The Goderich Signal-Star, 1967-11-09, Page 13The .Blue Thum
Still Ilrecling Colonel
lic life during World War I.
Ile Was the 'brainschild Of a
faniOus cartoonist and for long
he was just a figure of fun.
e.g. Blimp on leave from the
trenches of the Salient; elected
"to sleep at home in the cold
frame, so as to keep in shape.
Latterly he was used to poi'.
tray the archaic, outdated, self.
opinionated. dugout' from the
Zulu campaign, promoted to
take men's lives in his hands
because he 'knew someon0- in
the Lords; someone in the
cOunty, or city, or the House,
or War Office. Siegfried Sas--
soon pillaried him exactly when
lie wrote: "He's a jolly old stick,
said Harry to Jack, as they
slogged up to Arras with rifle
and pack. But he did for them
both with his plan of 4ttack".
There was another mythical
figure in the Services -name of
Buggins. When .0. vacancy
occurred, no matter' what the
necessary qUalifications, "It
was Buggins turn!" and once
installed with rank, Buggins
proceeded to make an -ass of
himself. But Buggins is not
to be confused with Blimp.
We have all unfortunately met
seperiors with,the Blimp men.
tality. We had a divisional com-
mander who was typical. The
gas mortar officer reported he
could not dig his mortars in
because there wag, nothing but
liquid mud. "Is there earth
there?" asked the general.
"Yes, there is earth", replied
the mortar officer. "Then dig
them in!" said the general and
left. Dig them in? They would
not eyen stand upright. 'They
just • sank out of sight.
Passchaendaele was a quag.
mire- a condition this 'old fool
had never seen and could not
Perhaps Blimp's essence was
that he was an effete, bumbling
old ass, ignorant and self
centred, who was only.listened
to because' of his superior rank,
which he had come by - not
because of his. efficiency - but
because he "knew somebody".
Of course he was not peculiar
manufactured there,,but I have
seen him in Canadians German
and American uniform.
All .this is mentionedbecause
some recent investigatIOAS have
brought to light the :fact:that
the Colonel Blimps of this world
can be Snmething much more
than figures of fun; they can
become dangerous liabilities to
the well-being of the ''''Ossuntry
they serve so complacently. If
you doubt the incarnation of
Colonel Blimp you may see an
acknowlegment of his presence
when writers remark on Mont.
gomery of Alamein coming to
the top of the Array tree yet
being 'friendless'; originating
in an obscure infantry regiment;
receiving no patronage; in fact
having to penetrate the 'old
boy' screen to achieve high
promotiOn solely by merit: 4,
'Wully' Rpbertsop, 'the Chief
of the Irnperial General Staff ,
in W. W .I. was a similar anomaly
and, writers never failed to
mat'Vel that he 'came up from
the ranks'.
Mercifully for their juniors, -
the Services contained men who
fought the 'old boy' attitude tooth
and nail. Tedder was one such,•
the deputy Supreme Allied Com-
mander to Eisenhower. "Ishe a
nice chap?" he once asked guile-
fully, when listening to a recom.
mendation for some appoint-
ment. „"Oh yes! Frightfully
decent" answered the unsus.
pecting sponsor. "Ah!" said
Tedder with relish, "Thenwe'll
send the bastard to Aden. I
don't like nice chaps! They rely
too mugh on charm and not
enough, on efficiency". -
There was yet another form
of bigoted 'attitude which some,
otherwise able chiefs, dis-
played. The wartime Director of
Artillery relates- how he recom-
mended an officer to fill a
post in one of his departments.
His boss, the Director General
of Munitions Productioe, sent
for hip . and said: "While I
haVe _no Ilisagreemeet with the
competency and personality Of
C olonel X, one of" lily advisers
tells me he is a Roman Catho-
FDA YOUR
AUTO INSURANCE
See or ?hone
MALCOLM MATHERS-
GPINER4 INSURANCE AGENT
46 WEST ST. 524-9442
Did you know?" The D.
of A. replied: "I did and I
also know that he is a firtst
class centre forward athoekeY,
but as ive are not asking him
to say masses or play hockey,
I did not feel that either had
anything to do with weapOn deve.
lopment, for which 'leant him."
•
KIM PHILBY
Of late confidence in British
integrity has been sapped by
those best known as'the ‘Trai.
tors' -May, Fuchs, Pontecorvo,
Maclean, Burgess and Blake.
