HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1941-10-30, Page 7CANADA AT WAR
MINISTER IN LONDON
mine-sweepers and corvettes
bound from patrol duty, Earl-
a Quebec dockyard we had
similar ships in course of
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Accompanied by Chief °<
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of the mission who accompanied Mr. Ralston,
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(Article Number Five).
‘The Navy”
By B. M, P,
As a fitting climax to the Canadian
editors’ tour, a day with the Royal
-Canadian Navy at Halifax had been
arranged. To anyone who has visited
Halifax in peace-time, the transfor
mation to its predominant war-time
role as a key port on the Atlantic
coast comes almost as a shock. The
streets di Halifax are thronged with
officers and ratings of the R, C. N.,
the harbour is lined with ships being
readied for convoy, new buildings to
accommodate the Navy’s needs are
going up <3n all sides, and the dock
yard is a veritable beehive of activity
as thousands of navy men are schooled
for service on the seas.
Arriving at Halifax early in the
■morning, the editors were shown
■through King’s College, the Officers’
training establishment, the Signalling
School and the Admiralty House
-Grounds, Proceeding to His Majes
ty’s Canadian Dockyard, our party
saw all phases of the technical train
ing of the Navy, including the gun
nery school, ordinance artificers’ shop,
machine shops, anti-aircraft school
-and other departments of instruction.
It is here that the officers and ratings
receive their final, training in gunnery,
navigation, wireless, telegraphy, sig
nalling and able seamanship to fit
them for their tasks. Stokers are
taught their engine room duties and
there are school for cooks, stewards
.and sickbay attendants. In one build
ing the gunners were being trained
on large naval guns. It was an un
believable bedlam as the youngsters
■went through their paces, shouting
and repeating orders and moving with
speed and precision to their respec
tive stations. Not all of these lads are
Maritimers, in fact a great many are
from the prairies and singularly en-
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ough they take to the water like ducks.
Youth Predominates
Youth clearly has the call in the
Canadian Navy. We met a 27-y,ear--
old officer who is commander of a
destroyer and another of about the
same age in charge of a brand new
Canadian corvette. Another lad of
twenty one, an officer on a destroyer,
had already come unscathed through
the horrors of Dunkirk, where he was
in command of a yatch which made
four round trips in taking off British
soldiers. We visited the stores where
depth charges and big naval torpedoes
are housed, We were introduced to
Commodore Jones, Officer Command
ing the Atlantic Coast, and his staff,
and were told the story of how con
voys are assembled and shepherded
across the Atlantic, It can be no sec
ret that Halifax has vital role in
convoying merchant ships of .Allied
nations to belcagured Britain and that
the Royal Canadian Navy is playing
a heroic part in this all-important
task, having already safely escorted
thousands of ships and millions of tons
of cargo to their destinations in the
Mother Country,
We had a real opportunity to view
the busy harbour when two of the
now famous fifty American destroyers
were placed at our disposal for a tour
of the harbour and a 25-mile run onto
the broad Atlantic. Fortunately for the
editors it was a calm day. During the
run depth charges were dropped and a
smoke screen thrown out to add a
realistic touch to the trip, The depth
charges, rolled' from the stern of the
boat, threw a dense cloud of spray
high into the air and jarred the des
troyer with terrific force. It is easy
to see how they can play havoc with
enemy submarines. The Captain of the
destroyer on which we made the har
bour trip was t a sturdy ‘sea-dog,’
whose alert and ruddy countenance
clearly reflected the spirit of the Navy.
We learned that he had served aboard
H. M. C. S. Fraser, the Canadian des
troyer which went down in a collision
in the English channel with the loss
of a number of lives. The Captain, his
officers and ratings were most court
eous to the editors and we derived a
new insight into the valuable work
performed by the heavily armed des
troyers both in convoy and patrol
work. Overhead passed big flying
boats which carry out a long-distance
patrol far out to sea, while glimpses
could be obtained of the heavy coastal
fortifications of the harbour.
The Corvette
On the outgoing trip we passed
several
inward
ier at
viewed
building. We saw’ some corvettes on
the stocks with hundreds of men ham
mering and rivetting, while another
was ready for delivery. Contrary to
popular conception, the corvette is not
a small vessel, but rivals the destroy
er in size, and armament although we
understand that some corvettes of.
smaller size have been built at Ont
ario ports. Each of the larger corvettes
is heavily armed. They are playing' a
significant role in the Battle of the
Atlantic. One shipyard alone has 1,800
men at work on corvettes and mine
sweepers and the counterpart will be
found in many a Canadian shipyard.
