ROYAL REFUGEES

Taranaki Daily News, 26 September 1940, Page 5

ROYAL REFUGEES

ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND ESCAPE FROM BORDEAUX

London, July 3. What is believed to be the last ship out of Bordeaux arrived in an English port to-day, carrying to safety an exKing, an cx-Queen, and ex-President, a company of the ex-rich with all they now possess, and a host of refugees — peasants, soldiers, diplomats. Ex-King Zog of Albania landed with e::-Queen Geraldine and their baby and the six Zog sisters. Their baggage included heavy cases said to contain the Crown Jewels, gold, and the royal regalia. It is the royal party's second flight. They fled from Albania when Mussolini's legions crossed the Adriatic to drive Zog from his uneasy throne. They went to Greece, back across Europe to settle in France, until war drove them on their travels on. On board, too, was Alexandre Kerensky, first President of Russia after the fall of the Czar in 1917. He tried to rally the broken army, failed, and was overthrown by the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin and Trotsky. Price Set on Head. Kerensky fled to Paris, and has lived there in exile ever since. A member of his suite in the ship said that the Gestapo had set a price on Kerensky's head and that Hitler had ordered his capture. All had an anxious journey. They were attacked from the air and by submarine. Many of them feared they would never reach safety. One passenger said the scenes at Bordeaux were unforgettable. Hundreds were trying to escape. British officials Were offered hundreds of pounds for a visa for England. One British official was offered £5000 in British and French money if he would smuggle one refugee aboard. For the ports of France are crowded with those who seek to escape the wrath of the Nazis. M. Kerensky was not allowed to leave the sjiip. He was detained • until the authorities reach a decision about his future. " The refugees who landed were a study in contrasts. Well-dressed Parisiennes, with silk stockings and high-heeled shoes; peasant women in old coats and felt slippers; Belgian, Polish and Czech soldiers streamed off like a procession of history. Many women, including some of the poorly dressed, wore fortunes in heavily gemmed rings— jewels they had rushed to buy as a means of investing money sonr. *o be worthless.