“BLIGHTY” LEAVE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 5 January 1945, Page 5

“BLIGHTY” LEAVE

JOY AND* CELEBRATION TOUCHING SCENES IN LONDON . London, Jan. 4. The arrival of men of the British liberation army on seven days’ “blighty” leave has been one of the most interesting events recently for the people in Britain. It is true that the number of men who have drawn a lucky ticket in the ballot is not large, but in hundreds of homes there has been joy and celebration at the return of those who went ashore in Normandy on D-Day. There were touching scenes at the railway station in London when the train arrived. Crowds cheered the grinning, bashful soldiers and their wives, some of whom had waited for 10 hours in order not to miss a minute of time with their husbands. This leave has come at a time when war-weariness among the population has probably reached the highest peak since the outbreak of the war, and the many happy family reunions are helping to blunt the sharp edges of the strain. The popular newspapers have given considerable space to the reunions and to photographs of soldiers with their families. HONOURED TOILERS The supplementary New Year’s honours list have also given wide satisfaction in hundreds of homes at the recognition of what has been described as “the toil of millions in Britain’s war effort.” Thirteen per cent, of the awards were won by the Merchant Navy, which is a fitting tribute to this service on which the country has relied so greatly, and which does not always receive the plaudits given the other services. Unlike in New Zealand, this system of bestowing awards on civilians has been maintained throughout the war, and it must have been a source of gratification to many who perform humdrum, monotonous tasks in the war effort. For instance, an M.B.E. was won by.a woman who was described as “the principal trainer of women’s crews for canal boats.” Other women won recognition for work as foster mothers of evacuated children, and a woman of 84 who won the B.E.M. has 71 years’ service in the Lancashire cotton industry, and in spite of her age still does the full working day. The men who won awards include station masters, ship surveyors, railway goods executives, miners and coVliery managers, munition workers and a crane driver. The work of finding a quarter of a million men “to sustain and nourish our armies in the line” has begun. It is reported that many may come from a number of redundant workers who are being released from the munition industries, particularly aircraft factories. It is also expected that about 50,000 men will be transferred from other services to the army in order to train those who come from civil life. It is stated that as far as possible the recruits will come from the ranks of single men in the younger age groups. Miners and farm and transport workers are not likely to be affected. More woman have also been invited to volunteer for the women’s services, and there has been something, of a rush to join the naval W.R.N.S. in particular. Many girls have remarked that they were “tired of civvy life” and were hoping to get overseas. PAYMENT FOR WAR There was a big increase in the income tax paid during the last nine months of last year. The total of £595,512,000 sterling, which was an increase of £81,328,000 over the same period in 1943. This increase is sufficient to pay for the war for five days. The national expenditure has outpaced revenue and the estimated figure for the full year is £5,940,- , 394,000. | More than £200,000,000 in cash was counted by bank officials at the end of the financial year. This is the highest figure in British banking history. The note circulation was increased by £50,000,000 last month, with the result that many unused green notes, which were stored in 1940 and replaced by blue notes, are now in circulation again. During last year, it is reported, practically every share on the Stock Exchange rose in value, and it is estimated that as a result £IOOO million has %een added to the £21,000 million of securities of all kinds quoted. The rise is reported to have been due to the expectations of an early end of the war in Europe, which would enable companies to resume peacetime operations. The black market dealings are reported to have increased, and the activities of burglars and thefts of clothing, furniture, tobacco and food are now said to be common. They are so common, in fact, that insurance companies are refusing all new business that does not yield a premium of £1 sterling per annum or more. It is estimated that the burglaries for the black market have risen by 60 per cent. Manufacture for export is now being permitted in some industries. Sheffield cutlery makers have been told they can resume and that stainless and other steel will be, available for overseas orders. Other minor releases are carpets, aluminium and enamel-ware.

Britain now has 15,000,000 apple trees, and in spite of the drastic pruning of orchard space during the war the number of trees has increased by over 3,000,000 during the last two decades. There are over 7,000,000 Cox’s Orange Pippin trees. —P.A. Special Correspondent.