LONDON IN WARTIME

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 June 1939, Page 11

LONDON IN WARTIME

PLANS TO MAINTAIN BUSINESS

Of all the home defence problems before the Government, none is bigger and more complex than the' maintenance of London’s commercial, administrative and domestic life in time cf war. It is a subject on which remarkably little has been heard so far, biil a.ii imiiioiisc- amount of hard thought lias been given to it, and we are likely Io be told a good deal more in the near future, writes William Decdes in the "Daily Telegraph.” So vast a question, involving 5',000,000 people and 600 square, miles of property and business, is not resolved by defence measures alone. Even if there were so many ’planes, anti-aircraft guns, balloons and air raid .Mi-oli.ers that the life of the individual could bo counted' relatively safe, the life of I lie capital in a modern war would not bo assured. How far could, “business as usual”' be expected in London diuring war? Until hostilities began there could be no final answer, even, if the Government made their plans public. But by piecing together what is already

known on the subject, one can form a clearer picture than most Londoners have in their minds at the present moment.

Damage and loss of life, though they might reach, considerable proportions through air raids, are not the greatest dangers. Dislocation is potentially a more serious factor, and it is. against such a contingency that the authorities are most actively taking precautions. It is met chiefly in two "ways; by decentralisation and by duplication. For both, plans are well advanced.

Decentralisation, for example, will help Lo preserve two of London’s most important nerve centres: the City of London, heart cf commerce, and Whitehall, administrative heart of the Empire.

The City of London, as we know it to-day, would cease to exist in wartime. Flans are being kept secret, but there is reason to think that such great institutions as the Bank of England, the Stock Exchange, Leadenha.il and Smithfield markets, and headquarters of the banks, shipping and insurance companies would be found elsewhere during war.

Preparations for the transfer -of this essential business, to be carried on with skeleton staffs in safer zones, have been in progress for a. long time. On the tremendous reorganisation which the evacuation would' involve, the biggest commercial houses have concentrated their attention for many -months. Clerks have been working late, duplicating necessary books and papers. The significance -of such decentralisation may be judged by the fact that the City’s night-time population of 11,000 becomes nearly 500,000by day. Whitehall, too, would cease to be the real centre -of Government. Doubtless small staffs would- remain in the underground fortresses which* the Office of Works has been busily, constructing under the Whitehall Ministries; and the extent of Civil Service evacuation may depend to some extent on the effectiveness of the first air raids. But generally, civil departments and their staffs would be evacuated, mainly to the western side of London.

Certain ether big concerns centred in London have similar plans, calculated to disperse their business from the centre to the circumference of London’s giant circle. Thus 1 London would resemble a slice of pineapple. The circumference would be- bigger, and would form a larger target, but the City and Whitehall could no longer be destroyed by a single destructive blow.

At once there, arises, a huge problem of communications. People have no idea, as yet how they might, travel to and from, business. For many it might well become a daily outward or parallel movement from suburban home to work, instead of an inward movement from homo as it is to-day. Therefore transport arrangements would; have to be drastically adapted. Private cars would, be off the roads, to conserve petrol supplies l for the R.A.-F. Im London Transport carries on under Government, control, as the railways will, it might be expected that the underground system, which runs on. home-made power, would be' i.sed as far as possible- in preference to omnibuses. There would almost certainly be a boom in cycles. With “key” commerce and administration decentralised and 1 dispersed to new and strange locations, telephones become of vital importance, though their use would certainly be drastically restricted for civil defence, purposes. Unobtrusively the Post Office, has been doing a tremendous amount of work to counteract possible breakdowns.

Hero, as with the nations utilities which supply water, gas- and- electricity, the policy of duplication- comes into operation.

If a telephone cable or even an exchange is blown up, the Pest Office must be in a position swiftly to restore communications by a roundabout route. London exchanges are inter-communicating, so that a, quick transfer could nearly always be made. We can assume that the International Telephone Exchange and the Central Telegraph Office would be transferred to a safer district than London, E.C. EVACUATION PROBLEMS. Greater London’s, total population must, shrink to a 19th-century level. Apart from those who might, be away on active service, we know that at least. 500,009 school-children- and another 500.000 young children with mothers can leave- al. once for the country. During September it was proposed, to evacuate under Government. control up to 2.000,00 non-essen-tial civilians, after the children, .in addition to al least 250,000 people who could gnd their own way out. to homes of relatives and friends in the country. At present London's evacuation plans, beyond the. million children and mothers, are vague. Sir John Anderson believes that able-bodied 1 civilians should stay at their posts. Yet this is not. incompatible with the removal -of. many more. civilians who would have no essential industry or defence posts at which to stay. If they remain, these citizens will luive to be fed in more difficult- circumstances. and given far more ex-; tensive.and expensive shelter than they med in coral areas. 11 would not be surprising if the Government eventually decided that a. large measure of controlled adult evacuation was the simplest solution to the shelter and maintenance problem. What, of the River Thames which, as anyone who has down, over London will agre-e, forms not only a fine guide to

airmen, but runs through a series of important targets? There can' be little doubt that London’s l docks and warehouses, the six big road and rail bridges, and the vast network of the Southern Railway system from London Bridge, -Cannon-street, Charing Cross and Victoria would -be a first -objective on an enemy aircraft. And around these targets, on the East and South,' are packed hundreds-’ of thousands of London’s poorer population. If controlled evacuation begin, after the children have gone, it must surely start from the river banks.

One cannot leave -the subject of dis-; location, -which affects' not only rail-! ways, roads, communications, and administration, but also people at work, without reference to. the- air raid warning scheme, as it would- affect' London. It -is perhaps -not -sufficiently, realised how this essential system,, operating as far as the -public are con-j corned from telephone exchanges to; the sirens-, may influence daily exist-! ence. I

It is certainly -one of .the major factors which have influenced the* Government -experts against deep shelters, which would require several minutes to reach; but its implications go .deep-, er. For every raid actually carried out, a London borough might well receive* a dozen alarms, which must be heeded. It is not hard! to imagine an astute enemy seriously interfering.' with -essential work by causing constant movement of citizens to and from shelter.

This is also a problem for toe industrial areas in- the Midlands and North, but they would receive relatively fewer alarms than London. One wonders how -far it would be possible to maintain the great area of industry, much of it engaged in vital warproduction, which is centred in North and West London.

If there were to be- constant, alarms over London, the- fewer non-essential citizens there were to swell the crowds, to increase the dangers of chaos and panic, and to fill the hospitals, -tiie better. When London has been stripped of its non-essential population, the task, of providing adequate shelter, transport and food- for those who have to carry on becomes a good deal simplified. But there would be very little relaxation for those who remained in London. Already, we have been- warned that cinemas and theatres would have to close, because the concentration of crowds, unable to dissipate in the maximum of five minutes, must be avoided. Even museums and l picture galleries would be closed, for they have planned the swift evacuation of their treasures on the first threat -of hostilities.

Clearly, therefore, there would be no business or pleasure as usual in London during war -time, and though much might depend on the- initial successes of enemy aircraft, and the confidence or apprehension created thereby, drastic reorganisation of business, commerce and the -day-to-day life of millions would bo inevitable. To meet such reorganisation, planning is essential, and much of it must remain secret.