A NEW SPIRIT 7 NEEDED

Southland Times, Issue 24684, 4 March 1942, Page 4

A NEW SPIRIT 7 NEEDED

MORE ACTION AND LESS TALKING RELIANCE ON METHODS OF LAST WAR “It is not good enough tailing behind the enemy—we have gpt to get ahead. We are lacking m • taking the initiative in the. modern type of warfare because in command we have people who refuse to forget the methods of the last war. - This was the opinion expressed by Captain Chaplain N. F. Sansom, of Invercargill, in a talk to members of the Invercargill Rotary Club yesterday. Captain Sansom, who has recently returned from the Middle East, said that his daily discussions with both officers and men had enabled him to obtain a comprehensive view of the situation. “There are some things which will have to permeate through the Empire’s whole war effort,” he declared. “We certainly are looking for more action and less talk, less political gush. People used to come round telling our fellows what jolly good chaps they were.- The men used to say, ‘For God’s sake, stop wasting time and get on with the war. There is not enough initiative, not enough practical thinking.” WEAKER FIRE POWER Captain Sansom quoted as an example of the inadequacy of British preparations the difference between the fire power of British and German antitank and tank guns. By fire power, he said, was meant the weight of the projectile, the distance of its projection and the power of the explosive. The British anti-tank and tank guns fired a 21b shell 1800 yards. The German guns fired a 61b shell 3000 yards. The result was that the only weapon that could be used to combat the German tanks was artillery—lB and 25 pounders. These guns had to be fired almost at point-blank range, and it was extremely difficult, and often impossible, to maintain a supply of the heavy ammunition they required. The new Churchill tank, he was glad to say, was equipped with a six-pounder. “I believe the world is going to see sometthing from America in the very near future,” he went on. “The Americans are turning out good stuff, and there were ships waiting in the Red Sea for the Bill to be passed which enabled them to discharge their cargoes. That was action for you.” “MUSIC FOR ALL” Captain Sansom went on to speak of life in Egypt and of the entertainments that were provided for the troops. He described the development of the “music for all” project An Englishwoman had persuaded the authorities to take over and renovate a theatre, which had been converted into a home for music. A first-class musical programme was provided every night, and in the afternoons there were gramophone recitals and play-reading. There were no brass bands there to compare with the New Zealand bands, which took part in almost all the band concerts. Captain Sansom mentioned that he was to have given a vocal recital in the theatre when he had to return to New Zealand.