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moan the acton free press thursday de 11th 1941 london in the blackout amazingly black and quiet tfcto is stse tetcha 4ft strist of srtlejea about ooodtttemia gt britain ad otter eeaatrim vto- itod by m troop of cmummum new- popor edlters it mi writlai for the weekly mwspstper of can- d by their own proentetlv on the tow hart to of tim fergus newrocord first impression may not be ac curate but they are always interest- in the first thins that any visitor to england wants to see is the damage done by the bombs x was no excep tion the airport where our plane had dropped us down on british poll j was interesting tn its way but much like a dozen others i had visited in fnrf thit wore only two ap parent differences the planes were of different types though there were a few familiar avro ahsons and the buildings wecjt protected against the blasts from bombs dropping nearby the customs examination was brief though the examiner did show some interest in the things i had thought it necessarj to take to england with me x had a short brush with the lady censor she took a ay all the letters i had carried from canada and appeared to be horrified that i had taken along a map of the british jules apparently x had unwittingly committed a grave crime and she said the must confiscate it evidently a few girls get that ua when given tome hrlef authority t met censors several times during the hext six weeks but none like that young lady she even went so far as to take auay two picture post cards 1 had bought in the azores on the flight across the atlantic after a brisk arjniment in uhleh the cus toms man took m part i got the map back the letters nnd post cards arrived bv mall nt mv hotel in lon don a ueek later after being censor ed first impressions of bombing it was only a few miles to the near est city a seaport on the west coast of england i had never been neross the atlantic before so i watched with interest for the things i hud been told about so oftenthe small fields enclosed by hedges the slnted or tiled roofs the little locomotives pulling long trains of tiny wagons nothing really seemed atrange for photography had made thorn all familiar only the barrage balloons floating over the nearby hills showed that england had changed as our car entered the city we all lookod around curiously for signs of damage rumors in cnnndn snld that tlils nnclent port wns practically de stroyed germnn versions said that the dock nron was rendered useless as wc crossed n bridge over the river i looked nt the shipping nnd snw no sign of damnge to the docks the first blitzed house stood on n cornor or it hnd stood on the cor ner for not a thing was left except a pile of bricks in the bnsemont the houses on either side seemed undam aged except for a new boardodup windows but the corner one was bone as cleanly as though it had been carved out with a big knife i thought to myself this is ex actly what i expected to see jt looks just like the pictures in the next block another house had been hit it wasn t an thorough ly destroyed one side wall remain ed nnd up it nt irrogulnr intervals were the fireplaces which hnd once supplied a bit of heat to its rooms part of the floor of one upstairs room hung in the air with a bed on it again thorewus that feeling that this was just what i hnd expected it remained u hlle wc drove down a long street with half a dozen houses missing at more or lens regulnr in tervals after that m feelings be en n to change perhaps it was the ruined churches sovoral of them hnd nothing left but blackened wnlls on the mnln business street many stores were without windows others were hollow shells it mndc me angry before long this wanton damage seemed ao obviously military targets had not been hit or they had been repaired so quickly that the effect was slight it was the houses that had suffered most bind the churches the train to london was crowded but the six of us got a compartment to ourselves on the wall was a de tailed map of the railway line x thought of the girl in the censors office and my map but x never saw another one on n british trnln most of the railway station have had the names oblterated vor the signs torn down in the hope that invaders might get lost london in the blackout the train was about halfway to london when blackout time arrived at- ha sik tho guard was not only dark but quiet as well this didnt atffcm like a railway sta tion outside not a light allowed in the city somehow our hosts from the brit ish council found us and they knew what to do in a few moments they had a porter hunting for a taxlcab whore he went til never know but he cam back with two and in tho light of later experience that was something of an achievement our taxi driver was old and his cab was ahclent four persons and their luggftgo seemed like too much of a load but we entrusted ourselves to him hoping he knew what to do the only outdoor light in london are the uafflc signals and the shelter signs even the traffic lights are cov ered except a tiny cross in the centre the shelter slgnm have only a dim showing on them an yjneanny quletn the feeling persisted thnt this could not possibly be the worlds largest city sometimes the taxi would stop nnd a bus or some more taxis would go across the