"WELL CONTENT"

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 95, 22 April 1940, Page 6

"WELL CONTENT"

In welcoming back to London the men of H.M.S. Hardy who played so gallant a part in the first thrilling engagement at Narvik, the First Lord

of the Admiralty, with "simple eloquence, gave expression to the feelings of pride and confidence which all British people, and, indeed, all people who value liberty, must have in the achievements of the Royal Navy. In the engagement at Narvik and in the dramatic events which followed in quick succession, the Navy proved not only that sea power is still a vital force in modern warfare, but also that the senior Service is ready, as it ever has been down the centuries, to meet successfully any 'situation that arises. The men of H.M.S. Hardy lived up to the highest traditions of the British Navy, and.

as Mr. Churchill said, on two elements —first at sea and then on land. When their ship, badly damaged, ran aground, the members of the crew did not hesitate to carry on the fight ashore. In the words of the First Lord, the men of H.M.S. Hardy formed the vanguard of the forces which "we and our French allies will use this summer to purge the soil of the Viking—the soil of Norway— from the filthy pollution 'of Nazi tyranny." Theirs was an example of courage and determination which will find an honoured place in the annals of the British Navy, and outstanding in the story, when if comes to be told fully, will be the part played by Captain Warburton Lee, the commander of the destroyer flotilla, who took the responsibility for the attack and "sealed his great decision with his life." To the men who took part in the engagement at Narvik the attack .was probably regarded as being all in the day's work, but to the people of the British Empire, it was something more. It was a further proof that the Navy is still a sure and safe shield, and the words of Mr. Churchill will be re-echoed throughout the Empire. The countrymen of the gallant officers and men of H.M.S. Hardy are "well content."