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Zurich Herald, 1942-08-27, Page 6RECEIVES 'WING AT GRADUATION EXERCISES Oeeeseeas R. W. Yeo of Toronto, Ont., who was presented with his Air Navigator's wing by D. C. Coleman, chairman of Canadian Pacific Air Lines Limited, at the Wings Parade of No. 9 Air Observer School, St. John, P.Q. on August 14. No. 9 A.O.S. is peted by Dominion Skyways (Observers) Limited, supervised by Canadian cific Air Lines Limitedng Plan, i Can conjunction uan PPacific Photo. British Commonwealth Air !Tmain ALM MAtU ICE fPN Weekly Cohn= About his and That in Oar Canadians Array "What, more drill?" You've in something equally useful in the ;probably heard your friends in the days "away back when." services grumble about drill. I've Now, this ie mere supposition, done it myself. And I've joined in why could not the origin of "form arguments in which John Citizens platoon" have been for the purpose Dave held forth on the subject. of teaching rollers how to form In the early days of thin new ! squares rapidly and instinctively in leer I found myself lending a ready tihe days when. the "square" was ear to complaints that "Bow and the unit of battle formation? 4..rrow eoldiers" were wasting the boys' time with a lot of "barraok- equaare stuff." And for quite a long time, al- though for its precision and snap - p} mess I like drill, I was inclined to subscribe to the opinion that e lot of it was wasted time, and to label myself m. "bow and arrow soldier." Two weeks ago, when I was bast introduced to the new "battle drill," I began to zee the light. 1 suppose the reason for that was because I had to convince Re- serve Army recruits that there is a reason for the drill to which o much of their early army life fe devoted. In order to supply myself with good reasons to pass along I had to think about the subject oon- eiderably more than I had prev- Wooly and, as is so often the case, the whole thing fell into a pattern. Until then my sole excuse for drill had been that It is necessary n the early days of a soldier's tanning to teach him that he is part of a group and •that the group s not capable of functioning as a emit until It has become integrated through constant practice, In ad- dition, of course, there is the fact that a body of men marching un- der complete discipline will move with less fatigue than a similar body walking at random. I hadn't thought of the origin of the drill or the underlying reasons for its institution. And I probably wouldn't have puzzled that out for myself yet if it hadn't been nec- aesary for me to study the "battle drill" that is now a part of Army training. There have been one or two a 'ticlee about Battle Drill written in England and published in Can- adian papers. One of them, by Captain Kin Beattie, Toronto newspaperman, who le now Press Liaison Officer at Corps Head- quarters, emphasized that it had been received with enthusiasm by Odie Canadians, but did not go into mein detail about the drill itself. Two reasons for this lack of dee tail could be that a written des- cription of a drill is a pretty dull subject or that for security rea- sons no details of the drill are to be made public. J5'or either or both of those rea- sons this column will content it- self with saying that Battle Drill 3o a series of exercises designed ilo make good battle field habits instinctive and that the drill, 'which can be carried out literally anywhere, is practical and does ;lust what is intended, Introduction to Battle Drill gave lee a shock and brought the re idisation that "drill" actually can Mire s. goal, that its purpose is not necethsarily as abstract as 1 bad thought. I<'rom that shock came ti.e rea,5- ening that "barrack -square sold- iering" probably hall its origin Yon remember those gaily -color- ed chromes of British infantrymen in battle, don't you? The front rank knelt and with its fixed bay- onets formed a sort of "cheval de trim" for the protection of the rear rank which stood with mus- kete poised ready to mow down attaekere by volleys. it im easy enough to picture the troops marching to battle in col- umns of fours and to imagine the command, "at the halt on the left, form half company." Forming two deep as they carried out the order, the leading group would then be in position to meet a cavalry charge. It sounds reasonable, doesn't it? And at that time the drill would have as much to recommend it as Battle Drill has today. Off the battlefield it is still nec- essary to have drill movements for the orderly handling of troops, and for soldiers of the