LIFE UNDER BOMBS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 June 1941, Page 6

LIFE UNDER BOMBS

ON LAND AND SEA. 1 1 BRITISH VISITOR’S STORY. Miss Jane Hall, a British business 3 woman now visiting Masterton. has an i interesting story to tell of air raid . and other experiences. >■ When she left England in Septemi ber last, she was given two days’ saill ing notice and did not know the name I of the ship in which she was to travel until she got aboard. The ship was i one of a convoy, escorted by destroy- - ers. Soon after she arrived on board t the convoy was attacked from the air. ? All were ordered below and donned their lifebelts. “I felt that if I had to die I would die in my fur coat',” said , Miss Hall, so I ran to my cabin and L grabbed it.” Ninety German planes ; came over and dropped screaming . | bombs at the rate of one every second. II All the bombs fell on either side of > the ships. The noise of the exploding bombs, combined with that of the i ship’s guns, was appalling. If the i passengers had been without ear plugs they would probably have been deaf- ; ened. The attack lasted for two hours. There were 90 children on board, being evacuated to Australia. On the fourth day out. an escorting Sunderland flying-boat discovered a submarine among the convoy. The destroyers raced to a spot marked by a flare dropped from the plane. Depth charges were dropped and it was considered that the submarine had been destroyed. Between Cape Town and Durban the ship missed a raider by six hours. Two days off Fremantle, an S.O.S. was received from a merchant vessel 1J ■ hours away. The captain decided I against going to its assistance on ac--1 count of the children on board and ■ the lack of sufficient guns with which to fight a raider. Speaking of her experiences of raids on England. Miss Hall stated that a block of flats in which she lived received a hit and the top storey collapsed. There was no raid warning and she escaped down the stairs as the ceiling caved in. A.R.P. workers dug her belongings out. Miss Hall said that when she left England the people were allowed 2ozs ol butler, 2oz ol tea and 2ozs of bacon a week. Apples were Is 9d a lb. lemons 12s a dozen and oranges, if ob- ! tainable, 7s 6d a dozen. The health of the people was extraordinarily good, considering the lack of nourishment. ■ Beet and carrot tops were used as vegetables. Four ozs of sugar one egg 1 per week and one lb of meat, for which a high price was charged, were ;;i- ■ lowed. Il was often a puzzle what to ’ do with the egg. Despite hardships. > .the morale of the people was exccl- ’ J lent. L Miss Hall expressed surprise at the J number of enemy aliens in business ■land at liberty in Hew Zealand. Alithough England was armed to the I teeth, she said, no such risks were ■(taken there. In her opinion all enemy ( aliens should bo interned.