1940-11-12 — Page 25

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THE CHINA MAIL, NOVEMBER 12, 1940

ROYAL NAVY'S NEW PATROL

DUTCH GIRL

ROWS TO ENGLAND!

Every British mother will want to read this story. Every British child will want to read it. too.

to mutilate the bodies of women

FLEET

SINCE THE WAR began Britain has acquired a new Fleet, the Auxiliary Patrol Service. In the “China Mail” last week some account was given of the ways in which merchant sailors have turned their hands to fighting, in the Royal Naval Reserve or in defence of their own ships; against U-boats and planes. The story of the Patrol Service intro- duces another type of recruit to war service at sea.

When war broke out a number of fishing craft were taken over by the Admiralty as patrol vessels as part of our submarine defences. These were. reinforced by yachts which their owners placed at the disposal of the Navy.

It is a story of the midsummer madness of 1940, when Adolf Hit- ler, World Beast No. 1, praceeded and children by machine-guning and bombing them, as they fled Among these was the 200-ton | betone his dull, savage hordes. Campeador V, sunk by an enemy

"We Must Flee" Thirteen-year-old Klein was suddenly her father,

The Poles have Impressed British naval men as extraor dinarily fine seamen, who keep their ships in first-rate condition.

It begins when those misguided mine in June. Her owner, Mr.i Dutch people woke up one morn-Vernon Macandrew, handed her ing and discovered that German over to the Admiralty, served in parachute troops were falling from her and went down with her. hair sky like a plague of locusts. Most of her crew were yachtsmen Joseph

It is a thousand pities that

Conrad, Polish from South Devon, and included mariner and master, too, of En-. master a retired Surgeon Rear-Admiral.glish prose, did not survive to tell Josephine |

In recent months the Patrol the story of his countrymen's high called by Service has

been strengthened adventure in remote waters. until now it forms a cordon round said, "the our shores from Wick round the We must East and South

Coasts and up the West Coast as far as Larne and Liverpool. In the near these shores the boats of the Patrol maintain a ceaseless watch in any sort of weather conditions that come along.

"Come, darling," he

are here.

Germans fice." There was no panic in the mind of this child.

"All right, daddy," she said, and taking his hand in hers, she went with him to the local beach, and it was here that she joined a party of ten other people, who had a large row-boat in readiness to Icave their beloved country.

"There's a British destroyer around the coast." somebody assured her, "and soon we shall

be safe."

Behind them, they observed the .Nezi vultures diving on their homes and blowing them to bits

with their bombs.

Tale Still To Be Told

But, even were there a Conrad waters or a Herman Melville to immor-- talise the exploits of the Auxiliary Patrol, the tale would have to be deferred. The fewer details, available to the enemy of its work and of the exact areas in; which it operates, the better for the ef- safety of its members. ficiency of the service and

small

From The R.N.V.R. The average crew of a motor yacht is a second hand, an engineer, and two ordinary sea-

men.

Most of the officers

are

drawn from the Royal Naval Vo- usually one officer to six yachts. lunteer Reserve, and there is

In the case drifters there is one officer to two of trawlers and or four vessels, with skippers in Meanwhile, the stout Dutchmen charge of the others. The fisher- manned, the oars and were rowing men who man the trawlers strongly in the rough sea. For nearly an hour they rowed, and turning the bend of the coastline, all of them stared hopefully for the British destroyer.

"But it's not here, daddy." Josephine whispered:

Then she watched the faces of thing for "we must

the others fall.

There's only one it," somebody, said. row to England."----

Frightful Trip

these

So, without a compass or food, and very little water, twelve Dutch people embarked upon a journey that was to be as frightful as any adventure ever conceived. by the authors of sea adventure stories.

the

This much can be said that danger has become a matter DI routine with these fishermen and yachtsmen, of whom few, except

layers, the Royal Naval Reserve gun- have naval training. Many of their boats are such as, for peaceful purposes, would be considered fair-weather craft, and specially enlisted for the duration cannot be fuelled for long trips. Generally speaking, four-day tours With the Auxiliary Patrol has of duty are carried out by traw- also been incorporated the Portlers, and the small boats are used of London Authority. River Emer-for shorter spells.. |gency. Service, whose "beat"

of hostilities only.

are

is It can also be said that some of. on the Thames from Tower the boats are in action every day Bridge to Hole Haven, The fam- against enemy aircraft, but the Mp is in the Thames Patrol, and that the future historian of the ous barge of Mr. A. P. Herbert, full story of their exploits is one when she was taken into the ser- Patrol will have the greatest dif- vice her owner continued to serve ficulty in plecing together. in her as a petty officer.