Individual Citizen's Army drill hats its uses too. Drill for civilians? Sure! We've all been drilling ever since gasoline was rationed. That particular drill didn't affect ue all, but the next one did. That's right! Sugar! But even more important than the absolute rationing of sugar announced May 213 was the voluntary rationing of tea and coffee we were asked to carry out. It was a drill, a drill to train us fon" the battlefield when absolute rationing of tea and coffee should come. How seriously we took that drill governs our fitness to "take It" now that we have no choice. The soldier or sailor or airman expects to be given orders that will co-ordinate individuals so that they can carry' out a joint job, We soldiers behind the lines will have more and sterner orders to obey before this job is done—let's do our drill cheerfully andbe ready for what Is to come. ✓ OICE P RESS NOT SO BAD, AFTIER ALL Recently we looked into the matter of our personal income tax and forced savings. Or, to be quite accurate, we enlisted the help of someone whose arithmetical skill le greatly superior to our 'own and watched the tax being work- ed out. It was considerably less than we had thought it would be. As a result we are enjoying m pleasant, though probably decep- tive, feeling of wealth. We suggest that won take the plunge and look into your own situation if you have not already done so. The recent budget was admittedly a stiff one, but Mr. Ilsley has not picked the country clean; he knows that there must be a certain amount of money left after taxes are paid, or we shall not be able to live. Ile has left us enough to live on, if we are careful. Indeed, he has done better than that; he has left us enough to be able to save, and to buy War Savings Certifi- cates, which are undoubtedly the best investments offering these days. Peterborough Examiner. A Scotsman built the first self- propelled torpedo from plane drawn up by an Austrian, —0— DUTY IN FORESTRY Benedictine monks for over 900 years have been cultivating one of the world's finest forests. It surrounds an ancient hermitage, about fifty miles southeast of Florence, Italy. A report in an American forestry magazine says that this forest is as fine as it was nearly 1,000 years ago, though lumber has been taken out of it 1n great quantities. The monks plant new trees as fast as they cut down old ones. Our forests are rapidly disappearing. Unless we want a treeless Canada, we, too, will have to plant a tree for each one logged. Forest destruc- tion is our greatest waste. — Guelph Mercury. —0— CUT DOWN RAGWEED Ragweed is a heavy crop and sufferers from hay fever are hav- ing a tough time of it. The muni- cipality should make a thorough clean-up of the vacant lots in town, and owners of gardens should make sure that they are kept clear of the weed. You may not be ea watery -eyed sneezer yourslf, but there are others to think of who are, and people can- not do their best work when con- stantly sneezing and rubbing their eyes. — Simeee Reporter, —o— D0 THEY EVER? "How Sergeants Get Soldiers to Like Them," says a headline. Which will be the first intima- tion some soldiers have heard that sergeants ever do. —Windsor Star. — o— HOOT, MONI They say that one of the oddest sights in the Canadian army over- seas is that of a Chinese lad in a kilt playing the bagpipes in an Eastern Highland band. Hoot, mon, your shirt tail's oat! —St. Thomas Times -Journal. Britain Calling Subjects Home The B r it is h Government, through its consulates, Is advis- ing its subjects abroad, including those in the United States, that they will be given financial and other assistance in returning to the homeland to volunteer for military or civilian service. Free passage to the United Kingdom will be paid to all ac- cepted volunteers, said a recent announcement of the British In- formation Services. Offers of service will be con- sidered from both married and un- married men and women. A departure from existing prac- tice, said the Information Ser- vice, is an extension of the term "British subject" — to include "aliens of the second generation born abroad who would have been British but for the failure of their parents to register birth at a British consulate." Volunteers are being asked to supply themselves with a good supply of winter clothing. THE WAR - WEEK -- Commentary on Current Events United States Takss Offensive 1 , B the Of Solomon Islands No matter what may be the final outcome of the battle still being fought in the Solomon Is- lands, says The New York Times, one fact emerges clearly: the United