The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1946-08-22

craft Division,
topped off by luncheon and an eX-
citing exhibition flight by Packet,
with Dick Henson at the controls.
The sixteen Raj men were reach
ing the end of goodwill tour that
has taken them from Mitchell Field
to st. Louis, to Denver, on to the
West Coast and deep into the heart
of Texas. Averaging in age from
20 to IS years, the British flyers
are all veterans of four and five
years service and the group includ-
ed six flying officers, three flight
leaders and seven warrant officers.
Travel-weary though they obvi-
ously were, it can be truthfully said
that a better looking group never
drew appreciative whistles from the
girls on the assembly line.
It was not until everyone got out
of the plant and onto the runways
to watch the exhibition flight that
Clara the Cub and l found OPP
portunity to get three of the British
boys aside and find out something
about how things are in England
these days and a little something
about their impressions Of America.
| (See picture on front page)
The three flyers we interviewed
were Flying Officer Jack Smith, of
London Flying Officer Raymond
Francis, of Chatham, in Kent; and
Flying Officer Ernest Scutt, of Bill
ingshurst, Sussex. "a flying officer
ranks with an American lieutenant,
Incidentally
Smith, the oldest and only married
man of the three, grinned at the
idea of an interview and inquired:
"How do 20 want us to talk
shall we be awfully British for you?
In that case we'll sy things are
simply wizard" and its a veddy
good show. - Or shall we talk the
way we usually do?"
Told that we would settle for the
latter Misunderstanding read enough
fiction about the Raj to know how
British flyers probably don't talk
we inquired about the state of things
in England. According to the three
flyers there is not much change
from war days. Food and clothing
are as scarce as they have been con-
sistently over the past few years,
and housing is particularly acute.
Il don't believe that your people
understand quite how hard pressed
we are" said Smith. "You have been
so generous that l can't believe that
anyone would resent helping us out
on food if they knew how bad the
situation is"
As to London: 'Its getting nicely
tidied up" Most of the rubble is
cleared away and housing projects
are underway all over the battered
city.
America they have enjoyed i'm
mensely. Everyone has been most
cordial and they are still agog over
the quantities of food they have
/ been served everywhere. I'm just
now getting so that I can eat full
NEAL" said Scutt, ruefully.
''You don't really want to talk
to me-" Smith said, Give been in
four years but I only had twenty
missions. These other chaps are dec
GRATED for bravery. They're too
modest to tell you"
1t developed that Francis, who was
not even wearing his campaign rib
bons, had, in his three and half
years of service, 81 missions in a
Lancaster and the Distinguished Fly
ing Cross, while the still younger
Scutt had chalked up So missions and
is the holder of the Distinguished
Flying Medal.
The most fantastic opinion they
said that they had heard, during
their stay in the States, is that we
granted the much-disputed British
Loan to keep England from ganging
up with Russia against us. To the
Raj men obviously nothing could
be more absurd. Yet they had heard
that story from coast to coast. We
thought it was pretty silly too,-
having better idea of some sections
of the American press than the Wis
iting fly-boys could be expected to
form in short month in our midst,
we had notion of where that ugly
rumor started.
All three flyers were favorable to
the present labor a government of
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