"There may be among you who are listening to me some who are serving at sea in British warships or in vessels which maintain our supplies from overseas. I would like you to know that we are thinking of you and of the perils, of the storms and the ruthless enemy that you are facing day and night. On you has so far fallen the brunt of the war and we not be sufficiently grateful to you for the cool and steadfast courage with which you have carried on your tasks, "We do not forget," the Premier stated, "that the safety of these islands depends on the untiring watchfulness of our seamen, as it has done ever'since the days of Queen Elizabeth.
"Others of my listeners," Mr. Chamberlain said, "may be serving in the Army, some in distant garrisons overseas, some in France, some again keeping a perpetual vigil over their guns on the home front, For you the time of conflict has not yet arrived, but we know that you are cheerfully enduring the monotony and discomforts that inevitably ai-tend the routine of preparation, and that when the day of battle comes, you will be ready to meet it as your fathers were before you."
Pride in Gallant R.A.F.
"As for you who are serving in the Royal Air Force, our youngest fighting service, you, too, have an important part to play in the defence of the homeland as well as in the defeat of the enemy's forces. We have watched with pride and admiration your gallant exploits in those aerial combats in which you have already taken part and we feel confident that you will be more than equal to any demands that may be made on you."
The Prime Minister then recalled that he was broadcasting not to Britain alone, but to the whole of the British Empire.
(Continued on page 8, col. 4)
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.