1950-12-29 — Page 7

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THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1950.

The Churchill Story: 11th Instalment

HE NAVY WAS READY

He proposed @paval holi-

long as Britain has a By Colin Frame day from building in 1913-he

history Winston Chur- chill will be remembered for two inestimable services he rendered her.

One sad day, as Churchill has recalled, hell froze and char- coal did indeed sprout for both of them.

They are his perfect pre- paration for war at sea in Churchill received from him one conflict and his leadership something like 20,000 written to victory of a less well pre-words of advice. Here is a pared nation in another.

typical sample:

When he went at 36 to the Admiralty in 1911 his com- mission was: "To put the fleet into a state of instant and constant readiness for war in case we are attacked by Ger- many."

Fleet Was Ready' WHEN in 1916 in one of the

darkest hours of his life, he left the War Room with its flagged maps of oceans ruled by the British Navy, Kitchener (who had no great cause to love him) came to him and said: "There is pne thing they cannot take from you the fleet was ready."

an fan-

::

"The most damnable per- son for you to have any deal- ings with is a Naval expert! Sea fighting is pure common sense. The first of all necessi- ties is SPEED, so as to be able to fight. When you like, Where you like, and How you like.

. and you'll make the Germans squirm!”” As a civilian more soldierly than soldiers, as a politician more Liberal Churchill admirably his admirals.

than Liberals, became more sea-conscious than

now

No naval station in Great Britain missed a visit of in- months on end he lived aboard spection from him. For the Admiralty yacht Enchan- tress.

He threw. himself into his task with zest of a boy. He smelt danger, and danger has always been to him inspiration. He took tastic risks to combat it. The boy who hated mathe- the Mediterranean.

.He sailed the North Sea and matics at school and the

man into

He peered who boasted that he "quitted knew

every dockyard. He mathematics for ever in 1894"

by heart the guns

and became involved in the most

complement of practically deadly tables of calculation, in naval tradition,

every ship whose names, rich ratios, speeds, thicknesses

yet or the

of

sound

armour, weights of shot, tons lilt of a catchy tune.

like a roll of druins

of coal, gallons of oil.

His schoolmaster was Lord Fisher,

ruthless, eccentric patriot with the sea in his eyes and salt on his tongue.

Plane Crash

new-

ex-First Sea Lord, a TE flew

H

in those Tangled and

flying machines invented the terms "sea- plane" and "flight." He found- ed the forerunner of the Fleet! Air Arm.

His Friend Fisher THIS

was one of Churchill's strangest friends. They first met in 1907.

called it introducing "a blank

into the book page

of mis-

understanding" but there was no German acceptance.

he

In October of that year wrote to Prince Louis that next summer, instead of the usual grand manoeuvres, there should be a test mobilisation of the Third Fleet. He reckoned this would fuel.

save about £200,000 in

Never was money saved to such good purpose. And never did blind intuition work so miraculously. to safeguard an empire.

Spithead Review Feet, manned

July 18, 1914, the Third to the last cabin boy, armed to the at Spithead. shell, sailed before the King

last

if

A week later the Foreign. Secretary, Sir Edward Grey,

god-father with F, E. Smith of Churchill's three- year-old boy Randolph, told the Cabinet it looked as war was coming at last. That fortuitously gathered Third Fleet did not sail homé again until the war was over and won..

During the last. few days before war finally broke upon the still unsuspecting heads of many Britons, Churchill took more gambles.

He spent Sunday, July 26, with his family at Cromer. He played on the beach with his children, Randolph and Diana, then five.

It was a lovely day. They dammed little streams ning

run- down the sands. Mrs Churchill · sat by watching them. She was to have baby Sarah in three months. Twice

* DHUMATI BDAY SVRIČKO PLAT

EDITORS PRESS SERVICE, INC.-NUEVA YORK

Kall

-103-

"It is just my imagination, or is this brush getting stiffer?"

FOR THE BUSINESSMAN

International

Allocation Scheme For Rubber

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT)

London, Dec. 28.

Plans for some form of international alloca- tion scheme for rubber are under serious consideration by British and American Govern ment officials who are examining means of

shortages.

the children's laughter alleviating raw material

to Prince Louis in Then he went to himself to take a to keep the First

He once crashed off Clacton he left and was nearly drowned; but to phone. Fisher was he continued then twice Churchill's age.

to fly and was London. But they enjoyed from

disappointed the

in the lack of London start a David and Jonathan

enthusiasm for "fips" shown decision relationship.

by Cabinet colleagues.

Fleet concentrated at Portland Spurred by Fisher he the Second at home ports. took a gambling risk which

On July 29, to safeguard it might have ham-strung the against surprise attack or being British Fleet and ended his bottled-up in the Channel, career for ever.

he sent the First Fleet through the Straits without lights to its secret base at Scapa Flow. gave

In their pugnacious, ener- getic, enterprising outlook they were very much alike. And it was a likeness, belief in their. personal infallibility, that was to split their friendship asunder later on but not before it had worked well for Britain.

at

as

of

5

It is believed here that an American Govern- ment announcement on its plans to bulk purchase natural rubber, which is expected this week, may be the forerunner to an international

scheme designed to ensure that supplies are distributed according to the defence needs of the North Atlantic Treaty countries.

He built a Fast Division five battleships and secret orders for 15-inch guns

On August 1, entirely on his The American Government is to Russia and China would not Churchill spent three days 13.5-inchers..

instead of the tried and tested own. initiative because heknown to be seriously.

could not obtain Cabinet back-cerned over

con- necessarily prevent these coun at Lord Fisher's home

recent shipments tries obtaining supplies. Reigate

("What's

Churchill the meaning Priory as soon

ordered ofing,

It is the of Malayan rubber to Russia pointed out that Malaya pro- he became First Lord.

those damned dots?"

his

complete mobilisation of the and China. It is therefore be- duces less than half of the father, then Chancellor of When he left he was tempt- Exchequer, had

lieved by some sections of the world's the Navy.

rubber. asked about This was strictly illegal. The London

Indonesia, rubber market that whose production during the ed to invite Fisher back decimal points.)

