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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1942-05-07, Page 7seserreeeeseaemeesmeemetesee fellseleiraealelle“ler Conditions In and Other As seen and Hugh Templin, Editor of Great Britain Countries Written by the Fergus News-Record, „Southern Ireland, Green And Neutral, Lives In Constant Fear Of Invasion This is the 15th of a series of stories about a trip to London and return, taken by a group of Canad- ian newspaper men at the invitation of the British Government. It is written by Hugh. Templin, who re- presented the Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association. Every day of the six week or more 'spent away from home seethed to pro- vide something new and different, but nothing was quite so unexpected as .a two-day holiday in neutral Erie, or Southern Ireland. It was not by choice of mine. I would rather it had been Scotland, but this short ,peaceful interlude in the only part of the Em- pire which stays neutral, was not only interesting, but I look back On it with pleasure. It was` a Tuesday afternoon when I left London ,along with seven other 'Canadian editors, Our hosts put us on the train and bade us good-bye, sending us away with more presents --this time envelopes with enlarged pictures of ourselves during travels in England. That night was never to be forgot- ten. Two huge German land mines floated down out of the air and arrived in Bournemouth at the same time we slid. That experience has been dis- cussed more fully in another oof these stories. . I was up early the next morning, having slept fairly well on a mattress on the floor, in spite of the rasping sound of shovelling broken plate glass off the streets in the darkness,-There was some difficulty about shaving in a bathroom full of broken glass and with only a dribble of cold, rusty water from one tapebut the lady man- ager of the wrecked hotel had her aiaaaiaaieiaaaaaiaaaa staff well enough organized to give me the best breakfast I had while in Britain. The British 'Overseas Airways car picked me. up at the hotel and drove through streets of stores without glass in the windows, and past English cot- tages looking out on the Channel, to Poole. The next morning, while undergoing one more lengthy customs examination near the docks at Poole, the air raids sirens began to wail again, The natives looked on us with some suspicion, Air raids had been scarce in those parts, and this was the second irt,as many days. But I did not share their idea that these few Canadians were import- ant enough for the Germans to send over raiders just to get us, Still, it did add a bit of excitement to be go- ing out in a trim motor boat, through the waters of Poole Harbor, dodging the seaplane traps and mine fields, to where the winged battleship of the air, the Short Sunderland flying boat, "Champion," rode at anchor. In the draw for seats, I landed in what was called the spar compart- ment of the ship. I was all alone in a fair-sized room, full of baggage and sacks of mail. The seat was comfort- able, and the steward came and ser- ved an excellent meal on light plastic dishes. But though. we flew for two hours and a half over what is pro- bably some of the ,most interesting scenery, I saw nothing at all; the two windows were,,painted, over with thick black paint. I hadn't realized, on the trip from New York to Lisbon to England, how difficult it is to travel around war- time. Europe. In a way that was little short of miraculous, as I learned later, the British Council had waved aside the difficulties on that trip. The return voyage wasn't quite so easy. As I sat alone in the spar com- partment of the huge "Champion," I read a little booklet issued to war- Thursday, May 7th, 1942 IWO& aimed 'frtait/e 4fee 401041,404:r010 dtaile• "Xes, you're smart ... or are you? I thought , I was smart too, back in the 20's. Then the depression came and taught me a lesson!" "We'd be a lot smarter if we put less of our money into our own outfits and more of it into the outfits of the boys who are defending us. How? By pledging ourseVres to do without, so that they may have plenty to do with!" ''You want them to win, don't you? Well then, buy War Savings Stamps every week . . That's how you can help them. Besides, by saving, you'll help keep prices down and have something for a rainy day. Let's be really smart!" Buy Vito Savings Stamps From banks, post onkel, druggists, grace's and other retail stores. Nottottal 'War Finanoo Conniiittee, 00 S KEEP your IMPLEMENTS in good condition for GREATER PROFIT NOT EVEN a farmer can get satisfactory results from his operations if his imple- ments are not in good order. It may require extra cash to make necessary additions and repairs. Even new equipment may have to be purchased. This Bank is ready to assist you in financing these or any other expenditures. The Manager will 7,:,•.