interaec tlon each had one aim headlight rmr jt n v earn in ndwlcd down heavy mind with shutter tnattttwow over 11 the windows and doors even i 0 if the door out into the corridor had a mind on it it was the first hint that there is nothing halfhearter about the british blackout it s blaek inside the railway carriages ment the windows of the buses were covered they were just dim outlines as they passed the tiny red cross at the corner would disappear and be replaced by dim lights kept the compartment in j on thfl dr a state of semidarkness one was a j up b sa j familiar with london in the past tw6 one was a in a deep white light set high up t funnel in the roof the other light i lut the locall- more exposed was blue and die not ttt the comer of jlve enoughight to make it possible did on of thcm to read a newspaper mrr of nil the first impressions nonet nm toit iha l normal is more vivid than that of my arrival m te n n n thour 1 in london in the blackout there r0 ns n v in thc back out it is quiet there seem to be was some doubt about whether the train hnd renched paddlngton station or not but everybody seemed to be getting out one of thc editors open ed the door there wasnt a thing to be seen except three scattered blue bulbs in a celling high overhend moving shapes enmc past thc door nnd one of them answered the ques tioft is thti paddlngton with n short yes sir nobody who hnsn t boon there will cer believe how dark london can be in the blackout at the time of tho new moon give no light nt nil they just in tcnslfy thc darkness and london no privnte car taxi and bus drivers must find their way largely by in stinct the cnb stopped under some kind of roof a man with a tiny pocket flashlight helped us out nnd called for someone to take the bags wo passed one by ono through n revolv ing door nnd emerged suddenly into the bright light of n hotel lobby there wns something familiar about tho plnco tho feeling persist ed even after i had been taken to my room with its roman bath nnd y n doulton fixtures reminders of past splendor then i remembered i hnd seen this famous hotel in mov ing pictures long ago bomb damage in london churches they did get many fac torles along the thames but thsy not only failed to frighten the british people they also missed- many of the most tempting targets for instance every bridge over the thames is in operation it is said not one has been hit though thousands or bombs pave gone into tho water in an attempt to cut traffic there are temporary bridges which can be qulcky finished if any bridge 1 de stroyed they have never been need ed 1 i wandered through the dock area hear tower bridge one day the little houses in the east end have laki n a bad punishment in two places x saw vacant lots piled high with bricks that must have come from hundreds of houses but the docks were still in operation as usual with convoys golhg nut the xfmme s it was obvious that tower bridge it self had never heem hit the tow r or london has lost only a corner of tone small bastion there hasnt been any bombing in london lately it is now five months since tho last bombs have fallen on the capital only once while i was in london did an enemy plane ever come near the city from the roof of a newspaper office x watched the flashes of the antl aircraft guns awny to the east the german never got through there was bombings going on nil i that time but it was around the coasts of britain i came through n bombing one night in bournemouth and will tell of it in a later story but conditions have obviously chang ed the germans no longer have superiority in the air defences aro stronger it doosn t seem likely that thc british will be blitzed again as they were last winter- actual invas ion seems impossible eggs for britain to 10 sum that thoy am fit for overseas shipment and sup ply tho market market thm with an approved station our eft grading station in abton u oonvealakttly loaatal on mu1 street oppfiillo the gregory theatre acton egg grading station mill street the week at ottawa specially written tor the aeten rrw by bv alan i1abvbv canadian pram mah writer is your guest for christmas man on leave make your holiday sailor sol dier or airmail feci at home here are hints from two sources bv adelaide kerr associated press staff writer so you re eoing to have a sailor n the next morning i snw london j soldier or nlrmnn or perhaps a co by bus buses leave acton for toronto for london 901 am 9 53 nm 11 31 am 223 pm 206 pm b g18 pm 3 51 pm 808 pm 5 51 pm 8m pm 5 51 n m 0 01 ajn dally c sun b- sun hoi eastern standard time tlekets and information at harold wiles phone 58 gray coach lines tttiftgftctth the mens store for the first time our hosts from j thc british council came around tn nn old car end drove us around the i central part of the city particularly i that part of old london which had i been destroyed by the grent fire in i 1666 and and rebuilt better than it hnd been now it hns been destroyed again east of st paul ocathedrnl nnd north of fleet street there is nn area of almost n square mile with hardly n building standing perhaps you have seen that remarkable photo graph which shows the grent dome of st pauls standing up above a mass of smoke nnd flnmes while in the foreground thc walls of ruined houses are silhouetted agnlnst thc