The corvette is not as graceful a ship
as the destroyer but it is sturdy and
impressive in appearance. Expansion
of the Royal Canadian Navy as a
whole in the last two years forms one
of the epics of this war, embracing
an increase from 13 to 250 ships and
■ in personnel from 1,300 to 23,000 men
■ and the number is increasing every
’ day. The Navy’s popularity with
young Canadian manhood is proven
CANADIAN DEFENCE
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FOR
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DAY
FARE and ONE-OUARTER
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Between all points in Canada and to
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Tuesday, Nov, 11, 1941.
RETURN: Leave destination up to
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by the steady stream of recruits pour
ing into Halifax and other naval train
ing centres.- Canada’s Navy already
has a proud record in this war. It will
be enhanced as time marches on.
Women Lend a Hand
Just a word regarding the problem
encountered by Halifax in meeting the
needs of the thousands of naval rat
ings who. are training for service
there or who come ashore on leave.
The women of Halifax, ably assisted
in a financial way by various naval
auxiliary services including the Navy
League of Canada, are responding
nobly to the call for canteens and
wholesome i-ecreation for the men,
We visited three or four such build
ings and found that the sailors were
making liberal use of the conveniences
and comforts provided for them. One
small canteen alone had served as
many as 25,000. meals • in a month.
Alost of.the leaders in this work are
wives of naval officers who employ all
their spare time in the arduous duties
of fitting out and supervising canteens
and restrooms. Halifax churches like
wise are. doing their bit to brighten
the off-duty hours of the lads who
man Canada’s ships. One of the most
striking proofs of expansion is the er
ection of,- two new naval hospitals
adjoining the Halifax waterfront,
.which are greatly needed to supple
ment existing accommodation.
A happy culmination of the^editors’
visit to Halifax was the banquet ten
dered at Admiralty House to our par
ty by Commodore Jones and his staff
of distinguished officers and ship cap
tains. Our spookesmen had a chance
there to express appreciation of their
gj-acious hospitality and to thank
particularly Commander J. P. Con
nolly M.C., V.D., Royal Naval Prov
ost Marshal, who accompanied us on
the toUr. It was an occasion, too, to
become acquaainted with the sterling
worth of Canada’s men “who go down
to the sea in ships.’’
Conclusion
In concluding this series of articles,
we would like on behalf of Canadian
weekly newspapers to express to the
Department of National Defence and
to the officers of the General Staff,
the R. C, A. F. and the Navy, as well
as to, the Directors of Public Infor
mation and Public Relations and their
staffs, who took valuable time from
their official duties at Ottawa to ac
company us on the entire trip, our
sincere appreciation for a memorable
journey. We would also given honour
able mention to the Canadian National
Railways. It is certain that the tour
served the useful purpose of giving
the editors a clear conception of what
Canada is doing in this war and thus
enabling them to pass on information
to their readers. If we have painted
too rosy .a picture of- the Dominion’s
war program, it was not intentional.
We simply recorded what we saw.
There is ample time and place for
criticism, such as the, Federal Min
isters havd invited. No doubt the news
papers will do their duty in this re
gard, as they have in the past. These
articles have merely aimed at portray
ing the extent of Canada's achieve
ments in the army, the war industry,
the R. C. A. F. and the Navy, That
defects, bottlenecks and extravagance
still exist, there can be no doubt. The
program is by no means perfect. It
has grown so rapidly that no amount
of supervision could coordinate and
keep in hand the entire machine, We
know that it has cost a colossal sum
of money and that taxpayers are being
asked to pay to the limit. But in de
veloping the tools of war to defeat
Hitler, monetary considerations must
remain secondary. '
We hold no brief for Canada’s polit
ical government, but of one thing we.
can be sure, the leaders of Canada’s
military, air and naval forces, and the
entrepreneures of our war industries
are the right men in the right place,
They are keen, alert and on top of
their jobs. If Canadian civilians will
devote one fraction of the concentra
tion and enthusiasm of these men to
the war program, Canada’s part in the
Empire fight for survival will surely
be a worthy one.
(The End)
PHIL OSIFER OF
LAZY MEADOWS
By H. J. Boyle
'- JN
g|||tg
“Balky Tractor”'
If you pick up a book of poems by
James Whitcomb Riley you’ll see
many interesting things about ordin
ary farm life as it was back in his
day. However, times have changed a
great deal since then. In place of
balky horses on cold, frosty, fall morn
ings, in our township a
people have’ to put up with balky
tractors.
