MAINLY ABOUT RAIDS

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 July 1941, Page 5

MAINLY ABOUT RAIDS

MR. CHURCHILL’S SPEECHES WARNINGS REPEATED RUGBY, July 14. The Premier, accompanied by Mrs. Churchill, reviewed London civil defence units at Hyde Park, to-day. Addressing the parade, Mr. Churchill said they had just come out of one long hard battle, and might at any moment enter another. London’s defence services were typical of those in the rest of Britain, who, in every city, town and village, nad acquitted themselves with distinction. “The defence of London, last Winter, against Hitler’s act of terror, showed decisively that the assault upon our lives and homes, launched indiscriminately upon men, women and children, military and civil, old and young alike, had failed utterly in the purpose of breaking the British spirit. The defence of London, in which you bore your part, was the counterpart of the defeat of the German Air Force by. our fighters a few weeks earlier in the Battle of Britain.

“Men and women, who had never thought to fight, had emulated the courage of the bravest soldiers, and comported themselves with discipline and confidence under enemy fire. That quality was universally spread among the British people, ana on that foundation, the righteous war for freedom and the future of mankind would be prosecuted to the end.” Mr. Churchill said the enormous advance by the United States towards making a contribution to British resistance, had been largely influenced by the conduct of men and women in London and elsewhere, in standing up to the enemy bombardment. Although at the moment there was a lull in the air raids over Britain, and it was true, some of Hitler’s forces were away attacking the lives and rights of another vast branch of the human family, the Nazis still had large forces close at hand, and the British people must prepare themselves to receive visits in the future.

“We shall be ready. We shall be more ready than ever. We are now bombing him at a heavier rate in discharge of tons of bombs, than he, in any monthly period, bombed us, but this is only the beginning. We shall continue this process, and upon a growing scale month after month, until at last, we shall beat clown this horrible tyranny, which reared itself against our lives, and against the honour of every free people in the world.” GERMAN PEOPLE TO SUFFER.

(Rec. 10.15 a.m.) LONDON, July 14. Mr Churchill spoke at a luncheon given by the London County Council, following civil defence forces’ parade. He devoted the opening to a tribute to London’s response to the German attack, and said that although there had been a lull in enemy air attacks recently, plans had been made to meet even worse raids in future. Britain could take it, and would return it twofold, fourfold, month upon month, year upon year, if necessary, until the Nazi regime was exterminated or torn to pieces by the German people. It was time that Germans in the Homeland suffered as the Londoners had suffered. The R.A.F. had dropped over Germany in recent raids half the tonnage dropped over Britain since the outbreak. He had asked the Ministers concerned to prepare for Autumn and for Winter, for the same ordeal as last year, onlv rather worse. “We shall have no truce or parley with Hitler or _ the grisly gang who do Hitler’s wicked worst. We say deal out your worst. We will do our best.” LONDON’S REPLY TO HITLER RUGBY, July 14? Increasingly heavy bombing of Germany and counter-action by the Nazis were foreshadowed by Mr. Churchill, in an after-luncheon speech. Speaking in the County Hall, as a guest of the L.C.C., he recalled the heavy attacks on London last Autumn and Winter, and spoke of the way they were met. Mr. Churchill said: If the people of London were asked whether a convention to discontinue bombing of cities should be entered into, an overwhelming majority would cry no, but would say to Hitler: “You have committed every crime under the sun. Where you have been least resisted, there you were most brutal. It was you who began indiscriminate bombing. We remember Warsaw, within the first few days of the war. We remember Rotterdam. We have been newly reminded of your habits by hideous massacres at Belgrade. We know too well the bestial assault you are making on the Russian people, to whom our hearts go out in their valiant struggle.” Mr. Churchill said that for a month past, systematic and scientific largescale bombing of German cities, seaports, industrial and other military objectives, had been carried on, and he - believed it to be in British power to keep the process going on a steadily rising tide, month after month. Each month, the tonnage of bombs and the range of bombers grow and as the nights lengthen, that unhappy abject subject province of Germany, which we used to call Italy, will have a fair share too.”