Now Kim Philby has uncovered •
himself in his spiritual home of
Ruisia, after 30 years as a.
Soviet counter -spy, while env.
ployed in a series of the most
sensitive security appointments
of ,the British Secret Intel.
ligence Service. (SW This dis.
closure to a naive fellow
countryman like myself,
,mediately poses the question:
How on earth did he come to
be chosen? And the plain truth
is that the answer brings us
face to face with the most sin.
ister aspect 'of Colonel Blimp.
As a matter of fact Kim Phil -
by was not an old Etonian; he
belonged to no Club, but he got
in solely on a personal intro-
duction. The trailer Burgess,
already installed in the SIS,
told the then head of this sers
vice, one Footman, about .
Philby. Footman had known
Philby's family since Kim was
a child. He recommended him
to Colonel Vivian, the head of
counter -espionage, who, in turn,
was 'fearfully bucked' and im-
mediately told a senior col.
league: "I'm getting the son
of old St. John Philby. Knew
him in India. Son's been a
war cerrespondent for 'The
Times'. Seems a bright chap".
VETERANS
ARMISTICE
SERVICE
in our Centennial Year
Saturday, Nov. lith
Forming at Legion Hall, Goderich
10:30 a.m.
EVERY VETERAN
Whethei;. or not a Legion Member
. is askedto parade
ThirAilvertisement 'Sponsored .4
COMRADE ED STILES *
BRANCH 109
Blimps? --
That was alll No investigation!
No one remembered thatPhilbY
had been a communist.
When his aging boss, Men.
zies, was pensioned off, Philby
became head ofBritish counter.
espionage against Russia. ki,ow
dazed the Russians must have
been when this tit -bit cattle 10
them from 'their man in Lon.
don'.
Philby- had a most charming
personality and once he was
head of 'connter•espionage his
charm flowered, so•that all his
subordinates "worshipped' him.
He was for ever helping the
overworked and would dismiss
his gtaff, telling them not to.
bother to .lock up their files.
He, Philby, had to work late and
would do it, for them. You can
see how popular he hadbecome-
breaking all the rules of the
office to let these poor over.
worked chaps get away early.
"Don't worry about that''
he said. "I'll lock up later",
One witness at a recent en-
quiry said: "I didn't like to do
it, but he was so charming I
couldn't refuse anything he
asked."
The extent to which the other
members of SIS failed Wunder-
staed the nature of the viper
they nurtured in their midst,
is shown by Menzies corrunent,
when written to recently and told
the news: "What a blackguard
Kim Philby was". Philby pos-
sessed that rare attribute- 'the
cunning of the serpent'. Pitted
against a Colpnel Blimp, it was
a walk over; He couldn't fail
to win. Thus the Soviet obtained
all the worthwhile secrets of
Britain and America, not to
mention N.A..T.O., all because'
a complacent old ass had been
given the job of head of 'Intel-
The question is: ILre we -still
breeding Colonel Blimps? Are
me still promoting to sensitive
and responsible appeintments
men, whose only, claim to con.
sideration is that some inflU.
ential friend says: "He's such
a nice chap". When do we
bury Colonel Blimp once for
all in his cold frame and seal
the cover on him?
Beta Sigma Phi
Awarch
Author Harold Horwood., a
Newfoundland writer, is the win-
ner of the 196? Beta Sigma Phi -
First Novel Award, given as,
part.of the International Endow-
ment' Fund's Canadian Scholar.
ship and Awards program.
His novel is "Tomorrow
Be Sunday." Burnetta. Day, of
Harrow Ontario„(Essex County)
is the winner of the $1,000
Music Scholarship. The English
Scholarships, leach for $1,000
, were awarded to Dina Coates
• of Saint John, New, Brunswick
for the Atlantic provinces; John
Fekete, Montreal, for the Cen-
tral provinces; and David Orr,
Regina, Saskatchewan, for the
Western provinces.
Chairman of this year's sel-
ection committee for the Eng.
lish Scholarships was Proles.
sor R. J. Baker, head of the
Department of English atSimon
Fraser University, BritishCol-
umbia.
CHEMICAL- AGE
Teenage- Deafness
The racket of rock and roll generated
bi the bands teenagers love to listen to is
equivalent to the noise of an F405 jet
taking off just 80 feet away. Many doctors
fear that the sound levels maintained in.
teenage night dubs and psychedelic joints
are pushing the patrons into temporary and
perhaps permanent. hearing losses.