fire i hnd wondered sometimes if that photograph was not faked in a room of the press club in london i saw the original walking through the ruins of thc old city of london it is still easy to picture thnt terrible night many of the walls which stood up in that blackened area since the big blltx last december have been torn down by demolition squnds where there are basements they have been cemented and turned into water res ervoirs for fighting future fires this was an area of office buildings i nnd publishing houses with a number ol fine old churches and some of the- most fnmous administrative building it was burned in a concentrated blitz one jtcelc end before the londoners had lenrncd how to fight the incen dlnry bomb i don t think it could ever happen again an incendiary bomb is small and light a large bdmbing plane might carry a thousand of them they aro shower ed down by hundreds and are just heavy enough to go through a slnte roof it is twomtnutes or so before the burst into flame every second counts tho incendiary bomb can be conquered in the first two or three minutes after thnt it takes the fire brigade to do anything about it st range enough the things that 1 touch the heart of the observer in desolate art as like this are the small things in ruined houses it is dolls i or other tovs lying around in former office buildings it is batti red typ couple of them for christmas or new years so are thousands of other people many thousands of canadian ser vicemen will be on leave for the christmas or new years holidays nnd lots of them away from home the ymca or other agency will help you get your giest if you want one and don t know how to go nbout it suppose you re going to hnve as your house fmest your cousins son whom you haven t seen before how would you entertain him i asked a veteran sergeant nt one headquar ters make him one of the family he said don t make too much com pony of him or show him off you u only make him self conscious take him christmas shopping with you to get him into the spirit let him trim the tree nd decorate the bouse and let him show thc children how to run their trnlns dont pnn his program too close ly give a couple of hours a dny to himself so he can rend or take a mqre n walk and clve him a chance to ro wns c to church you ought to have a christmas present for him on the tree but it shouldn t be too expensive you could give him a pipe cigarettes handker chiefs a shaving kit a toilet kit or a good knife but don t give a wnl let he might nothnve nnthlng to put in it chanera to relax thin i nsked one of the sorvlcomm w hat would mnke him hnppy ns n truest a rhnnce to nlax hi snld sol- diers like to relax from discipline get up atnoon nnd get to bod nbout fours we don t like to have too much planned and we don t unnt to be doted over a few parties dinners or dances are enough on a leave or furlough they don t have to be big parties either ot1awa ci ttl two divisions of flu uoverrtrnftnts doubln barrewm progrihi foi fighting inflation price and wmuv ontrol stand slda by sldtr this wuk in general interact to can- nhlnns him prime mlhuur mackenzie king ttnnnuikttd find riot alls of tho program in mid october the intricate ptlio m lllng polhy has hen regular fronlitge tnwh now the equally in- j trlcnte wage stabilisation sclume np penrs flue for its share of tin hpot- uuht labor minister mclarty has nn nouncml thnt th original orderin council covering the wng s plan has been amended to extend the cost-of- living bonus to virtually all industrial employe s ns well ns the wage freez ing policy interpretations of the now regulations are expected short ly from the jlmnn nnttonnl war lnljor board thus employers and employees who hnve been baffled by some of the provisions of tho original order will probably get clarification of the wage policy this month tcxmptlon removed tho amendments remove previous exemptions nffcctlng employers in the building and construction industries with lens than 10 employees nnd other employers with less thnn 50 tho order now nffoct every class of employee except dominion pro vlnclnl nnd munlclpnl employees em ployees in agriculture horticulture flshlnr hunting trnpplng and domes tic service nnd employees of some nonprofit institutions nine provin cial regtonnl boards will be appoint ed to help ndmlnlstor the policy in stead of the five originally planned develpoments in the prlro control field lno included announcement of scasonnt incrensis in ntnll prices of coal nnd coke setting of mnxlmum wholesale turkey prices nt 31 cents a pound for grade a birds in cnrlots at vancouver nnd 12 cents at montreal and toronto with other grades to find their own lovol in relation to the retnll celling prices deport control meantime trade minister mac kenzie disclosed thnt export trndc is being jeopardized by scarcity of certain strategic materials and hinted thnt additional reductions in quantity of some goods nvnllable to the do mestic market may hnve to be ac- cepted john m evans of montreal i neul appointed head of the export control committee will help formu inte will help to carry out the gov ornment s export policy one of his jobs will he to reorgnni7o cnnndns export control machinery in the military flild moves are be ing mndi townrd formntlon of a can- nriinn parachute corpi