NATION IN ARMS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 79, Issue 24281, 23 May 1942, Page 7

NATION IN ARMS

BRITAIN'S PRODUCTION MOBILISED MANPOWER HITLER'S EFFORT BEATEN LONDON, May 22 The statement by the Minister o£ Labour, Mr. Ernest Bevin, that Britain has mobilised her manpower to an extent not approached in any other country is welcomed by the London newspapers. The News Chronicle says it will come as a shock to most people to learn that out of the 33,000,000 people in the United Kingdom, aged between 14 and 65 , 22,000,000 are serving in the armed forces, in civil defence or in industry. Another 2,000,000 people are giving unpaid service to the nation. "We have become almost literally a nation in arms," says the News Chronicle. "We have built up for war production an industrial army to which not even Hitler's Germany can furnish a parallel. "It has been said on high authority that our war output now exceeds the total output of German-occupied Europe. Thus Britain in the third year of the war—Britain, which for- 12 months from June, 1940, carried on the tight for freedom almost single-handed against the most formidable military despotism ever organised.'' Mr. R. A. Butler, president of the Board of Education, speaking in London, said that more tharQ 1,500,000 women were added to employed in munitions and other vitajl industries since the beginning of the \war, when over 4,000,000 were employfed. There were about 9,000.000 children to be cared for, mainly in the homes of their parents. The contribution of women to the national effort had been remarkable and was going to increase. Mr. Butler also expressed the opinion that the collective care and feeding of children and women working would last after the war.

MIDDLE EAST RAIDS BRITISH ACTIVITIES LONDON, May 11 The R.A.F. Middle East communique states: ''Objectives in Crete and Libya were raided by our bomber aircraft on Tuesday night, and during the same night R.A.F. and naval planes attacked an enemy convoy in the Mediterranean. Hits were scored with bombs and probably with torpedoes on a medium-sized merchant vessel and destroyers. _ |i| "Operations in Cyrenaica wre on a reduced scale yesterday owing to bad weather. It is now established that in the early morning of May 14 a Junkers 85 was hit by fire from anti-aircraft defences and crashed into the sea north of Alexandria Harbour. From all these operations one of our aircraft is missing." HEROES HONOURED VICTORIA CROSS AWARDS SEAMAN'S GREAT GALLANTRY LONDON, May 21 The award of three Victoria Crosses is announced for daring and valour in the recent»combined operations at St. Nazaire. The recipients are: —Lieuten-ant-Commander Beattie, Commander Ryder and Able-Seaman Savage. Lieutenant-Commander Beattie was in command of H.M.S. Campbeltown, which rammed the lock-gate and blew it tip. The official citation says: "tinder intense fire directed at the bridge from point-blank range, and in the face of the blinding glare of many searchlights. Lieutenant - Commander Beattie steamed her into the lockgates, and beached and scuttled her in the correct position. The Victoria Cross is awarded to Lieutenant-Commander Beattie in recognition not only of his own valour but also of that of the officers and men of the very gallant ship's company, many of whom have not returned. Lieutenant-Commander Beattie is now a prisoner of war." Commander Ryder was the commander of a small force of unprotected ships in the attack and led the Campbeltown in under intense fire. Though the main object of the expedition had been accomplished in the beaching of the Campbeltown, he remained on the spot conducting operations, evacuating men from the Campbeltown and dealing with strong points, while exposed to heavy fire, for an hour and 16 qjinutss. He did not withdraw until it was certain that his ship would be of no use in rescuing any of the commando troops who were still ashore. That his motor gunboat, now full of dead and wounded, should have survived is almost a miracle

Able-Seaman Savage is awarded the Victoria Cross for great gallantry, skill and devotion as the gunlayer of a pompom in a gunboat completely exposed and under heavy fire. He engaged positions ashore with cool, steady and accurate fire, and on the way out of the harbour he kept up the same vigorous and accurate fire against the attacking ships until he was killed at his gun. This V.C. is awarded in recognition not only of Able-Seaman Savage's gallantry but also of the valour shown by many others unnamed in motor launches, gunboats and motortorpedo boats, who carried out their duty in entirely exposed positions against the enemy at very close range. Fourteen awards of the D.S.C. and other awards are also made to men who participated in the raid. SALVAGING NORMANDIE ENORMOUS TASK BEGUN (Reed. 9.15 p.m.) WASHINGTON, May 21 Preliminary work has been begun on the raising of the Normandie. The salvage work will take a year and then the ship will have to be refitted before her restoration to service. The method of salvage is to be the division of the under-water portions of the ship by bulkheads and then to pump the water out under controlled conditions until the position of the vessel is righted. The enormous task is greatly complicated by the fact that the Normandie is resting at one point on a rock ledge. ASIA DEVELOPMENT (Reed. 5.5 p.m.) NEW YORK, May 21 The Tokio official radio says that General Hayashi, a former Prime Minister and member of a senior military clique, has been chosen as President of the Asia Development Federation. The Domei news agency announced that the federation has organised separate bureaux to handle ideological problems relating to Manchukuo, North China, Inner Mongolia, Central China and the southern regions.