1941-02-27 — Page 7

THE CHINA MAIL, FEBRUARY 27, 1941.

CHINA MAIL

"WINDSOR HOUSE

THE PARTNERS

SPEAK

doubtful

The two European Axis purt- ners have spoken but it is ex- whether the tremely most ardent Nazi or Fascist re- ceived any reassurance from what their lenders said.

certainly

The Italians did nol. Mussolini's speech, which was, as he himself confessed, given reluctantly, was nothing

than a series of feeble excuses for Italy's downfall for which he alone is responsible He put forward the argument that the as Italy was unprepared for war at the same time as she had arendy been at war for six years' - her losses were understandable In the next breath he declared that Italy WHS supporting weight of 2,000,000 soldiers

an enormous air

the

1413

force and artil lery. He gave, ideed, soyne in- teresting figures of the great pre

made tr parations which

for

cars

capture Egypt and destroy Brit- Mediterranean ish might in the anea. He had sent, he said, 1,900 the guns of all calibres and of most recent type, more than 15,- 300 machine-guns, 11,000,000 art- illery shells, more than 1,000,000... 0100 rounds of ammunition Lutomatic weapons, 24,000 tons of clothing and 759 armoured These figures, outlining the care- ful preparations the Balians had made in Libya, are worth quoting as they not only refute his state- btk "unpreparedness". ments of

the strength they also indicate against which the British had to Contend, and give an idea of the amount of war materials" cap- tured. His further plamtive cOME- plaint that Italy had always been) obliged to fight her wars far anek was a gross mus-statement as Al- far cant be considered Bway. Mussolini, who constantly

erts that he is the spotless chuld!

when the occasion of truth, con,

Na

its him, prevaricate as well as partner in crime, who wrote

In

. his book "Mein Kampt", the big be there is always a ver team force of credibility

Party.

the

his own rise from

112

THE SAME OLD RECORD

$

DREAMS

CRIME

HUMANITY-

ERSATZ -

RUINS

PEACE

出

CULOUS

MIRACUL

HAVE MIRACI

WE HAVE

VICTORIES

BEHIND US

AD NAUSEAM

CAWNICH

BEER CELLAR

Empire Heroes And West

East

SOBOTS,

At the

Pilot Officer

J. R. B. Meaker, who comes from Ireland, although nly 21, has shown himself to be end of the day he returned to his buse and handed over his pri- "resolute in attack, with a calm, In the announcement of determined tenperament." He has live aircraft. the award it is stated that Acting shut down at least Flight Lieutenant Campbell had Pilot Offeer T. F. Neill has des- shown skill, mitiative and devo-troyed six and Pilot Officer N. K. Stansfeld. a Canadian, has tion to duty."

brought down soven,

Pagé

They Go On Fishing

I can't mention the names of the trawlers or the skippers concern- ed; but at about midday the first put his trawl down about 15 miles off the coast, which wasn't in sight. There was a slight custerly breeze and something of a haze, though no sea to speak of, when, at half-past twelve, two enemy aircraft were seen to the south- castward and approaching fast. They dived down, and spent the next hour-and-a-quarter circling Found and attacking at close range.

They started by dropping several bonibs, which feil rufficiently close to send their splinters raining on board, to do

Meanwhile, much damage.

the third hand had got busy with his

By "Taffrail"

Arst

Lewis gun, plastering the Heinkel at close range and ap- parently damaging her, for after time she flew off out of sight..

But

aircraft before this both flew round and round in circles with ma- spraying the trawler chine-gun bullets. It was two against one, and the trawler, with her crew of nine, was a very easy target, particularly as her trawl was down and she couldn't weigh it. As her skipper said, she could only hope for the best and steam round and round in circles.

Well, that little ship-she was a ship of 159 tons, forty-one years ld-was fairly riddled with bul- lets and bomb splinters. Hey funnel, mast, ventilators, super- stcture, wheelhouse, sides and deck were punctured again and again. The compass and telegraph were damaged; the shrouds, rig- ging, wireless aerial-practically (very rope-cut or stranded. One bullet went in through the open door of the galley and punctured the oven door after wounding the cook, The hand manning the Lewis gun was also wounded, as was The skipper who told me the story. A bullet which had first hit some. thing else struck him in the back of his head. "I felt something hot, he said, "and put up my hand and found

this in the neek of my jersey." showing me a splayed out copper bullet with the usual steel core. He showed me the scar, too. Another bullet went through his jersey, and there were more frag- .ents of metal in his head and

"I can feel one shoulder. pricking," he explained. "My old woman picks out two or three new bits every morning."

