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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1943-05-27, Page 6THE SEO.RTH NEWS THURSDAY, MAY 27, 1948 A. Visit To Parliament And Prime Minister Churchill BY Walter R. Legge.. Although our scheduledid not in - elude a visit to the British Parlia- ment; most of the members of the IYombet" Tress party managed to steal enough time to pay e. v]sit to this bulwark 02 freedom, On September 11th, the two repre- sentatives of the weekly press of Canada, Mr, C. '17. Charters and I, paid a visit to 'Parliament. Our visit was arranged through Sir Drummond Shields, secretary of the Empire Parliamentary Association, who se- cured for us admission cards to the Dominions' Gallery. First we visited Sir Drummond Shields' office which adjoins West- minster Hall. This hall is one of the oldest and most interesting sections of the Parliament Buildings. It was built by William Rufus i n1087-1100, and was altered by Richard II in 1377- 1399. It was originally part of the Palace of Westminster, was saved when the rest of the palace was de- stroyed in the fire of 1834, and was incorporated in the Parliament Build- ings, the balance of which date only 2ro mahout 1840, This hall may well be called the birthplace of democracy, for it was here that in 1265 Simon de Montfort opened the first parliament, the model on which all subsequent demo- cratic parliaments have been pat- terned. It is interesting to note that Sinton de Montfort, who is consider- ed to have been a martyr to liberal government., was, a French-speaking Englishman. For two hundred years atter 12655 the proceedings of the Eng- lish parliament were conducted in French. Westminster Hall is 290 feet long, 69 feet wide, and 90 feet high. The hammer beam roof of carved oak, which dates from 1399, is one of the principal features. Previous to 1S82, state trials were held in this hall, including those of Charles I, Sir Thomas More, Guy Fawkes. and Warren Hastings. It was also in this hall that King Ed- ward VII and George V lay in state before their funerals. Next we went to see the ruins of the House of Commons. It is uncanny the way in which this room has been totally destroyed withing left but the walls, while rooms sext to it have been practically untouched. It is like many other spots in England where one house in the middle of a block is completely destroyed with those on both sides ]eft intact. We were taken to lunch in the Par- liamentary Restaurant, where we found that the Members have no fav- ors so far as food is concerned. It is neither better nor worse than other restaurants in London. On the wall is an electric sign which shows who is speaking in the House. While going through one of the corridors in the Parliament Buildings we came face to face with the Hon. W. P, Mulock, Postermaster General of Canada, who we were surprised to know was in England. We were then taken to the temp- orary quarters of the House of Com- mons. There are about 615 members, and it must be pretty crowded when all are present at the same time. The debate on the Indian problem was in progress and we heard some very fine oratory. We listened to part of the debate. After hearing something of this vexing problem from authori- ties who have been in India and understand something about it, we have come to the conclusion that few of these who offer gratuitous advice from a distance of several thousand miles are qualified to offer opinions. It is not an easiy matter to attend a session of the British Parliament at the present time. There were few other visitors when we were there. We were sorry not to have seen the Prime Minister in action but he was not in the House while we were pre- sent. The proceedings were inter- rupted by a. Royal Commission, which Is an elaborate ceremony when bilis which have been passed are sent up for approval. While we did not see or hear Mr. Churchill in the House of Commons, we were given an opportunity to meet him informally at a later date. As Parliament was in session, his time was taken up more than usual, 1f that is possible. Otir meeting was set for twelve o'clock noon, and needless 10 say none of our party was late or absent., 'We were shown into his office, and as we entered he carte from behind his desk, and shook each one of us by the hand with a. firm handclasp. We were introduced individually by the Hon. Vincent Massey. Mr, Church, 111 made sure he got every name right and the place from which each carne. The Prime Minister was 1n his usual Week double-breasted coat, grey striped trousers, and bow tie, and was smoking the Usual cigar. He looked to be even younger than when we' saw bine at the press conference in Ottawa less than a year before. I -Ie exuded health, vitality, strength, and confidence. lois complexion was clean, his race unlined, his brow an• furrowed It wasen off-the-record conference, se itis words cannot be,.reported, but as he spoke in quiet, confident topes, In all informal way, we huug on his every word, 'Without minimizing the difficulties, he breathed determina- tion to see the war through to ulti- mate victory, To meet hila informally es we did is