THOUSANDS OF AIRMEN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20635, 15 August 1941, Page 5

THOUSANDS OF AIRMEN

ARRIVAL IN FAR EAST SEA AND AIR ESCORTS (British Official Wireless.) Reed. 10.30 a.m. RUGBY, Aug. 14. The fact that not a single officer or airman was lost by enemy action among thp thousands who have travelled from Britain in the past few months to swell the ranks of the Royal Air Force in the Far East, is a great tribute to the vigilance and efficiency of the escorting warships and aircraft, which pass on convoys from one to the other throughout the 10,000mile journey. The voyage from a northern port in Britain of one liner and her arrival in Singapore a lew days ago with a large number of officers and airmen, .is typical of many voyages this year by other convoys. It was the second finer to arrive at Singapore during the last fortnight. One of the officers, when the ship docked, said: “We have not had the smell of a U-boat *or Condor. Of course, we’ve had warships mothering us the whole time and, in some areas of the route, we were continuously protected from air attacking or lurking submarines by escorting Blenheims, Hudsons and Sunderlands. In fact, the journey was so peaceful and comfortable that we might have been travelling in pre-war days.” These officers and airmen are not replacing others going home, but are reinforcements to staff .new aerodromes now in operation at Malaya and Burma. Most of them come lrom important bomber and fighter coastal stations in Britain, and all have firsthand experience of day and night air war.