• 4,-.1 discuss a loan on most fa.vouraV,, THE DOMINION BANK ESTABLISHED 1871 Wingham Branch — G. C. Gammage, Manager Miss Eileen Walsh spent a few days with Mrs. Ben Walsh of Blyth. Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Govier and children of Morris and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Anstay and children of God- erich, visited on Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Govier. Miss, May Mason of Hespler, spent the week-end under the parental roof. Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Walsh attended the fuenral on Sunday of the late Mr. and Mrs. D. Taman of Blyth. ,Miss Fern McDowell has returned home after spending the winter in Hamilton. Miss Dorothy Govier of Blyth spent Sunday with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Govier. Miss Jean Campbell of Goderich, was a week-end visitor with her par- ents, Mrs. and Mrs. W. A. Campbell, The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was commemorated on Sunday with. over 75 taking communion. There were eleven teen age girls and boys who became members of the church. on Sunday. Miss Jean McDowell spent the week end with her Sister, Mrs. Gordon Smith of Goderich. Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Bosnian visit- ed on Friday with Mr. and Mrs. Dun- can McNichol of Walton. Among those who attended the Presbyterial at Clinton on Tuesday were Mrs. Stanley Cook, as delegate; Mrs. N. Radford, Mrs. F. W. Cook, Mrs. Wm. Mc-Vatic. Mr. and Mrs. Earl Caldwell of Blyth visited on Sunday with Mr. and, Mrs. Roland Vincent, Mr. and Mrs. Mel Good and child- ren of Goderich, visited Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Govier. .48111••••MIMIN=MIF .4•10••••••••..•••••.01,1...lelf SAVE FOR CANAVA Save something regularly, because: You strengthen Canada's might for war. You helpfinance purchasesin Canada for our Allies. You form the habit of thrift that safeguards your future. You open for yourself the door ,to opportunity. And you smooth the path for post-war readjustments. Money in the bank gives you a comforting sense of security. THE CHARTERED BANKS 0 F CANADA 01 " COUNTERVCHECK4BOOKS PRINTfD• GUMMED TAPE iviA6a..ny peetameouce5 Styles,„for• eveyy, business. VarieiA cniers.ai:id 1;Jesiens. . Samplesa,euggesteons And prices wittfOp, Oblig;stiens. And down in the village pub one night, Grattan O'Leary of Ottawa, a pure blooded Irishman of the third generation in Canada, steeped in the lore and poetry of Ireland, waxed eloquent on our last night in the vil- lage, He said that Hitler was the Cromwell of today, going about burn- ing 'cleurcheS. I missed that speech, but I know how eloquent Grattan can be and I wasn't surprised that he had the men of Adare all anxious to enlist at once against this modern destroyer of religon. The Most Picturesque Village I have said that the village constable thought A dare the most beautiful spot in all the world. That statement needs to be amplified. The bu's that took us, to Adare drew up in front of a picturesque inn. The Dunraven Arms, the sign said. What a tiny hamlet like Adare did with a large inn like that was something of a mystery until I learned that it belong- ed to Lord Dunraven and was used in peacetime to accomodate his hunting parties. Now it houses the passengers flying over the broad Atlantic. In the pages of its register there are . many famous names. The inn was comfort- able and not too modern. Its lounge -was full of easy chairs and chester- fields. Sitting in front of a peat fire, waiting for afternoon tea and cakes, one could talk with ferry pilots, with men who knew Bagdad and Singapore and could compare their airfields with LaGuardia and Ceoyden, tIn that little Irish village, I was surprised to meet a young American pilot, now taking planes across the Atlantic, who was quite familiar with the landmarks of my own little town of Fergus. He had flown over it often, I don't suppose anything as lovely as Adare "just happened." • I suspect that many Earle of Dunraven poured the profits of their Welsh mines into this village. I know that they rebuilt two of the ancient