1940-12-12 — Page 7

Airmen

Earth

The second, a 30-year-old pilot coast, inland and over the sea. from a crippled · Messerschmidt: Junkers 88 was shot down and which made a forced landing in a one of the four airmen who baled field of cabbages, was wearing out was seen to come down in thẻ several decorations. He stepped sen. He had to swim a mile to the from his machine with his hands shore. Civilians helped the ex- over his head and gave himself up, hausted man over the rocks. Then to a farm hand. As he was march before he was taken away he said. ed off he remarked: "These Spit in English: "I am an Italian fires are very good. They were too What are you going to do with

me?"

fast for me. So I'm out of it now."

"An airman who was picked up | Another pilot whose 'plane was One pilót was found asleep, out of the sea off Britain's South-forced down near a South-West wrapped in his parachute, and West coast, said to his rescuers: coast town made an almost identi- another who landed in a country This war is bad for everybody." cal remark. As he walked to-lane inland walked until he came. He was told that "Britain was do- wards a farm worker his first re-to a Home Guard and then gave ing nicely, thank you."

quest was: A cigarette and a cup himself up. A third one landed on of tea, please."

In almost every case the cap- "tured German airmen have shown

little or no regret at finding them selves British captives. In only one case has a pilot shown any truculence, and he refused to ac- cept the offer of an overcoat that was handed to him in view of the fact that he had been immersed in the sea,

This was given him, and as his wounds were dressed he continued in good English: "Those Spitfires are very good. This is my heaven. I am out of it!"

•

as

The cocksureness of

An 18-year-old pilot of another July has been knocked out

'plane was quite frank of him; he found himself

he was marched off to the nearest military, post. "I am very glad apologising for abandon- a German pilot whose machine, Here are two tributes. Both air-indeed to be down," he said.

riddled with bullets, made a men were brought down on the ing plans for the invasion forced landing on the South coast. same day within a few minutes Among three Nazi airmen who of England, committed The pilot stepped unhurt from the of each other, but at different landed on a hill and were round- wreckage carrying with him his towns along the South-East coast, ed up by gamekeepers on the case containing his hair One Nazi was found to be wound- same day was a 15-year-old youth. touchd hair,oll. In his arms heed when he landed by Parachute He knew no English but kept mur- It would in a field. A farm groom covered muring thanks to his captors in carried his fur coat. seem that he had left Germany him with a shot gun, The airman German, certain that he would be shot down and had started off on his night with the intention of mak- ing himself as comfortable as pos-

himself to significant phrases from which the startling implica tion might be drawn that he has fallen back upon the defensive and is now challenging the rest of the world to try and take back from his clutches his ill-gotten gains of the last few months.

threw up his hands with a sigh of rebet and sald in broken English: "No more fighting; English too good!”

During a raid over Portland dozens of Nazi airmen fluttered to carth at different.points along the

Unshaken Resolution

"Each at his post" is perhaps the best way in which to define

That, indeed, was the

the prevalling note in the life of By Robert Mackay other countries where political keynote of a speech the British people to-day.

which, as usual, was a masterpiece of casuisty.

a

The 1914-18 war was called

The "the great war."

present struggle might be defined as At this stage in a fight! "war of surprises." That aspect, however, is not so much a ques- to a finish, when he dare tion of military strategy and tac- tics, or even one of technical and other innovations of unexpected these may be, they can hardly be quafied as surprises. Moreover,

:

.

not trust himself to make reference to events in Al- bania or the doings (or undoings) of his ally, Italy, he does not pretend any further that the sub- jugation of the small na- tions of Europe is a tem- forced porary expedient upon Germany by the, ex- igencies of a war for ex- istence against Great Bri- tain.

character. However

in. face

gression was to render the in- spected ternational situation still

the roof of a cottage occupied by a ¡ Guard, and his wife. In on- other part of the south-west coast a Nazi airman landed in a lane. As he was being marched off un- der military escort, he wiped the blood from a wound in his neck and said two words in English: "Thank goodness!"

Few German pilots believe the silly stories told in Germany that prisoners are shot in Britain. One, however, was a bit apprehensive when, two women took him into custody.

His Messerschmidt had been shot down by an R.A.F. fighter. The young pilot lay on the ground. He wore the Iron Cross. The first people to reach him were two women, Mrs. Betty Tylee. and Miss Jean Smithson. The young pilot looked at the two women. He spoke good English..

"Are you going to shoot me?”~ he asked.

"No," said Mrs. Tylee. "We don't do that in England. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Please," said the pilot eagerly, So a cup of tea was made for in her efforts by certain condi tions which actually existed. In him, and the ambulance called for him and he was taken to hospital. to a policy of

Another 'pilot, a blonde young strict neutrality as constituting an adequate safeguard for the German, who came down in the defence of their territory-this, north of England showed his ap-. of a nation which had preciation in a natural and gal-.. The result of that act of ag- long since.

declared that it re- lant way. He spoke no English. A no juridical concept mistress and her maid, a girl in more which should stand in the way her teens, were taking shelter dur- * fluid. Even so, and in spite of its own policy of expansioning an air raid. There was a ter- of the scant consideration shown and domination. It was the lack rifle crash not far away." The by the Reich to the rights and of any cohesive plan of resistance young maid suddenly remember- interests of neutral nations, it that made it easy for Germany gd she had forgotten to turn off the still seemed-unill only a few to subjugate a large part of electric iron, She dashed back to it was thus that the house, but on the way she met inviolability-of neutral territory Great Britain found herself alone a young German pilot, very dazed months agoas if at least the Europe, and would be respected. But then in the struggle against a Ger- and green with fear. She was so came the German invasion of many and Italy both powerfully sorry for him that she took him the attempt to into the house and poured him out. shortly

frightened to drink it, but shie forced the stimulant down his throat: Before he was arrested he kissed the tips of her fingers!

appropriate defence measures are always invented to methods are arm, while counter-methods invariably followed by still newer methods of attack. It is rather

Holland and Belgium and the of arms. in the political and social domain that the qualification of "war of collapse of France as the con-

sequence. surprises" might appropriately be given to this war.

