CO129-581-16 British propaganda in Hong Kong 18-4-1939 - 29-10-1939 — Page 105

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An A.1. Nation.

The question of physical fitness in Creat Britain is mainly

a personal matter. There have for long been games, sports, and

ome measure of physical culture in schools and other institutions, and every town and village has one or more sports and games centres. But there has been no prolonged official drive towards physical training, as has been the case in many other countries.

It is perhaps because of this lack of compulsion, and a certain reticence in advertising their schemes and the results, that the British people have been regarded in the totalitarian States as a nation of decadents. Because they did not march and exercise to order, it has been too readily assumed that young British men and

women did no physical training at all.

The result of the medical examination of the first batch of

militiamen who joined the colours under the new conscription scheme

Of the should go far to correct any such erroneous impressions. first 20,000 men examined only 2.3 per cent were found definitely

unfit for military training. No fupy than 84.5 per cent were classed in Grade I, which means that they are completely fit. Those classed as fit except for minor disabilities, which will not

The remainder, impede their training, totalled less than 9 per cent. about 4 per cent, are men who suffer from such disabilities as defective vision or bad feet, and it is expected that places will

be found for most of them in the new army.

These good results came as a somewhat pleasant surprise even to the authorities themselves; for Great Britain, being an in- dustrial country, does not expect to be able to turn out physically perfect specimens. Another interesting fact was that the level of fitness varied little in different parts of the country. districts where unemployment has been prolonged showed as high a percentage of physical fitness as did the rest.

Even