1940-11-12 — Page 9

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.

It is a story of the midsummer madness of 1940, when Adolf Hit-

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

Jer. World Beast No. 1, proceeded to mutilate the bodies on the disposal of the Navy.

and children by machine-gunning and bombing them. as they fled Letore his dull, savage hordes.

It begins when those misguided Dutch people woke up one morn ing and discovered that German parachutz froops were falling from eir sky like a plague of locusts.

"We Must Flee" Thirteen-year-old Klein was suddenly

her father.

Among these was the 200-ton j mine in June. Her owner, Mr. Campeador V, sùnk by an enemy Vernon Macandrew, handed her over to the Admiralty, served in her

and went

Most of her crew were yachtsmen down with her. from South Devon, and included a retired Surgeon Rear-Admiral. Josephine i In recent months the Patrol called by: Service

has been strengthened "Come, darling," he said, "the our shores from Wick round the until now it forms a cordon round Germans

We must East and South flee."

Coasts and There was no panic in the mind and

the West Coast as far as Larne of this child.

Liverpool. In the waters Patrol maintain a ceaseless watch near these shores the boats of the in any sort of weather conditions that come along.

are here.

"All right, daddy," she said, and taking his hand in hers,, she went, with hum to, the local beach, and it was here that she joined a party of ten other people, who had a large

rew-boat in readiness to leave 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 Nazi vultures diving on hemes and blowing them to bits

with their bombs.

their

Meanwhile, the stout Dutchmen manned the cars and were rowing 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

the others fall.

"There's only one thing for it," somebody said. "we must row to England."

Frightful Trip

So, without a compass or food, and very little water, these 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 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

Most

up

small

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

It is a thousand pities that mariner and master, too, of En- Joseph Conrad, Polish master

glish prose, did not survive to tell the story of his countrymen's high adventure in remote waters.

..

Tale Still To Be Told

the

of

But, even were there a Conrad

Patrol, the tale would have to be talise the exploits of the Auxiliary or a Herman Melville' to immor-

deferred, The fewer details available to the enemy of its work From The R.N.V.R. and of the exact areas in which The average

it operates, the better for the ef- crew of a motor yacht is a second hand, an safety of its members.

ficiency engineer, and

of the service and

men.

two ordinary sea- drawn from the Royal Naval Vo- danger has become a matter

of the officers

This much are

cari be said-that

usually one officer to six yachts. lunteer Reserve, and there is routine with these fishermen and yachtsmen, of whom few, except drifters there is one officer to two layers,

In the case. of trawler's and the Royal Naval Reserve" gun- have naval training, charge of the others. The fisher-for peaceful purposes, would be or four vessels, with skippers in Many of their boats are such as, men who man the trawlers are considered fair-weather craft, and specially enlisted for the duration cannot be fuelled for long trips. of hostilities only.

Generally speaking, fouy-day tours lers, and the small boats are used of duty are carried out by traw

of London Authority River Emer- for shorter spells. gency Service, whose "beat" is It can also be said that some of Bridge to Hole Haven, The fam- against enemy aircraft, but the on the Thames from Tower the boats are, in action every day.

MP., is in the Thames Patrol, and that the future historian of 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 piecing together. in her as a petty officer.

also been incorporated the Port With the Auxiliary Patrol has

on

trol duty, and among units

Allied vessels are also on pa-

the south-west coast are trawlers manned by Poles.

the

As a naval officer put it. "These chapa are 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 thin nightdress with then, they would

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

wool in the sun.

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

Weaker--- Weaker

The days passed, und, with the close of each, this herole little 'Band of seafarers became weaker

and weaker."

**: The lessa robust of the arów fell-"over their oers unable to row any more." The tonguen lof) the men swelled through lack of

·water: “

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

stood near.

"Apart from, animals outside there were our own in the clinic who were frightened at the noise of boribing and gunfire," said Jean. "I gave each one a sleep- ing draught. That took a lot of my time.

Pet: Blackbird Sheila, her pot Airedale, fol- "Altogether I think. I rescued lowed her wherever she went four cats, a dog and a canary, barking signals where she Others were brought to me by sniffed out four-legged brothers their owners." and sisters injured or trapped, One of Jean's strangest patients Jeatr did not stop till she was is a tiny blackbird. It was brought satisfied she had done all shein by its owner, an old man, Mr. could.

J. Langdon, who also brought his refused to leave her home till her

Two, three, four, five; six days “Sheila” Helped and nights passed like a pro- longed and grotesque night-centre in Fitzroy Street, W., where Then she returned to the animal maro. It seemed indeed that they couldn't live..

she works as veterinary assistant; Meanwhile the child had be donned her white overall and set 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.s

Make

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1940

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1940

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"T'S SUCH A RELIEF TO PHONE MY ORDERS

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GROCERIES, BUTCHERIES, FRUITS, GREENS AND

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It Refreshes and Invigorates

ACT NOW

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

scription to

ASSIST Á 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

pet greyhound Peggy. Peggy, who For the Purchase of Aeroplanes or such injured. The blackbird was suffer- master had been rescued, was un- other Armaments as the British Government 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 cats were destroyed China Morning Post. Cheques should be

that morning. One horse. wan .brought in with a cut to be

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

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 bont,

jane. I like English children, and their injuries dressed. snatching the refugees from death.

the people. But I love Holland. It "Most of the animals are suffer- means everything to me. One day.ing from shock," the surgeon, said. "See My People Freed"

"It was dreadful," little Jose- phine told me. "But it couldn't have been worse than to live un

I know I should go back and see "Kept quiet for a time, they will

Morning Post, Limited.

my people freed from the Ger- be all right. Jean was wonderful. All donations will be acknowledged in the

mans."

"And in whom have you faith?" I asked,

"In God,” she replied simply.

She has not had any sleep. nll night and has been going at it all day, too. She deserves an animal V.C. If there is such a thing

columns of The S. C. M. Post.