abbeys, presenting one to the Catholics and the other to the Anglicans. And they laid out their "demesne" so that there were views down elm-lined streets and past thatched cottages, with honeysuckle growing up the walls. I even suspec- ted that the old thatched cottage that stood directly across the way from the inn could never have attained that ap- pearance of extreme age and yet be so well kept ,without being planned that way. Whether the cottage was old or not, there were plenty of authentic ruins. The ancient stone bridge over the Maigue river had been there for six hundred years or more, No two of its seven arches quite matched the others in size or curvature, though they had stood through the centuries. Beside the river, just upstream from the bridge, were the ruins of Desmond castle. I liked them best of all. In the library of the inn, I found a book: with the plans' of the castle, dating back to about 1100. From inside those walls, many a Fitzgerald or Desmond sallied forth to terrorize the country- side. Enough is left to be able to see the rooms of the old castle, with the help of Lord Dunraven's little signs on the wall, and the use of a bit of imagination, One rainy afternoon 4 climbed to the top of the tower, look- ing out through the loop-boles where archers once shot their arrows — and stories like Ivanhoe ,that I hadn't read since high school days, came crowding back. I plucked a tiny fern out of a crack in the rock and put it inside an envelope in my pocket. Back home, three weeks later, I found it, all dried out, but when it was planted again, it grew. There was just one thing in Adare that didn't seem to fit in the picture. That was the manor house itself, It dates back 90 years or so, and looks something like a wedding cake, On the front wall is an inscription which went something like this: "This goodly house was built without selling, or borrowing, or going in debt," And fortunately, I thought, the goodly house is well hidden frOill, view from the rest of Mare, time travellers by the Dritish Overseas Airways, and marvelled that I had got out of England at all, Our good ship would refuel in Ireland and take off for Portugal. The next morning, I would be in Lisbon and by Sunday, I would be home in Canada—or so I thought. Truly the Emerald Isle It was early afternoon when the. great ship glided down tp, the water so _carefully that there wasn't even a noise in the ears, I stepped out into the daylight. again, We were in the estuary of the Sha'n- non river at Foynes, Ireland. On the river bank, two hundred yards away, was a big concrete• and timber pier, with a neat little customs house at the land end, Behind that were, two or three buildings where a couple of railway cars were -being leaded with peat. On both sides of the river were hills, just as green as ever they had been described. So this, was Ireland! I never ceased to admire the fast launches of the British Overseas Air- ways. It took only a few minutes to reach land. The wait in the' customs house seemed unnecessary,-but when the examination took place, it was brief and informal. Men in green put a few chalk marks on -my brief case and club bag, already decorated with an imposing array of airline stickers and official seals. They made one more entry in my passport, None of us knew that we were to stay overnight in Ireland instead of going on to Lisbon. When an official broke the news, we did not like it, The countryside was green enough but univiting. Two modern buses waited outside. The only thing unusual was the name of the company printed in two lan guages, English and the strange old text 'of the Gaelic language. Not till then did I realize that Southern Ire- land was bi-lingual. "Sure," says an Irishman, "we can be illiterate in two languages nowl" It was a drive of twenty miles to Adare, where we were to spend the night, but the roads were winding and narrow, with walls along each side, and plenty of stones still left in the fields. The tiny whitewashed cottages were picturesque but poor. By the time we pulled into Adare, the speed- ometer must have indicate& 30 miles at least. . Late that night, I walked with B. K. Sandwell and the constable of Adare, past a thatched cottage, past an old Norman tower, now part, of a Catholic church, past ancient trees with six-foot trunks, and on down the main street of the village. The chief was full of Irish lore and a bit of a poet. He said that Adare was the most beautiful village in the whole world. Probably he's right. A Strange