TEMUKA WAR TO PEACE

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23257, 19 July 1945, Page 3

TEMUKA WAR TO PEACE

Transition Period Not Easy Letter From Wessex

Peace, as well as war, brings its problems, not only to the fighting man. but to the ' populace at large. Something of the reaction the people of Britain are going through in the transition period of passing from a life of active danger and excitement to the not so easy task of settling down to a normal, everyday existence after the conclusion of the war in Europe is shown in a letter received by a Temuka resident from a friend in Wessex. “Ever since that morning seven years ago when Hitler marched into Austria a fog of unreality has hung over ail our future whether national or personal.” she writes. "Now people are planning for the future with a sense of reality, even of urgency, hitherto lacking in all our talks oi' ‘after the war.’ Soon we will have forgotten how we patched and mended envelopes with paste and sticky labels and used them in a shuttle service between members of the family until they fell to pieces, or how welcome was the guest who brought a full week's ration for a three day visit. The dove of peace brings us not an olive but an orange branch. Lemons are seen again and sausages begin to taste faintly of pork. I "Now that, the security silence has been lifted from our preparations for D-Day. we are hearing a lot about the work of the railways. It is they who have borne the burden of war traffic, but, beside them, there runs a wonderful network. of country buses, serving not only war workers but the population at large. Goodness only knows what digestive troubles those old bus engines suffer from war petrol and lack of renewals, but though they cough and choke at times and their gears grate horribly, they roll up under the charge of old drivers and young conductorettes clean and punctual to I the minute. “The war has already passed away i from Wessex. No longer arc the buses held up by long convoys or have huge I tanks butting at them from around the corner. Once more the windswept I downs are lonely and as silent as they have been since the days when prehistoric man terraced the chalk into fortified camps. Last year they once more echoed to the tramp of armed men but these have again departed, leaving only the curlews and the sheep. The aerodromes and camps are now deserted and will soon be forgotten, but I. for one would like to think that there was some stone to tell that it was from there that men of Montreal and Vancouver set out on their last journeys to clear the skies for victory.

• Perhaps the most curious phenomenon of the war was the indifference shown by people to the V2 weapon. It seems' that, during the war. the chance of sudden death lost its terrors. Most people owned to a dread of the rumble of VI. still more at its sudden cut-out overhead. No one was ashamed to confess to having . . in the pithy R.A.F. slang . . had kittens at the sound of the sirens, but the V2 caused little interference with ' normal life and was never allowed to j prevent a day in town. Perhaps our greatest problem, now that peace in Europe has come, will be to regain a healthy balance of mind and body. During the war. certain stimuli were always present, while others necessary for a sane, everyday outlook were singularly lacikng. It will be no easy matter for civilians, as well as soldiers, to face up to the conditions peace will bring.”

Thaw Very Gradual Although the days have been bright and sunny, the exceptionally heavy frosts experienced each night since the snowstorm have prevented the | snow from melting rapidly and the thaw has been very gradual. The countryside is still white with some I inches of frozen snow. Footpaths on i the shady side of the roads are covered with ice, and extreme care has to be exercised by pedestrians in negotiating both streets and roadways. One particularly bad place has been on the shady side of Commerce Street, and the Borough Council staff yesterday made use of a flamethrower in melting the ice on the footpath, which had become solidified by constant traffic. The sprinkling of salt on the ice. recommended by a former resident of Glasgow, was tried as an experiment, with sufficient success to justify lb" purchase of a large quantity to use this morning. The whole of the staff have been busy chipping ice from the footpaths. Although the sun shone brightly yesterday, the maximum temperature did not, rise above 41 degrees. There were 16 degrees of frost yesterday morning.

Fire Brigade It was reported by the secretary 'Mr G Moulton I at a meeting of the Temuka Fire Brigade that the not proceeds from the annual bail were £8 12 1. and that this sum would be handed over to the secretary of the Temuka Patriotic Committee 'Mr R I. McGregor, as a contribution to patriotic funds. The Superintendent 'Mr R. L. Stokes> presented Mr F. J. Chapman i with a two-year silver service bar. bringing his full service with the brigade to 21 years. Euchre A successful euchre party was held , by the local branch of the Labour Party. The winners were Mesdames Turkington and M. Swap. Messrs L. Hopkinson and H. Henderson. Winners I of mystery prizes were Mrs E. Broad I and C. Talbot. Mr Alex Smith was I he winner of a competition.