a privilege we greatly appreciated, A day or so later, we heard that at' his hunch that day, he remarked that he was sorry he could not have given more time to those Canadian editors, ,but we were delighted that lie' was able to give us the short time he did. it was a meeting none of us will ever forget. Men Behind The Tanks I've the dirtiest job in any army in the world," said the tank driver. And looking at hint, I felt he was not farm from the truth. From head to foot he was plaster- ed with mud. He was wearing a very old beret and gam boots, and it was difficult to say which was the mud- dier. His overalls looked like wet clay, so that one could ahnost imag- ine he was a huge pottery figure of a man just about to be put in the kiln for firing, The officer in charge of this, squadron of tanks was in the same plight. He was wearing overalls like his men, and was almost equally dirty. There is no class distinction in the vital job of cleaning tanks; It is a job which has to be undertaken at the end of each day's work by the crews of every tank in the Royal Armored Corps. Each tank squadron is responsible for its own day-to-day maintenance work, and the tank crews and offic- ers have to tackle the job themselves. There is no equivalent to theRAF ground staff for servicing'tanks after a gruelling day in battle or on exer- cise. It is only if a mechanical fault develops, that the tank crews call in the Royal Armored Corps' squads of fitters. It has to be a pretty serious fault if these fitters cannot tackle it, al- though when such a fault does occur there are officers and men of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical En- gineers—newly-formed corps of en- gineers and ordnance experts—ready at hand. First task in maintaining a tank in good working order is to keep it clean, and it was not until I recently visited a brigade of the Royal Arm- ored Corps that I realized exactly what that meant. The tracks churn up mud and throw it all around. It clings inches thick to the sides of the tank and to the tracks themselves. In the desert the tanks are caked with dust and sand. This mud must be cleaned off af- ter each day's run. Dirt is the enemy of efficient running tanks. Dirt means engine trouble. Dirt gets into the gasoline tanks if they are open- ed for refueling 'before the tank is cleaned. Above all, if it is allowed to ac- cumulate, dirt causes the pins which join the sections of track to wear more quickly, which is fatal. A worn pin may be the cause of a broken track: and a broken track takes time to repair, and cannot al- ways be repaired under fire. That is why—however tired the crews may be, however long it is since they have had a meal, whatev- er the weather or the strafing from the air --a tank crew must clean and refuel their tank as soon as the day's fighting or driving is done. That mud does not come off eas- ily. There are no high pressure hoses or revolving wire brushes available. A stirrup pump is the usual way of obtaining a jet of water and a stir- rup pump takes a long time to clean clown a Churchill tank, In the pro- cess most of the dirt gets transferr- ed from the tank to the crew. When at last the task is concluded the crews must fill the gasoline and water tanks, load fresh supplies of ammunition, test periscopes and gun traverses, check the engines, and do any minor adjustments of repairs. Then, and only then, can the crews set about the task of cleaning themselves ancl'having a meal and some sleep. In battle conditions sleep is usual- ly limited to two or three hours. Whether in battle or on maneuvers, it must be snatched alongside the, 'tank, so that the brigade can move off at a moment's notice, Evan when they are on the move life is no bed of rosesfor the men who serve in the Royal Armored Corps. It is difficult to believe, when you first sit inside a tank, that in these ,innfinecl quarters five or six or more die 4Iich Be a e• e. Iltam women, AO io 45 fer444 481ea.le Aokileia 404 lite 444-1,10.9. deiwice4 4.wo.a. �ln�y ems. ai the Tho4Sa�1 Mce t/cmeii JVgedd JWSW la Bach ihe 4iach ezt,e4. id.ac®.u/e ane e.W.s'Q.e. ‘04 pAradiCaliit e,Me" and the pal aid Zefrieliaa e y 0)04 kill iohisona ,1ta ,vou4 Asea eei ,o✓i osataed the M iii a Rem4iiiiof Void atom it is in hxcailitv ecc4 h. men must drive their deadly vehicle, fire its guns, and maintain perpetual radio communication with their squa- dron leader. The inside of a tank looks scarce- ly as big as that of an average car. It crammed with equipment—guns and radio sets, shells, periscopes, compasses. The noise is so great that each member of the crew wears head- phones all the time. All orders and conversation are carried" out on an intercommunication telephonelink- ing these headphones up." Oddly enough, one popular idea about the inside of a tank is com- pletely wrong. It is not hot. In actual fact it is often bitterly cold. The rea- son for this is that great suction fans are used to cool the radiators of the engines, and the air for these fans is drawn through the crew's quarters. There is a continual draft. Counter Check Books • We Tire 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,