BRITISH DEFENCE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19919, 22 April 1939, Page 5

BRITISH DEFENCE

DEEP SHELTERS OPPOSED AIR-RAID PRECAUTIONS ADVICE BY EXPERTS DIVERSION OF EFFORT (Elec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (British Official Wireless.) Reed. 11.50 a.m. RUGBY, April 21. All local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland have been asked on behalf of the Government, to arrange that priority is given to civil defence matters.over all other business for the next three months.

The Lord Privy Seal, Sir John Anderson, in the House of Commons, yesterday, made a statement on the Government's deep air raid shelter policy. He intimated that the Government's decision, in accordance with the advice of experts was that it would be a mistake to attempt to provide bombproof shelters on a general scale.

The Government would press on with ithe schemes for providing for the largest possible number of shelters against blast, splinter and falling debris. He disclosed that already over 300,000 of the Government steel shelters, capable of accommodating about 1,500,000 people, had been distributed and it was expected the distribution would henceforth,proceed at an accelerated rate.

In the meantime technical advice would be afforded to industrialists and others for heavily protected shelters where there seemed to be a case for providing them for certain key points and for certain vital services.

The report, of the conferences of experts, on which the Government decision had been taken, was completed after tests, had been carried out on the problems of deep shelters. The experts rejected bombproof shelters because of the diversion of effort from active to passive defence, the difficulty of constructing a shelter system which would guarantee speedy and sufficient access and the time required in construction. "

SCHOOL CAMP SCHEME REFUGES IN WARTIME (British Official Wireless.) Reed. 9 a.m. RUGBY, April 21. The principal business of the House of Commons yesterday was the consideration in committee of the Government's Camp Bill, which facilitates the provision of permanent camps for school use in peacetime and for evacuation purposes in war, through the agency of non-profit making companies.