sometime next year ditalls are lacking but it is understood thc corps if it is set up will be an army formntlon drawing entirely on volunteers willing to take risks greater than those fnced by the j ordlnnry soldier parliament reopening with parliaments reopening little j month auay political at the week end on the choice of a successor for justice minister ernest lapolnte this interest was sharpened by hie recent visit to ottawa of premier adelnrd godbout of quebec following mr lnpninte s dt nth sev eral wks nro mr tjodbaufs name was advanced but tho understanding lb that the qut boc premli r enme to recommend another man for a fed eral rnhlm t ot pocslhly one of his colienrius mom frequt nth me ntloni d ns the man i mo have in mind is hop philippe- bials under of the quebec hgislntkt council ik is a promin cat montreal lawyer crippled pole to fly again london cp a pilot whose left arm was shot ott in an aerial com bat but who will soon be in action again with an artificial arm was one of 74 members of a polish wing of the royal air korce dororatvd by general blkorskl prim minister pf poland and eomrnanderlrrhltf of th eollsh forces th awards to rrinn of wing which has shot down tnor than 230 german plnnes were the polish vic toria cross the vlrtute miihiih nnd the cross of gallantry the krzyi wnlecznych truth the truth i wr up against the higgrat rtjfth of lone distance chrtstmas call weve overbad eren with hundreds of extra people on duty chriatmaa eve and chriatmaa day we w6a be able to meet all demand and consequences the consequences are bound to be delay and disappointment were sorry we hope youll understand and accept them in the spirit of christmas thank you very much a bailers escape answered praytu most canadian boys are athjotiq tjiy cct a hie kick out of games hockey and bowling and tilings like that youd make a big hit with n soldier taking him to see a few fast games and of course the movies the oh at re and some not tooheavy writers piled up a dozen or so to- books gelher or qme other evidence of the if a man is visiting ou for sev that once carried on suits shirts pyjamas socks ties ts calesweatehs coats etc in fact- anytbig f jr thc youag mn the boy friend and rhe man o the house we take this opportunity of tt c one and all a merry christmas w m cooper normal lift there vet cun in the midst of this dso utlon i had the feeling thnt the ger man bomhers had failed the had not even tried to hit military targets it is t hough t that they trlod to wipe out the whole of londons fire flffht- ihff apparatus they dldn t iucoed the fire brigades were massed in that small area and more bombers com over dropplns high explosive bombs suddenly they stopped coming it is iid that a mist arose back over the t ml days nnd doesn t know anybody else in the town he would like to meet some bos and rlrh of his own age but if his girl lives tture he wants plenty of time to te her rpetfjatn or femid don t talk to a fellow about war don t ask how long he ii be in or when he thinks hes going to fight or how s tho food and speaking of food you can do a to to make a serviceman happy with some good homecooked food especially after he has been out on lecieu air hero met his water loo 0cr lord as mother afiked a gift for the family elect nc and hatlery seta large and small modeln various prices buy now other gift suggestions electric irons and toasters various priccn electric clocks electric coffee makers skiis ski poles- ski harness toboggans and sleighs varioturpricebraccordinir to size cimrntl and it was feard they could manoeuvres eating out of a mess kit not return sak whether thjil was lrollers thops and steaks are always london cti wing comman der dnuglas bader logless royal air i font fighter pilot now a prisoner tn tirnuiny had such faith in his mothers prners that he made tur promt to pray that if he wns over forcic to hah out that it would be ovtr land and not the sea lie ft arid he would be lost if he fill into the water because he could not climb into a dinghy with his artl flcinl it gi his mother said hir praytrs wire answered dader who holds the dso ami bar and tho d fc and bar baled tfut over france and dnmoged one of hs legs which was renlnced when the raf drop- el u nt w pair ccjm skate and boot setn in all sizes complete ranee of hockey equipment christmas tree sets complete ahotment of christmas tree bulbs re flectors flashes etc a complete ranjce of pyrex ware stain less graniteware in the new colors and shapes cobnes mill and main acton dntarlo the reason or not london sf r flezht ers escaped to fight another day seeing other parts of iondon later i felt again and again that the ger man bombers had failed they d- stroved thousands of houses and stores and offices and dozens of welcome because wo don t get many r themand cjfckes and cookies and 1 pies and hothreads j and it alvvajs mikes me fel good rnjttred htoakivob london tqpi were first rationed since stockings nearly i 1000 to know there is a ham in the ice j 4 4v worth was lost each week box where i can go and get a snnck on a 40 mile stretch of railway near any time london fancy dw khcheti ttewaisfushlijjhta and a variety of chrfetttaa gift iteady for your cbooulnx toys complete iinew trueta trains gaftea -r- w atrono joyeyelea tricycles i w d talbot mill street