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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1942-02-19, Page 6PAGE SlX THE SEAFORTJ N.EIWS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1942 STREET FIGHTING HAS ITS OWN TECHNIQUE This picture shows Cnadian troops taking advantage of local color provided for them by the Luftwaffe. British homes blasted by bombs are for training purposes excellent simulations of heli -torn villages waiting for the infantry to mop up. Canada's Soldiers in England Are Busy By Kim Beattie. With the Canadian Army Over- seas.—Can you picture soldiers drill- ing from dawn until dusk—and ac- tually liking it? The Canadians are. Not on the parade square, but with the new battle drill, which is action -realism, that element striven for by all military instructors. It is teamwork of small offensive squads reaching a new high in guerilla counter-attack. It is the signal -and - hike of a Canadian football play, with the backs and halves carrying Brens and grenades and the line armed with Tommy guns. It is the infiltration used by von Hutier in March, 1918, the pincers tactic of the blitzkrieg, the inspiration and in- novation of Lieut. -Gen. H.R. L. G. Alexander,i(the officer who took ov- er command from Lord Gorb during Dunkirk)—and many other things. All the infantry and machine - gunners of the Canadian Corps are getting it, company by company, and liking it. They are learning to fight —live bullets seethe overhead—and they are off the drill -ground. There is street -fighting: "Remem- ber! This is the only ground warfare with three dimensions. The roofs and upper windows are dealy. Hug the right side of the street under fire. When shooting down, shoot high. When firing up, shoot low." And then the reasons, the why and how of house-to-house fighting, the kind of intense, close action that ap- peals to the self-reliant Canadian. They're reveling in it. How To Ambush Tanks There is panzer ambushing: ''If you blow up the leading panzer, in line astern, he'll make a good road block. He has the radio so you'll also block communication. But the tanks behind him shot forward; they can turn their guns on you." So what would you do? Almost any private soldier in the Canadian infantry and .machine-guns can tell you, precisely. Or in any other arm or service for that matter. They are all would-be guerillas. There is the Stealth Patrol. Long before the Russians proved the ef- fectiveness of guerilla tactics in stopping tanks, Spain had done so, and by 1940 the Canadians in Eng- land were raiding imaginary panzer laagers in the dead of night. Now they have made it a fine art—while reviving the woodlore and stalking abilities learned during boyhood • in the home brush. The Canadians love tank -stalking, ambushing and stealth patrols be- cause they are interesting, there are scores of things to learn, and they all make sense as the detested 'drill - ground never did. Half Acrobat—Half Strong Man There is the Assault Course. Ob- stacle "races" over ingeniously con- trived "assault courses" are a daily habit in the Canadian area. The ob- stacles are those found on a battle- field. The contestant may appear to be half circus strong -man, half acro- bat, but only needs to be sure-footed, quick -thinking, agile and alert. Rifle and grenade men, Tommy and anti- tank gunners, in simulated battle - din, smoke and explosion, crawl tun- nels, leap trenches and craters, vault barbwire—or cross it on a human mat—negotiate trestles and cat- walks to test balance, scale 20 -foot walls without ropes—and then quick- ly rush to fire "five rounds rapid" at a target to disclose their fitness. (The exhausted man trembles and scores miss after miss.) And you can imagine a Canadian avoiding an opportunity to learn the tricks, tactics and lone -hawk fighting methods of the Commandos? Months before you ever heard of a Commando, the martial under- studies of the men who inaugurated the organized trench -raid in the last war, in front of forgotten Messines, had adopted many of the ways of the grim and daring raiders of Hardie and Vaagso and Lofoten. They are such enthusiasts for close -quarter fighting, jiu jitsu and catch -as -catch -can, that it's not safe to permit an arm to dangle. They'll pounce on it, and attempt to break it off and throw it away. Fighting Knife Popular Weapon Everywhere you find Canadians hip -firing Tommy -guns, studying as- sault boats, volunteering in droves to hear Commando officers on loan for lectures. Some of the Canadian lecturers who have visited the Com- mandos come back so enthused that their talk on the fighting knife makes the bayonet seem the weapon of a sissy. The Canadian who doesn't want to own or handle a fighting knife, wielded like a rapier, or a smashet, a miniature jungle machete, is exceedingly hard to find. So is a Canadian who doesn't want to be a Commando. The number of them who vehemently argue that they'd be "naturals" on such expeditions is exactly the total of all junior ranks in the overseas army. .Barn Burned in Grey Twp.