VISIT TO LONDON

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21623, 8 April 1940, Page 6

VISIT TO LONDON

New Zealander’s Novel Experiences Broadcasts Over 8.8. C. To be present at two big receptions in London to meet the King and Queen, and to give two talks over the 8.8. C.. one on the Empire and the other on the English broadcast were experiences in the first visit to London of Mr W. M. Armstrong, a Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve gunner, of Auckland, who was in Timaru for several days last week. These experiences added unusual interest to the novelty of a first visit to the largest city in the world when it was under the shadow of war and, according to Mr Armstrong, who was interviewed by a representative of “The Timaru Herald.” they will live long in his memory. He almost forgot the excitement of crossing seas ranged by enemy submarines and raiders in the incidents of his visit to England where so much out of the ordinary happened to him. Leaving New Zealand on active service a few’ weeks after war broke out, Mr Armstrong did not meet with any particular incidents on the trip to England, although he described the relief of the ship's company when they heard of the sinking of the Graf Spee. They were approaching the hunting grounds of the German pocket battleship and he admitted they did not relish the idea of an encounter with the vessel that was later scuttled in preference to giving battle to ships of the British Navy. When they arrived in London they met the intense cold which was part of the most bitter weather experienced in the city, the day they arrived being the coldest day in the city for about 50 years. "There was snow everywhere and traffic was dislocated for some time,” 1 said Mr Armstrong, “the falls in the city itself being the heaviest known. The snow was swept to the sides of the streets so that it would run off in the gutters when it melted and to see banks of snow about five feet high lining such streets as Oxford Street was most unusual. On my first visit to London I did not notice any effects of war on the life of the city which seemed to be going on just the same except for the intense sandbagging and the special police with tin helmets and gas masks. However, Londoners told me that the city activity was but a fraction of the usual and that much of the business and many of the people had left the city for country districts under the war scare of the early days. They said that London did not present anything like its usual appearance.” Among the highlights of the time he spent in England Mr Armstrong counted his presence at the two receptions, one organised by the Royal Empire Society at its hall and the second the big New Zealand Centenary Reception given by the Lord Mayor of London at Mansion House. At the Royal Empire Society function Mr W. J. Jordan, New Zealand High Commissioner in England, officiated and films of New Zealand were shown. They included pictures of the Franz Josef glacier and of Mount Cook and other outstanding peaks in the Southern Alps. To that reception all New Zealanders in England were invited. Royal Couple “Charming And Natural ” In addition to the King and Queen many of the heads of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, including numerous high ranking officers were present and it was at that reception that Mr Armstrong had the honour to be the only rating of the three services present in the crowd of 1000. A number of people was presented to the King and Queen by Mr Jordan. “I was lucky enough to be among these presented to the King and Queen,” said Mr Armstrong. “They were very pleasant and so charming in nature that I had no chance to feel embarrassed by being in their presence. They were very natural and while talking to me showed an interest in the work I was doing on active service.”

After the reception Mr Armstrong and one of the guard of honour, which consisted of members of the New Zealand Detachment formed in London, were asked to speak on the Empire broadcast of the 8.8. C. at 6 o’clock the next morning. “I think they picked me out because I stood out as the only one in the uniform of a rating,” said Mr Armstrong. After his first talk he was asked to speak again that night on the English session, “As the World Goes By,” the subject of the talk being Waitangi and its environment at the present day. Mr Armstrong is well acquainted with the Bay of Islands, Waitangi and its surroundings. having spent some time at Russell. Speaking of his broadcast on Waitangi he said it was a coincidence that about the same time that he was talking over the 8.8. C. on Waitangi his uncle was broadcasting to New Zealand radio audiences on the same subject from the Bay of Islands. A New Zealand journalist. Nesbit Sellars, who is on the staff of “The Times” in London, also spoke over the 8.8. C. both in tlie morning and at night, the broadcasts being in conjunction with the celebration of New Zealand’s Centenary. Mr Armstrong stated that he had looked forward keenly to his visit to England, but he little imagined that it would be as interesting as it was. He little expected when he left New Zealand to be presented to the King and Queen, to attend such receptions and to broadcast to the Empire and to England. He counts himself exceedingly fortunate to have had so many highlights added to a trip that could not have been other than eventful being his first visit to England and being in wartime.