States, in close collabor- ation with its allies, has taken the offensive. We are not try- ing to check a Japanese advance, as we were in the Battles of Mid- way and the Coral Sea. Instead, we arestriking by land and by to wrest from the Japanese control of a strategic area which they have held and which we intend to use as a base for further offensive opera- tions against them. As yet we know little of the details of the action except that American troops have succeeded in forcing a landing after a naval engagement in which our losses, on the basis of the latest available information, amounted to "at least one cruiser sunk and two cruisers, two destroyers and one transport damaged." We may be reasonably certain of two other facts. First, the Japanese claims of destruction inflicted on our fleet are fantastically false. They announced that twenty-eight of our ships ha.been sunk or put out of action. •If we had suffer- ed even half this loss the battle would have ended then and there in an Allied disaster. Second, it is unlikely that we would risk an attack jeopardizing the whole balance of naval power in the Pacific. This action linked with the bombardment of Kiska, can only be one phase of our Pacific strategy. We will hardly give back to Japan the fruits of our great defensive victories in the Coral Sea and at Midway. Indeed, the present offensive is based upon those victories. Japan has been so hard hit, particularly by her losses in plane carriers, that the initiative rests for the first time in our hands. The long dead- lock is broken, and by us. Now, after a heavy naval en- gagement, our troops, including ,American marines and Australians, are striking hard by land both at the enemy garrison and at newly built airfields. Even if they should fail to drive the Japanese into the sea they will at least lave forestalled and broken up a gathering enemy assault on .Australia. To the United Nations' peoples who have watched so long the bitter retreats of their small for- ces from outpost after outpost in the Southwest Pacific area, the most hopeful indication in the Solomons action lay in the fact that their troops had undertaken the offensive; that in the distant islands the cornerstones, perhaps, were being laid for further drives to push the invader from his new- ly won possessions between Aus- tralia and the Burmese jungle. A battle is being fought which may well mark the turn of the tide in the Pacific. The Rusian armies of the South wore reeling back last week be- fore Nazi hammerbiows. In some places the German war machines were moving forward at the rate of fifty miles a day. The peril to Russia was grow- ing hourly. In 1942's groat of- fensive Hitler was coming ever closer to realization of his objec- tives: to encircle and isolate Rus- sia from the aid sent by her dis- tant allies; to drive a wedge be- tween the Southern and Central Soviet forces; to cripple Russia's arms output and supply lines by the capture of such centers as Stalingrad, the domination of such a vital river as the Volga. Pos- session of the Caucasus oil fields would be a prize of double value; It would not only replenish the dwindling fuel stocks of the Wehrmacht but might seriously hamper the nobility of the highly mechanized Soviet armies. Marching south and east into the Caucasus, the Germans had left huge Russian forces in their flanks and in their rear. Strik- ing power built beyond the Urals might be able to take advantage of the Nazi position. The day may come when Russia will be asked to hit from the east while the second front is being established in the west. At all events, Winter will come again. Disorders In India The first violent outbreaks of the civil disobedience campaign were followed by a hill; the disor- ders in the larger cities began to die down, The British saw suc- cess in their plan to "disconnect" the leaders of the revolt from their followers by arrests. London reported that the movement had not received widespread support in the countryside. However, violence flared up anew in Cal- cutta and other cities as the Bri- tish studied more drastic methods of combating Gandhi's campaign. In England itself and elsewhere in the world there was concern lest the whole affair degenerate into mere suppression of a revolt. Its was felt that more was requir- ed; that India must be won to wholehearted support of the Uni- ted Nations' war effort. Help For Malta The little island of Malta, nine- ty-one square miles in extent, is the unsinkable aircraft carrier whose planes operating from three airfields, harry and smash at Axis