LONDON REORGANIZES ITS ROUTINE

Southland Times, Issue 23942, 7 October 1939, Page 4

LONDON REORGANIZES ITS ROUTINE

Great Efficiency In Change To War Conditions

By

VESTA

LONDON, September 12. If I had not been in England and seen for myself the great change over to war conditions, I could never have believed that such a revolution could be effected with so little excitement or disturbance, or with such marvellous efficiency. In three days 1,475,000 women and children were plucked from their homes in crowded cities and transported to other homes throughout England, Scotland and Wales. In a few hours the whole order and routine of their lives was changed. Lonely men, left behind, are “carrying on” without wives or children to cheer them. Mothers all over the country are wondering when they shall see husbands or children again. And not one word of complaint seems to be uttered. , , , The very dogs and cats have had to suffer. Household pets, unless a kindly neighbour could take them in, have had to be destroyed by hundreds, since they could not be carried to the new homes. GRAND SPIRIT And while the young and lusty men have said good-bye to their families and homes, women have been hurrying to offer to “do their bit.” They have not waited to be called up. The Women’s Voluntary Services for Civil Defence (W.V.S.) are enrolling women workers at the rate of 10,000 a week. They have 1200 centres throughout Great Britain, and every one is thronged daily by women ready to perform any service—nurses and. hospital workers, cooks and housemaids, canteen workers, ambulance drivers. Trained nurses to the number of 11,000 have, enrolled, with 4000 assistant nurses; and 50,000 auxiliary nurses have joined the Civil Nursing Reserve for service in hospitals and first-aid posts. And still more are asked for, especially those who are prepared to give fulltime service in any part of. the country. WOMEN’S LAND ARMY The Women’s Land Army has already supplied thousands of workers to help to get in the harvest; arid, mercifully, the weather has been perfect for this work in the last week or two. Hoppicking is going on, too, and this year many of the pickers have travelled in their own cars. Every county in England has its branch of the Land Army, and some 18,000 women have already joined. Courses of training are being arranged for those who need instruction in land work. The Women’s Legion, revived re-

cently, is enrolling women with cara to assist in transport work. Women engaged in the occupations necessary to maintain normal life have been instructed to carry on as usual. The well-to-do housewife cheerfully undertakes the task of maintaining the health and comfort of the family without the help to which she is accustomed. Shoppers are carrying home their own parcels. Shopping hours are being curtailed. In London drapery stores are closing at 5.30, and some are not opening at all on Saturdays. “Summer-time” hours may be continued until the end of the year, and some Sunday evening services are now held at 3.30 p.m. Regular daily work will, it is thought, soon be begun at 7.30 a.m., so that workers may finish early and get home before the “black-out” hour, which is between 7 and 7.30 p.m. FIRST AIR RAID The first air-raid warning found everybody calm and prepared.. London had had two false alarms, which gave people a little practice; but in Oxford our first warning came at the unexpected hour of 7 a.m., and it took some of us a few minutes to realize that the siren which we heai;d was not an ordinary factory summons to work. There was a sharp early autumn tang in the air, and the cellar was a chilly place. I was, fortunately, dressed; but the others had just hurried into their dressing-gowns and slippers, and were soon conscious of the need for some means of heating the air raid shelter. Quick decisions were made about this, and about the provisions of food and water and a plan for boiling the kettle. We had been warned to turn off all gas during a raid, or some venturesome spirit would have gone up, at her own risk, to make tea. As it was, we waited patiently until, some time after 9 o’clock, we were able to enjoy breakfast in a room, flooded with September sunshine. One woman I know did not hear the siren. She had had the wireless on; but the postmistress told her about it, and added the information that the German bombers had come over Gravesend and up the river as far as Henley-on-Thames. Later we heard from another source that one bomber had been brought down at Southend. After all this it was disappointing to be told in a matter-of-fact communique from the Air Ministry that the bombers •Were off the East .Coast and had not penetrated our defences. Two rumours in two days is a mild allowance. English folk always qualify such stories with the warning “But you can’t believe what you hear. We must wait until the Government announcement is made.” The morale of the people is magnificent.