MANY HEROES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23781, 8 October 1940, Page 7

MANY HEROES

BOMB DISPOSAL WOKE NERVE-RACKING TASKS SOME GIVE THEIR LIVES LONDON, Oct. 5 Unknown heroes of London are gradually being brought to light now that awards for gallantry in the face of Hitler's intensive raiding are being announced. The baldness of the official announcements serves only to throw into bolder relief the sheer courage of men who, with death grimly ticking off the seconds representing their margin of safety, have worked on for the safety of the people. Young Guard Decorated A volunteer, Glyn Jones, aged 19, is .the first Home Guard to receive a military decoration. He receives the Military - Medal for rescuing his bombed companions while r bombs, debris and large pieces of steelwork and glass were falling all around him. Four sappers receive the Empire Gallantry Medal for bomb disposal work —one of the most nerve-racking duties of the day. Lieutenant Edward Reynolds found a 5001b. time-bomb, with a new typo of fuse, among some houses. He removod the fuse, in spite of lack of knowledge of the type, and subsequently removed a ticking clockwork fuse from a time-bomb in the business area at great personal risk. Second-Lieutenant Ellis Talbot supervised for 12 hours the digging out of a time-bomb. He then ordered the men to take cover while he examined the bomb, which was of a new type. He removed it alone 200 yards to a safe place. A Reader ol Thrillers Second-Lieutenant Wallace Andrews experienced difficulty in removing a time-bomb fuse and ordered his men to take cover. He then pulled the fuse discharger, exploding the bomb. He was blown a considerable distance and two of his men were wounded by splinters. Lance-Sergeant William Button contim»ed digging for a time-bomb,al-though he knew it was likely to explode at any moment. The bomb did explode. It killed five sappers and threw Button a considerable distance. Button coolly collected the remainder of his section at a safe distance and notified a firstaid detachment. Mrs. Davies, wife of the FrenchCanadian, Lieutenant Robert Davies, who, with his squad of Royal Engineer®, saved St. Paul's from a ton timebomb, said that during the past few weeks her husband had done a lot of things which had not been mentioned, but which were almost as praiseworthy as the St. Paul's job. "Bob's hobby to. date," she said, "has been reading thrillers."

MANY RESCUES COASTAL COMMAND PHASE OF SEA WAR SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright British Wireless LONDON, Oct. 6 Nearly 500 survivors of ships lost in the Atlantic have been saved in the last few months through the good work of Coastal Command aircraft, states an Air Ministry bulletin. Sunderland fly-ing-boats, both of the Royal Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force, and other aircraft patrol far out into the Atlantic every day, escorting convoys and searching for many miles round convoys. They sometimes find lifeboats and rafts drifting helplessly out of sight of passing ships. The most famous of these rescues was that of September 25, when 46 survivors of the City of Benarcs were picked up after the liner was torpedoed 600 miles from land. There have been similar cases. One Sunderland flying-boat found two boatloads of people who were suffering severely from thirst. They signalled that they had food but no water. The flyingboat dropped its own fresh water supply and all its cigarettes in carefully sealed packages, kept afloat by a lifejacket. Then it brought up a rescue ship. There were two people on a raft which was sighted a few days later. They, too, were rescued. Boats are mere dots on the grey water when first seen from aircraft. Binoculars come into play. The pilot goes down to 20 or 30 feet to investigate. The dot is a lifeboat or raft, then a package of supplies plumps into the sea near by and the aircraft flashes a cheerful message that help is coming. A smoke float is dropped to mark the position, then the aircraft goes off to search for a ship to be guided to the spot.

BALKAN OLYMPIC GAMES ATHENS, Oct. 6 Turkey, Greece and Yugoslavia will take part in the Balkan Olympic Games at Istanbul. All the Greek newspapers give prominence to the games, saying they show a wish for peace.