BRITISH CONVOYS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20056, 30 September 1939, Page 16

BRITISH CONVOYS

AVOIDED BY U-BOATS CANADIAN 'GRAIN CROP RELIEVING- CONGESTION FIRST SUCCESSFUL TRIP (Klee. T«l. Copyright—-United Press Assn.) (Reed. Sept. 30, 9 a.m.) NEW YORK, Sept. 29. The Montreal correspondent of the Ndw York Times, says that up to the present the censorship has' barred from the newspapers one of the greatest Canadian stories of the war —how the senior Dominion is supplying the Motherland with resources with which to defeat Nazism.

At regular intervals convoys are leaving the Atlantic coast, escorting vessels laden with wheat, metal, manufactured goods and other products. Every ship is arriving safely at British ports.

The. gram movement is perhaps the most important. In the first week of the War, wheat and maize from the Great Lake ports piled up in Montreal and jammed the elevators. This necessitated the'laden lake steamers anchoring in the river to await unloading. However, Britain quickly organised the convoy system, and it is learned to-day that the first successful, convoy arrived in Britain. It consisted of 15 freighters loaded with a total of 500,000 bushels of grain. There have been others since.

It is reliably stated that none was menaced by the U-boats. The Germans find it more profitable, according to naval authorities, to attack individual ships. An assault on a convoy would be almost fatal. It is understood that the Germans are quite aware of the situation and give convoys a wide berth.

It is learned that both'passenger and freight ships sailing from New York are taking advantage of the system, picking up convoys a few miles out.