COURAGE OF GIRLS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 132, 21 July 1941, Page 5

COURAGE OF GIRLS

AUSTRALIANS IN LONDON WORK DURING THE AIR RAIDS The cool courage displayed by young girls in various services during air raids on Britain was the subject of an enthusiastic comment by Mr J. S. Storey, who constitutes the Australian Government Aircraft frodviction Commission, who arrived by the Honolulu Clipper from the United States. Mr Storey Avas in Britain a few weeks ago, and he experienced several heavy raids, including that on London on April 16. Mr Storey said that, while 'the people generally displayed- great bravery, the courage, of the girls: in the services was outstanding. Ha told how these young women, driving mobile canteens, ambulances and other motor.vehicles associated with essential services, ignored the bombs, going quietly, about their work while great fires raged, and invisible Nazi raiders dropped high-* explosive bombs into the heart of the target-fires created by their incendaries. Magnificent Spirit. "The first Avave of German warpi anes usually carries only incendaries, and dumps these on the city below to start fires to guide the t'ol* lOAA'ing machines carrying high-ex-plosive bombs," Mr Storey siaid "The girls know this, of course, but as soon as a fire breaks out, and Homeless people gather, up come the mobile canteens, driven by girls, to be parked as close as possible to serve refreshments to the bombedout people. "These girls are magnificent. The natural instinct is to get as t'ai aAvay as possible from these fires, because high-explosive bombs como down; in the vicinity, but the girla drive as near as they can get. When they hear a bomb coming they themselves on their faces and, after the explosion they get :ip again and carry on." Mr Storey also quoted the case ol a girl, an Australian Avorking in London, Avho calmly spent the night oi April 16, A\dien London Avas heavily raided, walking in Hyde Pari, "because she Avould rather die in Hie open if she had to die." She was unhurt. A Narrow Escape. Two other girls, occupants of a f : at in a large block, had alwavs made a practice of assembling with other tenants on the ground floor r 'uiing raids. In a big attack recently, ' hoAA T ever, they decided to in their upstairs room, and a 'ami-mine dropped by parachute fell the building and killed all (Continued in next column)

the people sheltering on the ground floor. The two girls were the only survivors of the building. Only in their night dresses, they found their way to the street, where n motorist picked them up and took lhem to his home. His wife put them to bed, but an hour or so later •iiev were rudely awakened. Another land-mine had embedded itself in the garden outside the>ir host's house and might explode at any moment. ,f, he girls had to move again, but 'hev reported for work the next ■norning as usual.