AUSTRALIAN AIRMEN

Grey River Argus, 16 January 1940, Page 8

AUSTRALIAN AIRMEN

Welcomed n Britain MR BRUCE’S ADDRESS [British Official Wireless.] RUGBY, January 14. Mr Bruce, High Commissioner for Australia, and Mr Anthony Eden inspected the R.A.F. Coastal Command headquarters. In the personnel of the station is a unit of the Royal Australian Air Force—a complete Dominion air unit on service overseas. After warmly welcoming the Australian airmen, in a brief speech, \r Eden said: “There is no doubt of the task that lies before us, and no doubt of the nature of the struggle in which we are engaged. The present leaders of Germany want world domination. To be fair to them they have been quite frank about it, and they have told us that Hitler calls it ‘peace under the protection of German power.’ There are several small nations who have already learned what protection that power means. It is peace for them to death. Curiously, these I people are quite sincere when they say to us that they want to give us the protection of German power, and they cannot quite understand why we do not want it; but we don’t. We have our own view, which is just the opposite; that peoples great and small, should be allowed to live their own lives in freedom as they would. It is therefore, a struggle for world civilisation. The outer defence — some of the small nations —have already been over-run, and it is the great bulwarks which are now being attacked. If they were to fall, there would be no lasting for free-dom-loving nations anywhere. The struggle in which we are engaged is one not only for ourselves, but for our children and children’s children. It is because you understand that so well, that from Australia and elsewhere in the British Commonwealth you have come to join us in the common effort. It is because of’that fact because you are here, and because countless other thousands in the British Commonwealth are in this struggle, that we are confident of final victory.” Mr Bruce, addressing the Australian airmen in particular, said: “We are all in this war. We are going to cooperate and see it through and we are going to win. The honour and prestige and the good name of Australia reside in your' hands. We are looking to you with confidence to up-, hold it, as the men of the A.I.F. did in the last war.”

The Australian squadron is operating flying-boats which it will be recalled, were ordered for the Royal Australian Air Force early last year, and which, with the consent of the Australian Government, remained for duty with the R.A.F., together with the personnel. The remainder of the trained personnel to bring the squadron up to full strength arrived from Australia on Boxing Day.

AIR FORCE PROMOTIONS. LONDON, January 13. The Air Ministry announces the following appointments, to take effect in the near future:— Air Marshal Sir Christopher Lloyd Courtney to be air member for Supply and Organisation on the Air Council, vice Acting-Air Marshal William Lawrie Welsh to be Air Officer Commanding No. 11 -group vice Air Vice Marshal E. L. Gossage.

Air Vice Marshal Ernest Leslie Gossage to be an Inspector General oi the Royal Air Force, vice Acting-Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles S. Barnett.

WAR ITEMS. LONDON, January 14. A Berlin radio announcemeni states: "Germany’s exports of motorto overseas countries have ceased, owing to the war.” It is pointed out in London that this is the first Nazi admission of the effect of the Allied blockade.

Further repressive measures against the Czechs are reported. A decree published in Prague forbids the giving or bequeathing of property to persons who have left the country. Only a few of the several hundred students recently arrested have been released. Although they are exempt from war service, Jews in Germany are being conscripted into the labour corps It is reported that 12,000 Jews in Benin have been called up for heavy work principally in the building trade though they have no experience in manual labour.

PARIS, January 11. ror the second day, the press here pays great attention to Mr Chamberlain’s speech, which is interpreted as meaning that Anglo-French co-opera-tion is proving so valuable that it might be continued after the war. The “Figaro” says: “Nothing could be more useful than to declare, here and now, that Britain and France .will remain as united in peace time as in war time. The next meeting of the Supreme Councils should decide to begin work on the Channel tunnel on the very day that peace is signed.”

RUGBY, January 12. In a letter which the Minister for Home Security (Sir J. Anderson? sent to the London Chamber of Commerce, in reply to a request for guidance whether evacuated business staffs should return to London, Sir John states that, in the view of the Government, the factors which led to the transference of business to safer areas at the outbreak of war remain unchanged, and should be given the same weight as in September last. OTTAWA, January 11. The Australian and New Zealand personnel under tfie Empire air scheme will reach Canada in June at the same time as the English personnel.

Six standardised types of aeroplanes, some of which are being built in Canada, will be used—the Avro Anson bomber, the North American Harvard, a fleet trainer, the de Havilland Tiger Moth, the Fairey Battle, and the Norseman, many of which have already been delivered from English, American, and Canadian factories, with contracts for the remainder well on the way. The erection of hangars and other necessary buildings on the fields designated under the training plan is continuing through the winter. The Royal' Canadian Air Force, which has direct charge of the scheme, is rapidly expanding its administrative staff to cope with the problem of handling between 20,000 and 30,000 trainees. Group Captain Banting, of the Royal Air Force, has, arrived from England to assist Air

Chief Marshal Sir Robert BrookePopham. They will both shortly undertake a Dominion-wide tour of inspection of training school sites. A British Official Wireless message states that the nucleus of the staff for the Empire air training scheme in Canada has been selected, and will leave for Canada shortly. RUGBY, January 13 Cheap night trunk telephone rates, suspended at the outbreak of war, are to be restored some time next month. The British Standards Institute has officially recognised “Rotoplanes” as the proper title for aircraft deriving their support from one or more freely rotating rotors or wings.

CAPE GERMANS. OVER 1000 INTERNED. JOHANNESBURG, January 14. Inmates at Keenwkup internment, camp are hunger-striking, except for bread and coffee. They exceed a .thousand, and are mostly Germans, with some South Africans.