1955-07-12 — Page 4

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THE CHINA MAIL, TUESDAY, JULY 12, 1955.

THE MEN WHO WENT

TO LUNCH

By DAVID LAIDLAW

N ancient and mediaeval 17 and 27, ferefore, a number

In pelson the Poles were great physical times it was a favourite of meetings took place between subjected to

him and Pimonov. It was then hardship and, to the mental práctico of political

that there should be a torture of nightly interrogations schemera to invite their scale meeting of the Polish to the Secret Palice. Interoga lenders With ttone which sometimes lasted enemies to a banquet, and Underground

Marshal "Zhukov

the IDE

stretch. 16 hours at thon either murder them or

Commander-in-Chief of the Finally, worn out in mind and throw them into a dungeon. Soviet forces in Poland, and body, they were brought to trial

Just before the end of the

Pimonov suggested that this in June 1945, charged with Second World War, in March meeting should take the form sabotage against the USSR, and 1946, the Soviet Government of a luncheon given by the condemned to varying terms of invited 18 leaders of the Polish Soviet authorities in honour of imprisonment. Underground movement to

the Poles, luncheon party. The hospitality they received was grim Indeed, and their story fantastic in modern setting.

When the Invitation was issued, the Nazis had been driven out of Poland, the Red Army was close on their heels, and people's thoughts were less on the fighting than on the political and terri torial settlement which would follow.

The Russians, pursuing their policy of annexation, had nl- ready done their best to destroy Polish Independence. They had retired to support, the War saw Rising of August 1944, in which thousands of Poles were killed or wounded, and they had organised mass arrests of Polish soldiers and civilians.

AN INVITATION

The luncheon for the Under- ground leaders (who included representatives of all the politi- cal parties in Poland) was clearly planned as a final stroke against the opponents of Com- munism.

A STIPULATION

Pimonov's one stipulation was that General Okullek!, the com- mander of the Polish Homo Army (the force of patriots which had fought against the Germans in Poland itself) should-without fail-be pre

Lent.

In due course all was settled and the date of the luncheon xod for March 28 On the evening of the 27th," Jankowski. Okulleki; and one of the other prospective delegates went to Soviet headquarters to complete the arrangements. They did not

return.

At the appointed time the next day the remaining 13 delegates presented themselves. at the agreed place. There was no sign either of Marshal Zhukov or of! their missing colleagues, ond

of them

immediately

severni

trop. They were with a great show of courtesy, however, and after a while the Soviet officers drove them to a country house near Warsaw, explaining that the

The quence of events, was as follows. On March 6, 1945, Jan Jankowski, one of the Junchoon could be held more leaders of the Underground and comfortably there. But no lunch

a delegate of the Polish Govern- appeared; nor

ment in London, received a Zhulcov..

letter from a Soviet colone)

called Pimonov Inviting him

and some of his colleagues to discussions with the Soviet milltary

commanders.

did

A JOURNEY

Marshal

The next morning the Poles

The were put on board a plane, with subject of the discussions was repeated assurances that they to be the safety of the Red were being taken to the Marshal; Army rearguard as it crossed and even when it became clear Poland in pursuit of the Nazis. from the direction in which they

Fimonov's

letter ended with were flying that their destination the following assurance: "As was in fact Moscow, this fletion

was still maintained. an officer of the Red Army.... I give you my word of honou that, from the moment of your arrival at the clace of the meet- ing your safety wir be my concern personally.

be perfectly secure."

But,

as soon as they reached

The trial itself, based on forced confessions and pro fabricated statements by doy- crumont witnesses, was--like

nil Communist political trials. a travesty of justice.

.

of

That was ten years Apart from the enormity their having been arrested .at all, the longest sentence passed un any of these men was one of 10 years. Yo the whereabouts kulicki and Jankowski—is stili uf nine of Them-including

unknown.

In April 1955, the Americas Government sent notes of pro- test on their behalf to the Soviet Union and Poland, but so far, there has been no answer.

Even the Communists, no

hard to explain doubt, and t away this minister example of Soviet hospitality.

F

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"Cancel Children's Hour for Wimbledon, would they? We can soon fix that."

-London Express Service

Did it Happen?

