1954-08-13 — Page 4

'Page 4

What's best in Kowloon ?

THE CHINA MAIL, FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 1954.

Willow Inn Restaurant

763 NATHAN AD. (JUNCTION PRINCE EDWARD AD;) TEL. 67347

for Dinner,

Dance

& Drinks!

PRINCESS GARDEN

RESTAURANT

FAMOUS PEKING FOOD

PRINCESS THEATRE BLOC KOMLOON 5189

SALE

mart hand embroidered dresses & day dresses,

latest fashions!

sale for the whole month of August

10%-50% discounts

Tailored Suits

Evening Cowns

Cocktail suits

Dressing Gowns

Cocktail Gowns

Gunung Loathur Bolts Bargain Prices: $5-$6 each

Mayai & Co.

Workshop

5A, Granville Rd., Kowloon.

Main Shop:-120, Nathan Road, Kowloon.

Princess Theatre Building)

PALM COURT HOTEL

14 C-D

restaurant

CAMERON ROAD

THE PLACE FAMOUS FOR

KOWLOON.

GOOD FOOD

Call 53046-7 for Reservations

High Class Leather Ware Manufacturer CHUN WAH CO.

410, Peking Road & 40B, Hankow Road, Kowloon. Factory: 1136 Canton Rd.

Wholesale & Retails

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Tel. 50214.

HANDICRAFTS & ARTS

FOLDING WASTE PAPER BASKETS ALL KINDS OF HAND PAINTINGS: WALL-PAPERS, PICTURES, X'MAS CARDS & ETC. ORDERS ACCEPTED

01

Factory of

THE FU HING TRADING CO.

Chinaking

Arcade, Kowloon,

Telephone 52620.

Clearance Sale of Summer Clothing

15 DAYS ONLY

READY-MADE DRESSES

of

Various Designs

AH CHUK TAILOR

71A, Nathan Rd., Kowloon, (Flower Lane In Lock Rd.) Tel: 52249.

ZORIC DRY

DRY CLEANING

CAN ONLY BE DONE IN A "ZORIC“ UNIT.

THERE

is BUT ONE IN THE COLONY, IT IS USED AT.

THE STEAM LAUNDRY CO.

Call 58266 For Collection and Delivaries

THE "POST" TYPHOON MAP

and TYPHOON, TABLE

Mounted $5.00 Unmounted $4.00

lem

Govinu, uparmigia arenda and time-distance for typhoons shout Hang Kôn... A uselut adjunct to the "Post" Trahpan Mao'

Obta'ni ble from

$2.00 Mounted

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

CHONGKONG" A -KOWLOON

"Lady—this route's got wind rising to gale force, sleet, snow, thunder and 'all, but as far as I can tell you—no MiGs.”

Airport

London Express Bervica

Firefighters

Always On The Alert

T Wns

warm sultry day at Kai Tak last month. Nothing out of the ordinary was hap pening. A big BOAC air- liner was coming into land. Its tricycle undercarriage bumped on the tarmac once, twice... and then, quite suddenly, the nose- wheel tyre exploded.

bring

Before the pilot could the plane to a step the plane was surrounded by six of the air- port's fire engines, sirens wailing. their crews ready to battle any sudden fre should the big air- Hiner collapse under the burst tyre,

The plot was surprised., "My Gosh, they got out here quickly." he said.

1

It was the rame story $11 Februsty last year, when United States Air Force plane crashed and burst into flames on the tarmac. But for the speedy cfficiency of the airport's fire service there might have been a major disaster. As It

was, only crew were wraig in

tivo

of the

killed. every me a planc

jured; but no one was kill

In

Inet

By EDDIE PASSOS

Firemen unrolling the hose beside two of their fire engines, (Staff Photographer).

over to the

Arst and the plane after that Fire Brigade for training. After this was finished they were

It into with their axes in case the lands or lakes off from Kai Tak, Land Rover, and the firefighting fire down and extinguishes

are qualified quickly.

occupants are trapped inside." fire engine drivers rev up their service of 54 men

"You

SCC,"

Mr Henderson Here the acting manager of It's a re- to meet any emergency. engines. Just in case. gulation. And to make sure Let's take a closer look at the said, "there is quite a difference the airport, Mr F. J. R. Lilly- that there are no cold motors at reen who may have to save your between fighting an aircraft white, took up the story.

Are and other fires. Although He told me that the Kal Tak a vital moment, the drivers go life and mine one day.

operations and Arc-

employed by firefighters

Were through the same reutine every In charge is Divisional Officer rescue

the the Civil Aviation Department few minutes.. It's n non-stop

A. S. Henderson, recently trans fighting go hand in hand, Job, with the firemen always at ferred from the Hongkong Fire main function is to save lives and were turned the ready..

Brigade. He commands two CO-2 tenders, two foam tenders and needs team work.

"When an aircraft bursts into two water tenders. His Second-

CO-2 in - Command is Sub-Omeer flames, fremen

on the K. K. Yuen, a qualified aero-

carrying specially nautical engineer.

axes to break into compartments, rush to the cock. fuselago pit and the door of the

save lives, while other fire- men try to save the aircraft.

"See that map on

and to

new Installing

New Engines KAI Tak's firefighting ser-

You may wonder why all vices, it is said, compare airport fire engines don't carry

with favourably

thec of water? What's the CO-2 international airport the foam for?

