The Southland Times. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1940. Help Wanted for a Brave People

Southland Times, Issue 24240, 25 September 1940, Page 4

The Southland Times. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1940. Help Wanted for a Brave People

FOR NEARLY three weeks the city of London has sustained an aerial bombardment of unexampled intensity and ruthlessness. The bomber squadrons of Hitler, vainly seeking to make a breach in the innermost defences of Britain, have attacked in waves by day and by night. Only a few machines have eluded the fighters or braved the anti-, aircraft barrage; but, where large calibre bombs are used, not many blows are needed every night tp widen the areas of destruction. Under the ordeal of these daily visitations the people of London have behaved with a courage and a fortitude that make men proud to have English blood in their veins. Many have lost their homes. Other households are darkened by sudden bereavement. Men and women who have escaped personal injury have found their places of employment literally blown from the face of London. Every single individual in all that population of 8,000,000 is exposed day and night to a danger of death and wounding, to the strain of living and working while the nerves wait expectantly for the first announcement of the sirens, to the dislocations of routine, the major- and petty annoyances that are inseparable from life in a besieged city. There have been stories of these people that quicken the blood with admiration. They are learning to adapt themselves to extraordinary conditions, and to meet all shocks and alarms with a quiet heroism. But because they have shown themselves to be so adaptable it should not be imagined that they have no need of help from outside. Where so many homes are being destroyed, and where so many families are overtaken in a night by misfortune, it is impossible to avoid a great deal of hardship. The British Government and the local authorities of London are working and planning to meet every emergency. But there is an urgent and growing need for medical supplies, for clothes, foodstuffs and the common requirements of life.

Southland's Part

This need was quickly recognized throughout the Empire, and in New Zealand the National Patriotic Board sent the sum of £lOO,OOO as a contribution towards the relief of homeless and suffering Londoners. Part of the amount is to be covered by the provincial funds. Up to the present the response in Southland has not been adequate. In other centres, even in cities and towns smaller than Invercargill, the local quotas have already been exceeded, and contributions are still coming in. The amount named as Southland’s share is not large—merely £1500; and it is surprising that so small a part of it has been collected in the 10 days since the fund was opened. Perhaps the explanation can be found in the fact that this-province has only recently completed a notable effort in providing the cost of two fighter planes. The spontaneous and generous giving during that brief campaign makes it impossible to entertain a moment’s doubt of Southland’s ultimate response to a new claim upon the patriotism and humaneness of the people. But if it be said that after much giving there should be a small respite, the answer is to be found in black type on the cable pages. There is no respite for the citizens of London. They cannot say: “We have shown the world that we can take it; now let us rest awhile.” For them there is no intermission, no night when they can keep a way from the shelters, no morning when they can return home with the certainty that their houses have not been, swept into a heap of rubble. These men, women and children are in the front line of the battle for Britain. They are soldiers of a new and proud army; and the opportunity to succour them, within the small limits fixed inside New Zealand, is a privilege and a duty to be accepted cheerfully. We believe' that Southland people will come forward now, as they have done so often in the past, to share in a gesture which is a tribute to bravery as well as an act of kindness. All sums, large or small, which may be sent to The Southland Times will be gladly acknowledged.