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The Seaforth News, 1942-08-06, Page 6PAGE 'SIX Homing Pigeons Have I, Every member of the National Pi eon Service has contracted to loan Special Wad' Duties his birds for war work. Although the _ .achem,e to purely YoluntarY,::.a grant /awning pigeons ;are flaying on im- of 620 a year is made by the British portant part in the war operations { Air Ministry to all fanciers who have, or Britain's R.A.F. Many pilots whale ten or more of their birds actually having, covered 150 ratios in less than planes llaye fallen: into the sea owe employed. The number or pigeons three days. Thus the Fiftieth spiked, their lives to the snceor so promptly available for this service is approxi- the German plan to isolate the troops obtained by these speedy winged mately 750,000. in the Gazala positions and achieved messengers. The pigeons' work fn •WQi9d 'War the withdrawal with the minimum of .Aircraft on patrol over the sea • al- II is much more difficultthan in, casualties in mon and guns. The ways carry a pigeon as a final World War 1 owing to the greater South African division,, for whore method of comunieation. In making a speed and range of aircraft, and to safe passage the Fiftieth had fought so staunchly, passed through Tobruk, THE SEAPORT R DEWS T1 -IJ t$AAT, AUGUST 6, 1942 that the general commanding the division signalled to Iiia corps, eom. mender: "We certainly frightened hell out of the Italians." The advance elements of the divi'. sion reached Maddalena on June ' 15, forced landing it is quite possible the fact that modern message forms that the radio may be put out of are now attached to the birds' legs in a special carrier, A white patch on the outside of the carrier enables the pilot in distress to •write his. exact position just before the bird is released, action, and in that case the pigeon is the only method of bringing res- cuers to the spot to pick up the crew, and to salvage the plane. Perhaps the aircraft is a type that cannot keep afloat for long, or it may have been badly damaged. In such an event the crew will have taken to tbedingby, and the pigeon messenger will warn searchers to look out for a small boat instead of a plane. Pigeon Messenger Rings Bell These valuable homing pigeons are supplied to the RAE. by a civilian organization known as the National Pigeon Service, whose members have pigeon lofts near the R,A.F. stations they serve. The membership of this organization now numbers 15,000 and more than 1,000 birds are loaned weekly for service on flying opera- tions, 'The National Pigeon Service is un- der the control of the British Air Ministry, and its members undertake to supply a certain number of birds on request. The owners also agree that either they, their families, or their neighbors will watch for the return of the pigeons, so that the messages they bring can be quickly phoned through to the R.A.F. station concerned. When a pigeon returns to its loft it alights on a trap spec- ially arranged in such a way that an electric bell goes on ringing until someone takes notice and removes the pigeon's message. Valuable service has been rendered by these placid birds on many not- able occasions. Once, when an R. A. F. patrol plane was forced to land on a rough sea, the pilot dispatched two pigeons with messages giving the position of the machine and asking Tor immediate help, as the plane had capsized and was rapidly breaking up. The pigeons reached land safely and a plane was sent to locate the wrecked machine, after which it directed a destroyer to the scene to pick up the crew. On another occasion an airplane failed to return and the first news of its plight was obtained from a pigeon messenger. As a result, the crew of six were rescued after being on the water for nearly a week. Before the piegons are detailed for may be in action in North Africa, It this specialized war duty they have should be possible, by now, for the to undergo a period of careful train- formations which have borne the ing. To accustom them to sea flying, brunt of the fighting through May pigeons whose home lofts are not and June to be relieved for long far from the airdrome are taken up enough to enable them to be re- in a plane and liberated through the equipped and reorganized. hatch when the machine is well away' The story of the fighting retreat of from land. In course of time the one of these divisions from Gazala to birds learn to keep their wings Maddalena during the third week of closed when they are released, and June has recently been received perform a "dead drop" until they are from a correspondent in Egypt. He clear of the slip -stream from the pro-, describes the withdrawal of the Fif- pellers. Then they open their wings, tieth (Northumbrian) division, which, fly taround two or three times, and . with the First South African dfvi- make a beeline for home. A trained sion, was in grave danger of `being bird can fly 500 miles. I cut off in their positions at Gazala During one period of eight months by the German advance to the coast, some 320 messages were sent from after the fall of Bir Hacheim. Daring Tactics Saved -lard Pressed Divisions By Brig. -General H, S, Sewell. At the time of writing fierce fight- ing is still taking place near El Alamein, some sixty miles west of Alexandria, The