“BAD SALUTING!”

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20825, 2 July 1942, Page 5

“BAD SALUTING!”

TH£ LOSS OF TOBRUK .COLUMNISTS SATIRE (3 p.m.) LONDON. June 30. The _ Parliamentary Labour Party has agreed not to table a motion askingior an inquiry into the surrender of Tobruk. .It is expected, however, that a demand .will be made by members of other parties. Mr. Hannen Swaffer, writing in the Daily Herald, says: “Tobruk, my dear M. Is only the symptom. You must not talk about Libya in the coming debate. .Get down deeper into l the roots of our’ discredited Whitehall system. Perhaps the answer to red tape and the refusal to consider new ideas is, • given in the letter of an N. about two days before Tobruk fell. .... “The letter? Sdysr ‘Our commanding officer issueaPfc .special order on saluting.’ It appears that .the men were not saluting the officers who were riding'in cars, particularly those cars flying s small flag. The commanding officer s order said failure to salute would show lack of efficiency, lack of spirit, and lack of discipline. Soldiers who fail to salute an officer are either ill-trained, insolent or idle. All this lack of discipline leads to wars being lost.’!' : : r *Y.-a Swaffer adds: “From all this it is obviqus that the loss of Tobruk was due to bad saluting.”