AIR RAID ALARMS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20098, 18 November 1939, Page 7

AIR RAID ALARMS

LONDON IN WAR-TIME TOURISTS RETURNING MEDITERRANEAN PASSAGE NAVY WATCH AT SEA "There is a hot reception waiting for the first German aviators who approach London, whether for bombing or reconnaissance. Alarms which came while I was still living there gave the public a good indication of the readiness of the defence, both in regard to guns and fighter planes. Nothing in the way of enemy attackers would be able to get close enough to sight a target, let alone to make accurate practice against places of military importance," said Mr. J. A. Robb. a returned Poverty Bay tourist who "to-day discussed with a pressman his impressions of the United Kingdom in the first weeks of the war. Mr. Robb left New Zealand early this year to pay his second visit to Britain, and during his stay there made his headquarters in London. He left Tilbury Docks on September 23 on his return to New Zealand, travelling by an Orient liner by way of the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean to Australia, and later crossing the Tasman by inter-colonial steamer. He is probably the first Gisborneite to make the homeward journey through the Mediterranean since the outbreak of the war. Formec Gisborneiles

While in London he was in close touch with members of the Lowndes family, formerly well known in Gisborne. Immediately on the outbreak of war, Mr. Roy L. Lowndes, who holds a commission in the Surrey Yeomanry, was called up for service, and when last heard from by Mr. Robb he was serving .as a transport officer . at a port from which troops and war materials were being shipped to France in enormous volume for the establishment of the British Expeditionary Force.

Mr. Noble Lowndes, the eldest of three brothers, was living in Upper Warlingham, Surrey, and on the outbreak of war Mrs. Lowndes, senjoined him there. Mr. Colin Lowndes, the third brother, was living at Streatham. All members of the family, and also Mrs. N. F. Lowndes, formerly Miss Maisie Hennessey, Gisborne, sent messages of remembrance to their many friends in this district.

'lmpressions gathered by Mr. Robb during the first three weeks of the war fully supported those of other returning tourists who have spoken of the vast preparations undertaken in Britain for hostilities which in recent months had appeared to be inevitable. Immediately upon the outbreak, when air raids were -expected to ensue over London in particular, the Government took over many services which could be used for defence purposes, and also commandeered whatever seemed necessary for the public welfare. The raids did not materialise, fortunately, but this in turn had brought a reaction of grumbling on the part of many people. Air Raid Alarms , There were three alarms sounded while Mr. Robb was still in London, and the experience was more amusing than shaking, since in each case the alarm proved false, so far as actual attack upon the metropolis was concerned. Had one solid raid taken place, the Government would have been in a perfect position to answer its critics on the score of preparations. The evacuation of hospitals, construction of air raid shelters, and sandbagging would have been fully justified. As things stood at the end of September, many Londoners were beginning to wonder whether a relaxation of precautions was not in order.

On the other hand, production of war materials seemed to have swept up amazingly in the three weeks, said Mr. Robb. To watch any of the main roads, and see the volume of weapons and machines speeding towards the east and south coasts for shipment to France, was impressive enough. Even the sight of the huge excavations made for fillings for sandbags gave one an idea of the extent to which London had been prepared for raids.

On the sea, after leaving Tilbury, the liner did not sail in a convoy, but made her lonely way across the Bay of Biscay and down the Spanish coast, standing well offshore, towards Gibraltar. Seaplane patrols flew overhead from time to time, and frequently there would be the sight of a warship a few miles off. The passengers were assured that they were never far removed from swift aid in the event of the ship being attacked, and this was a comfort especially off the Spanish coast, where it was rumoured enemy submarines were finding shelter. An Anxious Time Gibraltar, familiar in its principal aspects to Mr. Robb, was alive with naval vessels and personnel, and passengers by the liner were not permitted ashore there. The voyage through the Mediterranean was a nervous one for the ship's company and passengers alike, for even three weeks after the war broke out the attitude of Italy seemed uncertain, and there was always the possibility that the ship would be caught up in another crisis.

Calls at Toulon and Naples, usually included in the Orient service through the Mediterranean, were eliminated, and the liner steamed straight from Gibraltar to Port Said. Once through the canal the ship's complement breathed a sigh of relief, though there was still a faint chance of trouble from commerce raiders in the Indian Ocean. Aden was the next port of call after Suez, and there the passengers welcomed the sight and sound of British people whose main job was connected with the war. The calm that prevailed, despite the extraordinary activity in the harbour, was a thorough tonic, and the optimism of the fighting services, as voiced by individual members, war, just as great in this outpost of the Mother Country's defences as in the heart of the Empire. From Aden the journey was almost normal except for the restrictions on light and the constant drilling of boatcrews and passengers in the work of handling the boats, rafts and life-belts. Once across the Indian Ocean, and on the Australian coast, the passengers felt that they were well clear of the war area, though every day brought its new crop of rumours of sensational happenings at sea.