NO ADVENTURES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20049, 22 September 1939, Page 11

NO ADVENTURES

BRITAIN DETERMINED MILITARY OPERATIONS ANTI - SUBMARINE WORK SUCCESS OF NAVY (Eke. Tel. Copyliprlit—Pruss Assn.) (Reed. Sept. 21, 2 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 20. “I want tlie final word to be one of warning. We, as a Government, will not be rushed into courses which the military advisers with whom we work in the closest possible contact and mutual confidence, do not approve,” declared the Prime Minister, Mr. Neville Chamberlain, surveying the war situation in the House of Commons to-day.

“There is no sacrifice from which we will .shrink. There is no operation we will undertake unless our responsible advisers, Allies and we ourselves are convinced that it will make an appropriate contribution to victory, but we will not rush into adventures offering little cnance of. success and which are calculated to impair our resources and postpone ultimate victory. Military history teaches that course leads to disaster."

Mr. Chamberlain said the achievements against the submarine campaign after a fortnight of war had exceeded anything the British Navy had accomplished even over much longer periods in the last war. The First Lord of the Admiralty, Mr. Winston Churchill, stated that the commanding officer of the air-craft-carrier, Courageous, went down with the ship. There was every reason to believe that the attacking submarine was destroyed.

"The public has already learned from survivors the graphic story of the gallantry of the ship’s company,” he said. “I should like to express, on behalf of the Government and the Admiralty, profound sympathy with those bereaved.” Asked how a submarine got within striking distance as .the aircraftcarrier had a full complement of escorting destroyers, Mr. Churchill assured the House that he had no reason to doubt the soundness of the views expressed by the Admiralty in peacetime as to the effectiveness of the means the Admiralty possessed for coping with the submarine menace.

Mr. A. Alexander fLa’o.. TTillsbrough), asked Mr. Churchill to convey to the Admiralty for distribution to the fleet fbe House’s view of the fine spirit shown in this first important action by one of Britain's ships.