ARMY OF BRITAIN

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20057, 2 October 1939, Page 6

ARMY OF BRITAIN

THE OLD AND NEW AMERICAN ADMIRATION EFFICIENT COMBINATION (Elec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Reed. October 2, 9 a.m.) NEW YORK, October 1. A special correspondent of the New York Times, in a dispatch from British General Headquarters, somewhere in France, describes the transport of the British Army to France as a triumph of clock-like synchronisation and smooth working beyond praise.

“The brass hats worked with efficiency,” he adds. “The experienced officers were young enough to try new methods and open-mindedly < keep the balance between experiment and routine. This is not the old British Army. It is a most efficient combination of the old and the new with an incalculable capacity for growth and development which is a most impressive point, indicating most emphatically that Mr. Neville Chamberlain was not bluffing when he said that it might mean three years of war. It is impossible yet to indicate its lighting spirit, but the British never lacked that when needed. The present Army is even better in many ways that all its famous predecessors.”

A communique issued by the Ministry of Information states:— The commentator “Eye-witness,” writing from "somewhere in France,”, recounts the progress of the t ; sw l Tfcr of British troops. The infantr>i«k practising route-marching on roads and others are paying attention to camouflage exercises and weapon drill. French visitors have been complimentary.”