shipping to North Africa, at Axis air bases in Sicily, Italy and Greece. From bases only sixty miles away, Axis bombers have raided it more than 2,000 times— more than any other place in the world—in their efforts to knock it out of the war. At one time an entire German air fleet was assigned to the task. Malta has cut bomb shelters deep into LIFE'S LIKE THAT By Frecl Neher REG'LAR FELLERS—That's WELL WELL, W- HOS BEEN PICKIs�' ON MY GOO[s FRIEND J1MMIE DUlAN ? ii Different "Is it true about him Navin' a girl in every port?" THERE'S NO USE CRYIN' OVER SPILT MILIL,M'BOI' her solid rock, and lives, for the moot part, underground. But 'from the times of the Carthaginians, six centuries •before Christ, Mal- JO has proved hard to take. Last week England sent rein- forcements to Malta to use in its attacks on the ships which were strengthening Rohmnel's desert armies in Egypt. A great convey, protected by warships, was dis- patched to the little island. As the vessels sailed past Italy's "boot" a great sea battle develop- ed. Axis forces determined to block the convoy's passage, strack at itwith everything they had They hit it with dive -bombers, U-boats and warships—principally the fast little torpedo -carrying "E 'boats," On the allied side the "bulk of the Mediterranean fleet" was reported engaged. London for a, long time remained siicnt, admitting only the loss of the air- craft carrier Eagle; Berlin and Rome claimed heavy damage in- flicted—more than fifteen vessels sent to the bottom. Later London :reported that part of the convoy had gotten through—Malta had received its much-needed planes. :Besides the loss of the Eagle, the sinking of the cruiser Manchester was an- nounced. Two attacking sub- marines were claimed suck in what was described as one of the largest naval operations of the war. While the sea battle raged, ther British units heavily bom- barded the Italian island of Rhodes, Axis theeat to C prus and Syria. There were signs last 1Vi. , o.f a new threat in the unceesing struggle for supply on the Atlane tic Ocean. From Brazil came= re- ports of an Axis Surface eaider preying on Allied shipping cff. the coast—a large, fast, oil-bu;nieg vessel which was believed to have sunk at least one ship and ati.a.ck- ed others since its presence be- came known. Survivors frohe t;or- pedoed vessels landed at South American ports repeated the grim tale so often told in snore northern waters of submarine attacks on unguarded United Nations freigh- ters. London believed Germany had embarked on a large -scala combined surface raider ani "[•- boat campaign in South Atlantic waters.' Following air raids s ereices carried out by the Boy Scour of Bath, England, included parading the streets with traffic detour signs, closing up broken windows with various improvised materials, and serving for many hours at municipal feeding centres. Older Scouts helped in extricating the dead and injured from botabed. houses. 8' ,1$ Anyone who has ex can make the time available; or can other- wise assist in the work of the Boy Scouts Association is not only making a worthwhile contribution to the winning of this war, hut possibly even more important, towards the building up of the future manhood of this country," —Col. R. G. Whitelaw, Director of Military Training. * * 8' When the Lord Mayor of Shef- field recently appeared before a meeting of the Sheffield County Scout Council he wore, in addition to his badge of office as .mayor, a Scout Wood Badge, "indicating that 31e bad taken and success- fully passed the senior Scout leaders' 10 -day camp training course." * • A bed in the Middlesex Hospi- tal, England, has been .named af- ter the 10th Marylebone Rover Scout Crew, in recognition of the valuable services rendered at the hospital by then since the out- break of the war. * * A young soldier in a British tank unit was found to have an extraordinary knowledge of so many things that he was frequent- ly asked to give lectures to hie unit. He demonstrated some car- pentering hints, cooking, first aid, map reading , telegraphy and woodcraft. He was looked upon as something of a freak. Finally the Sergeant Major asked whcro he had acquired all his knowledge, "Cigarette cards?" he suggested, "No, Sir," said the young soldier, "Study for Proficiency Badges when I was a Boy Scout," I SPILT A BOTTLE OF INK ON OUR NEW CARPET,/ p1OO-6H0O / By GENE 111 YRNES IF IT WAC oNEY MILK THE I - CAT WOULD LICK 1T the EOT �✓., WHEN IT'S INK peon WILL. AO THE LICleleeA l' e„,„ so° a R +. 7:, S rpt. Of i,. 19 d.t, teservt ea es` jwropeokurindamemsnvirento � ens.