BRITAIN AT WAR

Patea Mail, 5 January 1940, Page 4

BRITAIN AT WAR

TRIBUTE TO PEOPLE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY A warm tribute to the bearing of the British people in their time of trial and danger was paid by the Hon. P, Fraser on his return from the Empire Conference of Ministers hold recently in London . There was no evidence of fear or consternation anywhere, least cf all among the residents of the areas which most frequently suffered from air attacks, such as Edinburgh and the Firtr of Forth area, said Mr. Fraser. There was no boastfulness nor vindictiveness visible, and no glorification of way The war had not been welcomed anywhere in Great Britain; as in New Zealand, it was deeply deplored, but many of the British people had expected for a long time that the British and French Governments would call a halt to Nazi aggression in the interests of humanity at large, and were not taken completely by surprise when war was declared.

The attitude of the people of tlio United Kingdom as a whole -was one of calm, (dear, courageous determination to carry on to the end, that was, to the ultimate victory of democracy over dictatorship. Probably never be? fore had the British people reached such heights of moral and spiritual grandeur as they had at the present time. The sight of a nation —a whole p eo pl G —quietly and' modestly dedicating themselves to the groat work of dethroning tyranny and despotism and enthroning freedom and democracy could not fail to be impressive. UNCONQUERABLE SPIRIT “To see the resources of the whole nation organised and directed efficiently, capably, and determinedly in the carrying out of its war cllort in all its man ramifications, and without any sign of self-glorification, or what used to be culled jingoism, is inspiring indeed, in some respects, overwhelming and oven awesome,” said Mr. Eraser. “‘Certainly the spirit of the British people is indomitable and unconquerable. They feel as a whole that Nazism and its terrors must le defeated, and are prepared to muse, and arc making, immense sacrifices towards that end. Behind all their efforts is the conviction that victory for democracy and docent and fair relationships between notions, and. between man and man is essential to the future well-being of the human race, and must be won. They feel that a triumph for Nazism would menu the destruction of all that is worth/while in human relationships, and that such a calamity to mankind must not even be contemplated, far less permitted. That is the , invincible spirit which and animates the people of Great Britain as a whole.

A. It.P. PRECAUTIONS The good-natured co-operation and tolerance generally in face of all the difficulties in the black-outs, evacuation of children, projected rationing of food, and the constant danger of air raids, iwcro really something to marvel at. The evacuatiem and the blackouts were both organised on the maximum scale on the assumption that the first stage of the war would involve extensive air attacks on London , and other densely populated areas. When these did not occur according to expectation, many people were nonplussed, and there were slight indications of irritation in some quarters, but as the prolonged nature of the struggle began to emerge more clearly, the t people readjusted themselves accordingly. It was only to be expected that once the immediate fear of danger was relaxed, parents-would want to have their children buck with them. Difficult problems for the authorities were thus arising. ' In many of' the large cities the schools lad been closed, and the fact that so many children of school age wore not being’ provided for constituted another serious difficulty. The black-outs in London and the other large cities had been very thorough. Any part of Loudon might be an unlighted country village through which people grope their way on a dark night., with the aid of electric torches. He understood that the severity of the black-outs had now been relaxed to some small extent. In ad dition to the inconvenience of the black-outs, there were the dangers reflected in the increased number of street accidents.

.Carrying of gas masks . wus uni\ cisal. "children even took them to school. Protection against splinters during air raids was fairly general, while protective sandbags were everywhere. Practically all basements had been converted into air-raid shelters. A. great number of business cilices had been removed to the country, while such institutions as the University of London were divided and located in various places—in the case of the University of London, at Oxford, Cambridge, and elsewhere. Protection against incendiary bombs were 'widespread and effective. “There were many trials, disadvantages, worries, and dangers present in Great Britain, but the British people arc just bravely carrying on,” Mr. Fraser concluded.