THE CHINA MAIL, OCTOBER 24, 1940 ́
THE PEOPLE AND PEN PALS FOR
THE AIR WAR
MANY SMALL INCIDENTS during the sustain- ed air attacks on Britain have shown how coolly the people are facing danger. The stories--and by no means all are chronicled-illustrate British imper- turbability, courage, presence of mind, and good
humour.
They increase in number daily. Here are a few of them, taken from the events of the last few weeks:
During the heaviest raid so far "My mate," said another work- On one section of the north-man, promptly, punched him on east coast miners climbed to the the nose and he didn't need summit of a slag-heap to watch telling again to put his hands up." the fighting.
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They stood there, cheering and A. village baker in the South- waving their caps as a British East, who woke to find that a fighter chased an escaping bom-bomb had shattered his window.♦♦ her out to ser, engaged it, and placed, a new notice in front of shot it down,
his shop: "Don't let Hitler spoil yeur appetite. Bread and cakes
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When
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A surgeon at a Portsmouth hos-as usual." pital had just started a critical mastoid operation on
came a raid warning a Woman when a bomb fell close at hand. during a pig sale in an Eastern Anti-aircraft. guns answered. Counties market the auctioneer All around, the noise became asked whether the company, deafening; but among the con- would like to adjourn to shelters! usion, with fighting overhead, or carry on with the sale. The the surgeon and his five assistants sale continued, but first a collec-
for continued their work and ended tion was taken
the
the operation successfully. The
woman is recovering.
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A British pilot who was shot down and rescued during
onc
Jocal
£500
Spitfire fund, and opened by one of the buyers with cheque,
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a
SOLDIERS PLAN
The British Legion is to set up anor- ganisation to estab- lish contacts between lonely soldiers and members of the pub- lic.
Those willing to cor- respond with soldiers should communicate with the Soldiers' Cor- respondence Dept., Headquarters. British. Legion, Cardigan. House, Richmond, Surrey.
ENJOYED HER RAID BIRTHDAY
Nazi night raids are turned to good account by enterprising folk in the North-West of England.
Every time the s'rens go in
An air-raid, with its assorted
disturbing of the battles over the Channel aoises, had been immediately telephoned his harbour village for twenty min-one district occupants of a com- As an old-age pensioner munal shelter take a collection for bace from a police station. "utes. shall be back this afternoon," had not joined her neighbours, the local Spitfire fund. he said urgently. "Don't forget one of them went out in a lull to have a 'plane ready."
to look for her. She was dis- covered halfway through a large When Dornier raiders appear-meal, and explained that she had cd over Portland and Weymouth stayed to keep the canary com- like a swarm of bees in the pany, as it had seemed nervous. sky," the windows of a chapel in which a children's service was being held were blown out,
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The forty children present went into a lecture room at the back, sheltered against the wall, and went on singing their hymns until the end of the raid.
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A woman woke to the sound of bombs dropping in open coun- try near her house. Almost at once she heard her maid knock- Ing on the bedroom door and Jannouncing calmly:
please madam!”
"Bombs,
Hundreds of people watched a During an evening raid on sub- night attack on Croydon. Some London the window of a stood on the top deck of an omni-urban sweet-shop was blown out. Soldiers choered every time But the bottles remained on the a raider fell. Children who had shelves, and children ran in to been driving with their mothers buy sweets as soon as the raid left their cars, lay down ini a ended.
bus,
field, and had a good view of the battle.
Among the cheeriest young people in the North-West are the inmates of a children's hospital. A threatened air attack is merely the signal for a great sing-song."
"Their conduct inspires us," a nurse confessed.
the family
She Was Seven
One little girl celebrated her seventh birthday in
Afterwards shelter. x{rhat a
- birthday. gorgeous Wasn't it grand singing those songs in the shelter,"
she said:
About fifty people, travelling home on the last bus, insisted on staying put when the sirens went, and for more than an hour rolled out the barrel and various other
songs.
That night people in a south-HOME GUARD. 'SHUN! cast coast town cheered-them- selves hoarse" when an anti- aircraft gun scored a direct hit on a Messerschmidt 109 and sent
it flaring into the sea.
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At an Overseas Club party for members of the Dominions ùght- ing forces on "Blitzkrieg Day" iwo Chairs were reserved for Hitler and Mussolini. They re- mained vacant.
Lord Willingdon read two cables. According to these, Hitler plained: Set off according
CX-
to
HERE IS SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW
SPECIAL SCHOOLS where young and old are taught how to kill Germans are a feature of English ported: "All Italian sailings can- life these days, according to an article in the German
plan but was blown back by hurricane," and Mussolini re-
celled owing to secret manoeuvres
in port."
An
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ice-cream salesman at Hornchurch sold his entire stock to people waiting in а public shelter during a raid.
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A woman having her hair way-
ed in a Hornscy saloon refused the proprietor's invitation
take cover, and asked him continue.
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to to
weekly, “Das Reich.”
SUBMARINE SAVED HER TWO SONS
When the British submarine Truant rescued the crew of the At the time of the first Lon-steamer Haxby, imprisoned on don raid warning the band the Irish Guards was playing on which the Germans had captured, of the Norwegian vessel Tropic Sea, Tower Hill. When the bandmas-it reunited * Glasgow mother ter announced that all who wish with her two sons. ed to take shelter should do so, few people moved; the crowd shouted "Carry on, Bill," and the programme continued.
"If they don't come any nearer, we shan't mind at all," said a farmer's wife after a bomb had blown tiles off the roof of the house and made the furniture dance about.
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At one London station 口 dozen saltors, going on love, took no notice nt all of the air rald warning. They spent the time having their boots cleaned by the shoeblack, who was also cheerfully oblivious of the .rald.
The writer, waxes very bitter about the alleged activities of British women, whose error in treating their training as a game serious con- may, he says, have sequences.
"The British Army," saya the article, "has been described from, England as stronger and batter armed than ever before. Yet everywhere, in England Franc: Tireur battalions have been organized.
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