CANADIANS NOW IN ENGLAND

Southland Times, Issue 24004, 20 December 1939, Page 7

CANADIANS NOW IN ENGLAND

EMBARKATION KEPT SECRET BRIEF CEREMONY OF WELCOME CELEBRATIONS HELD IN CANADA (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright) (Received December 19, 11 P-m.) LONDON, December 19. The Canadian Active Service Force, commanded by MajorGeneral A. G. L. McNaughton, has landed on British soil and already is encamped “somewhere in England” for final training. No secret of the whole war was better kept than the embarkation of this large and magnificently equipped force from every province in Canada. Citizens at the disembarkation were amazed to see the procession of transports and the strong naval escort entering the harbour through the mists of a winter day. So well was the secret kept that they were even more deeply mystified as the ships slowly approached the shore and they heard the bands playing and a vast chorus singing “0 Canada.” During a brief ceremony at the quayside, which was thronged with cheering crowds, the general officer commanding the area read a telegram of welcome from the King, which concluded: “The British Army will be proud to have as comrades in arms the successors of those from Canada in the last war who fought with a heroism never to be forgotten.” The Dominions Secretary (Mr R. A. Eden) welcomed the force on behalf of the Government. Celebrations were held throughout Canada when it was learned that the contingent had arrived. With the lifting of the veil of secrecy the newspapers were filled with accounts of the assembly and departure, both triumphs of organization. Trains carrying between 400 and 600 men operated over a period of days. All were timed to arrive at Halifax at two-hour intervals over three days. The sailing was kept the closest secret. There were no leave takings at the waterside. Indeed, Halifax saw nothing of the men. The Prime Minister (Mr W. L. Mackenzie King) and members of the Cabinet stood on the dock alone on a chill, grey Sunday morning as the long line slipped out to sea. Never before have troops travelled in such elegant surroundings. Several transports were famous luxury liners. The Hon. John Buchan, a son of the Governor-General, Lord Tweedsmuir, is a member of the contingent. Accompanying correspondents testify that the Navy has a sense of humour. Concerning the only incident en route, when transports strayed in a heavy fog, correspondents record that a scouting destroyer signalled: “Read Luke, 15-6.” The first Australian to reach England on active service landed with the Canadians. He is a former pantomime actor who recently had been mining at Trail, British Columbia. Sir Hubert Wilkins is offering his services to the Canadian Government, He said that the Australian Government had told him that he was not needed immediately. Being a colonial, he was more anxious to serve with the Dominion forces than the Motherland’s forces. . The sixth verse of the fifteenth chapter of St. Luke is: "And when he cometh home, he caileth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.” REPORTED CAPTURE OF DIPLOMAT NO INFORMATION RECEIVED IN LONDON (British Official Wireless) RUGBY, December 18. It is reported that Mr Gordon Vereker, counsellor at the British Embassy in Moscow and British Minister designate at La Paz, has been captured by Germans from a neutral ship in the Baltic, but nothing is yet known in official quarters in London of the circumstances. It cannot be confirmed that Mr Vereker is in Germany, though it is a fact that he was in a neutral ship on his way from Tallinn to Stockholm which was interrupted by a German warship. If Mr Vereker has been detained, despite his diplomatic privilege, the United States Government, which has taken charge of British interests in Germany, will be asked to take up the matter and procure his release.