'em

British airmen operating against attack in two occasions and ma- the Italians in the Middle East, a.chine-gunned the bout. well as against the Nazis in Ge, many and occupied territory nav meluded in the latest lists h Cachrich awards issued by the Brush Air Hitler's speech

The airinen come from kindly informed his listeners that, Ministry. he was "Teeling more fresh than many parts of the Empic.

Major Robert Henning Priler ever," was given on the 21st an

Flight Sergeant Bertram James

One of the best photographers Le decorated in this war. He is Thomas, of the Middle East Com- miversary of the birth of the Nazis the st South African pilot

Force has just of the Royal Air and and, has been awarded the Dis- It lasted one and a half] Cerving in the Middle East

By i been awarded a bar to his D.F.C. hours. The greater part being ces has been awarded the Distinguish- tinguished Flying Medal.

While uperating uperhuman effort he saved his He is Flying Officer Alistair Len- One recent recon- Jax Taylor. cupied in retracing the growth oiled Flying Cress.

Nazi party anf incidentally, over Italian territory his plane plane and the life of his air gun-

After a dive bombing raid naissance over Kiel, the announce-

The other story's about a 33- the obscure was hit and forced down. He was ner.

ment states, was considered the rank of a disgruntled agitator, to, listed as lost. For fourteen days on a gun position he attacked an

for one- ho tramped across the desert, Italian aircraft. He was hit by most valuable for the Navy dur-year old trawler which was also unhappy

and-a-half hours an explosive bullet and severely ing the war. Another time he took intermittently attacked

when engaged his present position as

urtering terrible hardship, but

off right shoulder.

in dense

secured fog and the wounded in the into staggered

in fishing. She didn't carry a ma- ventually figurehead of the German nation.

He gave directions Behind him his observer was kill-valuable photographs of the Dort-

chine-gun; but her Hitler's speech differed from Mus-British lines.

skipper fired the most

his rifle every time the aeroplane solini's only in the fact that the which led to the rescue of his aired. Despite his weakness through mund-Ems Aqueduct,

Germany's of blood.

point al Flight Sergeant vulnerable His deed was one of grea: loss

The aircraft dropped the bit crew. lalter has already tasted

Thomas set his course for Berbera, busiest industrial waterway. From Came ncar. ter fruit of defeat and was try-endurance.

Another pilot serving in the about forty miles away. Almost other exceptionally successful re- several bombs, which missed, and for his

of blood, and connaissances he brought back then used her machine-guns. The ing to soothe his people

there were nо diplomatic failures and calastro-Middle East who has been award- exhausted by loss

cd the

D.F.C. is Acting Flight with his right shoulder useless, he photographs of Cap Gris Nez and ship was hit again and again and casualties, as the men had taken phic military rebuffs, while the Lieutenant William Weir Camp- made a successful landing, with Flushing. He has completed 60 of damaged; but

He is in charge of a flying the undercarriage of his plane these photographic missions;

cover-all except the skipper, who former spoke of the preparations bell.

defeat boat. He sunk two Italian sub-retracted. The official description

Described as a particularly bril-bobbed up every now and then to Germany was making to "Enemy No. 1" as Mussolini des-marines in two days and machine of his bravery is "a superhuman

Archibald Ashmore McKellar has his cribed the British people. There gunned a third because he

Then he had the idea of firing Seven fighter pilots who re- been awarded the bar to

defence of ordinary rockets, pointing them in. were. however, various points in run short of bombs. He is known

ceive awards, six the D.F.C, and D.F.C. During the for as "Dead Eye Dick." which call Hitler's speech

While on patrol be sighted his one a bar to the D.F.C., have be- London he shot down eight 'planes the aeroplane's direction. He fired first submarine and immediately tween them shot down 54 aircraft in eight days, and led his squa-eight in all, and the aircraft, mis- comment, both on account of their

As be over Britain and Dunkirk. inaccuracies, but also because of set his plane into a dive.

