THE CENSORSHIP

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 July 1940, Page 7

THE CENSORSHIP

EXTRAORDINARY CARE NEEDED. VARIED PERSONNEL ENGAGED. A New Zealander who is engaged on war work which is different from that which most other people are doing is Mr Trevor Fisher (Wellington), the well-known pianist, who was called up for postal censorship, and was sent to Liverpool, states a London correspondent. After six months there he has returned to London. "My work.” said Mr Fisher, “like a good deal of war work, has long stretches of monotony, punctuated by moments of excitement (though the latter in our job is nothing compared with that of other services). I reckon I have examined between 15.000 and 20.000 letters—English, German, Dutch, French, and American! From the average business and private correspondence much useful information is obtained, while, of course, from stolen German mails we get some really vital stuff. One other reason for the necessity of examining mails is that people at home often quite innocently giveaway secrets. One woman the other day. writing from here to America, casually mentioned a new munitions factory being built 'at the bottom o) our yard’—that little fact might get into the wrong hands. Anything like code is, of course, dealt with by experts. and a good many documents are photographed. The majority of handwritten letters are appalling, but extraordinary care is taken of every single letter and card. "Most interesting part of the job is the personnel itself. My table companions include a Norwegian building contractor: a lieutenant-colonel who has been through the Boer War and the last war: an ex-manager of a Covent Garden fruit market; a music critic: an insurance agent from South America; a business man from Japan; a Spaniard who speaks 10 languages; an artist; a textiles manufacturer; an electrical engineer; and among the other 3000 men and women are people of all ages and professions, and of several nationalities —even a dwarf and a Russian prince."

While in Liverpool. Mr Fisher was able to enjoy good music. There is a fine orchestra and a very beautiful new philharmonic hall. His colleagues in censorship include professional musicians. He has kept, up his pianoforte practice as much as possible, and he is a student of languages. His parents still live near Kew Gardens.