SHOCKING DEED

Taranaki Daily News, 24 September 1940, Page 7

SHOCKING DEED

BRITISH INDIGNATION MESSAGE TO BEREAVED BRUTAL NAZI METHODS Rec. 9.30 p.m. London, Sept. 23. Deep sympathy was expressed by the Dominions Under-Secretary, Mr. G. Shakespeare, who is chairman of the Children's Overseas Reception Board, in a letter to the children's parents informing them of the tragedy. "The children's overseas reception scheme wishes me to convey its deep sympathy in your bereavement," said Mr. Shakespears's message. "You courageously decided to send your children to the Dominions, believing this course was better than continuous raids. I as a parent realise 'the anguish this letter must cause you and the great sadness brought to your home. I assure you 1 deeply share your grief." Little Chance for Passengers.

Mr. Shakespeare in a statement said: "I am full of horror and indignation that any German submarine captain could have torpedod a ship over 600 miles from land in a tempestuous sea. The conditions were such that there was little chance for the passengers, whether adults or children. This deed will shock the world and is another example of the barbarous methods of warfare associated with Nazi Germany. It is comparable only with their present brutal, indiscriminate bombing of women and children in London." "Even amid the carnage Herr Hitler- is trying to cause among London's women and children," says the Daily Mail, "the story of the sinking of the evacuee liner stands out as a supreme instance of wanton horror. Nothing has given the world a more vivid, more awful example of the sort of warfare Herr Hitler wages. Let the details never be forgotten until the day of reckoning arrives. "We must ask, with the parents, whether the Government is absolutely satisfied with the arrangements for the transport of children? Are the ships convoyed far enough to sea? Many thousand "have already crossed the Atlantic safely, but more must be done to prevent a repetition of this tragedy."