WAR-TIME ENGLAND

Waikato Independent, Volume XL, Issue 3765, 2 October 1940, Page 5

WAR-TIME ENGLAND

LETTER FROM TE AWAMUTU AIRMAN

FINE SPIRIT OF PEOPLE Sergeant Frank G. W. Chunn, of Te Awamutu, who left New Zealand a few monthes ago as a member of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, writes a most interesting letter from London, dated July 16th. In it he says: “We arrived at our camp in England over a week ago, in pouring rain—the first proper downpour they have had here for over ten weeks. We must have brought the wet weather with us, with a vengeance. It is quite warm, though, and our uniforms keep us mopping the perspiration off our foreheads. On the train trip from our port of disembarkation, I couldn’t help noticing the vegetable gardens grow-

ing on the vacant sections adjoining the railway line. Probably Eng- # land’s effort is to produce as* much food internally as possible, and it is doubtless meeting with great success, as the gardens I saw were all healthy and flourishing. , “Air-raid ) shelters adorn—or should I say, disfigure?—all the streets of every town and hamlet in England. In every vehicle, tubetrain, ordinary train, public houses and practically everywhere, are posted notices instructing the reader where to find his nearest shelter and what precautions he should take should the necessity arise. “We carry our gas-masks with us everywhere we go, and although it

is for our own safety and protection, we loathe doing it. Thpy. become a nuisance; carrying them is awkward, and on top of this it is an expensive item should wte4ose ■ one. The police have the power to arrest anyone seen without a gas--mask, and they can also demand anyone’s identity card. “H.M. Forces can also demand that a person produce his card for ■ identification. This is combating the Fifth Column menace in no ' small way. Everyone has to carry an identity card, in reality a passport with a photograph of the : bearer. All Towns Protected “Every town has its own balloon barrage op outskirts, and at night, what with these huge blimps in the sky and powerful search- 6 lights flashing from horizon to hori- ,, zon, enemy aircraft seldom venture . low enough to be effective or accurate. London has not had an airraid alarm for several weeks, in fact aerial activity in this region , is practically at a standstill. Our camp is not far from London and we visit it nearly every night, per tube railway. , “The spirit of the English civilian, what few are not in uniform now, is surprisingly buoyant and of course our service knows no/pessi-r mists. I have noticed the absence , i: of children in. the streets ~ and,, homes; they are of course now, ■ evacuated, and some have left for America. All main buildings; #Fe-sand-bagged and window panes, and plate-glass windows are all crisscrossed with adhesive rubberized: tapes so that in the eventuality of,, the windows breaking they would , not fly out. but hang together. Varjfety of Uniforms

“Most nqticeable, especially in London, is the different array of uniforms worn by both men and women. There seems to be every army, navy and air force established there, taking refuge of course, and now joined up with Britain. We have a lot of fun identifying various foreign forces, and often to ask them their nationality before we are sure.

“These people are polite to the extreme, but all seem dumbly silent as if under a great strain —as no doubt they are. It is nothing for us to encounter a Dutchman, French man or Pole who. knows nothing of the whereabouts of his relatives or has not even heard of their welfare for months.

“Cars are surprisingly cheap at present , it is no trouble to purchase one at 30/- or £2, whereas the same model in New Zealand would return to its seller something in the vicinity of £l2O. Of course, petrol is the main snag, and registration goes .by the horse-pq\yer, and thus is more than in New Zealand.

“As far as aircraft are concerned here, we definitely have the upperhand now on our enemies. All first-line craft ; are the last thing in British perfection, and this alone is a great stimulus to our boys, when they know that when they contact an enemy they are superior. The R.A.F. have been making leaflet raids oyer France lately to enlighten the press-muzzled French and to give them hope as this enclosed leaflet will explain. Food here is