1951-01-04 — Page 7

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, THURSDAY, JANUARY

1951.

The Churchill Story: 13th Instalment

IN THE

TRENCHES

said: "It's a lovely night—I to see my

"WAR is declared By Colin Frame execu'd like

lice."

gentlemen, on the

Halg offered a Churchill took it.

battalion,

Lieutenant-Colonel Winston chill should not have such a big Churchill, newly-appointed Co.command. of the 6th battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers, stationed at Ploeg steert (of course he called the place Plug-street) began his first speech to his officers with these words.

Archie Sinclair, his second- in-command, looked as though he could not believe his ears.

Years later, as Sir Archibald Sinclair, Air Minister when Churchill was Prime Minister, he was to hear equally frivolous remarks at most serious mo- ments.

But Churchill was quite seri- ous about it. He had just come from the 2nd Grenadier Guards, whose spotless appearance even in the mud of the trenches he bad admired.

Smart And Proud

Good Commander TELE

THREE other men destined to share with him the stage in another more terrible war, play ed at this time humbler and widely different roles.

trenches."

This was hardly his guests' idea of hospitality but they felt

disinclined to refuse. So he took them a most arduous trip through mud and barbed wire, past the carcases of dead cows and beneath the all-seeing glow of Very lights.

It was considered a good joke by the battalion.

All the evidence goes to show that Churchill was more than a Stalin brooded in exile among happy warrior. He was also a the Siberian snows. Lieutenant bonny leader, adept at what has Roosevelt," of the American become known as man-manage- Navy, was on staff duties in ment. Washington. Mussolini had just given up an editorship to wear the feathered hat of a private in the Bersaglieri. Hitler had not attained corporal's

The men cheered him as he left on special leave to attend a Parliamentary debate.

They were quite certain the rank in Duke of Churchill was off to put Bavaria. At his Plug-street their case for less plum and farmhouse HQ Churchill-whom apple jam and more leave before in innocent ignorance many of the Commons itself. his men called Sir Winston, Vis- Minister Again count Churchill or the Duke of

I was now early in 1916. War Churchill showed himself a

lice, and on dirty buttons and all that slovenly stances and mass of misbehaviour the Guards call being idle.

In ten days Churchill had his Scots looking as smart and as proud as if they were 'marching down Princes-street, Edinburgh, instead of Plug-street, Flanders.

He might have been a dis- gruntled commander, He had been promised a brigade, but he had asked first for a month in the trenches to accustom himself to warfare. He joined the Guards as a major.

After all, apart from few days at Antwerp, his last experience of war had been on horseback on the wide veldt, not as an animal in a hole..

a

"I think I ought to tell you we were not consulted at all on the matter of your camning to join' us," was the Grenadier colonel's chilly greeting.

Minister.

brave warrior..

"I

convinced," firmly am wrote one of his subalterns, later a lawyer "that no more popular

BUT

DUT, pleasant and high-spirited as this seven-month inter- lude from politics was, he was clearly being wasted. Powerful friends urged him to return to London. He did so when his regiment was finally merged he lost his with another and

command,

له

In June, 1917, he became under Minister of Munitions

officer ever commanded troops. As a soldier he was hard-work ing, persevering and thorough." There are plenty of good stories about him at this time and most of them are told by Lloyd George's premiership and, Lewis Broad in a lively chapter among other triumphs of organ- isation which delivered the his biography, in

"Winston Churchill" (published by Hut-goods to the fighting troops, he was allowed to develop the tank, chinson).

which was largely the product of his own brain.

His lecture on the physique and habits of the louse became.

a puckish famous. He took delight in using cavalry drill

1.DITOAS PRESS SERVICE - ART -NUEYA YERN'

-105

"My, these safety zones are narrow!”

FOR THE BUSINESSMAN

RAW MATERIALS PROBLEM WILL

FACE PREMIERS

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT)

London, Jan. 3.

A subject which is certain to come high on Three years before at the the agenda of the Commonwealth Prime Minis- Admiralty he had ordered orders which mystified his foot-experimentally eighteen tractor-ters' meeting, which begins here tomorrow, is slogging men.

with bullet-proof boxes on them the problem of raw materials.

Sing, Men, Sing TT was rumoured in the mess

driven, trench-crossing vehicles

for the crew. His successor cut that order to one:

But the

after one-march past that their value in 1916, and by the first tanks proved Colonel Churchill had turned to time the war ended Churchill Sinclair and whispered, had placed a contract with Ford "oughtn't they to gallog, to make 10,000. Archie?"

It drizzled; the Guards moved *into the line; the guns rumbled;

his fellow officers pointedly Eventually the rest-period showed his previous celebrity was over and Churchill took his counted for nothing with them, command proudly into the line. altogether a chastening experi- Some still remember his urgent ence for the King's former order as he rode beside the

column, "Sing, men, sing." But "War is a garne to

be He was easily recognisable. played with a smiling face" he He was immensely fond of the never tired of telling his men, French poilu's blue helmet and and soon Churchill, cheerful, he wore it regularly. fearless, efficient and amusing: He also sometimes wore a had won men and officers over,

He was, of course, a curiosity. Officers dropped casually into his dug-out-hoping to meet this "We will go easy at first," he famous character who had told his officers. "A little dig thrown up a ministerial postging and feeling our way, and and £4,000 a year for the wrong then perhaps later on we may end of a barrage and more mud attempt a deed." than any politician could sling in a lifetime.

