“BE PREPARED”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 October 1939, Page 9

“BE PREPARED”

GREAT BRITAIN’S SLOGAN IMPRESSIONS OF WAIRARAPA VISITOR. VOYAGE UNDER WAR CONDITIONS “We must be prepared,’’ a slogan printed in large letters and displayed in the Customs shed at Tilbury, was the first thing which struck passengers arriving in England early in June,, said Mr James Andrew, of “lea,” Masterton, who has just returned from a visit to England. The same slogan was seen all over England and nearly a third of the cars on the roads, 'including private ones, carried it. The next thing that impressed him was that soon after dark every night and throughout the night, searchlights were sweeping the sky in every direction. A constant watch was being kept in case of a surprise attack. Everywhere one came into contact with air raid precautions. It was the generally accepted opinion that in the event of war, refugees from the danger zones would have to be billeted and every house outside the areas to be evacuated had been inspected and a declaration made as to the number of children or others who were to be billeted in each household. A teacher was being placed in charge of every party of children. The astounding thing about these proposals was that there were no objections and everyone considered them necessary. The complete organisation and provision made underground in some centres for the control of the whole of the functions of a city by the municipal authorities was another astonishing feature of the precautionary measures taken. AEROPLANES EVERYWHERE. “I was never out of the sound of aeroplanes all the time I was in England, both night and day,” said Mr Andrew, who went on to say that the impression he gathered was that there was a tremendous organisation in operation for the production of aeroplanes. Everywhere there were aerodromes and military camps. The militia had gone into training and great camps were being erected in all parts' of the country at the utmost speed. Black-outs were continually being held. Mr Andrew said he stood in the Mall and saw the King on his arrival back from Canada. By the time the King had reached the Mall he had already passed through cheering crowds for a distance of five miles. His Majesty received a wonderful ovation. TENSION INCREASES.

When Mr Andrew left Tilbury on his return to New Zealand on August 18, it was considered that the international outlook was slightly better. When the ship was near the Spanish coast the passengers began to hear of trouble and by the time they reached Gibraltar incidents were occurring on the frontier, where Spanish soldiers were inclined to bait the British sentries by digging trenches alongside the barbed-wire entanglements. Eventually. the Spaniards were persuaded to leave. By the time the ship reached Marseilles mobilisation was in full swing in France and all the railways had been taken over by the Government and the buses were running skeleton services, while at night the city was blacked out. The French people were very quiet, orderly and determined and crowded round the news notice boards. They appeared to be taking a lot of interest in President Roosevelt's efforts to secure peace and hoped that he would be able to avert hostilities. PRECAUTIONS AT SEA.

On leaving Marseilles the ship sailed under Admiralty orders, all portholes were closed, the boats swung out and lowered to the B deck level, all lights screened and portholes painted over and all smoking on deck was banned. The ship's course was altered. There was some uncertainty as to what step Italy was taking. The vessel left port in the evening and in the morning volunteers were called to assemble gas masks and an organisation was sol up in ease of attack. Including the crew, there were 1,100 people on board and 1.150 gas mask;: were assembled. The ship was organised into sections, committee squads were formed to receive tuition in the fitting of gas masks and on treatment in case anyone was affected by mustard gas. The ship proceeded at full speed. Special volunteers were also called for submarine guard duties. In addition to the crew, there were always eight passengers on watch on the upper deck. The ship reached Adon on the morning of September 3, the day on which war was declared. Some reassurance was gained from the fact that a big Italian ship came into port with their ship and also when

it was found that the Fascist Club there was still open. The impression then gained was that the Italians would not go to war against Britain They loft Aden at 12 o’clock and at 2 o’clock received a message stating that war had been declared. JOURNEY INTERRUPTED. The passengers were then told that the ship was proceeding only as far' as Bombay. The ship continued to sail under war conditions, but once they were clear of Aden the likelihood of attack became more remote. The passengers were disembarked at Bombay in the evening and had to find their way to the hotels in the dark. Some of them had to stay in Bombay for eight days and some foi a fortnight. The chances of getting another ship appeared to be pretty hopeless and there was some anxiety as to how long the 'passengers might have been forced to stay there. The New Zealand Tourist Bureau agent in Bombay. Mr Gardner, who is a New Zealander and is general manager o! the Now Zealand insurance Company, cabled to the Prime Minister of New Zealand and in due course a certain amount of credit was placed at the disposal of the passengers through the New Zealand High Commissioner in London, so that this provision ensured that no New Zealander who was stranded in Bombay would be destitute. Altogether there were between 400 and 500 passengers bound for Australia and New Zealand stranded in the city. Until they received assistance (the Australians received similar help) their position was precarious, but thanks to the action of Mr Gardner and of Mr Golder, the Australian representative, their fears were allayed. After eight days waiting t

certain number of passengers were sent on to Colombo by the Viceroy of India to connect there with ; steamer for Australia. The remaining passengers were picked up by r another ship and left for Australia fivi days later. The trip to Australia was made, in record time, but still unde: war conditions, which continued right to New Zealand.