A demonstration revealed that this force can embark in 30 seconds, and their small boats, each a complete fighting unit, can head for the scene of action at 30 knots.
The Home Guard scouts for this force. They usually patrol with a crew of four to each boat, taking with them a dinghy and a bicycle. One distinguished crew consisted of an Admiral, a Captain, a Major, and a parson.
But it is still the Army that has the responsibility for defending this area. Their confidence is expressed by the Commanding Officer, who said: "We have become stronger every day, and the Germans will have to be very clever to get through here. One thing is certain—it they come in thousands they will be killed, and I do not think that any support they may receive from the air will save them."
Among the places taken over by the military is a race-course, where the stables have been transformed into first aid posts and powerful guns overshadow the finishing straight.
The speed of the defence force was shown when the "alarm" was given. A battalion on motorcycles and tractors blazed down the road an over the hill towards the "enemy. while barriers were placed in pos! tion, and all strong points were manned in a matter of minutes—
Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.