SUBMARINE MENACE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 254, 27 October 1939, Page 6

SUBMARINE MENACE

TRANS-ATLANTIC DASH WAR FEVER IN ENGLAND WANGAMI MAN ABROAD After seeing London under war condition and being a passenger on a liner, which sailed from England only a few hours after the ill-fated Athenia. and made a fast dash across the Atlantic, Mr. W. Adams, of Wanganui, is thankful to be home from an extended tour abroad. Embarking from New Zealand last May,the spent several months touring England, and left on the morning a state of war wa.s declared. Many New Zealanders bad been stranded in London when war broke out, said Mr. Adams in an interview yesterday. He went to New Zealand House nearly every day and found it a sorrowful place. A large number of tourists had spent most of their money and several he knew had cabled to New Zealand. but the Government, for .some unknown reason, could not allow them any more. Delayed by Admiralty. Mr. Adams had previously booked his passage on a P. and O. liner in order to travel home by way of the Mediterranean. but because of the submarine danger the Admiralty had the service stopped. It w «is only after considerable difficulty that Mr. Adams managed to get a passage on the Empress of Britain, sailing for Canada, by booking first class. Alter being delayed by the Admiralty for several hours at Southampton, lhe Empress of Britain proceeded to Cherbourg to I await orders. She sailed a few hours ’ after the Athenia. No cargo was unloaded or passengers disembarked al l the French port, but the liner was i delayed for nearly nine hours before I she continued her voyage. Even then ' the passengers thought she was re-J turning to Southampton, and it was with mixed feelings that they found they were bound for Canada. Nerve-wracking Voyage, "Cutting a zig-zag course, the Empress of Britain, using all her boilers, travelled at about 30 knots an hour," said Mr. Adams. “So great was her speed, that, notwithstanding the fact that she deviated from her course some 800 miles. Quebec was reached in the normal time of five days. "The nervous strain on the voyage was terrible,” he said. “The liner carried about 1000 Canadians, many Americans and a sprinkling of New Zealanders and Australians. Both the smoking and “ard rooms were converted into sleeping quarters. Everybody had to wear a lifebelt during the daytime and kept it handy al night. “The liner was completely blackedout at night. Nobody was oven al- | lowed to smoke or use a torch to get about on deck. To add to the nervewracking suspense not a ship was sighted during the passage. The smoke of a steamer was seen on the horizon, but either it, or we, scuttled out of sight. None of the passengers knew the route we were taking, and there were no wireless reports, ft must have been a weird sight, that great ship zig-zagging a top-speed, like a sinister shadow through tiie night.” Canada had never been more welcome, said Mr. Adams, and news of ' the Athenia disaster made those on lhe Empress of Britain realise how I easily they might have shared the ■ same fate. Moreover, it was rumoured in Quebec that the cargo of the Empress of Britain included about £14,000,000 in bullion, and a collection ol priceless museum treasures. London in a BDck-ouL j All the major cities in England had been blackeu-oul a week Delore he left, said Mr. Adams. London, in a black-out, was appalling. There were ’ no lights in windows or streets and even motor-cars and buses had only tiny spot lights with which to sec their way. Airwardens were on guard ’ to see that nobody so much as lighted ' a match, and aeroplanes flew over the city and reported any signs of illumination. Although they tried m;L to show it Londoners looked unnerved, said Mr. Adams, in all directions i;ien could be seen building sand barricades and shelters. All meaiis of transport had been commandeered by the Government for the evacuation of i children, which had been carried out 1 with marvellous efficiency. Everybody had been served with a gasmask and carried it everywhere. Mr. Adams had ! brought his home with him and showed it to be a neat, rubber outfit, which is slung over a shoulder. Great Balloon Barrage. i Hundreds of balloons formed a great ! barrage over London, said Mr. Auain.s. , About two or three times the size ol an elephant, lhe balloons were moored by heavy steel cables to large 10wheeled motor-ti ucks. A motor, mounted on lhe back of the Huck, operated the winding gear for ocntrolling the height of the balloon, 'lhe action of the balloons was obviously to intercept enemy aircrait. One tning was certain, if the attackers got inside the barrage they would never get out. | “Soldiers were everywhere in London," concluded Mr. Adam.'. "There must have been thousands in France before the English people knew of them.”