Mr Henderson the world. It

told has been

water can't be used in a high He pointed to a big diagram ready up modernised and smartened echalderably in recent years. octane gas fire because it would showing the Once their only equipment was truck which carried 25 gallons ef form and 400 gallons of water, That was grossly Inadequate.

anz,

In

Now the service is almost up to International Civil Aviation Organisation standards. There are six new fire engines and one

· pro

airport. stationed at the

"But now we have our own Divisional Officer and equip ment we hope to train the men ourselves" he said.

Plus the slick brigade of

Tak cficials men, Kal

equipment the best give the airport facilities possible. There

22 hydrants along plans of various

the runways and seven more aro you help spread the fire rather than types of aircraft. "Well, put it out. But the foam blan- need to study the plans of all being installed. kots the fire and quickly extingu- aircraft in airport firefighting- Ishes it. The water tenders that's part merely feed their supplies to training. the foam tenders.

mo

CO-Z is a kind of heavy and very 'cool gas which keeps the

Kal Tak Broßghters spraying foam

on the wall to

Demonstration

Breman's of the

"These men must know which part of the plane is the most vulnerable and easy to break WELL; all

are

this sounded very impressive. How, I won- dered, did it work in practice? As if reading my thoughts, Mr Lillywhite asked: "Would you like to see a demonstration?"

We got into a 'Land Rover and drove to about 500 yards from the station where Ms Lillywhite spoke to the Control Tower from a small radio In- stalled in the Rover.

"This car will be an Imaginary plane on fire," he told me. “And now just watch."

Amethyst Escaped Because... THE ADMIRAL TURNED

A BLIND EYE

(From A Correspondent)

HE dramatic escape signals being brought to the

T by tho frigate admiral at table,

Amethyst from a One of those signals was Chinese Communist trap'in from the Admiralty, mark- the Yangtse River was con- ed: "Most immediate. Top trary to Admiralty orders, secret."

In

This can be revealed - It arrived first in garbled five years after the 140-mile form through errors dash to freedom on the transmissión but night of Saturday, July 30, enough to indicate that the 1949.

Admiralty did not approve

clear

I heard the story soon the breakout plan. after the breakout. But the Someone up at political British admiral who acted level was wanting time to.

before nssuming against orders, in the Nolson think, "blind eye to his telescope" responsibility for approving

such a rlek. manner, was still serving.

Now Admiral Sir Patrick Brind C-in-C Far East

Station in 1949 — has re- Admiral Brind, the man- tired. The story can be told, on-the-spot, knew there was It started on April 20; no time for thinking." It was 1949 when Amethyst probably Amethyst's last taking supplies to the Brit chance."

!

Ish Embassy in Nationalist- So the admiral sent the held Nanking came under signal back for checking and heavy fire from Communist rechecking. The clock moved shore batteries on the Yang- on towards 10. tse'a northern bank.

Eventually the clarity of Nineteen, including the the message was beyond captain, were killed or died dispute. It said-though not from wounds; eight were in these exact words seriously wounded, and the "Under no circumstances is ship ran aground. Signal Amethyst to attempt a code books were destroyed, breakout without authorisa and half the crew went over- tion from Admiralty," ́, land to Shanghai with the wounded.

There was less than half an hour to go,, but Belfast was then in direct radio touch, with Amethyst. There

Amethyst was refloated was still time to stop her.

. Admiral Brind left his and Lieut-Commander John Kerans, R.N., from the guests to dictate an urgent Nanking Embassy staff, took signal. But it was not to command. Through

the Amethyst, steamy heat of May, June,

·

It was to Admiralty, and

The admiral returned to

and most of July, 73 men it said bluntly: "I have were trapped in a mid-river ordered Amethyst to sail prison beneath the threat of and I consider it too late to

stop her now,”. Communist guns.

Then, in guarded language and using an improvised his guests. Sharply at 10 code, Admiral Brind hinted p.m. he rapped the table and by radio to Kerans that he said: "Ladies and gentle- should prepare for a break- men, I give you a tonst

HMS Amethyst." out.

On Friday, July 29, Ad- miral Brind radioed to The guests, puzzled, Kerans that it must be now drank. Twelve minutes later or never, adding: "What came Keran's message: "I ever your decision I shall am under way and under support your judgment." heavy fire from shore bat-

Kerans replied that he terics." would begin his breakout at 10 o'clock next night.

in-

On Saturday morning Ad- miral Brind informed the Admiralty for the first time that a breakout was tended. He was taking the responsibility and leaving little time for argument.

Seven and a half hours after that Kerans -sent his historic signal;

"HAVE REJOINED THE FLEET SOUTH OF WOOSUNG. NÓ ĐAM AGE OR CASUALTIES. GOD SAVE THE KING." Amethyst was free,.and the non-Communist

That night the admiral Boon was host to a dinner party world was aglow with the in his flagship, the cruiser news-but only a few knew that it would never have Belfast, at Hongkong.

Guests, knowing nothing happened if the man-on-the- of the drama to come, spot had not backed his sensed the tension, and judgment against his noted a" steady stream of orders.

Something more than just "Good!"

Caster

sugar

of superfine quality.

Pure, white crystals

In a few minutes the alarm hygienically packed.

bolls tinkled, and automatically bix fire engines loaded with helmeted fire crews shot out of their station and came racing tówards us,

・In Fore than a minute the ax trucks had arrived. In another few seconds we were circled by the fire crews and is just 'over n minute foam; was spouting from three hoses.

That speaks for jboll The Kal Tak crews are ready for any Temergency night and day and they guaranibeo that within two

· minutes of care, accidentish29/11- beyon; the apot ready to put out

Caster TAIKOO SUGAR

pound packets

35 pound tins