WHY ARE YE FEARFUL?

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 57, 25 May 1942, Page 2

WHY ARE YE FEARFUL?

I WE SHALL NOT FLINCH By Laurence Hope. This is a time for courage, not despair. A time to face up to our difficulties —with faith in our hearts, and a firm resolution tci stand fast and win through, no matter what happens. Ycu know, adversity has its blessings. Sometimes we need a feAV setbacks to discover the grit we have in us. It is easy enough to be pleasant when life Hows by like a song. It is easy enough to be cheerful and strong and brave when nothing happens to disturb the eA-en tenor of our Avays. And sometimes avc get soft and slothful Avhen the battle of life brings no challenge. It is when death and disaster threaten that Ave have the opportunity of proving our manhood. We have that opportunity now. I do not think that Australia Avill be found Avail ting. Yes, I think Ave did quite Avell in the early days of the Avar. Our men went aAvay to fight—and they fought and died Avith a heroism that should inspire us all here at heme to do our bit Avhen the testing times are upon us. But then the Avar Avas a far-off adventure —a battle Avaged in distant lands. Now it is on our threshold. How are Ave goingMo face up to it? Blbody, But Unbowed Britain has set us a fine example. I know there has been bungling. 1 knoAv mistakes have been, made. But look at the grand record cf the people, the masses. Do you remember that dread period immediately after the tragedy of Dunkirk? Have you still in your mind the terror of the skies which fell upon Britain during the savage blitz intended to pave the AA'ay for invasion? Our hearts bled for the shattered, the dying, the homeless; but they swelled AA'ith pride at the heroism Avith Avhich the soldiers faced! disaster at Dunkirk Avhen, deserted by their Allies, they had to, fighit against overAvhelming odds Avith their backs to the Aval! in order to escape back to Britain's shores. Think of battered London and shattered Coventry, of desolated homes and mutilated bodies— and Ave recall with pride that grand, unconquerable spirit that refused to be broken. Surely there is something in "that shining thing in the hearts of free men"—willing to stake their all for an ideal and giA r e their lives that others may liA 7 e—something that the terror of tjTannj' can never break. Much of the London AA'hich has become a record of world history has been destroyed. Thousands of lives have been lost. Hundreds and hundreds of children will never see the sun of peace shine again. And never have Ave heard a whimper, never a grumble. These unknown heroes and heroines have gone to the grave still smiling, confident, defiant. Spirit Still Lives When London A\ T as! being attacked I Avrote to' a dear old lady Avho has been a friend of mine for manyyears, begging her to come over here to the comparative safety of Australia. She cabled back: "Hitler "wi 11 never bomb me' out of London. Staying here. Feel they can't Avin the Avar without me." The old dear was past seventy. I guess there Avasn't much she could do. But I'm sure she Avas neA'er a burden to anyone. Her great, spirit could only be a source of inspiration and courage to. those about her. As a matter of fact, she Avas bombed out of London. Her home Avas demolished, but she not hurt either in body or mind. St.ill protesting, she accepted a home in her son's family about thirty miles up the railway line. ' No Avonder ob.sen-ers from other ! lands say: '"With a spirit like that. \ this people can never be conquered." | And Ave out here? We are of the same blood. The spirit Avhich ani- J mated the heroes; of the past, Avhich j has flamed; defiance to a cruel and ] ruthless foe to-day, is our common* j heritage. Thank God it still lives , on among us. Our bo.ysi have fought and died on foreign fields. In our , courage and faith and determination we on the home front will pro\-e , worthy of them. j Do ycu remember how Richard j Grenville, trapped by the Spanish 'fleet in his little craft, the Revenge, fought 53 great men-of-war—fought I them until all his powder Avas spent, 1 all his. pikes broken, nearly half his crew killed and a large number wounded.. Badly hurt early i n the fight he refused to leave the deck. He was E then shot through the body, and 1

again in the head while his*wounds were being dressed. Pierced by 800 round shot, his little craft was settling in the sea. Yet, when carried aboard a Spanish ship, he was still 1 full of courage, defiance, faith, r This was his dying speech: "Here die I, Riciiard Grenville. with a joy- • ful and quiet mind, for that I 1 have ' ended my life as a true soldier that hath fought for his country, Queen, religion, and honour." The days of heroism are not dead. 2 That mighty spirit still lives on among us. We shall remain faithful • to the past, courageous in the pre--1 sent, confident of the future. = This great conilict has brought the r English-speaking peoples, of the t world intci a closer communion than : we have ever known before. Our American cousins across the Pacific r are with us in this struggle against evil and oppression. 2 Sons of the Motherland from every 3 corner of the world are united in ; one great family, determined to resist the aggressor and fight on until 1 truth and justice triumph and the 1 captive peoples of the world are freed. No matter how dark the skies maj r be, the future holds a glorious dawn. We in Australia will not flinch when terror lurks upon our threshold, because Ave have the heritage of an unbreakable spirit, a living faith, a firm belief in justice and freedom; because that shining thing in the souls of free men can never be extinguished by a brutality which, at its strongest and most powerful, can [ only destroy the body and never kill I the mind. Be of Good Cheer I say Ave are not afraid. I say it : in no boastful spirit, but in a firm • faith in the ultimate triumph of i good. Be of good cheer. ; "What time I am afraid I will • trust in Thee. ... I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. ... In ( God will I put my trust; I will not - be afraid, what man can do, unto me. l • • • For Thou hast delivered my . soul from death; wilt Thou not keep • my feet from falling?" If you really believe that, nothing ; can harm ycu. That shining thing in the souls, of free men is; something that can never be dimmed.