battle is being fought on the desert plateau, whieh slopes gradually upwards from the sand dunes on the coast for about fifty miles inland, where it drops al- most vertically seven or eight hand - red feet into the Qattara Depression, This feature lies , below sea level, and salt deposits and shifting sands make it difficult to traverse, The batlefield was well chosen by the British for their stand, as the area where vehicles can maneuver is' I -invited by the sea on the north and the Depression on the south. Thus, the Axis superiority in tanks is to some extent nullified by the confined area, which makes any wide turning movement impossible. The plateau where the fighting has taken place is deep in dust at this season of the year. The daytime tem- perature is excessive, and there is no water or shade except under a rock or beneath a vehicle. The nights are comparatively cool and refreshing. When the Eighth Army retreated from Libya, fresh troops were al- ready in the El Alamein. area, and with their help it was possible to carry out furious attacks which checked the Axis advance during the early days of this month. The spirit- ed actio not the New Zealand divi- sion, which has been so justly ac- claimed in the non -Axis press throughout the world, was the first' indication that help had arrived for the army which, though still full of fight, had suffered serious .losses. The New Zealand division had come to Egypt from Syria and it is probable that other British rein- forcements from Syria and Palestine R.A.F. aircraft by pigeon and 307 were delivered. Only a small propor- tion of these messages, happily, were appeals for help. One winged messenger brought news from Holl- and to the East Midlands in four hours and ten minutes. An exceptionally good performance was that of two pigeons which were released 340 miles from home in an entirely strange direction. They had to cross two countries and a sea, but both reached home, the first in 11 flying hours. One young pigeon de- livered an SOS against a gale, taking'. eight and a half hours to battle across more than 175 miles of sea. Xing George takes a great interest in the work of the service, and from the royal loft at Sandringham bis birds are sent out daily on war oper- ations. Important messages have a]- ready been received by their aid. "Happy Events" Over North Sea Pilots of the R.A.F. speak of bomb -dropping as "egg -laying," but the first natural egg to be laid on active service was carefully handed out of a reconnaissasce plane when it landed at a northern airdrome re- cently. 'The egg had been laid by a pigeon which had been carried on the flight for emergency communica- tion, The "happy event" took place whon the aircraft was patrolling the North Sea in search of U-boate hun- dreds of miles from land. Cooing contentedly, and quite unruffled. by her journey, the .proud bird was taken in her basket to the pigeon loft on the- air station—and . granted "indefinite leave." The Fiftieth is a Territorial divi- sion, raised in Northumberland, Dur- ham and Yorkshire, and it takes ifs • title "Northumbrian" from the old English dingdom of the North. The ' Fiftieth bad distinguished itself dur- ing the phase of fighting, which was described as the Battle of the Gap, when one of its brigades had oppos- ed a force of two armored divisions and three infantry divisions, until it was wiped out by sheer weight of numbers. The withdrawal of the South Af- ricans and the Fiftieth from Gazala was a maneouver of great tactical skill and daring. The South Africans moved unmolested along the coast road, and then the Fiftieth, after fighting off the enemy to cover the withdrawal, had themselves to move back as soon as possible. The ob- vious line of retreat was by the shortest route leading directly away from the enemy towards the main body of the Eighth Army, but by this time a strong German armored force was in position to the east, across this road. With an Italian force on the west the Fiftieth was, in effect, surround- ed, It was decided, therefore, to start the retreat forwards. The Fiftieth moved southwest and fought its way through the Italian infantry, which was trying to hem it in, capturing prisoners en route. Retreating Forwards The Fiftieth then continued round Rommels flank through, Eft Hacheim to Maddalena, 150 miles across the desert. It was'after the break through having suffered only six casualties,. The correspondent sums: tip this man- euver as more like a Commando raid. than a withdrawal. So long a6 Marshal Rommel has a large part o fhis army still intact, the threat to Egypt will remain ex- tremely grave, and the only sure way for defnse is to continue to ••-at- tack relentlessly from the air and on the ground. At the time of writ- ing the best that can be said is that the Axis forces are temporarily stalled, but we should remember that their commander has twiee al- ready, in April 1941 and in January 1942, shown his ability to effect a quick recovery; and that now, more than ever before, he is perhaps bet- ter in a position to do so again, as his short sea -lines of communication to Bengliazi and Tobruk are safe from interruption. It is impossible 'for the British Mediterranean fleet to operate west of Crete without risking losses from air attabk, which it can ill afford, and the only means