in the After about three minutes'
tere, with a budget of serious condict of wills I won, and Mrs questions on which decisions Roosevelt took her proper place were urgently required. Sadly by bee husband's side. Harry F.D.It. left his stamp collection
fors to be largs one. The Burning question Hopkins filed the fourth-gent, and softened balansolt to his
"regulars" wore in full. forest the Chiefs of Staff, odly number of
1. war, nio, that these con- clusions would be very ding poimin to the Americans: The
and we whirled off amid our task. - By the evening: we were cyclist escort, After about two wil tired out and went to bed hours we approached the town at ten, b
“On Slide-week-end wall law
of Frederick mede inquir qu
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