PERSONALITIES OF THE RAID SHELTERS

Evening Star, Issue 23702, 9 October 1940, Page 10

PERSONALITIES OF THE RAID SHELTERS

People in London can still find something to smile at, in spite of the horrors of air raids. They contend that there is something “matey” about air-raid shelters (writes a woman correspondent in the Melbourne ‘ Argus’). Some hotels have turned their airraid shelters into dormitories, and guests settle down on mattresses in the shelter, with peers and commoners side by side. , , . , The Savoy caters for those who want to go on danqing, by dividing the shelter into ballroom and dormitory. While dancers carrv on to the strains of Carol Gibbons’s band on one side, guests slumber safely on the other side. Guests at the Savoy are at present chaffing Sir Seymour Hicks for keeping them awake at night with his snores. The Duchess of Luxembourg is London’s latest Royal refugee. She is staying at Claridge’s. There was a flutter of excitement there when Queen Wilhelmina’s visit coincided with the airraid sirens, but both Royal persons refused to take shelter, and remained in the drawing room of the Duchess’s suite. Since holidays abroad have had to be abandoned, the big hotels are becoming the playground for weary-war workers. The Dorchester has fitted up its basement with artificial sunlight, Vichy baths, gymnasiums, and all the fittings of the Continental spas. So, while dogfights are going on overhead, those_ in the shelters relax in a setting reminiscent of holiday resorts. The Countess of Jersey is one of the most popular workers for the A.1.F., with her mobile canteen, which visits their camp. The men have decorated the canteen with the Rising Sun and a coat of arms entirely of their own design. One quarter of this consists of a mug of foaming beer, the Sydney bridge, and a Bondi bathing belle. The countess is an indefatigable worker, and has won the admiration of the Diggers by her exchange of banter with them.

Far Underground. The Lansdowne restaurant, which is atachecl to Mayfair’s biggest block of flats, is so far underground that it is becoming the most popular'dining and dancing resort. Recently the Duke and Duchess of Kent, who have not been seen in town for some time, were among the diners, the Duke wearing Air Force uniform, and the Duchess wearing an afternoon frock and a small black hat, with a veil floating off her shoulders. They left when the sirens sounded, and returned to their tables, joining the dancers again when the allclear sounded. Although most hostesses, housewives, canteens, and clubs manage to contribute something daily to the Ministry of Salvage for the war effort, the Australian soldiers do not have to eat such things as left-overs when the Australian women in London use their kitchen lore to tempt the palates of the Diggers. Mrs Troy, wife of the Agent-General for Western Australia, has proved such an efficient manager that she has been plied with queries about the secrets of her success. Breakfast is always the main meal of the day, and there is always a big roll-up for bacon and eggs, hot coffee, and two and three-decker toasted sandwiches. Mrs Isaac Jones, wife of the wellknown doctor, formerly of Melbourne University, is one of the popular helpers. She is probably one of the loveliest of those who serve delectables. The charming dark-haired daughter of the captain of the Orion, Margaret Owens, is another who is as well known to the Diggers as her father is to Australian travellers. Joan Richmond, Queensland’s racing motorist, and Peggy and Elbe Beatton are others who 'help. Mary Doberer, who has been nursing at a military hospital in Surrey, has been transferred to secretarial duties at the War Office. Her patients, who are mostly from Dunkirk, are now all convalescent, and as she did not have enough work to do, she has gone to a busier field. Billeted with her is Vader Anne Wienholt, English cousin of Miss Valerie Purves.