GERMAN GRIP ON FRANCE

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23129, 19 September 1940, Page 7

GERMAN GRIP ON FRANCE

Anti-British Feeling Disappears FOOD SUPPLIES PLUNDERED (UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION —COPIEIGHT.) (Received September 18, 11 p.m.) LONDON, September 18. An Englishman, who was interviewed at the French frontier after his escape from France, said; “The anti-British feeling in occupied France has disappeared. Everyone is pinning his hopes on England. I “Many soldiers in unoccupied France, significantly, have not been demobilised, and those who are demobilised have been allowed to take their equipment home. British subjects of military age are confined to their homes. Many have been interned. A number of British soldiers are living hunted lives in the greatest misery, trying to find means of escape from France. "Unoccupied France is approaching starvation point. The Germans have removed the entire potato crops and all stocks of butter, soap, and sugar, all of which are now unobtainable. The Germans send lorries to Marseilles to remove the cargoes from incoming ships.” The Guernsey correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph” says the Germans are rapidly stripping the island’s shops, especially those containing jewellery and food. Acceptance of “occupation marks’ is compulsory and local branches of the British “Big Five” banks are forced to use them at the rate of seven to the £. The island’s 6000 motor-cars are immobilised. Supplies of flour are almost exhausted and fresh fruit is unobtainable. The cinemas are showing only German horror films. EAST LONDONERS PRAISED ■1 COURAGE IN AIR RAIDS (BRITISH OFFICIAL WIRELESS.) RUGBY, September 17. , The Minister for Shipping (Mr Ronald Cross), in a broadcast, describing his recent visit to the London docks, paid a tribute to the dwellers in dockland. “A few days ago I made a tour of the Port of London, which has been the main target for German raiders, he said. “You will have read about the terrible onslaughts in which hundreds of German aeroplanes have rained high-explosive bombs and incendiary bombs on the docks. A good deal of damage has been done, and great fires have lit up our s k* es at night. We have wondered whether anything could possibly survive them. “What was the true extent of the damage?” he asked. “The Germans are no. doubt wondering, too, and you will not expect me to satisfy their curiosity. Our fire-fighting men have been quite wonderful. I have seen them tired out but still working on their hoses. I have seen them going home in their tenders, utterly worn out, filthy dirty, sleepy and seeming to prop each other up, but still full of grim cheerfulness and ready to crack a joke with the passengers of any car that might overtake them and more than ready to start off again the moVnent they are needed. “After days and nights of horror and bombs and flames, thanks to the wonderful air raid shelter organisation of the Port of London Authority, there has been only one man killed by enemy action within .the limit of the docks and he was in a tin cabin which, by sheer bad luck, got a direct hit. “But outside the docks, the story is very different, and there is a strange sight in miles of firemen’s hoses running the length of street after street. London’s docks are surrounded by a densely-crowded area. There are many miles of small streets where hundreds of thousands of London’s poores.t people live in tiny houses, most of them weakly built. “To their everlasting shame, the Huns poured n deluge, of destruction on these un 1 " 'kv folk. I saw their wicked havoc, I saw the mangled wreckages of these little homes, hundreds on hundreds of them. I saw sights to bring tears to your eyes. “I came back home wondering how man could be so foul and also how man could be so brave, but knowing well that here in London, here in England, here in our Empire is the spirit l£at must and shall conquer the powers of evil.” POLISH AIRMEN PRAISED (BRITISH OFFICIAL WIRELESS.) RUGBY, September 17. The Secretary of State for Air (Sir Archibald Sinclair) has sent the following message to the Polish Prime Minister (General Sikorski): —“Please convey my congratulations to No. 302 and No. 303 Squadrons on their magnificent and outstanding success in yesterday’s fighting and also to those of your airmen who took part so splendidly in the attack on Calais.” REFURNISHING EAST END HOMES QUEEN SENDS GIFTS (Received September 18, 7 p.m.) LONDON, September 17. Her Majesty the Queen is sending a I number of suites of furniture from Windsor Castle to help refurnish damaged East End homes.