and Ancient People I went to Ireland with a prejudice against the country. I had just come from England, where the people were fighting for their very lives and for the freedom of the world. Here, next door, was Ireland, not only neutral but refusing even the use of ports to fight submarines. Yet these Irish still enjoyed the privileges of Empire. I' came away with the feeling that Ireland is beautiful and the Irish people are kindly, hospitable, but be- yond the understanding of a Canadian with Scottish blood. Here in Sweet Adare ,the Irish people did not seem to understand what was gqing on in the world today. They lived in the far past. One might have thought that Cromwell had come that way just last year and laid waste the old Black Abbey and the Franciscan Abbey and ,the White Abbey, not forgetting Des- mond Castle, down by the stone bridge over the river. Of course, De Valera boasts that Ireland will defend itself against any attack, from any source. It's rather pitiful. Down by the bridge, there were some tank traps. At least, that was evidently what they were intended to be. A Bren gun carrier might have some difficulty knocking them down; a driver of a medium tank would hard- ly notice them. In the last two weeks in England, the army had been on maneouvres. The sight was impressive. In Ireland, too, the army held manoeuvres. Word had been sent to Adare to have food enough on hand on Friday for a couple of battalions, but they did not come. The following Moaday, they arrived. There was no food. Asked why they didn't come on Friday, the colonel said, it rained that day, so they post- poned the ekercises. Apparently the Irish don't realize .yet that modern wars don't stop because it rains. But though De Valeta may spat( of repelling any enemy, the people of Ireland know their danger, and admit frankly that they themselves are help. less to meet it. I talked with two mothers at the golf course, and they asked if I thought Ifltler was going to attack Ireland. I wasn't very hope. fill. One of them said 8116 had three little boys at home. The constable, a veteran of the last war, said that 150,000 men from Southern Ireland are in the British Active Porces. They slip away to Ulster to see a football game and for. get to Wind back, Perhaps, if you're Irish, you know the poem by Gerald ,Griffiths: "Ohl Sweet Marel Oh, lovely vale! Ohl soft retreat of sylvan splendour! Nor summer sun nor morning gale E're bailed 4. scene more softly tender." . .ASHFIELD Gnr, Jimmie Parrish, Petawawa, spent the week-end with his mother„ Mrs. Kenneth aFrrish, 12th con, Mr, and Mrs. Robert Nelson, near Kintail, visited with Mrs. Nelson's sister, Mrs, John Johnston, at her daughter's, Mrs. Albert Campbell near Amberly, Sunday afternoon, Ur, and Mrs, All Ritchie and little son Billie, spent Sunday afternOon with their cousins, Mr, and Mrs. Geo, Henry, 10th con , Mrs. Jim Burns, Lucknow, spent Sunday afternoon with Mrs. John Mul- lin. The Grandmother$ W.M,S. meeting was held on Tuesday afternoon at the home of Mrs. Dynes Campbell with only four grandmother's able to at- tend on account of illness to theme selves or their families. One great great grandmother, passed away since their last meeting a year ago, in the person of Mrs. Jane Nelson. The president, Mrs. Erving Zinn opened the meeting by reading the theme, a hymn and all repeating the Lord's prayer in unison. Scripture reading by Mrs. Ralph, Cameron and Mrs. George Lane. Prayer by the president. Minutes of previous meeting read and approved. Roll Call, 21 present. Col- lection. A reading by Mrs, Spence Irwin and Miss Eileen Campbell and Mrs. Will Alton on grandmother, Another hymn sung. The chapter from the study' book was read by Mrs. Ray Alton. The Heralds then report- ed—Japan, Mrs. Elmer Alton; Africa, Mrs. Dynes Campbell; India, Mrs, Roy Alton; North West, Mrs. Spence Irwin; Temperance, Mrs. Geo. Lane. Meeting closed by hymn and Benedic- tion by Mrs. Albert Alton. WESTFIELD LAC. Denald Vickers of Hamilton, visited at the home of Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Campbell over the week-end. Mr .and Mrs. Wm. Carter and child- ren were Seaforth visitors on Satur- day. Misses Alice Cook of Hamilton and Zella Cook of Wingham, spent the week-end with their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred W. Cook. Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Campbell at- tended the funeral on Saturday of the former's cousin, the late Mr, Wm. Lyon of Londesboro. WI 01-14Y1 ADVANCE,TI10$