WAR TOPICS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 294, 16 April 1941, Page 7

WAR TOPICS

by The Beacon Watchman

BRITAIN'S HOUSES MANY MODIFICATIONS WAR CAUSES BIG CHANGES War conditions, especially the need for air raid protection and • economy in certain materials, are bringing a new-style domestic arclii lecture to Britain. Many modifications in interior ■ construction of houses are having to be made to substitute concrete for timber and steel. The tendency is for floors to be made of concrete • covcred with fireproof materials and such fittings as window frames -and sills, door frames, skirtings, and picture rails are often made fireproof, too. This enforced substitution is regarded as haying Us advantages, for are said to be more hygienic and less costly of upkeep than wooden liUings. The shape of the small home to • come may perhaps be discerned in '•the house construction to which the Minister of Health referred. Work now being undertaken is - chiefly on small dwellings for agricultural and war workers and protection from fire, provision for ai>raid shelters, and economy in use of material needed for war production are the three points of major pre-occupation for the builders and . architects.

Flat Roof—and Bombs. The first of these considerations, protection from fire, may mean that Britain's skyline loses some of the variety it had in pre-war days. Foi a flat, concrete roof, which affords most protection against inccndiary bombs, is taking the place of the pitched roof with its picturesque ' eaves. On top of the concrete roof is a covering of fireproof material. Bathroom or pantry is often made to serve a double purpose in 'these new homes. The Wartime Building Bulletin recommends! —as one method of securing special protection—the, conversion into an office or "safety room" of some apartment where it is possible normally to carry on with lighting only from one small high window. The bathroom or an enlarged larder is in . most cases selected for this purpose. The walls are specially thickened :and the concrete floor of the room . above is strengthened. frUKE OF WINDSOR VIEWS ON POST WAR CONDITIONS "There will be a New Order in Europe in which labour will get a more equitable share of the world's good things," declares the Duke ol Windsor in an interview with the American magazine "Liberty" on post-war reconstruction. problems -of peace," the Duke says, "will be infinitely grdat•er than those of war, particularly in Britain. "She must rebuild .her sunken ships, ruined factories and gutted •cities, then regain her trade. "Our problems will be vastly more complex than those of the United States which will face postwar unemployment. "The world's problems stagger the minds of realistic people, yet they must be faeed and solved. There will be many strange things, one of which is the fact that America will no longer be the New World. "That title will pass to Europe because of the New OJter which will be imposed either •or Britain." HUMOUR IN A HURRICANE! In the middle of a 112-mile-an-hour hurricane, a New Zealand soldier staggered in at the door of the Y.M.C.A. hut . in Fiji gasping, '"Pliew! I thought I wasn't going to make it. lis the canteen open ?" The officer in charge, sensing something wrong, had visions of accidents, and having no first aid outfit, was feeling worried. "What do you want?" he asked. "Three pe*\north of peanuts, please," was the astounding reply. This story is told J>y a soldier in a letter home.

HAPPIEST OF MEMORIES KENTISH WOMAN'S LETTER ADM [RATION OF N.Z. TROOPS Indicating Hie impression made by the N.Z.E.F, in England and revealing the feelings of English people, the following letter from Mrs Violet Pym, who lives in Kent, written to Colonel R. S. Park, N.Z. Military Liaison Officer in Britain, has been received by the Minister of Defence :— "In view of Ihc complaints tha: one is apt to hear of troops billeted in the country districts, I wonder if it would interest you to know that during this autumn I had the privilege of billeting part of a certain

| Battery of New Zealand Artillery on ancl around this farm—some 50 or (iO men and five officers. My husband and sons being either on Active Service or away at school and only myself and small daughter left at home, I viewed the arrival of the troops with a little apprehension, but my slight anxiety was short lived.. I have never met with such consideration, courtesy, gentleness and chcorful adaptability, and tiie sense of brothers in arms that existed between officers and men was an inspiration. The troops had the run of the farm and any damage unwittingly done to any part of it was quickly and efficiently pi*t right. "We have not up to now had any connection with New Zealand, and I regret to say, little knowledge of your beautiful country, but from down in this smal! corner of England will go out a strong link of interest and fiiendship. "It was very sadly that we one day had to say good-bye to them all and. watch a long line of guns and lorries disappearing down the lane into a grey wet dawn, but their stay here Avill always remain one of our very happiest of memories."