WAR-TIME BRITAIN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25736, 6 January 1945, Page 6

WAR-TIME BRITAIN

- INTERESTING EVENTS AWARDS FOR CIVILIANS (N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent) LONDON, Jan. 4. The arrival of men of the British liberation army on seven days’ "Blighty” leave has been one of the most interesting events recently for people in Britain. It is true that the number of men who have drawn a lucky ticket in the ballot is not large, but in hundreds of homes there has been joy and celebration at the return of those who went ashore in Normandy on D-Day. There were touching scenes at a London railway station when the train arrived. Crowds cheered the grinning, bashful soldiers, and their wives, some of whom waited for 10 hours .in order not to miss a minute of the time with their husbands, greeted the men. This leave has come at a time when war weariness among the population has probably reached its highest peak since ; the outbreak, and many happy family reunions are helping to blunt the sharp edges of strain. Popular newspapers have given considerable space to reunions and photographs of soldiers with their families. The supplementary New Years honours list has also given wide satisfaction in hundreds of homes at the recognition of what has been described as “ the toil of millions in Britain’s war effort.” Thirteen per cent, of the awards were won by the merchant navy, which is a fitting tribute to this service, on which the country relies so greatly and which does not always receive the plaudits given to the services. This system of bestowing awards on civilians has been maintained throughout the war, and it must have been a source of gratification to many who perform humdrum, monotonous tasks in the war effort. For instance, the M.B.E. was won by a \yoman who is described as " the principal trainer of women’s crews for canal boats.” Other women won recognition for work as foster-mothers of evacuated children, and a woman of 84, who won the 8.E.M., has 71 years of service in the Lancashire cotton industry, and in spite of her age still does a full working day. Men who won awards include stationmasters, ship surveyors, railway goods executives, miners, and colliery managers, munition workers, and a crane driver. Redundant Workers Released

The work of finding 250,000 men "to sustain and nourish our armies in the line ” has begun. It is reported that many of them may come from a number of redundant workers who are being released from munition industries, particularly aircraft factories. It is also expected that about 50,000 men will be transferred from other services to the army in order to train those coming from civil life. It is stated that as far as possible recruits will come from the ranks of single men in the younger age groups. Miners, farm and transport workers are unlikely to be affected. More women have also been invited to volunteer for the women’s services, and there has been something of a rush to join* the Wrens, in particular. Many girls remarked that they are “tired of civvy life” and are hoping to get overseas. There has been a big increase in tne income tax paid during the last nine months of the last year. The total was £595,512,000, which is an increase of £81,328,000 over the same period in 1945. This increase js sufficient to pay for the war for five days. The national expenditure has outpaced the revenue, and the estimated figure for the full year is £5,940,394,000. More than £200,000,000 in cash was counted by bank officials at the end of the financial year. This is the highest figure in British banking history. The note circulation was increased by £50,000,000 last month, with the result that many unused green notes which were stored in 1940 and replaced by blue notes are now in circulation again. Shares Rise in Value During last year, It is reported, practically every share on the Stock Exchange rose in value, and it is estimated as a result that £1,000,000,000 has been added to the £21,000,000,000 of securities of all kinds quoted. The rise is reported to be due to expectations of an early end of the war in Europe, which would enable companies to resume their peace-time operations. “ Black market ” dealings are reported to have increased the activities of burglars, and thefts of clothing, furniture, tobacco, and food are now said to be common. They are so common, in fact, that insurance corn-* panies are refusing all new business that does not yield a premium of £1 per annum or more. It is estimated that burglaries for the “black market” have risen by 60 per cent. Manufacture for export is now being permitted in some industries. Sheffield cutlery makers have been tqld than they can resume, and that stainless and other steel will be available for overseas orders. Other minor releases are carpets, aluminium, and enamelware. Britain now has 15,000,000 apple trees, and, in spite of drastic pruning of orchard space during the war, the number of trees has increased by oyer 3,000,000 during the last two decades. There are over 7,000,000 Cox’s Orange Pippin trees.