112
these river steamers. Without going into detail, commencing on Monday afternoon with S.S. SIANG WO,12 the list is impressive.
It was on 12th September that Mr. T.V. Soong, minister of finance in the Nationalist government and chairman of the Flood Relief Commission, requested the C. in C. for assistance by using reconnaissance aircraft from HERMES in flood survey patrol work from Hankow.
However being China there were complications.
Unless it particularly suited them there was a general disinclination by the Hupeh authorities to obey any instructions received from the government at the capital of Nanking. In addition allowance had to be made for a variety of especial local interests.
The British Vice Admiral and Senior Naval Officer, Yangtze, Colin MacLean summed up the situation:
"The Hupeh Provincial authorities do not, in my opinion, care a rap for Flood Relief. To them the floods are a merciful dispensation in disposing of a surplus population and the only use they have for Flood Relief is to fill their own pockets from the funds.’13
For two weeks local permission could not be obtained to fly from the ship.
This difficulty was to be overcome quite by chance.
On 29th September it was announced in the local press that the world famous aviator, Colonel Charles Lindbergh, accompanied by his wife Anne, was to fly to Hankow to assist in the aerial survey of the flooded regions. In the 1930s the press around the world tended to pay great attention to the activities of the Colonel and his wife. Clearly with such considerable publicity being given to their progress the Chinese authorities could not refuse Colonel Lindbergh permission to fly on so humanitarian a mission. Equally, to allow him to fly but not the British would be seen as a great insult. In next to no time the Hupeh authorities had changed their tune entirely. Suddenly there were no further difficulties.
112
these river steamers. Without going into detail, commencing on Monday afternoon with S.S. SIANG WO,12 the list is impressive.
It was on 12th September that Mr. T.V. Soong, minister of finance in the Nationalist government and chairman of the Flood Relief Commission, requested the C. in C. for assistance by using reconnaissance aircraft from HERMES in flood survey patrol work from Hankow.
However being China there were complications.
Unless it particularly suited them there was a general disinclination by the Hupeh authorities to obey any instructions received from the government at the capital of Nanking. In addition allowance had to be made for a variety of especial local interests.
The British Vice Admiral and Senior Naval Officer, Yangtze, Colin MacLean summed up the situation:
"The Hupeh Provincial authorities do not, in my opinion, care a rap for Flood Relief. To them the floods are a merciful dispensation in disposing of a surplus population and the only use they have for Flood Relief is to fill their own pockets from the funds. ’13
For two weeks local permission could not be obtained to fly from the ship.
This difficulty was to be overcome quite by chance.
On 29th September it was announced in the local press that the world famous aviator, Colonel Charles Lindbergh, accompanied by his wife Anne, was to fly to Hankow to assist in the aerial survey of the flooded regions. In the 1930s the press around the world tended to pay great attention to the activities of the Colonel and his wife. Clearly with such considerable publicity being given to their progress the Chinese authorities could not refuse Colonel Lindbergh permission to fly on so humanitarian a mission. Equally, to allow him to fly but not the British would be seen as a great insult. In next to no time the Hupeh authorities had changed their tune entirely. Suddenly there were no further difficulties.
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