QUARTERS IN FRANCE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 October 1939, Page 7

QUARTERS IN FRANCE

VILLAGERS WELCOME BRITISH TROOPS GREAT WAR MEMORIES. RECALLED. ; EXPEDIONARY FORCE EXPANDING. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY October 10. Scenes typical of many that have been occurring in French towns and villages during the last month on the arrival of British troops as the expeditionary force swells in size are described in a dispatch from "Eyewitness," who writes: — “When the news came that British troops were expected the sleepy life of the village sprang into feverish acti j vity. Innkeepers hurried to get in big stocks of food and drinks. Children manufactured Union Jacks, A.R.P. precautions were tightened up, and barns, schools, cinemas and cafes were prepared to billet troops. “Early in the afternoon children on the lookout in trees along the roadside descried the first British lorries. Everyone left their work abruptly to' welcome them. To the .shrill cheering of children a long column of motorised transport was soon rumbling through the cobbled main streets. “Officers stepped out of camouflaged cars and took charge. The local authorities appeared and offered their services. Soon all the arrangements made in advance were being put smoothly into action. “The billeting officer installed himself in a little cafe in the main square. The proprietor had fought side by side with the British in the last war and was pleased and proud to lodge them now. Baggage lorries arrived, billets were distributed, and people moved off to see what luck they had had. “As evening drew on the street became filled with officers and men strolling up and down, meeting friends, comparing notes about billets, and making arrangements for mess. “All the normal process of army life was meanwhile going on. Signallers moved about busy with their communication, motorised transport was being cunningly parked for the night, trenches were dug for A.R.P. purposes, and field kitchens set up. At dinner time all ranks mingled freely in the close quarters of the village.’’ RAIDING ATTEMPTS GERMANS LOSE HEAVILY. FIERCE HAND TO HAND FIGHTING. (Received This Day, 10.5 a.m.) PARIS, October 11. A semi-official commentator, elaborating on a communique, says two German raiding parties of 150 each lost 60 killed and wounded without capturing a solitary Frenchman. They were repelled in fierce, hand to hand fighting, in which hand grenades were used.