Appointment with the Fleet

DEDEGEAJZELUNJEN VRAEL AKU MAKSELLER”

1

a8

been summoned to the War

Office to give some advice

upon Arctic clothing. After

the conference there was

more

IFTEEN years ago

than enough time was placed in terrible a dilemma before my train left Liver- 38 can surely ever pool Street, to take me back to the officer cadet unit teaching

the Soviet capital; the 13 Poles have happened to

were thrown straight into pri-

anyone.

Even after the lapse of so where I son, whither their three missing long a time I sweat at the military law. You will colleagues had preceded them very thought of it.

The only Soviet authorities with Although Jankowski distrusted whom they

ever had "discus-

The Norwegian campaign

this invitation, he felt he could sions" were MVD commissar had just started, and I had

not refuse It Between March and the judge at their trial.

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Was

As I sat with a paper in Brigadier Holland's room 1 heard his secretary put through a call and say: ""The Brigadier asked me to let you know that he can't get home tonight." I remember- ed that I used to play tennis with his wife so, for old time's sake, I took over the telephone. We both agreed that the war was very dull. It could scarcely have been duller. As I put down the receiver Brigadier Holland` came into the room.

Enemy ahead...

"I want you to fly to Nor- way with Peter Fleming at once," he said.. "You must start in three hours' time. You are to find out if the Norwegians still hold Namsos, as we want to land there. You will have two officers as interpreters and two signal sergeants with WT sete. You'll get the full story from Peter."

"I was perfectly clear in my mind that this was no bluff. The stakes were altogether too high. If it came to it, I was certainly going to shoot...

Did this drama of the seas actually happen 7

Again a story in this FACT or FICTION curios nake Tomorrow the answer will be you to decide,

sublished.

our gunnera

or three Round and round we circled, Two

days later and General Carton de Wiart, VC, gradually losing height

down through field 'the force commander, arrived in peering ginases. We landed and, with

another Sunderland, By this still at the alert, taxied towards a wharf. We time air attacks were a common Though no bombs were the first British troops to occurrence.

and in Norway. We were had as yet been dropped upon the port, raids upon shipping greeted by a ragged cheep and occured whenever a worthwhile Poter made a short speech.

Langot was presented.

All that afternoon wo few north, and sperit the night at a mail naval station in Scotland. On arrival we were told that on air rold

expected and, พาย

After wireleasing to the War Ironically enough, as there were once that Namsos was clear, no spare beds, we alept on our first action was to blanket stretchers. At first light next the town, so as to prevent news morning we climbed aboard a Sunderland flying-boat.

We flow very low over the sea,

at only about 100 feet, so that we could not get shot up from, beneath. After passing a British submarine which, uncertain of our intentions, crash dived, we sighted destroyer flotilla. "Enemy alremaft ahead" algmailed to us. Our pilot sald “OK!” and passed the messago to his turretī.

A

Yellow streak

WIS

Wo saw an airplane on our left. Against a yellow, streak in the aky, low down' on the horizon, it looked inexpressibly black and sinister to me.

!

by

Martia

Lindsay. M.P.

ww

#twenty, wuars ago Martin

· sledging trip scrom Greenland and discovered 150 mlm at new

Mi Areth

Dk Hedge and Those Green»*

than

Days, sold

Ин (100,000 || Kopien.

kettia

Sertolian, of the Gerden High". Tandere in H.W. Europe = $0.

·CERAM DSO,. Lindsay MP. Ter Selikuk, Buningham.

.

111611111DATA

We met at noon Before saying anything I

next

опе

day, in the unbuttoned my revolver holster, saloon of a small I am not suggesting that this in schooner owned by any way affected what followed: of them. I They may have thought that I Nask or had allowed more was reaching for a than

But at that ample time, tobacco pouch.

got up, threw the stub of lifa strong

and had arranged moment Ohlsen

Lor the harbour away

master to send out black eigar, and said: "Now we

a second batch of go."

· pilots

be sunk.

we should

It had

When we were. half-way down fjord, German airplanes already the been a bad morn started to bomb another ship. I this with such ing, and unhan was watching

pily my arrival on interest that it was something board

coincided of a shock when I heard the

with an even more crack of bullets pussing.over- rald than head. We ourselves were being Bomb after machine-gunned,

nalsy

usual,

bomb

could be

heard detonating on

the water.