Denmark and Norway, followed prepared for

afterwards by that of dominate the world by force a glass of whisky. He was too

.

2

What has really happened is that the atmosphere of inter- national relations has become an unaccountable one; or the cle- ment of surprise may be exercent ed by saying that so divergent have been the cross-currents of opinion that it has been, and in deed still is, impossible to assess the real value of any of them.

.matter of restore the freedom of the has become a mere

conjecture. The delicate ma- conquered peoples. On the chinery of normal relations be contrary, he regards them tween nations has long, since been as goods and chattels for Leaders of the Reich, who made the purposes of Pan-Ger- confusion worse confounded when

they invaded Poland. man sway, to be put to forced labour for the

He makes no promise to Thus, the course of future events cribed the process recently: "The one which

This is how Mr. Wallace des- loving nation, more especially

The British people, however, is inspired by the same senti In all these cases, however, ment that the Chief of the Cultural Relations

-Ten children of Mrs. Parsons, what happened did not low as Division of

State Depart wife of Bert Parsons, a farmer in the result of a purely military of the American

to be that of all south-west England, crept down attack. What had happened was ment declared

stairs early one morning to And a kind of composite assault, care- American peoples. fully prepared in time of peace.

their mother and father tending a This process could not be better "The American nations," said young German pilot. His 'plane: summed up than in the words of Mr. Harrington short while had came down in a field nearby not to bo and Mr. Parsons had taken the the Minister of Agriculture of the ago, are determined United States.

dominated." It is evident that pilot home because his hand was the normal economy of a peace badly injured. Mr. Parsons wash- ed and bandaged the hand and Is profoundly de- made him a cup of tea. made up its mocratic, cannot Hitler group has

be transformed

"Good, so good," said the pilot. mind to dominate the world, by to meet the requirements of war lawful or unlawful means, by in a few days. Nevertheless it is gratefully. He had been told that

of a means

combination. of almost miraculous how much has if he landed in England his throat economic warfare, propaganda, been accomplished by Great Bri- would be cut but said he did not controlled news and the Gestapo, tain in twelve months, and that believe it. with the terrorism of an un-by the free will of a free people sheathed sword to cut short all the essential basis of the de- Mrs. Evelyn Cardwell, who cap- discussion." It was this com-mocratic conception,

-tured an armed German airman bination of every means, more

single-handed when he landed action, greater good of the suvers, as clearest exposi that took most countries

especially subterranean

The British people has freely near her farm house in the north by accepted the rude trials of war, of England, was awarded the Or- perior" German people. tion of his aims and in- surprise. Nobody wanted to be fully conscious of the immense der of the British Empire (Civil tentions if Germany wins could be an integral part of the quired of it until final victory is 5it. 8ins, and 45 years old. He was lleve that abuse of hospitality sacrifices that will still be re- Division) for her bravery. She is the war a frank declareficial policy of a civilised na- won. But already the whole 6ft, 4ins., young and armed. She ation that peoples other tioni

economic activity of the country frowned at him fiercely, told him has been adapted to a war to put his hands up and look his That was why the lightning" economy. The task has been revolver" away.

took on an unexpected colossal; but the British people

Not in a single phrase

did he hold out any pros pect of escape or release. The "New Europe," as it would be if dictated from

upset by the

actions

of the

than German are to be en-

slaved and deprived of the war

shape. It was a conjugated has gone soberly forward with On the South East coast a 14-

dignities of man as in the effort, of long date, which the it, and it is a nation in arms that year-old girl, Elizabeth Brown, Berlin, would be a regu- most barbarous ages of Reich has put into practice in is to-day facing with quiet calm helped to arrest two Nazi nirmen. lated system in which all

time of peace to foment internal the greatest crisis in the history. When they landed she ran towards Asiatic despotism.

disintegration in neighbouing of humanity.

their machines with an armed other nations would be It may, on the other countries, In order to be able to

milkman. The Germans surrend- allotted their definite but

invade their territories with all the After many vicissitudes, the cred immediately. be another OX greater case once, it found the whole country regards the future subordinate parts, contri- hand,

moment opportune. With all with confident serenity The When one German crashed in a buting to the industrial ample of his "bargaining the round thus prepared in greatest mistake committed by held near Eastbourne, the farmer aggrandisement and agri- realism," a promise to advance, the terrorism of mech-the leaders of the Reich was to ordered him to take off his shoes cultural supply of the su-German workers to get naised units and aviation only think that a nation which loved so that he could not run away

had to complete the work of peace. would not know how to over the stubble. more out of them at a cri-destruction which had already light with resolution if war came, preme Reich.

War did come-the war which One pilot officer of a Heinkel tical time a promise as been begun in peace-time.

Britain had done everything 111 bomber crashed in south-weat In this sense, the valuable as his guarantees Although England did every humanly possible to prevent from England axelnimed when he was speech might be inter- to Holland and Belgium this wort of disintegration, going principles of justice, of right and gins shell got the middle engine against all the captured: "Shell got the port en- thing in her power to prevent coming," "war preted, as by some obser- seven months.

s ago,

on, she was greatly embarrassed" of liberty,

Million-marks gonel"