A study of sounds of modern music
made at the ,University of California Medi-
cal Schools shows that hearing losses
brought on by rock and roil music are
much like the nerve deafness that frequent-
ly comes with normal aging. Unfortunately
any deafness that occors in ?hese young-
sters.will be in addition to whatever hear-
ing loss they qxperienc'e as a consequence
of aging. (Inside Newsletter, 10, 1967,
THE
BEAUTY LOUNGE
81 East St.
phone 524-8994
ROTARY BALL.
The Goderich kotary Club held
their anneal formal Ball last
Friday night at the Harbourlite
Inn. In the receivingline are left
to right Mrs. Dan Murphy and
Mr, Murphy; Mrs. Malcolm
Campbell and Mr. Campbell..
Proceeds from the dance are
used in the charitable work of
the Iiotary Club. (Staff Photo)
Protects Safely
2 YEAR t° 61° Below Zero'
Polar Brand Anti -Freeze
,,
97.5% Piire Glycol plus. Inhibitors!
q<
% i- , '1,,,
Be sure! Be safe! Be sure you're safe this Winter and all year- round with Polar Brand Anti -Freeze for worry -free
'driving. Can't evaporate or boil away — keeps cooling system clen.n — inhibits rust and gorrosion. Recommend=
ed for use in all vehicles including those with aluminum, components. POLAR . . . Anti:freeze af its -.BEST!
At:GALLON
3010,111111111111111111111111
.75 QUART
•
k\‘‘t
Chrome
Carburetor
Guard, Conditioner
— Protects chrome Works while you,"'r,e
from road salts. • driving . . removes
water, varnish and
Protects all. winter
silt in gas
long. 16 oz.
bomb. 1391 20 oz. can . •9- 8
lines, etc..
spray
Ignition Cooling System
Spray Conditioner
Moiiture-proofs the
tolnplete ignition
system. Handy
6 oz.
spray
bomb.
.59
Moto -Master 'Engine Heaters — Plug in type, avail- L
able for Micist popular makes and models. From• U.L.7
Windshield . Sealer --- use on glass, rubber, metal.
Stops leaks, drafts,' etc. 3 oz.
Moto-Maiter Radiator Flush — Removes rust, scale,
etc. Impreves circulation and efficiency..10 oz. can.
.49
.49
Works 5 ways to
prevent the common
causes of cooling
system failure.
Works with 79
Anti -freeze a/
Moto -Master
TherMOStats
ture and heater per-
formance. Pellet
As low as, I 05.
Moto -Master Water Pump Lubricant and Rust In-
hibitor — Lubricates and stops leaks. 20 oz. can .... .64
Moto -Master "Purge" — 2 stage, cleaner, condi-
tioner for plugged radiators. 18 oz. can 1.14
Reinforced Heater Hose — 5/8" diameter, fits
most maltes of car heaters. Per Foot
•
Just start it
and forget it!
PIONEER1 4.50
Pioneer introduces for the first•time a high powered
professional production chain saw with "automatic
(a-pricisely measured amount of oil is released
tothe bar aUd chain for longer life and friction -free
cutting).
The Pioneer 14.50 Chain Saw also introduces "Inject -
Aire", the latest advance in chain saw ethgineering for
perfect', high performance woodcutting Cinder any '
climatic condition. .
For the maximum value in chain saws today, your
choice • . automatically PIONEER.
PIONEER 41. , CHAIN SAWS
.the big diffprence is total engineering!
ARGYLE:Marine & Small .Engines
88 BRITANNIA RD. e. GODERICH
iiorMaslit Car' A Os
IGNITION SPRAY —Completely waterproofs
the ignition system. Just spray— seals out mois-
ture. Hellis prevent common ignition troubles. 6 -oz. •
Keeps gas free from ice or water. 20 -oz. can •
GAS 'FLOW Prevents frozen gas linos, fuel
pumps and carburetor; helps prevent stalling.
AUTOMATIC TRANSM. CONDITIONER and
SEALER —Reconditions hardened tratism. seals.
ANTI-
FREEZE
ONE
GALLON
PROTECTS to 20 degrees `below
zgro. Handy, hole -in -the -handle
container, for easy carrying and
filling. No messy mixing and
wpm
TIRE
L. a "NIP" WHETSTONE
NORTH STR4T
Cash and Carry
BONUS
COUPONS
524-7394