which the Allies have of interfering with Axis supply ships, sailing from Italy and Sicily, is by submarine. The British no longer have airfields within effective range for action against Axis con- voys in the mid -Mediterranean area; and Malta can no longer be counted on for action of this nature. The success of the action by art forces in co-operation with ground troops in the battle for Egypt has been very. marked, and without the help which has been given to the army by the R.A.F., the American Air Force and the South Afrcian Air Force, the army would have been hard put to it to check the Axis drive. Fighters have protected troops fro mdive-bombing attacks and bom- bers have ranged over enemy supply lines to attack the' ports where Axis supplies are landed. Major General Charles L. Scott, senior U.S. military observer in the Middle East, is re- ported to have described the action as an example :of "beautiful co- operation" between British,. Empire infantry, artillery, armored and" air units. The British fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean has not at time of writing been in action against Gen- eral Rommel's advanced troops, which are concentrated in depth along the coastal road west of Bi Alamein, where htey offer a target to ships lying off shore. The fleet air arm and submarines are the only AN I.8 -TON FIGHTING MACHINE FOR THE, UNITED NATIONS No, Junior, these big bells are not being used on tanks. The bells are being assembled for passenger locomo- tives in the same factory where Canada's 'Valentine tanks are produced in mass quantities. The Valentine, an infantry tank, is now in service on the Russian front where Soviet military experts have described the Canadian tank as highly effective. It is an 1S -ton machine, powered with diesel motor. A giant mechanical ferret, it is capable of burrowing its way through a brick building and travelling at 20 miles per hour over difficult terrain. units of the Royal Navy that have been employed during the height of the battle. This indicates the difficulty for surface vessels to operate in an area where enemy shore -based aircraft are established. The fight between air and sea power has continued since Admiral Cunningham struck the first blow by aircraft against ships at Taranto Harbor- It is with the same weapon based on the land that the Axis is pressing the British fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean. Sugar Provision. for Farm , Workers In order to meet a difficulty 'that was being experienced in farm households, the Wartime Prices and Trade Board announced on July 15 that merchants may accept purchase vouchers ,from farmers' wives or other persons who are feeding har- vest workers, such as thresher gangs, fruf pickers or other groups. Formerly, sugar for the meals of such transient boarders had to be supplied from the domestric ration of the household, unless brought.- by the workers themselves, which in ac- tual practice usually means there home preserving. Effective from July 15, the merchant is permitted to honor a purchase voucher (without the necessity of its signer being tied to one supplier) if it shows: (1) the words "harvest workers"; (2) the number of them, and (3) the number of days' work for which they are be- ing supplied with sugar. On the line provided for stating the kind of institution or business, the applicant should write, for ex- ample, "five harvest workers; four days." The voucher must 'be signed, of course, by the person making the purchase. Don't Store damp Wool If wool is stored for any length of time when damp or wet, it tends to heat and become "musty" or "dam- aged", which means that the fibres are discoloured and weakened. Stor- ing wool in very damp places or allowing sacked wool to lie on bare ground may produce a similar effect. Accidental exposure to excessive moisture by storms or floods some- times occurs. In such cases the wool should be spread out at once to dry. If the clip is too large to be dried on the ranch or farm, it should be ship- ped immediately and the consignee advised of its condition, so that it can be spread out to dry at the Nazi airmen who have been forced to abandon their shattered aircraft have invariably been quickly round- ed up by Home guards and other alert citizens. "Captives from the blue" have been taken prisoner by a housewife a serving maid, police- man and even by schoolboys. But few Nazi "visitors" can have received a stranger welcome in Brit- ain than the pilot who bailed out near a lonely farmhouse in (mow - covered North Wales. Brandishing his stick the farmer demanded in Welsh the pilot's sur- render. "I do not speak English," replied the German. The farmer retorted with a glare "Nor do I speak English, whatefterl" Want and For Sale Ads, 3 weeks SD; 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 Berth coun- was a deficiency. The remedy now warehouse, or sent forward to a ties. Prices reasonable; satisfaction authorized is adoption of the same scouring plant for immediate scour -guaranteed. For information, write procedure as in drawing sugar for ing. or phone Harold Jackson, phone 14 on 661; R. R. 4, Seaforth. Counter Gheck Books • We 1%re Selling 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. Get our Quotation on Your Next Order. • The Seaforth News SEAFORTH, ONTARIO,