The pilota look-

self-conscious

ed

as I

walked

Like a rock

10. I diyed under cover, grovelling They nodded to, in thas scuppers like any coward. Captain Ohisen whose and nudged, ono of. But

I had evidently so their number. Their spokesman, courage whom I will call Ohlsën, said: greatly misjudged, stood at the wheel.like a rock. During re- peated attacks from diving alr- planes during the next twenty minutes, he never flinched. As

"We cannot go down the fjord today. It is too dangerous.""

I thought it best to treat this soon as the last one was over he

as a joke to pull their legs and shook my hand, beaming all jolly them along. We sat down over.

to

A drink and alcolled each

other several times. Everyone "You see, I was right!" he was very witty at the

expense said "I have been at sea for

know when ·It'

fa

+

of the Germans. There was no more than twenty years, and I lack of jovial good-fellowship. always But it soon became abundantly dangerous."* citar that they had no intention whatever of putting to sea.

I was appalled.

Agony of mind

In a few hours the fleet would be at the mouth of the fjord. But there would be no pilots. The warships and crowded The small Norwegian inter- transports would be faced with alternative of trying to

in through

darkness, fjord schooners and timber-boats the had now stopped altogether, como Our sloops and destroyers were with considerable navigational dive-bombed repeatedly. Unfor- hazards, or of withdrawing for lunately the general's 'plane 24 hours with all the dislocation chose such a moment to arrive; this would mean to our plans Though he himself was un to say nothing of the risk of shot their being bombed next day. touched, his ADC

-Lindsay had through the knee, in a low-flying And all because

failed to carry out his orders. attack as they came in.

WES

Stout-hearted

There

are no adjectives to describe my agony of mind.

I argued and cajoled. I tried to appeal to their senso డి.

The general decided to visit patriotism and adventure. It was the nearest Norwegian forma- all in valt. The atmosphere in lions. taking Pater Fleming with that stuffy little overcrowded

one changed to

of him: The transports, escorted saloon.

We had reached by cruisers and destroyers, were nerimony,

And time was got- arrive at the mouth of the deadlock. fjord, some 20 miles from Nom- tag on.. sos port, at dusk next day.

My job was to collect threo dr four Norwegian, pilots and meet the floct.

With

1. A

A flourish

Faced with this ghostly pre- of our arrival from reaching the

the help of a splendid dicament I decided that there More than

once. I looke) enemy. The mayor placed harbour-master (whom went was only one thing for me to do

that 1 anxiously over the navigator, pickets on the two roads leading to acs last summer, to learn

them with an ultimatum shoulder to see how far we had Inland and a censorship upon he had later suffered much mal present them my revolver and goty, mentally calculating how the telephone exchange.

batment from the Germans, I would say: "Unless we mail at long it would take us to reach

for working with the Resistance) onge, I will shoot first Ohiron. our destination.

For several days we worked the details were arranged. That Then, if you others will not -hard collecting Information evening wo

We Interviewed overal COME, I will next shoot" "YOU,

· all' of new low over the off-shord selecting headquarters and sortering gentlemen,

them YOU, then YOU am: spoke

Engilsh iverlandi akerries, and had to climb to tactical features for the covering whom sp

look for our fjord,

I was perfectly clear in my Then we force which would land at night,

tiese mind that this was no blur. The recognised its outline and saw inquiring shou rolling stock and atout-hoaried

Hansons and slakan wire, altogether, too high. faraway below us, the tiny port road transport, arranging for an Ohleens, and of Namsos. We did nos sy in as air raid warning; and for accom: Nellene Iguald to myself the If it cams to its 1 Wascoertainly unceyince we did not know modation in ra chbouring ham- derdindsats for, the old Notike moing to shoot-yet be namazed bellar cele noc: 10 wie in den gay boys the Roope we ware mithers who so nutrued the court with a foridytheatrical Bourn

GERARIA Bngland Van oultriem August that I was about to make, German- banda.

I had seldom reen a man more delighted.

WORLD COPYRIGHT RESERVED

DID IT REALLY HAPPEN?

YES

NO

@'Put your fich że the space abere, and keep this panel by you until femoryyy

when the strew will be glanowic another story in this socios by way

Henry Williamson

• Did yesterday's story .... The Gambler Hated sals, by di jetforson Farless — actually

The

insway 41 NO..

POCKET CARTOON

By OSBERT LANCASTER