Big Things Will Happen Soon—British Chief In Norway

Northern Advocate, 30 April 1940, Page 5

Big Things Will Happen Soon— British Chief In Norway

LONDON, April 20. |N AN INTERVIEW WITH A BRITISH WAR CORRESPONDENT, THE COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH FORCES IN NORWAY (GENERAL A. C. DE WIART, V.C., C. 8., C.M.G., D. 5.0.) SAID: 4 ‘Our position is much be I tor. "The men are settling down, and reinforcements are arriving in good numbers. "'The 'German air attacks have greatly diminished since the Allied aircraft came into action. "The fighters have already brought down two German bombers at Namsos. "We must not be impatient if there is little action in the early st a gos. "Big things are likely to happen soon.”

> Food Supply Problem. General de Wiart admitted that food supply was a difficult problem, owing to the destruction of some of the stores at Namsos, but he emphasised that the situation could be quickly remedied. The French General Staff was equally confident, said the General. More and more troops were arriving at frequent intervals. The troops are cheerful. Often they are labouring waistdeep in snow. The French alpine regiments are accustomed to such conditions. Namsos Destroyed. Namsos was completely destroyed by German bombs in last week’s air raids, but the harbour is functioning and British sailors are directing the salvage of stores from the lumberstrewn waters of the fiord. A British officer said the German attacks were diabolical in their fury. Bombs fell at the rate of 70 per hour. The casualties were slight, as the civilians had been evacuated and only a few troops remained. The general told the correspondent that Namsos had not been raided for four days. In the raid last week in the morning, the Germans concentrated on military objectives, such as the railway station, but in the afternoon they bombed the town from end to end.

[DE WAIART: Born in Brussels in 1880, son of Leon de Waiart, of Brussels and Cairo. Gained his commission in Army and served in South African War in 1901. Here he was twice wounded. In the Great War he fought first in Somaliland, where he lost an eye. In 1915 he was moved to France, and by 1918 he had been wounded eight . times there. He lost his left hand immediately he went to the Western Front, but returned there at the end of the year. In December, 1937, he visited London for an operation arising out of the wounds he received in the war. In spite of the loss of a hand he remained a first-class shot.]