— Leslie Chambers of concession 16, of Grey township estimates his loss in a fire last week at his farm will amount to $7,000. It destroyed a barn of approximately 50 by 60 feet and a straw shed of the same size. The fire had gained such headway when it was noticed during the ev- ening that volunteer workers found they were totally unable to do any- thing to prevent the spread of flames. A large quantity of ' grain and implements were lost. Some of the stock was rescued from the barn but a number of hogs and two horses were destroyed. SCALING HIV.' RARRxnf,1; These two Canadian soldiers in training, unembarrassed by, at left a Bren gun stung over the shoulder, and at right a rifle and bayonet, scalp the vertical log barrier at top speed, Facts About The Aurora Boreal is Port Churchill, Hudson Bay. 13y train out of Tho Pas, covering a dis- tance of 610 miles northeast, almost to the 00111 parallel, which swings through the northernmost point of, Labrador, I bring up on the edge of a land wlrieli splits a 50.50 partnership with the arctic ice box, This is the. olid of steel for the. Hudson Bay Rail- way Company, beyond which point ships lnay pass through Hudson. Strait, enter the Atlantic into Liver- pool. Among the passengers as guests of Superintendent J. G. MacLachlan and travelling in his private car, a profes- sor of physics at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, accompan- ied by his wife, was making his fifth trip to that far north region for the purpose of studying the Northern Lights, which at that point achieve the maximum of magnificence in color and frequency. His contributions, which include scientific papers, lectures and photo graphic experiments with regard to the Aurora Borealis, give authenticity, and interest to his observations. Even se, the profeasor, when queried on the subject of what he calls his hobby, displays a reserve that, to say the least, is commendable. "Is it true," I asked, "that a max- imum display of the Aurora is usually accompanied by audible sounds, such as a remote rustling, an echo of far- away crackling, or of course fabrics rubbed one against the other?" "Not within my knowledge or be- lief," he said, "for the very ,simple reason that the disturbance, which is purely electrical and of low voltage, is usually about 100 kilometers even up to 500 kilometers above the hori- zon. Under certain conditions it may descend to 60 or 70, but never near enough to be audible. Cannon dis- charge has been heard 110 miles, but only under the most favorable condi- tions of high wind and atmospheric conditions. Thunder is barely discern- ible at 15'miles. There is no indisput- able evidence that the Aurora can or does speak." "What explanation had the far nor- thern tribes for the lights?" "Regarded them with suspicion precursors of doom, the same no doubt as interpreted in olden times to be the reflection of lances, banners and shields of approaching armies. See the Apocalypse. To this day cer- tain Eskimo tribes display alarm in the presence of long sustained dem- onstrations in Aurora pyrotechnics. It is the signal to gat out the long knives and go armed. It also means that the walrus are playing games with the Merry Dancers. "While the Northern Lights are dominated in action byl swiftly moving colors blending, forming and reform- ing, it is quite common to observe reds and greens and yellows in mass for- mation, rich in tone , although the usual display manifests itself in the form of rays, arcs, curtains and soft melting glows disappearing in fade - oats. The most beautiful formation at- tains a corona effect, although the arc, moving rapidly; adds to the sid- erial scenery. The night life at Port Churchill has its attractions." Loath to earn that those heavenly fireworks wore absolutely silent, I mentioned the fact'that in Winnipeg a few years ago ;Paint Snelling seemed to whisper a message. "Purely imaginary,' retorted the scientist, "arising from the swift movement of the lights across the vast spaces. It semis inconsistent - that so gigantic a display can shift itself without perceptible echo. But I assure you there is no sound, any more than one niiglrt expect from moonlight or a rampant rainbow. To persons un- accustomed to the phenomena, which is purely electrical in origin and of considerable majesty, anything might seem plausible to any ine*perienced witness. Even in this era of the micro- phone, not the slightest sound has been