A balky horse was a mighty dif
ficult thing to get along with. Out of
sheer perverse nature a balky horse
could cause a man to lose his temper
and literally froth at the mouth. Just
about the time he was ready to give
up and sit down exhausted, the horse
would for no apparent reason switch
its tail and decide to move on. There
were a fair share of balky horses in
the towihship those days, too. It seem
ed at one time as if all the horse
trading gypsies in the district brought
all the balky horses in the province
back to our township. Father, who
considered himself to be a keen judge
cf horse flesh and a keen trader,
found himself at one time with two
balky horses. When one would go the
other wias certain not to move.
Coming from breakfast this morn
ing I decided to try and straighten
the garden gate up from its rather
melancholy lean. It was a brisk, aut
umn morning . . . the sun not yet
high enough to banish the night’s chill.
The iron work on the fence was clamy
and cold and the leaves underfoot
rustled with a metallic rasp that told
of the pranks of Jack Frost.
The clear, morning air was pointed
with loud noises . . . the hammering
of metal on metal and now and again
the asthmatic cough of.a tractor which
refused to get started. Neighbor Hig
gins was having another round with
his balky tractor. But those bouts are
more or less frequent.
It seems that every time we go to
a silo-filling at the Higgins place his
tractor acts up. Being next door neigh
bors of Higgins, I usually go over
early to help him set up for work ■
such as silo-filling. This year I arriv
ed shortly after day-break and Higgins
was cranking and cranking as usual.
With hat pushed -up on his fore
head , . . his smock lying over the
tractor seat and his left hand firmly
anchored to the radiator cap^ of the
old tractor, his right arm was going
around like a Dutch windmill on a
windy day. The tractor was in much
the same condition as usual . . . very
dead. ‘
He stopped and looked tip, panting.
His conversation was punctuated by a
choice set of descriptive adjectives
which in themselves should have
warmed up the tractor motor. He
didn’t say much and then with a most
determined look in his eyes he planted
his feet wide apart and grasped the
crank and began turning in earnest.
Then the tractor kicked
I say kicked
of city people who may not be aware
that a tractor packs as much dyna
mite in its wallop as an old-fashioned
American mule. Higgins seemed to
coil -up like a snake and then he un
wound. The language began to blister
once again.
I offered to try cranking the tractor
but by the time I made the offer he
was buried
contraption
wrench. For
was a busy
Finally he stopped, “I think I have it
great many
and when
it is for the benefit
beneath the hood of the
with a hammer and a
at least five minutes there
sound of metal on metal,
WESTFIELD
Josie
but it is good econ-
ASHFIELD
David Little and daughter,
Stackhouse,
were guests
Qf Mr. and
nerves were at breaking
and Mrs. Medd, Miss
of London, Mrs. J. W. Humph-
Amidst growing demand that British forces at
tempt an invasion on the continent, to take some
pressure off harried Russian forces, King George
made, a visit to the Scottish command and witnessed
* * *
How would you like,
up,
Canadian survivors of the freighter Pink Star en-
joy a game of cards in Iceland while shipmates look
on. They are survivors of the ship which was sent
to the bottom of the sea by a German torpedo. Many
of them are survivors of several sinkings.
seaways epen.
THE KING AN WW/Un wu
fixed,” he said quite proudly. He start
ed cranking and kept it up steadily for
another five minutes. This time the
tractor was quite unresponsive. There
didn’t even seem to be a kick left in
the metal monster. Once again he
buried himself under the hood , . . this
time locating a dislodged wire which
apparently had deadened the motor.
The motor would turn over . . . .
cough a couple of times and then
soggily stop. That was encouragement
at least, “It’s “flooded,” was the an
nouncement. For five minutes we
stood and smoked and talked about
everything except the tractor. Finally
he went back to work on it with a
vengance.
His hand slipped and he bashed his
knuckles bn the metal. Has your hand
1 ever slipped off a crank on a chilly
morning and struck cold metal? If it
has, then you will know about the
numbing experience that it really is.
He. hopped on one foot and then the
other and tried to cram his whole fist
—blood, oil and all—into his mouth.
For at least three minutes he stood
stock still. Then with his hiat perched
on the back of his head . . . his hair
bushed out over his forehead , . . .
blood streaming from his knuckles
. . . face spattered with oil and blood,
he walked up in a very determined
way to the tractor. He shoved the
crank in to make connection and then
suddenly turned it. Th^e tractor started
. . . without a. murmur or a choke. The
motor purred as smoothly as it is pos
sible for an ancient tractor to purr.
The balky tractor started just as the
Higgins
point,
Mrs.
Miss Vera and Mrs. Robert Nelson,',
near Kintail, visited with Mrs. Mac-
Kenzie Webb, 12th con., West Wawa-
nosh.
Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, Arthur,
spent a few days with their cousins,
Men of 3C, 40, 50
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troops in landing exercises. Here the monarch leap
nimbly up the short gangway leading from shoe
to the deck of a landing barge of the type favors
for use at invasion time.
Mr. and Mrs, Roy Alton, Mr, and Mrs.
George Lane, 10th con., and Mr. and
Mrs. Dick Reid, near Port Albert.
Mr. and Mrs. Percy Graham, Miss
Blanche and two sons, Jack and Jim,
near Sheppardton, spent Sunday with
Mrs. Graham's parents, Mr. and Mi’s,
D. K. Alton and brothers, Messrs
Bert and Roy Alton, 10th con., and at
tended the .Anniversary.
A number from here attended the
Anniversary, Sunday forenoon, at St.
Helens last Sunday. Rev, Mr. Bee
croft was the special speaker and del
ivered two very inspiring sermons.
Rev. Mr. Patton,, a former pastor of
the Ashfield circuit, was the speaker
at Blake’s Anniversary the same day.
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Morrison and
sons, spent Friday with her parents,
Mr. and Mrs. D. K. Alton.
Mr. .and Mrs. Jacob Hunter and
family, 12 con., near Zion, spent Sun
day with Mr. and Mrs. Will Hump
trees near St. Helens.
Much of the fall hay has been spoil
ed on account of the wet weather, and
a number of farmer’s haven't their po
tatoes
family visited with Mr, and Mrs, Per
cy Gibbing at Clinton.
Mr. and Mrs.* Howard Campbell',
Laurence and Lois, visited on Sunday
with Mrs, Thomas Harvey of Exeter.
Mr. and Airs. Elwin Taylor and!
family were St Helens visitors on
Sunday. ■ ■>
Mr. James Walsh returned, home on
Sunday after being employed by Air.
Percy Gibbings for the summer.
Rev. H. C. Wilson took his text on
Sunday from St Luke 23:34. The
theme being ’'Forgiveness,”
Mr, Leslie Buchanan has frequently
seen a number of deer, as he is going
to and from work at Auburn.
DIRECTORS NAMED
AT SKY HARBOR
Mr.
Medd
rey of Chatham were guests on Tues
day at the home of Mr. and Airs. W.
F. Campbell.
The members of the Mission Circle
met at the home of Miss Clara Mc
Gowan on Friday evening and enjoy
ed a social time. Mrs. Norman Mc
Gowan opened the meeting with a
hymn and Aliss McGowan led in pray
er. Miss AIcGowan showed slides on
China, and some of her Chinese curi
as. Lunch was served by Mildred
Thornton and Phyllis Cook. The meet
ing closed with the Mizpah Benedic
tion.
Airland Mrs. J. Gallagher of God
erich visited recently at the home of
Mr. and Mrs. W. A, Campbell.
Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Snell of Londes-
boro were Westfield visitors on Sun
day.
Air. and Airs. W. F. Campbell, Miss
Winnifred, visited on Friday with Mrs.
Bell Afedd of London.
Air. and Mrs. Wesley
Aliss Eva of Brucefield
on Sunday at the home
Mrs. Wm. AfcDowell.
Mr. and Airs. Norman Radford and
Reports of a successful year at Sky-
Harbor were presented at the annual,
meeting of the Huron County Flying-
Training School Company Limited, ori
Wednesday afternoon. Forty share
holders were present. The following
directors were appointed: R( J, Bow
man, Brussels; J. R, Dg-ugfos, Goder
ich’; A. H. Erskine, Goderich; K.
Hueston, Gorrie; G. L. Parsons, God
erich; Ben, Tuckey, Exeter; AV, L.f
Whyte, Seaforth. , 1 • >
Others nominated were G. C. Gea-
gan and Wilmot Haacke, Goderich
township H;ugh Hill, Colborne town
ship, and G. Schneider, Kitchener.
The scrutineers were Norman Miller
and J. C. Shearer.
It may be poor etiquette for a hus
band to walk between his wife and the
shop windows,
omy.
❖
Kind Lady:
a nice chop?
Hobo: Dat all depends lady. Is it
lamb, pork or wood?
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Having our factory equipped with the
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All finished by sand blast machines.
We import all our granites from the
Old Country quarries direct, in the
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seeing us.
E. J. Skelton & Son
West End Bricfac—WA LKERTONT
HEROES OF ILL-FATED PINK. STAR IN ICELAND
_____ ___ ..______________ __w_. AH tai
anxious to get back to the sea to help keep the