Dug-Out Blown Up ONE

NE day a general, purely out of curiosity, ordered him to meet him at 2 certain cross- roads. Churchill's irritation van- ished when he returned to find that in his absence a shell had completely demolished his dug- out.

mackintosh overall of his own design, pale ghost of his siren suit in a later war.

he would

to

never

It is believed the Ministers will work

ork out a operation between Commonwealth countries in plan to extend the present method of securing co-

the economic sphere.

may

of

of

raw

He never forgot the men he

The machinery for co-or- The Prime Ministers had left behind. He

dinating the raw material needs also discuss the possibility ceased to deplore the unimagin of the various Commonwealth building up a Commonwealth ative deployment of them

stockpile in countries already exists in the strategic costly frontal attacks. One of his regular meetings of Trade Com- materials. first memoranda on his return missioners and other economic was designed to make the War experts attached to each High Council think again before Commissioner in London. giving permission for Haig This committee, meeting un- attack, at Passchendaele which der the auspices of the Com- cost 400,000 casualties and gain-monwealth Relations Office, has ed next to nothing:

done much valuable work in

How much more cheaply in preventing Commonwealth cost of British lives and how countries competing with each much more skilfully in terms of other in a general scramble for military strategy the battles of raw materials.

It was set up the last war were won under after the meeting of Common- his leadership.

wealth Finance Ministers in

It is now thought that this Committee, which has valuable

LONDON

RUBBER

MARKET

No. 1 rubber

(in cents per . Ib.) February March April/June July/September October/December

as

53-54

52-5216

51513

484

441/2

42-429

United Press.

SINGAPORE MARKET

Singapore, Jan, 3. Prices in the rubber futures marethre closed today as follows:

London, Jan. 4. In "The World Crisis," his July 1949 and its original pur- Prices in the rubber futures four-volume account of the pose was to carry out dollar-market here closed today These "deeds" were indeed 1914-18 war (Odhams Press), he saving policy worked out by follows: attempted. He made friends with

wrote movingly of the men he the Ministers. the chief of the artillery behind commanded in trench warfare. him and between them they

"Needless Cost" organised miniature battles

"AS in the shades of a Novem- experience in distributing sup- annoy the Germans.

among Commonwealth "Come on, war

is declared," ber evening, I for the first shout, rousting out time led a platoon of Grenadiers countries, might be the ap- officers and men in the small across the sopping fields which propriate body to deal with the

present raw material crisis. hours. And a platoon or two gave access to our trenches, would offer rapid fire while the while here and there the bright

Although the Trade Commis- sioners' Committee could ensure gunners put the enemy on the flashes of the guns or the occa- alert.

sional whistle of a stray bullet more equitable distribution of When he felt he had learnt

Commonwealth raw materials Then, as the inevitable return accompanied our path, the con- enough he returned to Sir John

the various Common- - French to claim his promise of fire began, with shells surging viction came into my mind with among

countries which are their heads, Churchill absolute assurance that the wealth a brigade. But Haig had replaced over

regi-engaged in defence programmes, of his men simple soldiers and their French, and Asquith, it was would turn to one reported, had insisted that Chur and ask: "Don't you like war?"mental officers. armed with their they would have no control over It was, no doubt, purely a cause, would by their virtues in the many important commodities rhetorical question. In every the end retrieve the mistakes which come from other sources. way Churchill showed he liked and ignorances of Staffs and I would therefore have to be Committee how this Cabinets, of Admirals, Generals decided it very much.

Another of his habits was to and politicians-including, no could fit in with the machinery declaim, richly, oratorically, to doubt, many of my own.

for raw material allocation which his men.

"But, alas, at what a needless is being set up in Washington as cost!"

a result of the meeting between MORE TOMORROW

Mr Attlee and President Truman.

JEST A MINUTE! By GEOFFREY EVANS

"Here we are," he once said with an expansive gesture, "torn away from the Senate and the Forum to fight on the battlefields of France."

His hearers, busy wondering whether the Senate and the Forum was the name; of a public-house, meekly said, "Yes."

On another occasion a general who arrived after shelling had knocked one of Churchill's strongholds to pieces, delivered what was later to be known as a "rocket." "Look here, Churchill, this won't do, you know Men cannot go on living here; look at that sentry the dangerous, you know

"Yes, sir" replied the mast

of debate, "but you know this is

a very dangerous w

A Good

STANDARD BRIDGEL

By M. Harrison Gra

Dealer: South

Game all

N.

A 95 -10'8 43

K 7 3

A 10 8

W.

Q 10 7 6 2 K 7 108.6

5

742

North's overbidding on bla

sible bontract. He used

the delayed game raise, bidding Two Clubs over South's One Heart opening and Four Hearts over the Diamonds. rebid of Two South naturally had visions of a slam, but his cue bid of Four Spades should have warned North that his A was probably wasted. North's actual reply of Five Diamonds Induced South to bid Six Hearts. The best response on North's balanced hand is Two No-Trumps.

West led 6 and South did his best-by állminating the black suite and cashing MACK under "4bafore throwing the lead to West with "K. Endi he- marz with two Diamonds West would have aru and di Bouth wotid, maku

Condon Expruži

No. 1 rubber, per lb.

January (1951)

February March

No. 2 rubber, Jan. No. 3 rubber, Jan. No. 4 rubber, Jan. Spot rubber, unbaled Black crepe

No. 1 Pale crepe

183-184 1761-177-36 170 171 178 179 173-174

166 - 167 184 - 185 145-147

193-193 -United Press.

Uruguayan Meat Agreement

soon

Montevideo, Jan. 3. Foreign Office officials reported today that an agreement will be signed for shipping Uruguayan meat to Israel. They said the agreement would cover Several years with periodical revision of prices. They said the shipments will begin as soon as the agreement is signed.- United Press,

Metal Market

New York, Jam, 3. Prices in the metal market here closed today Jun with the follwyng exe

Tin, Grado A or bieber) New United-Prés