recorded for mortal ears," "In what particular does the study of the Aurora Borealis contribute to. scientific advance?" "In the matter of radiography, not- ably in transmission through the up- per atmospheres," replied the profes- sor. "That a great deal is to • be learned from this source there is no doubt whatever. Also photometric practice has been advantaged in the use of the camera. It is now possible to make a moving picture of the Northern Lightssand show the whole progress of an illumination, ranging from a few minutes of display to sev- eral hours, Thus it becomes possible to produce an authentic film in which nothing is left to the imagination." Sir William Edward Parry, the English navgiator and astronomer, on his third voyage in search of� the Northwest Passage, reported as of January 27, 1826, that while Lieuten- ant Sherer and Ross were observing the Northern Light, a bright ray of the Aurora "...shot suddenly down- ward from the general mass of light, and between us and the land, which was distant only three thousand yards. Had I witnessed this phenomenon by myself I should have been disposed to receive this with caution the evi- dence of my own senses as to this fact, but its appearance conveying precisely the same ,idea to three indi- viduals at once I have no doubt that the ray of light actually passed within that distance of us."—Parry's Third Voyage." If Sir William was correct in his assumption that the bright ray of the Aurora really made the grade, it is the first time an such visiting delegate • ever dropped below the 70 -mile limit of this sinful world. Father Dies in England.— Mr. Stanley Sibthorpe, Wingham barber, received word recently of the death of his father, John Sib- thorpe, at Manor Park, London, Eng land, on,ecernber 23rd. He had been in failing health and was in his 83rd year. Mr. Stanley Sibthorpe is the only member of the family in Canada and had not seen his father for many years. "Why have you got 'Push' printed on that door when ib opens out- ward?" "That's so people will be sure to curtain aurora fluttering across a wide pull it." Eddie Jenner of Gddericli 'Killed' Overseas in Mr Service.-- A ervice.A cablegram received last Tees - day morning brought the sad news to Mr, and Mrs, George Jenner of Goderieh, that their son, Sergeant Edward George Jenner, of the Royal Canadian Air Force had lost his life on active service on Sunday, Feb, 8. This is the second Goderieh young man to give his life in the Empire's cause. Sergeant Jenner had left Go- derieh only a' few months ago. He was 22 years of age and was born at Fergus, .coming to Goderith with his parents twenty-one years ago. Be- sides his parents, he leaves one sis- ter, Betty, Mrs.,,H. A. Barratt, Mon- treat, Death of Alexander Hackney of Hibbert.— The death occurred in Hibbert township on Sunday, Feb. lst, from pneumonia, of Alexander Hackney in his 74th year, He was 'a son of the late 1Vir. and Mrs. Hackney and had spent his entire lifetime in farming, Surviving are his wife, four daugh- ters and one son,. Nursing Sister Olive Hackney, overseas; Mrs. Frank Eisler, Logan; Mrs. George Dott,' of Albany, N,Y., Mrs. Donald McKin- non, of Hibbert, and Wilfred, at home. Rev. Wm. Mair had charge of the funeral held on Wednesday, as- sisted by Rev. James Anthony of Motherwell. During the sere Geo. Grant, Murray Christie, Stirling Graham and John G. Scott, sang. In- terment was in Roy's cemetery. Visitor from the West.— Mr. Foster Gibbings, of Kinders- ley, Sask., one of the deputation of farm'er's from Western Canada to see members of Parliament about prices on wheat, visited his brother, R. W. Gibbings, Huron road east for a few days.—Clinton News -Record. n H. McINNES CHIROPRACTOR Office — Commercial Hotel Electro Therapist — Massage Hours—Mon. and Thurs. after- noons and by appointment. FOOT CORRECTION by manipulation -Sun -ray treatment. Phone 227. AUCTIONEER F. W. AHRENS, Licensed Auction eer for Perth and Huron Counties Sales Solicited. Terms on Application Farm Stock, chattels and real estate property. R. R. No. 4, Mitchell Phone 634 r 6. Apply at this office HAROLD JACKSON Licensed in Huron and Perth coun- ties. Prices reasonable; satisfaction guaranteed. For information, write or phone Harold Jackson, phone 14 on 661; R. R. 4, Seaforth. EDWARD W. ELLIOTT, Licensed Auctioneer for Huron. Correspond• encs promptly answered. Immediate arrangements can be made for Sale Date by calling Phone 203, Clinton. Charges moderate and satisfaction guaranteed. Counter Check Books • We Tire Belying Quality Books Books are Well Made, Carbon is Clean and • Copies Readily. All styles, Carbon Leaf and Black Back. Prices as Low as You Can Get Anywhere. 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