Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-07-29
Raids Recall
Trudy's Feat
On Channel
Bombed Cape Gris-Nez
Was Starting Point
By WESTBROOK PEGLER

CAPE GRIS-NEZ. France,
" which occurs IN the COM
munique from time 10 time 40
an objective of British bombers,
is the point nearest Britain on
the English Channel from which
in August 1926, a young Ameri-
can girl swan TO Kingsdown,
England, most of the way in a
storm
Gertrude Ederlc. after one
previous failure, in which she
had been touched n-the arm
and thus disqualified by her own
trainer. was the first woman
ever 10 swim the sleeve.
This time, in 1926. she had
trained carefully again and IT
was we'll she did for hortly
after she took 10 the water A
storm came up and she was
whipped away a m oSt 10 The
North Sea-bcfure she caugh1
tide that helped her 10 the Eng
liSh beach in the dark
The British must have oblli-
Grated the town by now for
there was very little OF 1t
anyway.
There was summer hotel on
the beach patroniled mostly by
little people from Britain. and
up the rocky quilted inland road
was the Hotel Of the Lighthouse
run by a Belgian veteran OF the
first World War named Henri
Blodieu, who loudly disliked the
French.
TRUDY and her party stopped
at the Hotel OF the Light
house. Notwithstanding its many
faults, because she was loyal 10
The little Belgian for some Kind
ness on her previous visit.
II some mad American in
sisted on d warm bath. Madam
BlondIeu and the ChambermaId
would heat water in huge iron
vessels on the kitchen range and
fetch II upstairs by hand.
Madam had an infamed ap-
pendlN but would ice II Al night
and manage 10 be up and dong
around by dawn next morning.
There were no lighting facli-
ties. not even lamps. in the
Hotel of the Lighthouse and the
people who ran the relatively
Swanky place on the beach felt
wounded that Trudy made her
headquarters at Blondieu's be-
cause thus lShak Helmy, the big.
blubbery Egyptian, and several
other aspirants and lot Of ex-
penSe account reporters were
drawn there.
After year Of trying for the
glory OF Lgypt. Helmy finally
caught a succession Of tides IN
nat weather and ghosted over 10
England, but Trudy. a kid Of 70.
had Softcned up the channel by
defeating II IN It's meaneSt mood.
TVIEREAE'TER IL was a push
over for mediocre swimmers.
one oil those who beat II was
An Australian colonel who had
SWum ashore Al Gallipoli 10 per-
form some magnificent exploit
and who was heard of again IN
Tins war about a year ago IN
further feats of bravery in
Africa.
lie used duckfoot gloves ana
shoes and wore rubber SUIT
Some of the swimS which fol.
lowed were fakes, but that Of
young American woman named
OorSon soon after Trudy's wsS
authentic and took some of tho
iuzz of Trudy's peach. for She
was no longer the only woman
TO have done II
Along the smooth, wide beach
mere were several rus,lnp
barnacled hulkS which had beon
run aground. wounded by rinos
or torpedoed in the FIRST World
war. and up on the bluff 10 Tho
west where the beach dis.
appeared and the sea slammed
against rocky cliffs. there wera
old weed grown concrete
trenches, gun pits and machine
gun positions.
There also were a number NJ
Cylindrical stone sentry boxes
standing since some ancient war
but probably gone now under
British fire for The lighthouse
stood close by and they surely
would have been shooting AT
that.
a S LATE as 1886. Blondjeu
"A was still there.
His wife had finally been
separated from the appendix and
could now do a real DAYS work
and little Robert. a toddlor
around the bar of the hotel
when Trudy camped there. was
II years old and 50. probably
was caught up somehow in this
war As his old man had been IN
the first one.
This time France was going 10
he good and ready for the dirty
BoChe.