SPIRIT SURVIVES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 November 1940, Page 5

SPIRIT SURVIVES

THOUGH STONES ARE GONE GALLANT RESOLUTION IN COVENTRY. PEOPLE TOILING TO RESTORE ORDER. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, November 17. The people of Coventry are toiling to restore order out of ruin in their city, and relief squads are effecting a wonderful transformation in the appearance of the streets. The congregation which usually attends the cathedral, now in ruins, met for worship this morning in the draw-ing-room of the Provost, who said: “We assemble for Holy Communion so that the cathedral tradition may be carried on without a break. The spirit of the cathedral is with us still. The spirit in which the place was built and cared for will survive though the stones are gone.” It is now estimated that the number of dead will exceed 250. A leading member of the aircraft industry said that while it would be wrong to describe the damage to industry at Coventry as negligible the interference to production would not be great and production should be practically normal shortly so far as armament work was concerned.

The buildings destroyed, in addition to the cathedral and the Old Palace Yard, include baths, a library, two churches, five cinemas, two large hotels, a newspaper office, and seven stores.

The Regional Commissioner said that the municipal authorities and the population had taken up the work of restoring normality as speedily as possible. The Minister of National Security, Mr. Herbert Morrison, said: “I am proud of the way the Corporation behaved. It is a great tribute to the fine spirit of British local government.”

HITLER’S LOST CHANCE IN BLITZKRIEG ON BRITAIN. ACCORDING TO NEW YORK JOURNALIST. :: . : (Received This Day, 9.40 a.m.) NEW YORK, November 18. Mr Ralph Ingersoll, editor of New York’s newest daily paper “P.M.”, in the first of a series of copyright articles, after a fortnight's survey of England, says: “Hitler lost on September 15 the only chance he ever will have of reducing Britain to submission by a blitzkrieg. On that day Britain was virtually on her knees, after a nine days’ aerial blitzkrieg. London was in flames, British pilots and home defence workers were near exhaustion and Britain was ready for a knockout blow.” The article added that the British on September 15 brought down over 200 enemy planes, thus ending the attempted mass blitzkrieg.