ព

trol duty, and among units

Allied vessels are also on pa-

manned by Poles. the south-west coast are trawlers

As 'a 'naval officer put it "These chapa.ard, so used -to action that they don't bother to report unless they have casualties.”

Jean Saved

Pets

A girl dressed only in a secmed to sense what was going

on. Wherever she sniffed out an

The first day passed pleasantly enough. Indeed, everybody was in the best of spirits, although every- thing they owned and everything they had lived for was lost."

Now and then, they would thin nightdress with a animal she bared." turn and smile at little Jose- gown thrown over it, While Miss Morton was speak- ing twenty people arrived with phine, who sat in the boat, look worked through the early injured pets, some to be destroy ing serenely at the blue sky and hours in darkness rescued. Jean was on the job helping beyond the banks of fleecy white ing injured pets of people sleep and comforting their owners. to put the animals painlessly to whose homes had been Airedale Sheila, still on duty,

stood near. bombed.

wondering just what existed

clouds that looked like cotton Wool In the sun,

But by sundown the next day everybody drooped at their oars, their eyes weary from exhaustion and lack of food and water. While some of the men slept, uttle Josephine prayed to God to save them trom disaster.

Weaker

eaker

The days passed, and with the close of cach, this heroic · little band of seafarers became weakcor and weaker,"

“The -less-robust ""of "the crew row any more. The tongues of the men swelled through lack of

water.

:

With only a small torch to guide her, the girl, Miss Jenn Morton, ignored bombs and shrapnel drop- ping around her. She worked for four hours excavating dogs, cats and seven birds trapped by fallen. debris in a recent; night's London raids.

•

Sholla, her pet Airedale, fot-

"Apart from animals outside there were our own in the clinjo who were frightened at the noise of bombing and gunfire," "caid Jean. I gave each one asleep-i ́ing draught. That took a lot of

my time.

Pet Blackbird "Altogether I think I rescued

lowed her wherever she went four cats, a dog and u canary, barking signals where she Others were brought to the by

· and sisters injured or trapped... One of Jean's strongest patients Jean-did not stop till she was is a tiny blackbird. It was brought she in by its owner, an old man, Mr. satisfied she had done, all 'could,

aniffed out four-legged brothers their owners.”e

Two, three, four, five, six days) "Sheila" Helped Sana"nights" passed like a pro-

Then she returned to the animal ∙longed." and "grotesque « night-

mard. It acemed Indeed that centre in Fitzroy Street, W., where she works as veterinary assistant; they couldn't lively de Meanwhile the child had be donned her white overall and sat come so weak that she could hard-to work dressing and bandaging ly sit up, but all the time there more injured animals, burned in her breast a belief that I couldn't have done it without God would save her and her Sheila," she told reporters. "She

friends.

And it was on the seventh day

that her prayers were answered. der the beastly Germans. A British ́ ́ destroyer 'steamed "How do I like here? Oh it's proudly alongside of the boat, fine. I like. English children, and anatching the refugees from death. the people. But I. love Holland. It

“See My People

Freed"

means everything to me. One day,

I know I should go back and sce my people freed from the Ger- mans.sk

[J. Langdon, who also brought his

refused to leave her home till her

Make

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ACT NOW

In response to numerous requests The South China Morning Post, Limited, invites sub- scription to

ASSIST A FUND TO BRITAIN'S WAR EFFORT

The whole of the money subscribed will be handed to The Government of Hong Kong for transmission to

THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT pot greyhound Peggy. Peggy, who For the Purchase of Aeroplanes or such master had been rescued, was un- other Armaments as the British Government injured. The blackbird was suffer- ing from shock.

There were queues of people- women with tears, in their eyes,

children and men made homeless

may decide.

through the raids, clutching their Donations will be received by The South. pets outside this. animal hospital.

Seventy cat were destroyed China Morning Post. Cheques should be

that morning. One horse was

brought in with a cut to be

sewn up and many dogs to have made payable to “War Fund-South China

their injuries dressed.

“Most of the animals are suffer-

ing from shock," the surgeon said. "Kept quiet for a time, they will

Morning Post, Limited."

columns of The S. C. M. Post.

be all right. Jean was wonderful. All donations will be acknowledged in the She has not had any sleep all "It was dreadful," little Josc-"And in whom have you faith?" night and has been going at it all phine told me, “But it couldn't I asked..

day, too. Sha deserves on animal, have been worse, thaii to live un-1 in God,

she.

aplica sumplyAV.C.!itetherols auch, 42