110
9
War
think this is the best article of the
The Editoregraph"
of the "Hongkong
OME OF US Can remember
B
time
when
war was a stately and somewhat exclusive business. Hostilities 'only started after certain formalities had been observed; and when they did start, participation therein was strictly limited to the actual combatants. Thus:
Two countries came to loggerheads, or perhaps one country showed signs of coveting the territory of another. Diplomats on both sides were called in to smooth out the difficulty, If possi- blc. After the resources of diplomacy had been exhausted, Ambassadors were recalled, mobilisation was ordered, and a formal declaration of war issued. After that, but not be- fore, the country which was quickest on its feet invaded, the
other.
So far na our own history is concerned, we have, for the best part of a thousand years, followed the sensible prac- tice of invariably conducting our campaigns in someone else's country. Consequently, whenever we became involved in hostilities, our Army simply departed overseas, escorted by our Navy, and disappeared in the fog of war.
The civil population's share in the subsequent proceed- ings was limited to reading official dispatches and facing increased taxation. A certain number of women put on mourning.
8 an
The neutral countries regarded the occurrence agreeablo diversion in the dull routine of life; a real grand- stand affair; a pleasantly exciting gladiatorial show which could be witnessed with a comforting sense of physical - security combined with that of moral superiority.
T
II.
O-DAY our battle-front has been transferred, for the first time since 1066, to our own country. We stand in imminent danger of invasion by a foe who has sworn, quite simply, to exterminate us. So far, it is true, no force of his has attempted to effect a landing on our shores, but the perl! is there, stark and real. Up and down our coast, and for many miles inland, denth con and does descend on us from the skies at any point or moment. We all know what war is like now--and we are going to know a good deal more.
What is our general reaction to all this? Well, we are not good at expressing ourselves, or, for that matter, ex- plaining ourselves, for the simple reason that we act and react, as a nation, very largely from instinct rather than reason. Fortunately our national instincts are exception- ally sane and sound: they have steered us to safety, by sheer dend reckoning, through many a tempest in our history.
To-day, I feel, the underlying attitude of the average man and woman in this inarticulate island of ours, translated into simple language, can be expressed in some such words as these:
"I am at this moment living through the most terrible phase in the world's history. Tragedy stalke abroad in Europe, and is extending to the farthest bounds of the earth. Already millions are auffor- ing the extreme of humaH misory, and hundreds of thousands have died. Where I, or any of us, will be in a year I do not know. Nobody knows. The whole business is too shattering to bear thinking about.
By
IAN
“And yet—and yet--the very magnitude of the hur- ricane which rages about as has a certain majestic and It does things to you. It inspiring quality of its own, has snatched me, for one, from the uneventful level of my peacetime routine to heights-heights jogged and pre- cipitous, but in a way sublime--andreamed of in my pre- vious philosophy of life.
"To-day I find myself in the midst of events which, whatever the horror, and suffering they involve, I would not, somehow, willingly have missed. I may die to-mor- row-any of us may—but so long as I continue to live in these surroundings I am seeing Life in its true conception, the conception that life is a campaign, and not a picnic or a dream. In other words, however stern the experience that I may have to undergo, it will at legat have been full and completo. I shall have lived,"
That, I believe, is the spirit of our country to-day...... Des-- pite the horror and gloom about us, we are conscious in our hearts of a sense of high and gallant adventure.
W
III.
E are certainly being shaken out of our groovea. Things are happening to us every day, and may, happen to anybody any day, which It would have surprised us oven to imagine a year ago and we are taking them in our stride. PauUM
We are now quite used to retiring, without fuss, to an air raid shelter when the sirens go
we are parents, we philosophically accept prolonged tion from dus thildren in the cause of the children's
Saturday,
HONGKONG TELEGRAPH.
TO-DAY LIVE
WE
Our constwise population are growing accustomed to the spectacle of men battling to the death in the air above their homes and gardens.
A walk along the front-to-day at any scaste resort would be a surprising experience for those who a, mt their holidays there a year ago. And again, perhaps it would not, When you live in a perpetual state of emergency, you just take things as they come and act as the requirements of the moment direct, without any amazement," as they say some- where in the Marriage Service.
out.
Takd another instance. A German neroplane was shot down. "somewhere in England." The airman landed by parachute just beside a little isolated house. A woman came She was all alone, for her husband was away at work, She walked up to the airman, took his revolver away, told him to put his hands up, and kept him prisoner until an es- cort arrived.
I wonder if she felt at all surprised at herself. Proba- bly not: most of us, as I say, are past being surprised at anything now, Probably what does surprise her to- day is to find herself do- corated with the Order of the British Empire.
At Dakar, again, in French West Africa, a motor-launch commanded by a British naval officer picked its way in the dark- ness of night through the boomed entrance to the har- bour, and dropped depth charges under the stern of # French battle cruiser which must on no account bo yielded intact to the enemy. The launch bake down almost directly after
the dropping of the charges, and very nearly shared the re- sults with the battle cruiser.
This time last year the officer was working as a stock- broker In London. He has certainly demonstrated to us how slight is the difference between half-commission and whole
commission.
IV.
HE final and perhaps most striking indication of the temper of our people at this moment is the
how.
The Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps has absorbed an enormous number of volunteers of mature age. These have not only constructed countless roads, aerodromes, and camps, but have given a stout account of themselves, "on the side," in Flanders,
But the age limit here is 60, which is cold comfort for the 50-60's and 60-70's. So the Local Defence Volunteers, or Home Guards a much better title-have come into being. covering all ages from 16 to 65. A million joined up in a few weeks. But you should hear what the 65-75's have to say about it all!
The fact is, it does not matter what our people are asked to do, or what occupation they can invent for themselves, so long as they can feel that they are helping somehow.
No sacrifice is too severe. Think what we should have said about a 7s. 6d. income tax 12 months ago! Now you are constantly meeting people who say quite indignantly that it ought to be higher. (I fancy they will not be dis- appointed.)
HAY
Again, ever since Lord Beaverbrook asked women to surrender their alumi- nium wares to expedite the manufacture of aeroplanes it has rained pots and pans. People only want to be told. These may all seem trivial things, but they are not, es- pecially when you add them together. They are the out- ward and visible signs of a united people and an invincible national spirit. If Hitler could read signs and portents he would be very, very frightened-and rightly. Perhaps he
18.
Y
ES, our spirits are braced and our fists clenched. The most tremendous drama in the world's his- tory has been staged, and the curtain has just gone up on Act II. Its scene is laid in England, and the Prime Minister has warned us that it may bé à long one. But we shall not be bored, because every living soul upon our island will have a part to play. Some of us will sustain the burden of leading and arduous roles; others will merely "walk on." But we are all in the cast.
In the stalls and circle sit the rest of the human family, wondering how long they will continue to remain spectators. Higher up, in the gallery, tier upon tier, only dimly visible, you may discern those who will come after us, the genera tions yet unborn for whom we are giving our all: to-day. When the drama is over, and the curtain has fallen at last, what will their verdict be? Win or lose, there can only be one: This was their finest hour.!!
So here we stand To-day, as individuals, we may not be getting very much out of Life, but we are certainly put ting more into it than ever before. And that is what makes Life worth living.
September 14, 1940.
HR
ere's
THE
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