Selwyn House School - Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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FOR THF SCHOOL YEAR 1943- 19-H In the water just off shore are steel and concrete barriers, sharp affairs designed to rip the bottoms off landing barges. The beach is sown with land mines. Behind the mine fields are tank barriers. Around these barriers and behind them lies barbed wire. Behind the beach are villages. The few roads leading to them bar every kind of vehicle, and overhead, of course is the Luftwaffe. A Once the first line beyond the beach is open, our forces move into open country but it is not as peaceful as it looks. Roads are barricaded. As the trucks and tanks move off, they will again find themselves amongst land mines. Here and there are strong points delaying the invading force. To make the position clear, let us say that there are three lilies of defence. The second line is 6 to IO miles behind the first, and the third 25 miles in the rear of the second. The purpose of the first is to halt the tanks long enough for the antitank guns to get their heaviest blows in. Behind the tank barriers are land mines hidden under barbed wire. Behind the mines are bunkers and blockhouses. As the invaders move in, the defence thickens. And now comes the second line which is even worst than the first. There are more and stronger tank barriers, more tank traps, more emplacements, more blockhouses, more bunkers: and still heavier artillery. The path through the second line will have to be blasted almost a yard at a time. The third and strongest line will be placed on the defensive side of a river. Along the river valleys are rail lines on which the heaviest weapons of mobile de- fence are placed. At this point the attackers may be faced with gas. There will be cities along the way, perhaps in the fortress itself. Under the streets there will be tunnels and set in the pavements will be turrets with heavy guns. This then is the road to victory which must be paid for by the blood of our soldiers, . V .- sailors, and airmen. V.. - R. N. T., Form 3. NINE DAYS SHALT THOU LABOUR . . . HE two men plodded forward over the rough, uneven ground. Both heads were bent low, each helping to support heavy packs that were filled with food, provisions and blankets. Each man carried a rifle. Suddenly, the man in the lead paused to raise his head and gaze forward and, after a few seconds study of the surroundings, spoke to his partner, who had also stopped, following his example. l37l

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SELWYN HOUSE SCHUUI. INIAGAZINE By the next day his temperature was down to normal, and his mother said he could arise but not go outside. The next day he went out, and the day after that he was back at school, to find that the examination had been changed so that he would be able to take it after all. Of course, as well as Peter's kind of cold, there is a cold ofa snithing nature, which people do not have to treat with such care. .-Ks long as the person keeps out of draughts and gets enough fresh air, these colds should be cured in two days at the most. Anybody who has either of these kinds of colds should not have much trouble if they follow this advice. But if a cold reaches the uncomfortable stage, or the temperature rises, the doctor should be called for. Ifor the benefit of any readers who may have a cold or grippe, we give below the recipe for the Imperial drink referred to in the above contribution. Tut: Inii-Rami. Diuxk. Juice of 2 oranges. Juice of 2 lemons. 5 tablespoonsful sugar. for part corn syrupj I teaspoonful cream of tartar I quart of iced tboiledl water. A. P., Form 3. THE FORTRESS OF EUROPE VERY day of lighting in Europe brings us closer to Hitler's Fortress, where the last battles will be fought and the war won. .-XII occupied Europe is a part of the system of defence which the Nazis have devised. The Inner Fortress is more than twice the size of Texas. Its boundaries are, roughly, the Vistula and the Dniester on the east. the Danube and the Po on the south, the Rhine and the Seigfried Line on the west. Ir includes not only Germany, .-Xustfia, Rumania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland, but slices of the Baltic States, Russia, Yugoslavia, Italy, France and Belgium. These defences are more than a system of fixed fortifications. There are mobile de- fences as well. The Nazis have not overlooked anything! We are now faced with the problem of approach to Berlin from any suitable point on the line of fortihcations. It' the approach is from the sea the first problem is that of landing. Coastal defence is especially heavy. Ilfml

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Sl-XLWYN HOUSE SCHOOL MAGAZINE I don't remember this landscape, -lock. NYhat do you say g do you know where we are PU The man addressed looked about him and when his eyes were satisfied he answered his companion. I can't say I do, Tim. I've been over this way twice, but I certainly can't re- member this part of the country. Fspecially those four pines over there. They aren't an easy landmark to miss. You're right. I.et's go on a ways q maybe we're wrong. They both started forward again, labouring under the strain of the over-loaded packs. They kept on walking for the space of perhaps three hundred yards, then, as their eyes met the same sight, they halted instantaneously. In front of'theni was a rushing torrent of water, flowing through a maze of rocks rand boulders. The two men looked at each other, and, as the realization dawned upon them, neither of them spoke, but just looked searchingly into each other's eyes. They stood like this for maybe twenty seconds, glued to the spot and not saying a word. When it came to knowing anything about the Canadian Harrens, these two knew it, and the pair of them knew now what it meant to be lost in this God-forsaken land. .-Xnd we haven't a bullet between us, whispered jock, moving his lips with what seemed to be a forced action. XYell, we'll just have to do our best. Wed better make camp before dark. We can park ourselves by the river. I-et's go. The two once again moved forward, this time a visible tiredness showing in their trudge. The sun was just creeping over the slope above the camp, when .lock raised himself on his elbows and looked about him. His face showed expectation, but as he realized where he was, his jaw dropped, and his eyes wandered to where Tim's bed was spread on the frozen ground. Suddenly his head gave a perceptible jerk, and he rubbed his eyes forcibly to make sure he was not dreaming. Once again he looked, and once again the same sight met his eyes. Tim was not there. -lock jumped to his feet and yelled Tim's name in a hoarse voice. Tim l No answer. Tim I Again no answer, and the man's voice echoed faintly in the far hills. His mind was now on fire, and three or four times he screamed his comrade's name, only to have it Hung back at him from the hills to the North. I-Iad Tim skipped out on him F Had he gone to try and get a better view of the landscape, or had he . . . ? The thought came to the man's mind in a Hash, and he rushed over to his partner's bed to see if there was blood l28l