Cabinet -confirmed and the America will demand an end to past few months has exceeded officially to help him. But-he wrote

These

King added his necessary sig-this trade. in "The World Crisis" straight to the ships from the

guns went practically nature only the next day when The American Government stay neutral in the East-West that of Malaya, is anxious to (published by Odhams Press, drawing-board. A Ltd) "I was appréhensive

mistake of would have meant five useless

dispute, and her co-operation in his age, I could

any international not feel hulks on the eve of battle.

állocation complete confidence in the

scheme would be difficult to But when the challenge

obtain.

Discussing the future of the at the

free market in rubber, Francis Whitmore, financial editor of the Daily Telegraph, US might seek to enlist the says the

support of the British Govern- ment for its stockpile pro- grammet

the machinery turning fast.

would also like to see ship- ments of rubber to Hongkong banned-to prevent them being

1

ex-

was already

On August 2 he signalled plans for the shadowing, of the poise of his mind at 71." Three came they were ready to bark German battleship Goeben, then re-exported to China, years later, he did invite. him.defiance

the in

Mediterranean. By The view most often: Once again, as First Sea Lord, their ton-heavy

enemy, and

in Britain was pressed

London Fisher, pounding

bite reached August 4, when

rubber with ideas twelve

miles, outgunning the at war with Germany, he and trade circles is that the ban on his advisers had only to sit shipments of Malayan rubber back and handle the Fleets as other experts handle chessen, Britannia indeed ruled the waves. Churchill whose leader-

was still in his

and completely confident of Germans victory, electrified the Navy.

Meanwhile between Reigate

Prince Louis

and Whitehall poured a steady THIS life-or-death gamble

stream of

advice, warnings,

which Churchill took

were

at

Happy Face'

angry protests, oaths, Biblical 37 came off brilliantly, fore- ship and drive had made sure tests and snatches of poetry runner of others then and she did, which were Fisher's quaint ideas years of memoranda.

These notes usually began "My Beloved Winston" and ended "Yours till hell freezes (or charcoal sprouts)."

JEST A MINUTE ! By GEOFFREY EVANS

ahead which

to thirties. fray the nerves of strong men at home and topple tyrants from their perches abroad.

Bearded,

Prince

of

wise, dignified Louis of Battenberg (later the Marquis

of Mil... ford Haven, father of Lord Mountbatten) was another Churchill's closest ad- visers in those busy days. "When I joined the British Navy in 1868 the German Empire did not exist," he told a German who suggested he was betraying his blood.

HE

TE wrote of the First Fleet graphically in "The World

Crisis1*:

squadron by squadron, scores of giant castles

of

the misty, shining sea, across like giants bowed in anxious thought.. . bearing with them into the broad waters of the north the safeguard

of con- siderable affairs."

steel wending "their way

reported

Margot Asquith that as the ultimatum to Ger- many expired Churchill wore

happy face" Well he might, if duty well done is a cause for happiness.

But the Prince's German "a kinship was to bring him down at. length at the hands of a witch-hunting public opinion, and Churchill himself did not escape blame for his appoint- ment.

But (wrote biographer Ephesian) the next day while Asquith told the Commons they were at war, Kept Ahead

tears rolled down Churchill's HURCHILL's private secre-

face. tary

For was the young man

had not he, who had who had watched from - the prepared so thoroughly for Nile the battle of Omdur- what Fisher insisted on call- nran-Beatty Sof the

ing Armageddon, jaunty

warned the hat, future hero of North Sea House in his first important battles.

speech fourteen years earlier For three years, building, that the new wars between reftting - introducing oil for peoples would be more terrible coal, Churchill kept the Bri- than the cd wars between tish Navy well ahead in the kings? ',,

MORE ON TUESDAY

it.... practically.

bing goes up 1”

raee with Germany.

STANDARD BRIDGE By M. Harrison-Gray

W.

Focke

400x

Dealer: West East-West game.

N.

J 10 5

742

AK #Q 8 7 5 4

3

10 9

S.

E.

K 8 642 Q 10 8 3 J 2

4K 6

A 973

❤ 6 5

Q 9 6 5 4 $32

At most tables in a duplt- cate pairs' contest, East's natural raise of West's One Heart opening to Three encouraged West to bid Four, but several declarers, went wrong In the play after North had bid Clubs on the first round.

After drawing trumps, they ran J from their own hand. forgetting that this line of play could only produce 10 tricks if North obliged by covering with Q. A better plan is to set up dummy by ruffing two Spades.

At one table East played the jump raise as forcing, 60 he bid Two Spades over North's Two Clubs West hid Two No-Trumps BERBL now bid Three Hearts, but this did not necessarily show four trumps West therefore

this. hopeless.

"The market envisages that might involve both buying by the British Government and acceptance by British industry of a small amount of Ameri- synthetic in place of natural rubber in the latter part of 1951," he writes. "The trade does not expect so wide a spread of Government buy- ing as to destroy the market."

can

U.S. IMPRESSIONS

mor

Washington, Dec. 28. Although United States offt- cials will neither confirm deny it, the general impression of informed circles here is that the General Services Ad ministration will start overall buying of natural rubber be fore the end of the year.

A non-Government rubber executive said today that the organisation, which replaced the Federal Supply Bureau, will probably buy direct from New York importers and use agents of big United States rubber com- panies in Malaya and elsewhere to make natural rubber purchases for the United States Governmerek

pected at anouncem