Pilot dron with fighting spirit and re-taking them for something lethal, he released his Omcer W. L. McKnight, a Cana- | source.

kept at a respectable height. "But" the facts which they were intend- flattened out,

I expect we'd have been done in." bombs. The submarine reared dian, receives the bar to the To conclude, here is a simple the skipper told me, "if the fog. cd to conceal.

out of the water, nose first, like D.F.C. He has destroyed six Ger- story which is typical of the hadn't come down and saved us. his protestations of innocence, his a stricken fish, and then slid back man machines in the last thirteen | courage of civilians of the British | We chopped our gear away and

His talk of the Versailles Treaty,

desire for justice have been re-

have be peated so often-they come a formula in all his public utterances--that even the

had

effort."

liant tactician, Flight Lieutenant fire his rifle.

ut-

again vertically and sank from weeks. He is described as a "cour- Isles. In their everyday life now steamed full speed towards the sight. All that remained was a ageous and tenacious fighter.”

they are likely to run into dan- shore, where the aeroplane patch of bubbles.

Flight Lieutenant J. I. Kilmar-ger, but they are always ready to mightn't have followed even if the The following day he spotted a tin has downed 12 machines, and meet it with a stout heart:

fog. had lifted." Ger- Italian submarine on the surface. his dash and determination, with

William Joseph Jenkins is a the clear thinking, combine to make

What amazed me was the calm. .. man people looking at Europe to- Again he dived and before

they were being him a magnificent leader. Acting

Swansea air raid messenger. A day must feel that these declara-crew realised

are attacked, he had let go his bombs. Flight Lieutenant P. S. Turner, raid was at its height. An urgent sort of way these, men accepted tions of peaceful intentions

the another Canadian, has shot down message had to be taken from the situation. They were neither conning tower. In spite of a somewhat out of date, but here They found a mark beside

ten machines. On September 15, Manselton to the control room, a of them young. Both had wives and there cautiously interpolated rough sea and a gathering storm, one of the three victorious day's distance of some three miles, Jen- and families. Their general seiftences hold the attention. One Campbell toxied his flying boat referred to by the Prime Minister kins mounted his motor cycle and titude, like that of the men of the of these injected thoughts was with great skill among the wreck Mr. Winston Churchill, in a mes set off on the journey, voiding Merchant Navy, was that they gas mains, weren't going to be prevented wreckage and burst the

going to sea and curning embodied in his remark that "only age of the submarine and rescued sage of congratulation to

of four of the crew. He then

any pestilential reFighter Command, he brought Falling bricks knocked him from from

his machine, but dazed and their livings by a few fools could ever think

I have sumed his patrol and spotted a down a Nazi machine, and was bruised he remounted. He had Germans. Come what might they'd revolution in Germany.

third submarine, Although he then hit by cannon shell. For Д taken on," he added, "many de- had no bombs left he divêd to the few seconds It locked as though not gone far before, a bomb carry on, and be damned to the

knocked lilm unconscious. Helpers his machine were helpless and out

They were phlegmatic, stolid of control, but by clever hand came and he recovered, and in- strange reference to the state of ing of his lost opportunities and ling he regained control, and even sisted on continuing with his ur-men, these two skippers, hard- gent message." He had another. billen seamen inured to foul won- mind developing in Germany is his failure to win the first bout destroyed a second plane before significant and hardly, one would last September? These are a few he brought his own damaged. mu-half mile to go. The lyres of his ther and a hard life. It didn't sedm machine were flat, ripped. open to occur to them that they were for a beloved of the chinks in Hitler's armour chine safely back. to his base. by bomb splinters, but he rode on. doing anything particularly dar think, necessary leader to utter. Against whom which show the world that he is Flying Officer T. A. F. Elsdon He was blown off yet again, but ng or praiseworthy in adding to Was the threat

The not as invincible as he would like from Scotland; has a bag of six still he remounted, and delivered the nation's food supply of fresh directed?

to his credit. On September this message.

fish, though In these days their job Fuehrer then expressed the read- it, to think. Possibly our Far

when leading his squadron, his

Is just as tough as that of the to "measure East neighbour, Japan, will not method of attack was successful Jenkins has been awarded the thousands of others from the ILY iness of Germany our strength again." We like this fall to draw the necessary con- in destroying hine aircraft and George Medal recently instituted|ing fleets who are serving in the

probably three muret akby the King.

minesweepers and patrol craft, ag word, "again". Was Hitler think-clustori.

mocratic enemies in the past and have always been victorious:" This

་

Huns.