Manawatu Evening Standard. SATURDAY, SEPT. 14, 1940. GALLANT RESCUE WORK.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 246, 14 September 1940, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. SATURDAY, SEPT. 14, 1940. GALLANT RESCUE WORK.

During the past Aveek of London’s most horrible experience from Hitler’s Avar of terror many gallant deeds must have been performed of Avhich feAv may ever be told, for men and Avoinen avlio have a task to perform in these trying days in the Empire’s Metropolis are rendering a common service of nobility and courage. Comparable Avith the stoical demeanour of London’s people in facing tjiis Nazi total Avar is the Avork of the Air Laid Precautions —men and women. They well deserve the tribute Mr Winston Churchill paid to them in his Empire broadcast. “I express my admiration for the exemplary manner in Avliich all the A.R.P. services in London are being discharged, and especially the Fire Brigade, Avhose work has been so heavy and also dangerous,” he said. It is impossible from this distance to fully realise the stupendous nature of this Avorlc, or the vastness itself of the organisation. It is the result of long and arduous preparation for the very times that London and other places are noAV passing through. From the control centre in each district radiate the services ready for an emergency Avhen it arises. People not engaged in civil defence must be directed to the public shelters by the wardens Avho have their OAvn particular post; fire brigades stand ready. with their auxiliary staffs; demolition squads await the call to a destroyed building, and ambulance drivers are at hand to -remove the stricken to the medical stations. These workers are but part of the organisation, .for. among others there are first aid men and women, experts in repairing gas and water mains fractured in bomb explosions, and repair gangs to mend roads where they may be damaged.

Hundreds of thousands of men and Avomen. have ''volunteered for this Avork and some have given their lives nobly in the cause. The devastating raids on East London have left gaps in the ranks of the men and women who responded to the call there, and in quite a number of other places wardens and their associate workers have lost their lives from bomb splinters as they have quietly and > courageously gone about their duties. No doubt from the experience of the London organisation the A.R.P. officers in other cities will be able to perfect their own service. The A.R.P. has taken several years to bring to the high standard displayed. For a considerable time past the magnitude, of Britain’s defence preparations pvershadoAved everything _ in British life. Precautions against aerial attacks Avere part of the scheme, but at first the work of building an organisation did not move smoothly. Local authorities Avere

alarmed at the cost of the measures desired by the Government, whichinsisted on the former bearing a proportion of the cost, and for a time a deadlock ensued. But the public appreciated the state of emergency that existed, difficulties were smoothed away, and the A.R.P. commenced to grow. The earlier days of the war gave a great stimulus to the scheme and the work uoav being performed in London and other bombed cities is a witness of the people’s earnest desire to play a noble part in minimising the awful effects of aerial Avarf'are. They are demonstrating- in exemplary manner one means of “standing together and holding firm” in the face of the enemy.